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YOU WANT FLEX!
Our quest of the perfect asphalt carving feel made us redefine the traditional longboard construction and develop our unique recipe. Our flex allows you to feel the curve and have a 'vivid' carve transition. The return on the board will give you a faster edge to edge transition, powerful turns and will allow you to build up speed even on flat land. The more you push on your deck, the more you get from it. A flex board is better on straight cruising too; it acts as a vibration or landing dampener for the sweetest ride ever!
DECK DURABILITY
Carving weakens a wood-only board over time. So we add to our composites boards a generous fiberglass laminate to give the board his shape memory and strength. If you plan to kickflip or ram your board in curbs you should look into the 7 PLIES series. It's a bit cheaper, super strong yet fun to ride!
VARIABLE WHEELBASE
The variable wheelbase is a very simple way to adjust flex to your weight & riding style. The shorter you set your wheelbase, the stiffer & snappier will be your board. The longer you set it, the deeper your flex will be.
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SIZE MATTERS!
Bigger radius wheel will have a minimal rolling resistance but will accelerate slower. Big wheels (80mm +) are perfect for speedboarding. We recommend 65 to 80 mm wheels for general cruising, carving, slides, etc. A 60 to 65mm wheel is perfect for slalom sessions on the parking lot.
CRISPY OR CHEWY?
The shore 'A' duro is a way to define elastomers rebound (urethane in the present case) . A soft compound (ex:72A) will have great lateral traction, but will be a little slower. A softer wheel soaks up irregularities of the road and results in a smooth ride. On the other hand, harder wheels (85A+ duro) are easier to slide and faster on smooth surface but will tend to skip and loose traction on a rough surface.
WHEEL GEOMETRY
Round edges are good for sliding and will hold wheel positon on rough surfaces. Sharp edges will bite on a smooth surface but will skip on poor quality pavement. We recommend sharp edges for the carving/slalom enthusiast; others will look for smoother and rounder lips wheels.
WHEELS CARE & MAINTENANCE
Don't forget to rotate your wheels to keep them in good shape! (follow a cross pattern or a rotation) If you have centered hub wheels, it is a good idea to flip them inside out when you do your rotation... Your wheels will last longer that way and will not turn out cones after a few sessions.
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CRAIL SPEED TRUCKS
We strongly recommend carving trucks for Giant Slalom, Downhill bombing and as all around trucks. Carving trucks have a 90° kingpin / hanger angle providing smooth and constant turning ability to the truck. We choose CRAIL Trucks because they offer a 45° baseplate resulting in a tighter turning radius than the Randall RI truck while being way more stable than the Randall RII over speed. The perfect compromise between carving ability and stability.
CUSTOM SETUPS - for the speed addict.
Use the bigger part of bushings on both sides of the truck with larger cups for a more and stable ride. Harder bushings may help too, but not too hard if you want to be able to make it in the hairpins!
OLD SCHOOL TRUCKS
On the other hand, CRAIL Old School trucks are very good on slide or street sessions. They are a bit wider than the standard skateboard truck and fit wide boards just fine. These trucks are stronger and will allow you to perform ollies or ride the bowl.
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BEARINGS CHOICE
Precision bearings are the best choice for longboarding. They ensure an excellent glide and rolls really smooth. Lower ABEC bearings are cheaper and bit more tough. A good choice for the ollie fanatic, but if you want to get everything from your kick, stick to the precision bearings. For those about to break speed records and their wallet, ceramic bearings are definitly the best.
CORRECT SETUP
Speed washers & a spacer keep the bearings floating free of drag. This setup insures you to get perfectly parallel bearings, free from lateral constraints. They prevent you from crushing the bearings while mounting your wheels too.
BEARINGS CARE
To clean up your bearings, remove the outside dirt, mud and other contaminants with a soft cloth. Only then remove shields and caps and use clean mechanic citrus cleaner in a small container to clean them up. Few skate shops carry bearing cleaning devices, which are very efficient. Rince and dry the parts to prevent corrosion. Once it's shiny and dry, process to a relube with sewing machine oil or any good quality synthetic oil for bearings. WD40 is not good because it will dry up very quickly and allow premature wear.
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