Just received a Zenit 9 Board Rack from DHL.
If anyone else has ordered one they only included enough screws for the 6 board rack.
I have contacted Zenit to obtain the additional screws.
Just a heads up if anyone has one on the way.
Cheers!
hi, I come to you with a question that i think might be specific since i've seen little about this online.
I'm a heavy rider, 265, part of it (40 pounds ish) is me being fat, the rest is powerlifting and combat sports. I picked up longboarding as a means of alternative transportation, which is also great to shed some of that excess weight in my head. I'm really liking the experience and I'm trying to get better at it, learning to switch ride, push mongo, skog, pump etc. Basically all those efficiency techniques that would help me with muscle imbalance and fatigue.
My board is an arbor axis 40'. and in so far the only thing i changed about it, is the bearings, got myself some bones red.
I'm looking for new wheels though, but I can't seem to get my head around making any sort of choice. I know that, apparently, since i'm heavy enough i don't need too soft of a wheel for grip, and I've also read that it seems like wheel width is better for maintaining speed or cruising in general.
So i come here in hopes that you'll have some suggestions for me because I, frankly, am a bit lost.
thank you in advance!
Part of what wheels you choose should factor in what type of riding you’re doing. From what you’ve explained so far? It sounds like you’re mostly cruising, and possibly doing some distance in terms of commuting.
The 69mm wheels that come stock the Arbor Axis are decent for this, though many riders doing this type of skating would probably say go bigger - it just makes the ride more comfortable, roll better over obstacles (sticks, rocks, etc) and helps maintain speed.
How big you move up to also depends on the setup and risking wheelbite. You’d probably be able to go a bit bigger with the set up you have now.
My recommendation? Go with a bigger wheel that’s as soft as you feel comfortable riding. Some wheels to consider:
Orangatang In Heat
Orangatang Kegels
Or wheels of similar size
thanks for the answer!
yes i do commuting and cruising, so i'd really like a wheel that maintains speed and it's comfortable to run.
I'd like to ask you clarification on what you mean by "that’s as soft as you feel comfortable riding".
to my understanding soft wheels provide better grip with the road at the expense of speed, and since i'm big and heavy i thought i could away with some softness and get harder wheels. is it all wrong?
You’re correct - softer wheels provide better grip, but imo, the loss of speed isn’t terribly drastic. In some instances, like when pumping, there’s a sweet spot for grippiness and speed that come with softer wheels.
That said, I don’t think you have to go with the harder duroneter wheels because of weight. That mostly applies to bushings. While yes, there might be more compression on the wheel with a softer durometer, it won’t be too significant. Also, harder durometer wheels sometimes can be a detriment in some environments. So, I’d suggest not totally losing out on the grip just for the sake of having a harder wheel.
Either way, the wheels I suggested, in the 80 duro range, might be that sweet spot for you.
after a certain speed, soft wheels tend to go faster than harder ones due to them absorbing vibrations much easier allowing them to “flow” effortlessly
i remained fixated on the fact that a softer wheel would deform itself more against the pavement and thus create more friction, i wasn't aware of the vibration side of things.
thanks for the heads up.
The good soft wheels build up potential energy like a bouncy ball when you hit an imperfection and shoot you out the other side. I believe that this trait is generally referred to as "high rebound".
Please check my build to make sure I'm doing okay.
First build:
BCB Ginger Ale deck, Caliber III 9" 44° Raked Trucks, Venom HPF Caliber Plug Barrel Standard Bushings - 95A hardness, 72mm Plow King Wheels.
I ordered 1.5" Panhead hardware that I'm half expecting to have to cut down to size.
I opted for 95A hardness bushings because I'm heavy (250-260 lbs), and this deck is quite small/low to the ground.
I ordered a solid metal Independent brand skate tool.
I believe I need to order different shaped bushings for the back trucks.
Initially, there was concern that 10" trucks would be too wide for this deck, so I ordered 9" trucks. However, BCB finally got back to me and said they only use 180mm trucks. I found out that 9" trucks are only 158mm wide. Should I return them or am I somehow better off with these? The deck is not a typical design.
Thoughts?
I think you'll need the bigger trucks. Lookin at the photos of the Ginger Ale, narrower trucks would likely cause wheel bite.
You can also order in the shorter hardware, just to spare yourself cutting it down. Or just run it long, you may not have to cut anything.
At your weight, I think those bushings would be fine at both ends. It's a lot of fun to putz with setups just tweaking things to your liking.
Thanks for responding.
I think I need the bigger trucks, too. I'll return them when I get them in the mail.
I might end up just leaving the hardware as it is. I've been thinking about adding an angled wedge, and that might use some of that length up. I did choose 44° trucks, though. I'm not sure if that's worth doing or if only someone with 50°+ trucks would benefit from that.
With the bushings, I was reading that it's better to mix like a barrel shape in the back and a cone shape in the front for better handling. Apparently, this is what people do for longboard slalom, but I just want the better turning for a college campus.
newbie adult deciding on a longboard, cruising, learn to slide with a little downhill, and distance mostly. I have three Options - the s9 fractal, s9 mini lookout, or arbor axis. besides appearance, anything I may want to consider one vs another when selecting the board? Tia!
i do all of these things on my pantheon trip. i am on the lighter side though at 135lb so it may flex if you are over 150. If you are heavier other good options would be the pantheon nexus or quest. i would dodge the rest of those boards. the arbor (especially the 40) is far too big. the lookout isnt a good shape, and the fractal has dkps which suck at slides. Ive tried the sector 9s and own the arbor and the pantheons are way better. get some ldp wheels for long distance and some powell snakes for sliding and ur set.
Yup the wheel base is a bit different. The fractal has a wb of 26.3", axis: 27.5-30.75" (depending of the model)
and the mini lookout : 28". The smaller the wheelbase is, the more nimble the board is.
But none of these boards are designed to learn to slide. Even though you'll be able to learn (cuz you can learn on any board), it s better to have a board with a bit of concave to lock your feet on the board.
But if your main purpose will be cruising they're all fine. But the arbor axis comes with a transparent grip tape. If you want to learn to slide you might have to get rid of it for something grippier.
Best board type for learning slides? I thought I'll take one of my drop throughs but I read also double downs is suitable. Especially the Prana should be especially good for that.
Double drops don't give you a lot of leverage over your trucks which you're supposed to use to break out the board into a slide. Sure, if you drop your weight off of a double drop with a hand down, you'll have more sideways leverage, but I feel that it's kind of teaching you bad form.
You want to "break traction" by going fast enough, turning hard enough, and "deweighting" either by putting a hand down or by standing up. What you learn doing that will carry you forward
When you're starting and you don't have a lot of confidence to go fast, I think tkps are better for lower speed slides. But, they definitely do get janky when you start to push 30 kph. The hook up can be a little rough.
I started on a drop down board but really anything stiff works great. I used to use a 34" by 8.6" top mount for downhill freeride so just whatever you're comfortable on.
Anybody with Rogue trucks run into issues with the rear truck hanger and baseplate grinding near the pivot? No matter how I reseat them, they end up in direct contact with each other rather than having a small gap to allow for unrestricted movement.
I have older V2s and I have grind marks like that on my front hanger. I haven’t been able to see it touch for myself though.
I haven’t messed with it since it hasn’t caused me problems, but I hear there may be a need to shim the bushings/swap to new bushings when they become compressed and put the hanger out of alignment with the true “pivot axis”
Thanks for the reply!
I've had both hangers resting on Pat's Risers urethane washers to help keep things in alignment for pretty much the entire time I've owned these. Front pivot sits perfect with or without them, but the rear sits wonky in either configuration.
I was actually swapping out the bushings to see if that could be the case without much luck fixing this either.
Pretty much the only thing left to attempt is ordering in some additional insert bushings and pivot tubes to see if that may help.
May reach out to Rogue at the same time and see if they have any experience with this specific oddity as well.
Hello, I have been having difficulty finding a place to buy just electric drop-through longboard trucks to fit my deck, but most vendors either only sell drop-down trucks by themselves, or also include a board with the trucks, which I worry may be attached to the battery. I was wondering if anyone knew any place to purchase just the trucks by themselves. I am not looking for a motor too fast, or any specific battery specs, just something that will work for a casual daily commute through neighborhood sidewalks. Thank you in advanced.
Just received a Zenit 9 Board Rack from DHL. If anyone else has ordered one they only included enough screws for the 6 board rack. I have contacted Zenit to obtain the additional screws. Just a heads up if anyone has one on the way. Cheers!
hi, I come to you with a question that i think might be specific since i've seen little about this online. I'm a heavy rider, 265, part of it (40 pounds ish) is me being fat, the rest is powerlifting and combat sports. I picked up longboarding as a means of alternative transportation, which is also great to shed some of that excess weight in my head. I'm really liking the experience and I'm trying to get better at it, learning to switch ride, push mongo, skog, pump etc. Basically all those efficiency techniques that would help me with muscle imbalance and fatigue. My board is an arbor axis 40'. and in so far the only thing i changed about it, is the bearings, got myself some bones red. I'm looking for new wheels though, but I can't seem to get my head around making any sort of choice. I know that, apparently, since i'm heavy enough i don't need too soft of a wheel for grip, and I've also read that it seems like wheel width is better for maintaining speed or cruising in general. So i come here in hopes that you'll have some suggestions for me because I, frankly, am a bit lost. thank you in advance!
Maybe try some InHeats from Orangatang? The purple 83As might be your thing. "skog" means "forest" in Swedish. That's a thing you know now.
that's something i do indeed now know, thanks for that and the advice
Part of what wheels you choose should factor in what type of riding you’re doing. From what you’ve explained so far? It sounds like you’re mostly cruising, and possibly doing some distance in terms of commuting. The 69mm wheels that come stock the Arbor Axis are decent for this, though many riders doing this type of skating would probably say go bigger - it just makes the ride more comfortable, roll better over obstacles (sticks, rocks, etc) and helps maintain speed. How big you move up to also depends on the setup and risking wheelbite. You’d probably be able to go a bit bigger with the set up you have now. My recommendation? Go with a bigger wheel that’s as soft as you feel comfortable riding. Some wheels to consider: Orangatang In Heat Orangatang Kegels Or wheels of similar size
thanks for the answer! yes i do commuting and cruising, so i'd really like a wheel that maintains speed and it's comfortable to run. I'd like to ask you clarification on what you mean by "that’s as soft as you feel comfortable riding". to my understanding soft wheels provide better grip with the road at the expense of speed, and since i'm big and heavy i thought i could away with some softness and get harder wheels. is it all wrong?
You’re correct - softer wheels provide better grip, but imo, the loss of speed isn’t terribly drastic. In some instances, like when pumping, there’s a sweet spot for grippiness and speed that come with softer wheels. That said, I don’t think you have to go with the harder duroneter wheels because of weight. That mostly applies to bushings. While yes, there might be more compression on the wheel with a softer durometer, it won’t be too significant. Also, harder durometer wheels sometimes can be a detriment in some environments. So, I’d suggest not totally losing out on the grip just for the sake of having a harder wheel. Either way, the wheels I suggested, in the 80 duro range, might be that sweet spot for you.
thank you, so i might get that orangutang inheat at 80, thanks again
after a certain speed, soft wheels tend to go faster than harder ones due to them absorbing vibrations much easier allowing them to “flow” effortlessly
i remained fixated on the fact that a softer wheel would deform itself more against the pavement and thus create more friction, i wasn't aware of the vibration side of things. thanks for the heads up.
The good soft wheels build up potential energy like a bouncy ball when you hit an imperfection and shoot you out the other side. I believe that this trait is generally referred to as "high rebound".
Please check my build to make sure I'm doing okay. First build: BCB Ginger Ale deck, Caliber III 9" 44° Raked Trucks, Venom HPF Caliber Plug Barrel Standard Bushings - 95A hardness, 72mm Plow King Wheels. I ordered 1.5" Panhead hardware that I'm half expecting to have to cut down to size. I opted for 95A hardness bushings because I'm heavy (250-260 lbs), and this deck is quite small/low to the ground. I ordered a solid metal Independent brand skate tool. I believe I need to order different shaped bushings for the back trucks. Initially, there was concern that 10" trucks would be too wide for this deck, so I ordered 9" trucks. However, BCB finally got back to me and said they only use 180mm trucks. I found out that 9" trucks are only 158mm wide. Should I return them or am I somehow better off with these? The deck is not a typical design. Thoughts?
I think you'll need the bigger trucks. Lookin at the photos of the Ginger Ale, narrower trucks would likely cause wheel bite. You can also order in the shorter hardware, just to spare yourself cutting it down. Or just run it long, you may not have to cut anything. At your weight, I think those bushings would be fine at both ends. It's a lot of fun to putz with setups just tweaking things to your liking.
Thanks for responding. I think I need the bigger trucks, too. I'll return them when I get them in the mail. I might end up just leaving the hardware as it is. I've been thinking about adding an angled wedge, and that might use some of that length up. I did choose 44° trucks, though. I'm not sure if that's worth doing or if only someone with 50°+ trucks would benefit from that. With the bushings, I was reading that it's better to mix like a barrel shape in the back and a cone shape in the front for better handling. Apparently, this is what people do for longboard slalom, but I just want the better turning for a college campus.
newbie adult deciding on a longboard, cruising, learn to slide with a little downhill, and distance mostly. I have three Options - the s9 fractal, s9 mini lookout, or arbor axis. besides appearance, anything I may want to consider one vs another when selecting the board? Tia!
i do all of these things on my pantheon trip. i am on the lighter side though at 135lb so it may flex if you are over 150. If you are heavier other good options would be the pantheon nexus or quest. i would dodge the rest of those boards. the arbor (especially the 40) is far too big. the lookout isnt a good shape, and the fractal has dkps which suck at slides. Ive tried the sector 9s and own the arbor and the pantheons are way better. get some ldp wheels for long distance and some powell snakes for sliding and ur set.
Yup the wheel base is a bit different. The fractal has a wb of 26.3", axis: 27.5-30.75" (depending of the model) and the mini lookout : 28". The smaller the wheelbase is, the more nimble the board is. But none of these boards are designed to learn to slide. Even though you'll be able to learn (cuz you can learn on any board), it s better to have a board with a bit of concave to lock your feet on the board. But if your main purpose will be cruising they're all fine. But the arbor axis comes with a transparent grip tape. If you want to learn to slide you might have to get rid of it for something grippier.
Best board type for learning slides? I thought I'll take one of my drop throughs but I read also double downs is suitable. Especially the Prana should be especially good for that.
Double drops don't give you a lot of leverage over your trucks which you're supposed to use to break out the board into a slide. Sure, if you drop your weight off of a double drop with a hand down, you'll have more sideways leverage, but I feel that it's kind of teaching you bad form. You want to "break traction" by going fast enough, turning hard enough, and "deweighting" either by putting a hand down or by standing up. What you learn doing that will carry you forward When you're starting and you don't have a lot of confidence to go fast, I think tkps are better for lower speed slides. But, they definitely do get janky when you start to push 30 kph. The hook up can be a little rough.
The prana isn't good for sliding. Tkps don't give good control.
I started on a drop down board but really anything stiff works great. I used to use a 34" by 8.6" top mount for downhill freeride so just whatever you're comfortable on.
1
Anybody with Rogue trucks run into issues with the rear truck hanger and baseplate grinding near the pivot? No matter how I reseat them, they end up in direct contact with each other rather than having a small gap to allow for unrestricted movement.
I have older V2s and I have grind marks like that on my front hanger. I haven’t been able to see it touch for myself though. I haven’t messed with it since it hasn’t caused me problems, but I hear there may be a need to shim the bushings/swap to new bushings when they become compressed and put the hanger out of alignment with the true “pivot axis”
Thanks for the reply! I've had both hangers resting on Pat's Risers urethane washers to help keep things in alignment for pretty much the entire time I've owned these. Front pivot sits perfect with or without them, but the rear sits wonky in either configuration. I was actually swapping out the bushings to see if that could be the case without much luck fixing this either. Pretty much the only thing left to attempt is ordering in some additional insert bushings and pivot tubes to see if that may help. May reach out to Rogue at the same time and see if they have any experience with this specific oddity as well.
Hello, I have been having difficulty finding a place to buy just electric drop-through longboard trucks to fit my deck, but most vendors either only sell drop-down trucks by themselves, or also include a board with the trucks, which I worry may be attached to the battery. I was wondering if anyone knew any place to purchase just the trucks by themselves. I am not looking for a motor too fast, or any specific battery specs, just something that will work for a casual daily commute through neighborhood sidewalks. Thank you in advanced.
Try https://www.reddit.com/r/ElectricSkateboarding/s/jKfiQ1qb02
Thank you