Category: skateboarding

Did some downhill skating tonight. Took a bunch of random shots. Liked this one a lot.

Time for a confession. I stink at doing any skateboard tricks on coping. I grew up in a non-coping environment. Never really got into skating mini ramps, and never really got good at vert. I’m not a total spaz. I can drop in, doing the basics grinds, slides, etc, but the whole coping thing has never been my scene.

So, inspired by some videos on the interwebs, my friend Chris and I are going to build this comically low quarter pipe. Really, not a quarter. More like 1/16 of a quarter. Anyway, it will have coping. The idea is to just build little easy to move ramp to do some grinds on.

We’ll put some coping on the back too, so it can be an ollie-to-grind kind of thing on that side. Only 8 inches high. should be fun.

I think I may have mentioned that my friends seem to think I skate flatground better on a standard newschool street board. So I’ve been riding one for a couple of weeks. In fact, the video I just posted is done on this board. it’s a standard 7.75″ wide newschool board, from Index Skate Supply (in Dallas), with Ace 22 trucks and 50mm Bones STF wheels.

After a short time adjusting to it, I really feel like my skating is better on this size board. It’s light. It is big enough to provide a good landing platform. The narrow contact patch of the wheels, which offer less traction, seems to offset the longer wheelbase when doing shove-its. The longer  wheelbase also give me just a little more room to move my feet around for footwork. Overall, the thing is light, very responsive, and simple. I even think my fingerflips are better on this board — much better landings, now that I’m used to it.