About 23 yrs ago I learned that a 14 inch wheelbase was the perfect size for me too. That was the moment that I realized that sizes genuinely mattered. From then on I was going into skate shops & asking to borrow a measuring tape to check a wheelbase before buying, which got some weird looks from the locals but hey I didn't care because it was super important to me. A few yrs later I learned that trucks also played a big part of it too when I went from riding Indy for yrs to skating thunders as it changed my board completely due to where the axle was sitting, rather than where the holes in my deck were drilled. This was way before Ben Degros was working it out (early 2000s) & so I stuck with Indys from then on in, despite Indy changing their perfect Stage 8 truck & creating Lows (which will again affect how your board feels due to height. I heard good things about Aces so I got a set & so far they feel pretty good for a short old dude like me as the wheelbase feels a little tighter & the pop is faster 👍🏻
@@KevinNiceTry when you're younger you just want to skate & you don't really think about stuff like dimensions. You assume that the reason that new deck is skating different is because you need to adapt to it. There were many decks that I tried to adapt to & either simply couldn't so I moved it on, or I got used to literally as it was falling apart. As an adult I realised that I didn't have time to adapt due to life commitments/work & it was then that I found my perfect board, only thru chance, that just spoke to my feet. I measured the wheelbase & the rest was history!☺
I recently learned the same thing and now i know what wheelbase works with my trucks for me, everything else seems less important, I dont know how it took us decades to really start thinking about this but its changed everything.
When i feel the madness coming i usually dont stop myself from trying out different stuff bigger wheels or fun shapes but in the end i always go back to my standard setup if you skate the same thing over and over it can get boring but you figure out why you like what you like and usually find your way back to your comfort zone
I found that the perfect board shape for me is an 8.75 popsicle with Indy 169s. More specifically the Alien Workshop 8.75s. I'm also 6'4 with a size 13 shoe so it helps to have a wider board but not too wide to where it's harder to do flip tricks. 8.75 is perfect.
Hi Kevin. I think you might be right about the wheelbase thing. At least, finding that in combination with the trucks can be a bigger deal than deck width. I kept skating 8s, but the wheelbase is too big for me to ride comfortably with thunders. I’m now on 8.125 with a light thunder 147 truck and the board feels comfortable. Thought the width with my small shoe size would be an issue, but I can still do the flip tricks I like with ease too.
This is really helpful advice that other channels leave out 👍 all the stuff I watched and read said start on a wider board so it's easier. So I got an 8.75. It happens to have 14.6+ wheelbase. So when I progress to a narrower board I'd have an additionally hard time adjusting because of a significantly smaller wheelbase.
Larger boards are really great for riding around and getting used to skating in general, and that’s the most vital thing as a beginner. Slightly smaller boards can be nice for learning more complex tricks, but in my experience they are genuinely a little harder to cruise around on. So, I feel like you did it right.
Polar boards are quite shallow, and they pair really nice with Ace. Currently riding an 8.25 Polar, Ace AF1 55's with a 14.25wb. After about 3 years of trial and error I finally found a setup I like the best. Shallow 8.25 boards 32in long with a 6.9 nose and 6.5 tail and 14.25wb. Girl and Polar boards seem to work the best for me.
i have an 8", 13 7/8"wb almost with venture lows, and an 8.2", 14.25"wb anti-hero with indys that each have axle-axle wb of 17.25". i have 5 setups different everything (size, trucks, wheel size, risers or not, shaped vs popsicle, wb, 7.5"-10"). i'm not consistent enough for dif shapes to mess me up too bad. i'm sure it probably adversely affects my progression, but i like to switch it up.
Does anyone ever think about tail length? Because if you have a long tail on Ventures and a short tail on Aces the length from axle to tip of tail is the same … but if you swap those trucks over the short tail is way too close to venture axle and the ace axle is way to far away from the long tail…. Some more madness for y’all
I just found this out a few boards ago, was unknowingly riding 14.5 inch wheel base 8.5 wide for a while went to the shop and picked out a real nice looking 8.5 and all of a sudden none of my tricks worked, could hardly ollie and riding it in general felt wack, turns out it was a 14 inch wheelbase and since then I only buy boards with around 14.5
I feel like I ride similar to you. I don’t really care what I ride as long as the wheelbase is around 14.25”. A little bigger is ok, but anything 14.5” and up feels gross. I’m usually on an 8.25, but I’ve been messing around with 8.375s since thats the weird sizing of those new stage 4 Indy’s. Currently have those and some spitfire lock in fulls on a heroin 8.88 Avi egg. The trucks actually match it perfect with those wide wheels. It’s been really fun.
I can get with logic. Good thing I don't have board madness 😂😂😂. But for this summer I have narrows by boards down to 5 depending on what I am skating that day. Solid bench session and I like the gnarly bank fence spot. More of that.
@@AdventuresInSkateboarding crikey. Then again I have four. Park, flatground, rain and transport. I really want to remove the one and just do the same for flatground and park. The other two are necessary.
I grew up skating a bunch of crap. I'll skate anything, I don't give a shit. Go from a 8.25" to a 9.7" in the same session. The only thing I won't skate are small, hard wheels. Needs to be at least 55 mm.
I fixed my board madness by being broke
Haha, dang. That's one way to do it.
🤣🤣
About 23 yrs ago I learned that a 14 inch wheelbase was the perfect size for me too. That was the moment that I realized that sizes genuinely mattered. From then on I was going into skate shops & asking to borrow a measuring tape to check a wheelbase before buying, which got some weird looks from the locals but hey I didn't care because it was super important to me. A few yrs later I learned that trucks also played a big part of it too when I went from riding Indy for yrs to skating thunders as it changed my board completely due to where the axle was sitting, rather than where the holes in my deck were drilled. This was way before Ben Degros was working it out (early 2000s) & so I stuck with Indys from then on in, despite Indy changing their perfect Stage 8 truck & creating Lows (which will again affect how your board feels due to height. I heard good things about Aces so I got a set & so far they feel pretty good for a short old dude like me as the wheelbase feels a little tighter & the pop is faster 👍🏻
It's a game changer when you find the goldilocks wheelbase haha.
@@KevinNiceTry when you're younger you just want to skate & you don't really think about stuff like dimensions. You assume that the reason that new deck is skating different is because you need to adapt to it. There were many decks that I tried to adapt to & either simply couldn't so I moved it on, or I got used to literally as it was falling apart. As an adult I realised that I didn't have time to adapt due to life commitments/work & it was then that I found my perfect board, only thru chance, that just spoke to my feet. I measured the wheelbase & the rest was history!☺
Haha. Couldn't agree more. That's awesome.
I recently learned the same thing and now i know what wheelbase works with my trucks for me, everything else seems less important, I dont know how it took us decades to really start thinking about this but its changed everything.
Haha, seriously.
When i feel the madness coming i usually dont stop myself from trying out different stuff bigger wheels or fun shapes but in the end i always go back to my standard setup if you skate the same thing over and over it can get boring but you figure out why you like what you like and usually find your way back to your comfort zone
My worst madness is with bushings, I blow bushings in two or three sessions and I don’t tight them too much 😤
Stock Indy´s and Thunder bushings are CRAP. Gonna grab a Venture, but I still focus on Bones or simular better uretane bushings.
I found that the perfect board shape for me is an 8.75 popsicle with Indy 169s. More specifically the Alien Workshop 8.75s.
I'm also 6'4 with a size 13 shoe so it helps to have a wider board but not too wide to where it's harder to do flip tricks. 8.75 is perfect.
It's the best when you find what works for you.
Hi Kevin. I think you might be right about the wheelbase thing. At least, finding that in combination with the trucks can be a bigger deal than deck width. I kept skating 8s, but the wheelbase is too big for me to ride comfortably with thunders. I’m now on 8.125 with a light thunder 147 truck and the board feels comfortable. Thought the width with my small shoe size would be an issue, but I can still do the flip tricks I like with ease too.
That's awesome!
Thanx sir, for the cure😅 i think maybe i do some kind of AA meeting for us!
Hi i am Sasha and i am wheelz and boards addict.
Hahahaha
This is really helpful advice that other channels leave out 👍 all the stuff I watched and read said start on a wider board so it's easier. So I got an 8.75. It happens to have 14.6+ wheelbase. So when I progress to a narrower board I'd have an additionally hard time adjusting because of a significantly smaller wheelbase.
Larger boards are really great for riding around and getting used to skating in general, and that’s the most vital thing as a beginner. Slightly smaller boards can be nice for learning more complex tricks, but in my experience they are genuinely a little harder to cruise around on. So, I feel like you did it right.
@@thundernixon thanks 😊
The size of wheel base is difficult to holding on the same trucks and turning the board of skating in a improvement.
Polar boards are quite shallow, and they pair really nice with Ace. Currently riding an 8.25 Polar, Ace AF1 55's with a 14.25wb. After about 3 years of trial and error I finally found a setup I like the best. Shallow 8.25 boards 32in long with a 6.9 nose and 6.5 tail and 14.25wb. Girl and Polar boards seem to work the best for me.
Heck yeah
It really is mostly in the wheel base and truck combo.
💯
Id love to see you you try a new shortys board i love the 3 i have
i have an 8", 13 7/8"wb almost with venture lows, and an 8.2", 14.25"wb anti-hero with indys that each have axle-axle wb of 17.25". i have 5 setups different everything (size, trucks, wheel size, risers or not, shaped vs popsicle, wb, 7.5"-10"). i'm not consistent enough for dif shapes to mess me up too bad. i'm sure it probably adversely affects my progression, but i like to switch it up.
Good work!
Thanks
Awsome Noolie Kick 360 Kevin 😳😳🛹♥️♥️🔥🇧🇷🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Does anyone ever think about tail length? Because if you have a long tail on Ventures and a short tail on Aces the length from axle to tip of tail is the same … but if you swap those trucks over the short tail is way too close to venture axle and the ace axle is way to far away from the long tail…. Some more madness for y’all
Makes sense
I just found this out a few boards ago, was unknowingly riding 14.5 inch wheel base 8.5 wide for a while went to the shop and picked out a real nice looking 8.5 and all of a sudden none of my tricks worked, could hardly ollie and riding it in general felt wack, turns out it was a 14 inch wheelbase and since then I only buy boards with around 14.5
I feel like this happens a lot. Haha. I wish board companies would label the wheelbase on the board. It's arguably more important than the width.
I feel like I ride similar to you. I don’t really care what I ride as long as the wheelbase is around 14.25”. A little bigger is ok, but anything 14.5” and up feels gross.
I’m usually on an 8.25, but I’ve been messing around with 8.375s since thats the weird sizing of those new stage 4 Indy’s. Currently have those and some spitfire lock in fulls on a heroin 8.88 Avi egg. The trucks actually match it perfect with those wide wheels. It’s been really fun.
I can get with logic. Good thing I don't have board madness 😂😂😂.
But for this summer I have narrows by boards down to 5 depending on what I am skating that day.
Solid bench session and I like the gnarly bank fence spot. More of that.
Hahaha. Just narrowing it down to 5 set ups. Haha. Thanks.
@@KevinNiceTry park, slappy, bowl, surf, driveway. Got them covered (plus spare completes but we won't talk about that addiction)
@@AdventuresInSkateboarding crikey. Then again I have four. Park, flatground, rain and transport. I really want to remove the one and just do the same for flatground and park. The other two are necessary.
@@RikRiorik I get it 💯
Good advice!! 🤘
I'm small dude. I stick with 14" wheelbase. But my past 2 boards been deluxe true fit 13.8" 😂
Close enough
That true fit gas
@@playboimarty ayooooo 🙌
I find wheelbase and tail lenght are thebmosy important for me
Crob gave u a shout out on 9 club live. U made it my brother !!!!
Haha, he just read my comment. Definitely rad though.
I grew up skating a bunch of crap. I'll skate anything, I don't give a shit. Go from a 8.25" to a 9.7" in the same session. The only thing I won't skate are small, hard wheels. Needs to be at least 55 mm.
Lol
Because no one likes the red. I Have the red with a smily face cut out to be ironic in the whole red will make u bleed thing fuck it imbrass it