Very basic gear questions!

#1

I’ve got a few VERY basic gear questions that I hope you guys don’t mind me asking – hey, I’m a rookie and you might as well have some good ammo to needle me with when I finally meet you at one of the weekend sessions! The family have decided to get me some gear for father’s day so I better make sure I give them the right info!!

  1. Bearings: Back in the day we use to whack anything in, but from what I can tell these days the higher the ABEC number the better (ie, 7s are better than 3s). I see $10 sets of ABEC7s on ebay – are they okay or will more expensive ones make that much difference?

  2. Wheels: On the hardness front, I gather the higher the number the faster they are (and better for pools etc) while the lower the number the more forgiving they are (carving etc). Is that right?

Also, as far as wheel diameter goes, what should I be looking for? (I plan to set up a board for pool stuff and one for general street cruising).

  1. Decks: As far as length and width go, what are the reasons for longer and wider? (I’m 6’4" with a size 11 hoof if that makes any difference) And the other part of this is obviously matching truck width to deck width… yeah?

  2. Accessories: It seems tail blocks have gone the way of the dodo and I rarely see rails either. Gone? Or any reason for getting them?

Again, sorry for the 101 type questions – but I figure if you don’t ask you’ll never learn!!

#2

1)bearings
get rockin ron’s from this website. Bones China red ar almost as good
2)wheels
tempted to say buy coretek wheels which are Aussie made but thats just my opinion. generally hard wheels (97a on the durometer scale) are better for concrete parks and pools. 95a for wood ramps 75a for street riding.
size of wheels is an issue as well 60mm is a great size for park and pool and ramp. 70mm for street.
3)Decks
this really depends what you are looking for. contact groundhangers and get a quality board what ever shape you want. I like 8 inch by 31.7 but there is so many different sizes maybe check out some of the online stores like manly blades to see what is available
4) rails
rails are good just cause the kids dont ride them doesnt mean you cannot have rails. Jimmy on this site can get you a set. Tail blocks are also still available
5) trucks
get indie’s they are the best (yes I am biased)
6)safety
get helmet wrist guards elbow and knee pads
7)social
build a ramp in your backyard invite me and shout many beers.
alternatively hook up with MAS*H in Sydney or MOSS in Melbourne

have fun!

#3

Bass,

  1. Bearings, as Mosu said Rockets are the go available here

  2. Wheels are a very personal thing. Do you want old school wide ones then go for the BDS range, again from this site.

If its a modern look your after for pools and parks go for 60 to 64 mm dia and up to 99a hardness , something around 92a to 95a is a good allround wheel fast and grippy, any softer and you sacrifice speed for grip.

  1. Decks…again choose a width yopu comfortable on and then set it up so outside of wheels are flush with the edges Your a big guy so you might want something with a longer wheelbase to accomadate your natural stance.

I’ve played with lots of deck set ups and have now found that 17" (inside hole to inside hole) is my prefered wheelbase for a high perfornamnce park and pool board. i ride one that is 11" wide and anothe that is 9" wide both decks are 33" long both with skinnny hard centre set wheels.

I have other set ups in 10 and 11" wide ranging from 32" up to 44" for different applications gentle parks and street surfing mainly

Always use Independant trucks in varying widths

Go fully padded Knees Elbows wrists and most importantly a good helmet.

rails are cool.

Hook up with the Mash guys and try different set ups before you spend a fortune searching for that sweet set up…although its a good way to build a nice quiver

#4

I’ll agree with all of the above…

Two place that may be good to look for old school style decks (aside of here or the dreaded ebay) in Sydney are Boarders at Brookvale and Manly Boards and Blades. Both have stocks of big arse decks to suit your size, and Boarders also stock rail and tailbones, and both are on the net if your interested in indicative prices etc.

#5

ebay has powell bowl bombers in 64 and 60mm on at the moment and a skull and sword 9.5" and ripper 10". Teamed with Indys and rocket bearings either would be a nice setup for your height/weight.

Alternately, as someone said Braden here will set you up with a true old school BDS combo.

Come to Dullo Sunday and have a squirt on a few boards - we’re a friendly bunch.

#6

" get indie’s they are the best (yes I am biased)"
“Always use Independant trucks in varying widths”

Guy’s, huh, like?

#7

I use mostly tracker trucks in various widths.
But I also use Grindkings, Seizmic and sometimes Indy.
Dont limit your options to Indy only. Too many suffer this sickness :unamused:
I ride BDS single kick flat pigs.
Here’s my latest ride.
Bigfoot1 reissue, tracker 216’s (11" axle) rockn rons steels, BDS black death minidubs. Its a lethal carve weapon. Its going to take something pretty special to make me step off this. Ive never gotten use to a ride so quickly as this one. I feel like I can do anything on this baby :smiling_imp:

#8

Nice setup Skoot!

#9

@ Basswomby, part of the journey is to try out different gear…easiest way back is to setup something like what you last rode…cheapest way to try boards out is to have a go on MASH’ers rides.

#10

Skoot, How do you find the DT v BDS BF 11 Im yet to set mine up.

Am thinking a more trad look… 169’s and BDS BD dragons. Although the performance option of 215’s and BD mini dubs is looming large also.

How did you grip it? I can find any wide tape anywhere, am going to have to do panels I guess.

I have been ogling it since i got it, cant seem to stop looking at it. was thinking of skating it then mount it in a frame with a BF 11… the gap between the 2 is about the same as my time off the skatey.

#11

I gripped it with 2 pieces leaving a 3/4" stripe down the middle.
Last year I mostly rode the BFII, then I setup and rode the Z13 for the past 4 months. This BF1 reissue is like like the BFII feeling in terms of width but with a more standard pool deck length. Fkn unreal. Your going to love the ride. 169’s and dragons might not be wide enough for my liking but would definately ride well.
The Blackdeath mini’s seemed a bit hard and slippery and gritty when I rode them on my small SS pig. But they seem to just come alive on the BF1. Fastest setup I’ve ever riden. Scary. Nice. When carving hard around the deep wall at Bondi the rear wheels would controlably start to loose grip. But instead of that usuall urethane bark noise, they made this loud screaming high pitch noise. The Blackdeath scream.

#12

Cool Scott, sound like you enjoying it.

I cant get off my Skaterbuilt ground hog 33 x 11 17"wb am running Indy 215’s and BD winged skulls i got off Steve, I had the BD mini dubs on it before this BD wheels f*#king fly. Only my blackfarts come close is hard to pick, speed wise

have only ridden the mini dubs on crete and like them will give the skulls a run on the w/e.

i like the look of the wide trackers with mini dubs, you obviously like them. I have 6tracs and didnt like them.

I have more decks and whels than i have trucks at the mo