Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Scroll to Bottom for TLDR Review LOL I guess I should preface this by saying that I have been riding skateboards, rip stiks, inline skates and anything else involving wheels and bearings since i was but a wee lad and i'm currently 28 years old 5'7" 145lbs. These days I pretty much only ride longboards but I ride them in combination with Miami public transit every day to get to and from work over a stretch of about 6 miles, sometimes I only skate a few blocks, sometimes I skate the whole 6 miles. I bought this board with many questions still up in the air but after doing a lot of research. I also own the Rimable 41" drop through also sold on amazon and would like to answer a lot of questions that I couldn't find the answers to before I bought it. Lets look at the different parts of the board one at a time and compare. I'm going to gear this mostly toward beginners since I don't imagine there are many experts cruising amazon for longboards but you guys should still be able to skim through and get the important points The RIDE: (most important) This board rides really nice out of the box. however that doesnt meant anything to you if you have no base line to compare it to. The ride of this board overall is very smooth but a beginner may be set back by the top mount setup. The fact that the trucks are mounted like a normal trick skateboard makes the deck higher off the ground than that of a drop through or drop deck longboard, this allows for deeper turns and creates a completely different feel while moving. beginners may say that its too wobbly and want to tighten the trucks, but intermediate riders or those familiar with the mechanics of riding a rip stik or even a surfboard would call it a surfy, feeling like riding on water. that is the aspect that I love most about top mount boards, the flowy feeling and very precise turning response that you get from having more ground clearance and top mount trucks. with a drop through deck, you can't turn as sharply because of ground clearance and different hardware but are much more stable while riding due to lower center of gravity as well as a more gradual turning feeling similar to riding a bike. The deck: This is the wooden part of the board, not including trucks, wheels or any other hardware. This deck is absolutely beautiful. The pictures don't fully express the shiny finish on the bottom with the simple design accenting the natural grain of the bamboo. That fact alone has me in awe of the price of this board. I was joking with a friend of mine and he was laughing at the fact that you cant even buy a decent set of wheels and bearings at most skate shops for the price of this complete board set up and he's right. it's ridiculous, especially considering the quality of the parts included. that being said, this deck is relatively stiff as far as flex goes i'd give it maybe a 2 out of 10 flexibility. the deck has a very (very) slight camber, meaning the center of the board curves up a bit in relation to the nose and tail (not including the height of the kick fins. ) this serves a few purposes it allows the board to hold more weight without sagging in the middle and provides more room for flex on carves (though this deck is pretty stiff you probably wont flex much unless you're above 160 lbs) the deck is the bread and butter of this board and definitely where they spend most of the money in the manufacturing costs for this product. the grip tape fully covers the top and thus far has had no issues whatsoever. seems to be high quality and has great traction even when wet. Wheels and bearings: the wheels on this board are mid-range as far as hardness goes for longboard wheels and are great all around wheels for the average person riding around. they have great traction due to large contact patch and beveled edges. those looking to slide or try out some other technical maneuvers will want to look into butterballs or another slide formula wheel. The bearings are ABEC 7. If youve done your homework you hopefully know by now that the ABEC rating means almost nothing when it comes to skate bearings and is mostly hype, there are many other factors that go in to choosing the right bearings and that is a review for another time. however, right out of the box these bearings perform pretty well, they arent the fastest, they seem to be lubed with something on the heavier side, providing reat protection but maybe sacrificing some of the speed. my one complaint about the bearings is that they are 608 bearings with pressed in (non removable) metal shields. while they perform well out of the box, especially after a little break in, they will need to be replaced if you are a daily rider like me as it is much harder to clean and relube bearings with pressed in shields, i'd recommend picking up a set when you buy this board so you have something ready when these ones kick the bucket. especially since you can get some great bearings for under 20 bucks that have removable shields and are easy to clean and maintain. the bearings came installed with spacers and 8 speed rings, 4 on the inside between the hangar and inside bearing and 4 on the outside between the outer bearing and wheel nut so there is really no need to buy these. Trucks and hardware: trucks are solid, i've already found myself sliding in a 50-50 on a painted curb as i tried to avoid a telepohone pole on the narrow side of the sidewalk towards the street and escaped it with nothing but some minor scratches. I'll probably change out the bushings on this board for some stiffer ones, but then again I have yet to see a complete board come with stellar bushings. the included ones are easily rideable for a long time if you're not getting technical. When i got the board the trucks were just a tad on the loose side but that is personal preference, I would recommend anyone who buys a longboard get a skate tool with it so you can adjust for your style, I also tightened up the truck mount bolts as well because i had a tiny bit of wiggle in there. other thoughts: the kick nose and tail on this board are sweet, this is personal preference of course but sometimes when you cant turn quick enough its nice to be able to step on the tail and pivot out of the way or lift the front wheels to get over a big bump without having to get off the board. The wheelbase on this board is shorter than i expected this is not really a good or bad thing just worth mentioning, the shorter wheelbase provides better turning response but also makes the center of the board a little stiffer. for a 44" i would have though the wheels would be further apart and I may take it to a shop to have another set of truck mount holes drilled so that i can see what it feels like if i move the rear truck back a few inches. to put it in perspective, the wheelbase on the quest 44" is just under 27" still in the longboard wheelbase class of course but shorter than the rimable 41" dropthrough which has a wheelbase of 33" (my wheelbase mesurements are wheel nut to wheel nut) overall a great board, ive already recommended it to a friend looking to longboard! TLDR Review points -Amazing finish on the deck -Very slight camber -About 2 out of 10 flexibility (pretty stiff) -comes preinstalled with 4 spacers and 8 speed rings -love the kick nose and tail -surfy water ride feeling and great turn response with tight radius -ABEC 7 bearings with non removable shields -get a skate tool so you can adjust this board to your style hope this helped, feel free to contact me with any other questions, i ride it every day.