Specs (before/after)
- Length: 37.5" → 33"
- Width: 9.75" → 8.5"
- Wheelbase: 24-28"→ 19-19.5"
- Rocker: 2/3" (.666") → 7/16"
- Concave: 2/3" (.666") → 7/16"
I filled in the CNC routed logos with epoxy resin. I'm debating making the tail pointier like the OG, but I know I'll end up scraping it back to the flat/rounded shape it is now anyway so I probably won't ¯\_ (ツ)_/¯
This deck has slight W-concave on the back 50-60% of the board. This thing held up for me for a couple years of skating, but got some water/impact damage around the wheel wells that led to minor delamination in those areas, as to be expected from the simple wood+glue construction. The chop removed those damaged areas and allows this classic deck fit the modern narrow-trucks style too.
The chop looks good, why so small on wheelbase though?
@Gabriel Fockler thank you! And the small wheelbase (and everything else) is like the "downhill slalom style" setup/meta as Max Dubler describes in this blog post. It's the new normal!? (Maybe lol)
for me, ~19-20" is about a shoulder width stance and keeps everything comfortable for tucking fast downhill, sliding and freeriding, and cruising around too. With the small wheelbase you get a lot of grip and agility turning* and you get a lot of control during slides by standing right on top of the wheels too.
Before I starting riding that style setup I was usually riding 10" boards with 24-26" wheelbases and often felt uncomfortable going fast because I basically had to shuffle side-to-side or front/back to get the board to do what I wanted. But with "small" setups, I barely need to move my feet at all.
*especially on trucks with a big split angle, since those can feel very slow to turn on a big wheelbase due to the very low angle rear truck.
Huge fan of the DIY ethic on this! I started skating a long while back when chopping decks was just kind of the norm. RIP Valhalla, they had some of the best names/graphics for their boards. Wish they were still around, along with a bunch of other older small brands.
