To my readers who aren’t skateboarders – sorry – this may be a boring post. I usually try to insert some “witty” remarks, personal (narcissistic) reflections, or other things to entertain or inform. I will give it a shot. Also, you can click the images to make them bigger.
So, last month I put this new setup together:
Black Label 9″ standard pops (14.5″ wheelbase), Ace 55 trucks, 54mm v1 103a Bones STF wheels. 1 thin riser under each truck, and Lil Jawns rails.
This is the board I’m riding in the recent Skateboarding in Fort Worth post (if you are not a skateboarder, you may find this post entertaining anyway. Maybe.)
Those new to this blog are likely unaware of my constant search for “the perfect board”. This is a mental disorder that many skateboarders share. We agonize over tiny details in our setup, when the truth is that more practice is the real solution to nearly every skating problem. Sure, there are some very real differences that can be felt in your board when you change tiny things. No doubt.
This all reminds me of my father and my uncle’s constant purchases of new golf clubs. I know that modern golf clubs are vastly superior to the old stuff. Materials science has advanced a lot. But when you factor that out, and compare my obsession, what’s at work to a great extent is simple consumerism. It is fun to buy new stuff. And there’s nothing wrong with trying new configurations. It can get a bit expensive, but as a handsomely paid public librarian I have so much disposable income I just don’t know what to do with it, so why not buy skateboard stuff?
So, dear unknown reader who is not a skateboarder, regarding the “tiny” details I’ve been referring to… yes, I am correct when I say that more practice is usually the important thing is skateboarding, but we really can tell the differences in those tiny adjustments. They do matter. The difference in feel of a 54mm diameter wheel and a 56mm diameter wheel is significant. A 14.75″ wheelbase feels different in many ways from a 14.5″ wheelbase.
I’ve come to understand that my own consumerist tendencies in skateboard gear purchases come from not always accepting myself — my own skating – as it is. I see a skater I like and think “I’d like to skate like them. What are they riding?”. Or perhaps I’m remember how I skated when I was 23-years old. What magic setup will somehow repair the springs I used to have in my knees?
Morehei Ueshiba, the founder of Aikido, said “Masakatsu agatsu” – True victory is victory over one’s self. He was referring to martial arts, but as I continue in my 19-year practice of aikido I find this to be true in every area of my life. In the case of skateboarding and skateboard gear, I think that “victory over one’s self” translates to “knowing one’ s self honestly.”
I don’t need a giant board so I can skate like Alva. I like Tony Alva’s skating, but it’s not my skating. It’s his. I love my friend Tony Gale’s skating, but that is HIS skateboarding. Not mine. I love and admire my friend Dale’s skating. His skating is similar to mine, but it’s his. I’d know his skating if I only watched his shadow.
There’s nothing wrong with my skating. It’s mine. My board needs only to be right for my skating. If it works for that it’s good enough.
One might think “Bob is just getting old and he can’t skate like he used to.” This would be partially correct. Age is a real thing. I am not injecting the blood of fit 21-year old athletes into my system, so I am stuck at present with a relatively fit (but a little too fat) 61-year old body. It’s not going to get any better. BUT — I have left most flip tricks and bombastic shit behind not entirely because of age, but because that stuff isn’t of interest to me anymore.
Truth is, I have 3 boards right now that are “right” for me, depending on the situation.
- The board I mentioned above, for ditches, parks, and all-around stuff
- 8.5″ wide Super-8 pops, Indy 159s, 54mm Bones STF. 1 thin riser. This is a good board for parking-lot style for me.
- 8.25″ wide Super-8 pops, Indy 149s, 54mm Bones STF. 1 thin riser. Smaller board for freestyle and quicker footwork and spins.
Yes, I still have a “real” freestyle board, but I’m no longer interested in competing, so I never use it.
Right now, I would say that 90% of the time when I go skate I will simply grab the 9″ Black Label and go. Truth is I can ride the 8.5″ in the same situations and the narrow trucks are better for spinning, which is a major part of my skating.
Changing wheels out for different terrains is a reasonable idea, but really, this quiver of three boards will pretty much cover all the bases for me these days. I don’t need to worry about whether or not I’m going to do some kickflips or shoveits or rail flips. I’m just not interested in that stuff anymore. It’s not the direction I’m going.
I’ll close with this. As I was writing this, my friend Chris was publishing a similar post on his blog, The Twilight Sessions. Read it.
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