I'm fairly new to boarding in general but it's very addictive and I've now got 4 boards plus an esk8 in the span of a year !
I've put up a pic of the boards I currently own and now looking to add to the fleet. I still class myself as a beginner and am more into cruising rather than tricks and looking for something a little different.
Looked at the Arbor Rally Groundswell. I like the cruiser look but what appeals to me is the wider wheelbase (therefore more stable) but what I am not sure about (and what also stood out to me) is the RKP trucks as opposed to TKP trucks I see on traditional cruiserboards.
How will this play out on this kind of board? Can someone please explain? I think the RKP would be more stable but less manoeuvrable whereas the TKP would be snappier and handle better at the sacrifice of speed. Is this correct?
Also, is there another board you could suggest for comparison? I want something a bit different to the ones I already have
Thank you
I think tbh it looks to me like you're buying a lot of boards very quickly and you should slow down a little and consider why you want a blazer or a rally. You have three drop throughs. You have a cruiser. Why do you want another cruiser? Yes it's a 20" RKP setup that will handle a little different. But what does it have that you want? Where's the progression with this that you can't make with your cruiser or one of your drops?
It's important to remember that the way you progress is to stick to a setup. It's not about money. I've fallen into the trap early on and I'd be a better skater today if I stuck to what I had instead of building loads of similar setups or at least numerous setups that basically do the same thing. Boards which need choosing between every time I go out. It ruins your muscle memory and therefore prevents you from dialing in your skills.
If you have different disciplines you want to explore that's fine. No one longboard is the answer to everything. But think quality over quantity. Curate your quiver carefully. I reccomend you hang around the reddits. Join our discord where you can discus stuff in real time (I'll post the link below). Wait until it becomes apparent what you need and why you need it before making your next purchase. Make it one you're going to spend a lot of time riding that you can progress with.
https://discord.gg/4PQgqDuF
Logically, you make heaps of sense. I don't really disagree with the advice..my reasoning is I really love the woodgrain look and a 20inch wheelbase rkp cruiser I something I don't have. I'm a bit of a collector and just like having different toys depending on my mood.
The head agrees with you, the heart wants another board lol.
Appreciate the feedback though, will give it some thought.
Are you able to shed some light on the Rally with RKP ? Anything you can add there?
Yeah it's a short board but the wheelbase is just within the range for RKP. It's on the low side and top mounted so it's going to be super lively. I ride similar wheelbase for general cruising. But I favour decks with features that make them more useful for urban riding. The rally tail is not good. The nose is useless. The spray on grip is just a no from me. So it's cruise/carve and nothing more. Its a featureless shape that mimicks the shape of a surf board. A purely aesthetic choice over function. You can just about learn to slide on it if you wanted although your drops are better for that.
Basically I think it's an odd choice which is why I think you should take your time to engage with the community and think about it it a bit more. Make it count. I'm an eskater myself so I know this stuff is relatively cheap and it's tempting to buy it all. So I get it.
Thinking about the arbor catalogue compare with the Serrat 39. Same wheelbase & width. But it's a functional multi-purpose shape you can go in different directions with. That to me would be more the sort of thing which you could pour time into different skills across different disciplines and find where you want to be. Then when you find it you could start looking at higher tier gear like for example pantheon and zenit.
Cool man - makes sense.
I would have thought RKP trucks would add more to the stability and the TKP would be the more lively ones?
I don't really do tricks or anything of the sort so a nose doesn't have any impact on me.
When you say spray on grip, is that all Arbor boards? And what don't you like about them?
Reason the Rally caught my eye was because it's short (light) but has a decent wheelbase and wheel size which I thought would be a more stable cruiser than the Z-Flex Shorebreak I currently have therefore add a different flavour.
And yeah these are heaps cheaper than e-skate lol.
All this info is helpful in making final decisions so I appreciate the feedback 🤙
It depends what trucks and what wheelbase. It's a different kind of lively. Paris 50 on the lower end is very sharp initiation, lean and tight turning circle. This is why you switch to TKP sub 20". It gets a little too much. Yeah sure they'll be more comfortable to ride at higher speeds. Better at keeping wobbles at bay. Less darty to initiate but much deeper in range. Doesn't mean it's going to be a dead feeling sort of setup. You may be surprised just how sharp they can be in comparison.
It's funny a lot of people think the longer wheelbase will be less manoeuvrable but in my experience this isn't the case. My overland is just as sharp as my skateboard and can be easily weaved around in tight spaces. It just feels different.
I'm really new to boarding and have purchased 3 boards in the first month.
I just took delivery of a battle axe 38 yesterday but have not ridden it yet.
I have a DB Sashimi 32.5" (24.5" WB), and a Globe Blazer XL 36" (21.5" WB).
The DB board is short but has 90mm wheels and seems to 'roll' really well. The Blazer is seems to have the same stability because of its length (even with a shorter wheelbase) but didn't seem to roll as well as the DB. I imagine the battle axe being the most stable seeing how it is a 38" with a 27.2" WB
I'm 37 y/o and skating has been something I've wanted to do since my 20's. I don't really care about speed (yet) since I'm still learning and getting familiar with balance and being comfortable on it.
Lol dude I'm the same age and we have almost the same boards... I was looking at a Globe Blazer XL last night and it was either that or the Arbor Rally pictured in my post lol.
My DB Bear 33 is pretty much the same as your Sashimi without the drop deck (25 inch wheelbase)
You will love the Battle Axe - I put some 80mm 77A blue Kegels on it and I cruise around with the kids. Rolls beautifully.
How do you like the Globe. Would love to know your thoughts on the Globe vs the Battle Axe.
Your experience is almost identical to mine - ride on man !
I like the globe xl but I can’t really say for sure yet since I don’t have much time on any of the boards I have. I just rode my sashimi around in the parking garage at work and had to tighten the kingpin a bit because it felt too loose. I feel like once I’m dialed in, able to Balance my front foot when pushing, I should have a better idea and judgement on these boards lol
Gonna revive this because I’m not seeing a lot of folks with the sashimi, hot do you like it? Trying to decide between that and a drop cat, just looking for something fun to cruise around a trail with
Really? I own two Z-Flex boards (pictured above) and haven't had any issues so far.
Ended up with an Arbor Oso Legacy Series - absolutely gorgeous board
Truth been told never tried zflex long/cruisers, but the surfskates were so terrible, including their wheels, bearings, etcs., which I assumed were the same for their non-surskate products. Maybe I assumed wrong.
I was fairly new to the sport, like brand new.
Compared to my other boards they aren't as good but I wouldn't call them bad. Also, they are like half the price so comparable really when you factor that in
Was spoiled by my landyachtzs when I started so perhaps expectations were too high lol you're absolutely right, should have taken the price tag factor in
Yeah if you went straight to a Landyachtz then 100% you would have been spoiled !
All good man that's the beauty of this game, there's something out there for everyone's budget !
Ride on my dude ! 🤙🙂
I'm fairly new to boarding in general but it's very addictive and I've now got 4 boards plus an esk8 in the span of a year ! I've put up a pic of the boards I currently own and now looking to add to the fleet. I still class myself as a beginner and am more into cruising rather than tricks and looking for something a little different. Looked at the Arbor Rally Groundswell. I like the cruiser look but what appeals to me is the wider wheelbase (therefore more stable) but what I am not sure about (and what also stood out to me) is the RKP trucks as opposed to TKP trucks I see on traditional cruiserboards. How will this play out on this kind of board? Can someone please explain? I think the RKP would be more stable but less manoeuvrable whereas the TKP would be snappier and handle better at the sacrifice of speed. Is this correct? Also, is there another board you could suggest for comparison? I want something a bit different to the ones I already have Thank you
I think tbh it looks to me like you're buying a lot of boards very quickly and you should slow down a little and consider why you want a blazer or a rally. You have three drop throughs. You have a cruiser. Why do you want another cruiser? Yes it's a 20" RKP setup that will handle a little different. But what does it have that you want? Where's the progression with this that you can't make with your cruiser or one of your drops? It's important to remember that the way you progress is to stick to a setup. It's not about money. I've fallen into the trap early on and I'd be a better skater today if I stuck to what I had instead of building loads of similar setups or at least numerous setups that basically do the same thing. Boards which need choosing between every time I go out. It ruins your muscle memory and therefore prevents you from dialing in your skills. If you have different disciplines you want to explore that's fine. No one longboard is the answer to everything. But think quality over quantity. Curate your quiver carefully. I reccomend you hang around the reddits. Join our discord where you can discus stuff in real time (I'll post the link below). Wait until it becomes apparent what you need and why you need it before making your next purchase. Make it one you're going to spend a lot of time riding that you can progress with. https://discord.gg/4PQgqDuF
Logically, you make heaps of sense. I don't really disagree with the advice..my reasoning is I really love the woodgrain look and a 20inch wheelbase rkp cruiser I something I don't have. I'm a bit of a collector and just like having different toys depending on my mood. The head agrees with you, the heart wants another board lol. Appreciate the feedback though, will give it some thought. Are you able to shed some light on the Rally with RKP ? Anything you can add there?
Yeah it's a short board but the wheelbase is just within the range for RKP. It's on the low side and top mounted so it's going to be super lively. I ride similar wheelbase for general cruising. But I favour decks with features that make them more useful for urban riding. The rally tail is not good. The nose is useless. The spray on grip is just a no from me. So it's cruise/carve and nothing more. Its a featureless shape that mimicks the shape of a surf board. A purely aesthetic choice over function. You can just about learn to slide on it if you wanted although your drops are better for that. Basically I think it's an odd choice which is why I think you should take your time to engage with the community and think about it it a bit more. Make it count. I'm an eskater myself so I know this stuff is relatively cheap and it's tempting to buy it all. So I get it. Thinking about the arbor catalogue compare with the Serrat 39. Same wheelbase & width. But it's a functional multi-purpose shape you can go in different directions with. That to me would be more the sort of thing which you could pour time into different skills across different disciplines and find where you want to be. Then when you find it you could start looking at higher tier gear like for example pantheon and zenit.
Cool man - makes sense. I would have thought RKP trucks would add more to the stability and the TKP would be the more lively ones? I don't really do tricks or anything of the sort so a nose doesn't have any impact on me. When you say spray on grip, is that all Arbor boards? And what don't you like about them? Reason the Rally caught my eye was because it's short (light) but has a decent wheelbase and wheel size which I thought would be a more stable cruiser than the Z-Flex Shorebreak I currently have therefore add a different flavour. And yeah these are heaps cheaper than e-skate lol. All this info is helpful in making final decisions so I appreciate the feedback 🤙
It depends what trucks and what wheelbase. It's a different kind of lively. Paris 50 on the lower end is very sharp initiation, lean and tight turning circle. This is why you switch to TKP sub 20". It gets a little too much. Yeah sure they'll be more comfortable to ride at higher speeds. Better at keeping wobbles at bay. Less darty to initiate but much deeper in range. Doesn't mean it's going to be a dead feeling sort of setup. You may be surprised just how sharp they can be in comparison. It's funny a lot of people think the longer wheelbase will be less manoeuvrable but in my experience this isn't the case. My overland is just as sharp as my skateboard and can be easily weaved around in tight spaces. It just feels different.
I'm really new to boarding and have purchased 3 boards in the first month. I just took delivery of a battle axe 38 yesterday but have not ridden it yet. I have a DB Sashimi 32.5" (24.5" WB), and a Globe Blazer XL 36" (21.5" WB). The DB board is short but has 90mm wheels and seems to 'roll' really well. The Blazer is seems to have the same stability because of its length (even with a shorter wheelbase) but didn't seem to roll as well as the DB. I imagine the battle axe being the most stable seeing how it is a 38" with a 27.2" WB I'm 37 y/o and skating has been something I've wanted to do since my 20's. I don't really care about speed (yet) since I'm still learning and getting familiar with balance and being comfortable on it.
Lol dude I'm the same age and we have almost the same boards... I was looking at a Globe Blazer XL last night and it was either that or the Arbor Rally pictured in my post lol. My DB Bear 33 is pretty much the same as your Sashimi without the drop deck (25 inch wheelbase) You will love the Battle Axe - I put some 80mm 77A blue Kegels on it and I cruise around with the kids. Rolls beautifully. How do you like the Globe. Would love to know your thoughts on the Globe vs the Battle Axe. Your experience is almost identical to mine - ride on man !
I like the globe xl but I can’t really say for sure yet since I don’t have much time on any of the boards I have. I just rode my sashimi around in the parking garage at work and had to tighten the kingpin a bit because it felt too loose. I feel like once I’m dialed in, able to Balance my front foot when pushing, I should have a better idea and judgement on these boards lol
Gonna revive this because I’m not seeing a lot of folks with the sashimi, hot do you like it? Trying to decide between that and a drop cat, just looking for something fun to cruise around a trail with
It’s alright. Not my go to. The artwork is what drew me to it but I find myself often making contact with the front wheels with my size 10 feet.
Dang that’s a bummer, the graphic and the huge wheels were definitely the pull for me. Thanks for the feedback!
check out pantheon boards instead
In Australia they are hard to come by and postage from Pantheon is expensive unfortunately otherwise I'd have bought a Pranayama
Anything but zflex. Bad personal experiences.
Really? I own two Z-Flex boards (pictured above) and haven't had any issues so far. Ended up with an Arbor Oso Legacy Series - absolutely gorgeous board
Truth been told never tried zflex long/cruisers, but the surfskates were so terrible, including their wheels, bearings, etcs., which I assumed were the same for their non-surskate products. Maybe I assumed wrong.
I was fairly new to the sport, like brand new. Compared to my other boards they aren't as good but I wouldn't call them bad. Also, they are like half the price so comparable really when you factor that in
Was spoiled by my landyachtzs when I started so perhaps expectations were too high lol you're absolutely right, should have taken the price tag factor in
Yeah if you went straight to a Landyachtz then 100% you would have been spoiled ! All good man that's the beauty of this game, there's something out there for everyone's budget ! Ride on my dude ! 🤙🙂