8”s grrreat

[NewRocCity]

Went skating yesterday with a friend who hasn't been skating for almost 15 years.
I just started back skating in October '21, so I'm still relearning everything.

Since I picked up skateboarding again, it's in my head that the bigger the bigger the board the better.
So I ride a AH 8.5 with Indy 149 trucks. While not even close to landing anything, I'm already thinking about going to 8.75, just to have more landing space and to feel more " safe and secure" regarding that extra width to land on.

But I took my friends old element board yesterday, I think it's a 7.75 and it's ridiculously short, and it was like the deck was glued to my shoes. Proper Ollies up and over stuff, without hardly making an effort. The board did exactly what I wanted.

This got in my head, and now I'm thinking instead of going up in deck size, I need to size down.
Maybe I got brainwashed into thinking that everyone at least skates an 8.25 -8.5 deck...

Can't afford to buy myself a whole new setup right now, but might look out to score a deck somewhere that's 8" . 
I wonder if the 149 trucks will compensate for the loss of deck width when looking at stability...

This is what I found-- in all seriousness on a 8.75 it takes all my strength to ollie up on a curb, on an 8 it feels basically like it did as a kid once I get over thinking my feet are sticking off. Once I got on the 8 I've been able to do low ledge grinds again as well which I thought I was locked out of forever.  Its counterintuitive for sure, but I think given it takes less strength to pop (and most importantly you dont have to slide your front foot as far to get to the nose-- I think that a big thing from an old man mobility perspective) you can focus on directing the board and the pop off is much easier, and then to actually level due to the shorter wheelbase its not that far (so the overall motion looks like a real ollie)  I think it helps me bail as well when I need to, because jumping off is easier.  That said certainly surfing around on a 8.75 with aces "feels" cooler-- I've decided for me that's a "Cruiser"-- through on some 60 mm hard wheels and you have a sick cruiser -- but cmon for kickflips or ledge grinds if your old and weak like me its tough.

[dmtr]

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Went skating yesterday with a friend who hasn't been skating for almost 15 years.
I just started back skating in October '21, so I'm still relearning everything.

Since I picked up skateboarding again, it's in my head that the bigger the bigger the board the better.
So I ride a AH 8.5 with Indy 149 trucks. While not even close to landing anything, I'm already thinking about going to 8.75, just to have more landing space and to feel more " safe and secure" regarding that extra width to land on.

But I took my friends old element board yesterday, I think it's a 7.75 and it's ridiculously short, and it was like the deck was glued to my shoes. Proper Ollies up and over stuff, without hardly making an effort. The board did exactly what I wanted.

This got in my head, and now I'm thinking instead of going up in deck size, I need to size down.
Maybe I got brainwashed into thinking that everyone at least skates an 8.25 -8.5 deck...

Can't afford to buy myself a whole new setup right now, but might look out to score a deck somewhere that's 8" . 
I wonder if the 149 trucks will compensate for the loss of deck width when looking at stability...

[close]

This is what I found-- in all seriousness on a 8.75 it takes all my strength to ollie up on a curb, on an 8 it feels basically like it did as a kid once I get over thinking my feet are sticking off. Once I got on the 8 I've been able to do low ledge grinds again as well which I thought I was locked out of forever.  Its counterintuitive for sure, but I think given it takes less strength to pop (and most importantly you dont have to slide your front foot as far to get to the nose-- I think that a big thing from an old man mobility perspective) you can focus on directing the board and the pop off is much easier, and then to actually level due to the shorter wheelbase its not that far (so the overall motion looks like a real ollie)  I think it helps me bail as well when I need to, because jumping off is easier.  That said certainly surfing around on a 8.75 with aces "feels" cooler-- I've decided for me that's a "Cruiser"-- through on some 60 mm hard wheels and you have a sick cruiser -- but cmon for kickflips or ledge grinds if your old and weak like me its tough.

That's insane you mention those low ledge grinds.. the last couple of weeks I'm trying 5050's again and finding myself having a lot of trouble locking into the ledge. It needs all my focus and strength, and still I'm overshooting the ledge. I always end on top of it. And my guess is that, while the board isn't "too heavy" cause I can pop on top of the ledge, the size of the deck might be too big to handle while doing tricks / aiming for lock in...
I can't put lesser effort into ollieing/grinding the ledges, cause then I'm just bailing out while having the mental block that I won't get up.

[NewRocCity]

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Went skating yesterday with a friend who hasn't been skating for almost 15 years.
I just started back skating in October '21, so I'm still relearning everything.

Since I picked up skateboarding again, it's in my head that the bigger the bigger the board the better.
So I ride a AH 8.5 with Indy 149 trucks. While not even close to landing anything, I'm already thinking about going to 8.75, just to have more landing space and to feel more " safe and secure" regarding that extra width to land on.

But I took my friends old element board yesterday, I think it's a 7.75 and it's ridiculously short, and it was like the deck was glued to my shoes. Proper Ollies up and over stuff, without hardly making an effort. The board did exactly what I wanted.

This got in my head, and now I'm thinking instead of going up in deck size, I need to size down.
Maybe I got brainwashed into thinking that everyone at least skates an 8.25 -8.5 deck...

Can't afford to buy myself a whole new setup right now, but might look out to score a deck somewhere that's 8" . 
I wonder if the 149 trucks will compensate for the loss of deck width when looking at stability...

[close]

This is what I found-- in all seriousness on a 8.75 it takes all my strength to ollie up on a curb, on an 8 it feels basically like it did as a kid once I get over thinking my feet are sticking off. Once I got on the 8 I've been able to do low ledge grinds again as well which I thought I was locked out of forever.  Its counterintuitive for sure, but I think given it takes less strength to pop (and most importantly you dont have to slide your front foot as far to get to the nose-- I think that a big thing from an old man mobility perspective) you can focus on directing the board and the pop off is much easier, and then to actually level due to the shorter wheelbase its not that far (so the overall motion looks like a real ollie)  I think it helps me bail as well when I need to, because jumping off is easier.  That said certainly surfing around on a 8.75 with aces "feels" cooler-- I've decided for me that's a "Cruiser"-- through on some 60 mm hard wheels and you have a sick cruiser -- but cmon for kickflips or ledge grinds if your old and weak like me its tough.

[close]

That's insane you mention those low ledge grinds.. the last couple of weeks I'm trying 5050's again and finding myself having a lot of trouble locking into the ledge. It needs all my focus and strength, and still I'm overshooting the ledge. I always end on top of it. And my guess is that, while the board isn't "too heavy" cause I can pop on top of the ledge, the size of the deck might be too big to handle while doing tricks / aiming for lock in...
I can't put lesser effort into ollieing/grinding the ledges, cause then I'm just bailing out while having the mental block that I won't get up.

Exactly-- I could huck myself up there with a bigger deck, but weirdly even though the truck space is much smaller on 139s, I actually have a chance to properly line my body up in the air and land on the grind instead of overshooting.  It just feels like less of a "huck"-- I still have to engage fully, but feels more controlled (maybe is a wheelbase thing too-- because its easier to get the slide part of the ollie done quickly and your foot in the right place to land on the obstacle-- on bigger wheelbase boards I didn't have enough time to do so)..  I immediately realized when I got on an 8 and then could easily curb stall grind with 0 effort versus on the 8.75 and thereabouts was having trouble even doing that-- could ollie up curbs but would overshoot grinds.  On the 8 my feet can sort of predict where exactly they need to be on the bolts to actually line up with the edge, and actually get the Ollie done in time to be leveled out at the edge.  Again, its really weird because approaching the obstacle feels way more delicate on the smaller board, but once I forced myself to do it, actually getting into the grind and off was 1000% easier (for me at least).  Again, I'm not sure if this was due to actual muscle strength or just remembering what it felt like on an 8.  That said, on a 7.75 I seem to start to miss again.  Take all with a grain of salt-- im a terrible skateboarder ha.

[NewRocCity]

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Doing an 8.125 Snack with 149 Indy (since Nawrocki skates 8in/149) and it's working out great. Typically prefer 8.5+, but the 149's help a lot with control and confidence as opposed to 139 imo.

[close]

Interesting. Have you tried 144s with an 8 or 8.125 shape? And if so, would you prefer the 149 > 144

[close]

I was considering trying 144's on 8/8.125 but am trying to stop the gear madness and switch to 139.  I've heard putting a bunch of washers in the 139s can have a similar effect without feeling like a boat, but curious what folks feel.  I've actually never skated 144s (had 8.25 sized aces, and have run 149s on 8-8.75 size while trying things out).  Curious if folks notice a real difference 144 on 8.125 versus 139-- maybe grids marginally easier but flipping harder?  Ultimately I think I should just stick with 139 as the timing of the pop feels like a 90s board even though the grind space does feel small.

[close]

Take what I say with an even bigger helping of salt because my truck madness likely borders on being a legitimate condition with a psychiatric diagnosis, but just stick with the 139s unless you really think you can take advantage of the extra grind space

Just stick with whatever trucks you have on hand. I've tried 139s and 144s on an 8.125 and the performance differences really are minimal to the point where it might be in my head

For me the biggest mental hurdle with 144s was just knowing my axles were wider than the board. I'm a headcase

If you have 139s on hand, try three washers on the inside of each wheel before spending money on the 144s. The four extra mm you'll get that way is approximately .125" so that will put you right in the middle of 139s and 144s

I'm going to try the washer trick-- I think that may do it for me. I have tons of extra washers and hadn't thought of this.  Frankly I ride 0 washers even though terrible for the bearings (90s kid at heart-- was the age of "no extra metal stuff on your board").

[NewRocCity]

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The Alien/Habitat 8 is currently my favorite, and I'm on one right now. Have 3 or 4 others on ice too. But I did break my leg on this one lol.

[close]

Are most of the Alien/Habitat 8's usually 14.0 or 14.25" wb? I've seen them listed at several shops with 14.0, 14.25, and even 14.375. I'll probably end up trying the 8.125 X 31.5 WB 14.0 shape

[close]

Most of them are listed at 14.25 and only a few of the 8.0s are listed at 14. Oddly enough more of the 8.125s are listed at 14. I just went to measure them and realized I'm an idiot and don't actually know how they measure wheelbase. Is it from the bottoms of the drilled holes? Middle? Top?

Weird-- I'm seeing this now as well.  Definitely I've been doing the 14 ones lately-- seems like more of the Habitats are 14 but its a mix.  I'm realizing now I have a 40 dollar sale deck on the way that claims to be 14.25 8 inch from habitat though.  I'm going to put them next to each other when I get them.  But yeah, seems to be a mix-- I must have just randomly hit a spate where I was seeing the 14 only.

[Doosh215]

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The Alien/Habitat 8 is currently my favorite, and I'm on one right now. Have 3 or 4 others on ice too. But I did break my leg on this one lol.

[close]

Are most of the Alien/Habitat 8's usually 14.0 or 14.25" wb? I've seen them listed at several shops with 14.0, 14.25, and even 14.375. I'll probably end up trying the 8.125 X 31.5 WB 14.0 shape

[close]

Most of them are listed at 14.25 and only a few of the 8.0s are listed at 14. Oddly enough more of the 8.125s are listed at 14. I just went to measure them and realized I'm an idiot and don't actually know how they measure wheelbase. Is it from the bottoms of the drilled holes? Middle? Top?

[close]

Weird-- I'm seeing this now as well.  Definitely I've been doing the 14 ones lately-- seems like more of the Habitats are 14 but its a mix.  I'm realizing now I have a 40 dollar sale deck on the way that claims to be 14.25 8 inch from habitat though.  I'm going to put them next to each other when I get them.  But yeah, seems to be a mix-- I must have just randomly hit a spate where I was seeing the 14 only.

My boy Ben Degros tells me in his video that wheelbase is measured from the middle of the bolts so I decided to measure them. I have 4 right now two Alien and two Habitat. They're all pretty dead on 14.25. Just looked through both the Alien and Habitat websites and the only 8 I see listed currently with a 14 wheelbase is the Suciu Topographic board. I'm on the venture 5.2 Lo V-lights right now and I've really liked it. But I've been on these trucks for years now so I'm very used to them. I just got some Royal 139 ultra lights that I'm going to set up soon. First time with Royals in probably 10 years so I'm very curious to see how they feel. Slap convinced me to give them a try so I really hope they feel good on an 8 with 14.25 wheelbase. Y'all have given me the madness I guess.

[NewRocCity]

Interesting-- it seems like the Habitat basic team logo board is 14 on mine and the alien "OG logo" at least the run I had, but yeah one I thought was 14 seems to be 14.25.  I may not be able to notice on the 8 inch.

[KC_Rookie]

Went skating yesterday with a friend who hasn't been skating for almost 15 years.
I just started back skating in October '21, so I'm still relearning everything.

Since I picked up skateboarding again, it's in my head that the bigger the bigger the board the better.
So I ride a AH 8.5 with Indy 149 trucks. While not even close to landing anything, I'm already thinking about going to 8.75, just to have more landing space and to feel more " safe and secure" regarding that extra width to land on.

But I took my friends old element board yesterday, I think it's a 7.75 and it's ridiculously short, and it was like the deck was glued to my shoes. Proper Ollies up and over stuff, without hardly making an effort. The board did exactly what I wanted.

This got in my head, and now I'm thinking instead of going up in deck size, I need to size down.
Maybe I got brainwashed into thinking that everyone at least skates an 8.25 -8.5 deck...

Can't afford to buy myself a whole new setup right now, but might look out to score a deck somewhere that's 8" . 
I wonder if the 149 trucks will compensate for the loss of deck width when looking at stability...

Honestly, I think the whole "landing space" thing is all in people's heads.
I'm 6'4 with size 12 feet and I've never had an issue landing on my deck.
It's funny though, I get the exact opposite mind games. I get uncomfortable with wide decks when I don't want to land on it, like when you're bailing out of a trick and just want the board to get the hell away from you, it's harder to get away from a 8.5!

[brownjenkin]

Honestly, I think the whole "landing space" thing is all in people's heads.
I'm 6'4 with size 12 feet and I've never had an issue landing on my deck.
It's funny though, I get the exact opposite mind games. I get uncomfortable with wide decks when I don't want to land on it, like when you're bailing out of a trick and just want the board to get the hell away from you, it's harder to get away from a 8.5!

THIS. Even on an 8.25, I feel like I can't get rid of my board fast enough if things get sketchy mid trick

[Doosh215]

Interesting-- it seems like the Habitat basic team logo board is 14 on mine and the alien "OG logo" at least the run I had, but yeah one I thought was 14 seems to be 14.25.  I may not be able to notice on the 8 inch.

I just found an older Habitat setup and measured that one too which is also 14.25. Here's a pic of the ones I measured for reference is that helps at all.

[dmtr]

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Went skating yesterday with a friend who hasn't been skating for almost 15 years.
I just started back skating in October '21, so I'm still relearning everything.

Since I picked up skateboarding again, it's in my head that the bigger the bigger the board the better.
So I ride a AH 8.5 with Indy 149 trucks. While not even close to landing anything, I'm already thinking about going to 8.75, just to have more landing space and to feel more " safe and secure" regarding that extra width to land on.

But I took my friends old element board yesterday, I think it's a 7.75 and it's ridiculously short, and it was like the deck was glued to my shoes. Proper Ollies up and over stuff, without hardly making an effort. The board did exactly what I wanted.

This got in my head, and now I'm thinking instead of going up in deck size, I need to size down.
Maybe I got brainwashed into thinking that everyone at least skates an 8.25 -8.5 deck...

Can't afford to buy myself a whole new setup right now, but might look out to score a deck somewhere that's 8" . 
I wonder if the 149 trucks will compensate for the loss of deck width when looking at stability...

[close]

Honestly, I think the whole "landing space" thing is all in people's heads.
I'm 6'4 with size 12 feet and I've never had an issue landing on my deck.
It's funny though, I get the exact opposite mind games. I get uncomfortable with wide decks when I don't want to land on it, like when you're bailing out of a trick and just want the board to get the hell away from you, it's harder to get away from a 8.5!

Expand Quote

Went skating yesterday with a friend who hasn't been skating for almost 15 years.
I just started back skating in October '21, so I'm still relearning everything.

Since I picked up skateboarding again, it's in my head that the bigger the bigger the board the better.
So I ride a AH 8.5 with Indy 149 trucks. While not even close to landing anything, I'm already thinking about going to 8.75, just to have more landing space and to feel more " safe and secure" regarding that extra width to land on.

But I took my friends old element board yesterday, I think it's a 7.75 and it's ridiculously short, and it was like the deck was glued to my shoes. Proper Ollies up and over stuff, without hardly making an effort. The board did exactly what I wanted.

This got in my head, and now I'm thinking instead of going up in deck size, I need to size down.
Maybe I got brainwashed into thinking that everyone at least skates an 8.25 -8.5 deck...

Can't afford to buy myself a whole new setup right now, but might look out to score a deck somewhere that's 8" . 
I wonder if the 149 trucks will compensate for the loss of deck width when looking at stability...

[close]

Honestly, I think the whole "landing space" thing is all in people's heads.
I'm 6'4 with size 12 feet and I've never had an issue landing on my deck.
It's funny though, I get the exact opposite mind games. I get uncomfortable with wide decks when I don't want to land on it, like when you're bailing out of a trick and just want the board to get the hell away from you, it's harder to get away from a 8.5!

I’m size 8.5 feet
But the reason behind the ability not getting away from your deck makes also a lot of sense! Never thought about it that way. What a “great” perspective!!
Really need to get out and buy a 8” deck now