Wide decks...overrated?

[Spike Hawke]

Been skating 7.75 since day one. Never had a problem getting them but I do the ordering at my shop. Skate what you want and feel comfortable on. Its your board not your buddies.

[Noble Experiment]

Started out skating 7.75's. Started skating 8's a year or so later, and it felt pretty good so I stuck with 8's for the longest time. Then one day I was getting a new set of trucks because the other set I had cracked at the hanger, and the only Indys the shop had left were 149s. It was either either buy 149's, buy a set of 8 inch ventures or 8 inch silvers, or wait two weeks for the new shipment of indys to get to them. Being the impatient person that I am, I decided to just get the 149s instead of waiting or buying some trucks that I'm not down with. Because of that, it pretty much forced me up to an 8.25 since 149's on a 8 would just feel too weird, but it didn't really matter much to me. Took me a while to get used to but after i got used to them they started feeling pretty good. I rode 8.25's for a lil bit, then one day at the same local shop I went to go buy a new deck, and they didn't have any 8.25s in stock, just a lot of 8's and under, a few 8.125's, and one 8.5. Since I had 149's, I didn't really have much of a choice so I got the 8.5.

I remember hating it at first, it felt so big. Didn't feel comfortable at all. But three or four sessions in I started to like it, and over time I liked the feel of it more and more, and now 8.5 is the size I've stuck with for the past 2 or so years. Now if I ride anything under 8.5 it feels weird. I've been kinda wanting to set up a 7.75 deck lately though, just for the hell of it. Kinda just as an experiment to see how long it would take me to get used to a thinner board again.
As for flip tricks being harder, it doesn't really effect my flip tricks at all. I can still do pretty decently popped kickflips, and I could still throw a double flip out here or there. The one thing I did notice though is that the wider the board the harder I had to work to get decent sized ollies. Other than that though everything pretty much stayed the same.

[Netflicks]

It's all up to you. I have a friend who is 6'1", and skates a 7.5". It doesn't hinder him at all, either. I have started my way up from a 7.75" to an 8", back down to a 7.5" to 8", up to 8.25", 8.5", 8.75", and now ride a 9". It's exactly what I need right now, but I wouldn't say others should do it. For me personally they're hard to find, and the only people I know that makes 'em are Creature and Bacon. I saw this local brand in the shop the other day called Bison Skateboards, and I want to try them out because their shape was amazing, but they only make 8.5". I might have to downsize and see how I feel on 8.5" again.

[sufodiv]

I've really gone any bigger than 8/8.12

[BraveUlysses]

I ride 8.5 but whenever I get my hands on an 8.6...

[dan brown]

 i started off on a 7.5 like alot of people probably did. i moved up to a 7.75 pretty quick but then started skating tranny more, i think alot of people get attached to smaller boards because they try learning as many flip tricks as possible as fast as possible (nothing wrong with that as i believe thats the progression needed in skateboarding) so after maybe a year or so on a smaller board you are comfy with it so if you ride that for the rest of your days then so be it. in my opinion and personal preferance a wider board feels comfier for me and i have more surface for my big feet. ill always ride between 8.4 and 8.6.  david gonzalez rides a 7.78 and reynolds rides a 8.5, both truly amazing skateboarders so i doubt size can affect ability.

sorry for the long reply guys, this is my first forum post.  glad to be here

size doesn't matter...

[BlueBlurSpeedsBy]

All you guys who skate 8 and above, do you guys ride  7.75 trucks (129 for indy and 145 for  thunder) or wider trucks?  Does having wider trucks on a wide board make it better?  I always thought smaller trucks on a wide board would be fine.

[BraveUlysses]

All you guys who skate 8 and above, do you guys ride  7.75 trucks (129 for indy and 145 for  thunder) or wider trucks?  Does having wider trucks on a wide board make it better?  I always thought smaller trucks on a wide board would be fine.

Turning is ugly as shit on a wide board with small trucks and when you're doing grinds it's easier to know where your truck is gonna land when the trucks fit the board.

[Tracer]

All you guys who skate 8 and above, do you guys ride  7.75 trucks (129 for indy and 145 for  thunder) or wider trucks?  Does having wider trucks on a wide board make it better?  I always thought smaller trucks on a wide board would be fine.

I use 149ers on 8.5, sometimes I wish I stuck to 147s just because they're so wide for street rails. Reynolds uses tiny trucks on a huge board so ya you can do either

[Beer Keg Peg Leg]

don't listen to tracer he can't even heelflip on an 8.5

[DISTANT RUMOURS]

I started in 1990-1991 so I rode 9.5's a lot.

I personally feel the most comfortable on a 7.6- 7.75.

Alot of kids I skate with, skate 8.125 or bigger.
But I cant do anything on those things. I wear a size 8 shoe, so my feet are kinda small as well...

Skate whatever you like.

[pissedead]

8.5 shoe and 8.5 board. Everything feels better, only thing ive noticed besides increased stability is i just gotta work a lil more for 3 flips. But having all that space for your feetsies is worth it.

[Keirabug]

i wear a size 8 shoe and i just moved up from a 7.5 to an 8.125. before that i was skating a 8.25 and decided to go back down to 7.5 to get more tech. i've gone through a few phases where i was into skating and skaters who skated only wider decks and small. at the end of the day i found out a smaller deck helps with learning tricks because you don't get as tired as fast so you have more tries but it really depends on your skills. to me skateboarding and tricks happen so fast that the slower the flip and spin the better it looks visually in person and videos. also i'm way more consistent now that i've moved up. i tend to commit more and its less of a question whether i'll lock in on tricks or not. i got back tail bigs down on an 8 and moved back down to a 7.5 i still had them and then on a 8.125 it was even better. i think it has to do with the board moving slower allowing me to react in time and to put it down more solid. i have a 8.25 zero and 8.5 real lined up for my next decks. hopefully i'll be able to keep all my tricks as i move up. i have a feeling that 8.25 is probably the best for my skating not too big and not too small. i'm mostly a street skater trying to get into tranny but most of the time i do a lot of flip tricks and skate ledges and rails. people tend to say if you ride a small deck you must be a tech skater and vice versa but thats not the case to me it just takes a little more effort on a wider deck but its definitely worth it.

[Morty Seinfeld]

I usually ride 8.4's or 8.5's. I wear a size 10. that's just comfy, it's easy for me to flip the board and do whatever tricks I want to do.

[Filip]

Im a big dude, like almost James Hardy big. I used to skate 8 for probably 4-5 years, and I thought it was perfect, and never even wanted to try a bigger board. Probably two years ago, I randomly tried an 8,5, and stuck with it ever since. Now, if I step on an 8 inch board, it feels regular small, even though I used to skate them for years. Its true, once you go big, you never go back, and with trucks its the same. Definitely not overrated. Everything feels more solid, and you can still skate tech stuff, look at Chris Cole.

[gsosa]

I used to skat 7.75 7.81 decks for the longest time then I tried and 8 and thought it was the shit, then I started buying boards bigger than 8 even went up to 8.38. Then I rode 8.12 8.18's and the occasional 8.25 for the longest tme, today  bought and 8 inch deck and it feels so fucking good. Like small enough to flip the board without any difficulty but it's big enough to skate tranny and shit. (I'm like 5'7 with size 9 feet so I'm not exactly huge either)

[Will Easley]

yeah shane oneill rides a fucking board (dont know the exact size, but dudes gotta be skating at least an 8.5) and obviously he gets pretty tech. Ive been thinking about jumping up to 8.125 or even 8.25 on my next board. I skate 8's pretty well but lately ive been feeling like just a tad bit more room couldnt hurt.

[Deekay]

yeah shane oneill rides a fucking board (dont know the exact size, but dudes gotta be skating at least an 8.5) and obviously he gets pretty tech. Ive been thinking about jumping up to 8.125 or even 8.25 on my next board. I skate 8's pretty well but lately ive been feeling like just a tad bit more room couldnt hurt.

He said he skates 8.125 in the buyers guide from transworld

Ive been riding 7.875 and 8" forever but just got an 8.25 last summer and decided to skate it since the shape looked perfect. Last week I started riding ace 44's instead of 33's too and I cant see myself going back to smaller board or trucks now unless I started skating more tech shit. If you skate a park, it just feels too small and slow and annoying compared to a bigger board. Then again I dont do curb dancing stuff

[Will Easley]

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yeah shane oneill rides a fucking board (dont know the exact size, but dudes gotta be skating at least an 8.5) and obviously he gets pretty tech. Ive been thinking about jumping up to 8.125 or even 8.25 on my next board. I skate 8's pretty well but lately ive been feeling like just a tad bit more room couldnt hurt.

[close]

He said he skates 8.125 in the buyers guide from transworld

Damn that's all? Maybe he just has small feet or has skated different setups, but it always looks like his boards as wide as fuck.

[Tracer]

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yeah shane oneill rides a fucking board (dont know the exact size, but dudes gotta be skating at least an 8.5) and obviously he gets pretty tech. Ive been thinking about jumping up to 8.125 or even 8.25 on my next board. I skate 8's pretty well but lately ive been feeling like just a tad bit more room couldnt hurt.

[close]

He said he skates 8.125 in the buyers guide from transworld

[close]

Damn that's all? Maybe he just has small feet or has skated different setups, but it always looks like his boards as wide as fuck.

Shane is like 5 foot 5 guy didn't you see him standing next to his WW?

[yukaton]

I decided to start skating smaller boards for no reason and brought a bunch on a trip with me. Its kinda fun makes skating feel more like playing with a toy than anything really. But it will be nice to skate bigger boards again

[Yu Dum]

I recently went up in size from 8.06 to 8.25. I wear a size twelve shoe. I have to say that the 8.25 feels so much better beneath my feet. So much comfort when I'm rolling around. But like everyone else is saying, it's all personal preference.

[BuddyPal]

if i skate an 8, then the ladies will think my wiener is 8 inches long

[Rusty_Berrings]

I got 8.75 trackers for real cheap a while back. Don't have em set up on n e thing right now but i'm wanting to put em on something soon. Last 8.7 i skated was a Powell skull and sword deck (dope twin tip 8.75 shape; equal nose and tail lengths, lotsa pop); only thing is that it broke kinda fast so I was looking at some Welcome decks but I don't like the funky cuts much. What do y'all reccomend?

[layzieyez]

I think my flip tricks are actually improving with my wider setup.  How's that work?

[marcusbutler]

when i first started i would say i skated 7.5's for along time and then whent straight to an 8. i skated 8's for 4 years untill i wanted to ry and get a wider board. i went to my shop and got an 8.25. transistioning i noticed i had more control with ledge, rail, flip tricks, tranny, everything. when doing flip tricks i would say i had a little bit of more effort but not much in preforming tricks. sadly after trialing the 8.25 boards i went back to 8's. it just feels better for me. i were 9.5 shoes. i wouldnt say they are overated but if i were bigger than my 185 lbs. and 5 foot sumtin physique and had bigger shoe size? i would skate a bigger board. basically to me bigger the board= more control, smaller the board= more technical. you should skate whatever gets the job done or pleases you.

[Kinch]

I think my flip tricks are actually improving with my wider setup.  How's that work?

Same, I find that with a wider board I tend to flip tricks higher and slower than I would on a skinny one. Also there's just more to land on, makes me more consistent for sure.

[Morty Seinfeld]

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I think my flip tricks are actually improving with my wider setup.  How's that work?

[close]

Same, I find that with a wider board I tend to flip tricks higher and slower than I would on a skinny one. Also there's just more to land on, makes me more consistent for sure.

It helps me out as well. I'm skating an 8.75 and I've never been more comfortable.

[gnarlong]

I think my flip tricks are actually improving with my wider setup.  How's that work?

I feel like it may be easier to catch the flipticks better because of the extra width on the board. Or at least it feels that way to me.

[RollForever1991~``]

No way! I skate 8.38s. Best thing since potatoes