Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Scroll to bottom for TLDR review lol I did a ton of research before buying this board and there is a lot that I would like to address for anyone looking for a longboard whether you are an expert or a beginner, something like this is difficult to purchase without being able to hold it and i feel that it is the reviewers job to answer all the questions for those that follow us. Let me preface this by saying that the day I got this longboard, it arrived maybe an hour before I had to leave for work. My commute is a combination of miami public transit and shredding boardwalks, bike lanes and beach paths on a longboard. The day it arrived, I barely had time to take off the plastic before I had to catch the bus to work a few blocks away, I quickly checked all the nuts and hardware and tried it out on the way. The bus ended up being stuck in bad traffic, leaving us in a complete standstill while i was still about 20 blocks from work. I decided to hop off and ride the rest of the way on the concrete beach walk that goes down the coast of miami beach. not only did i get to work early rather than late, but it was an absolute pleasure doing so on this board the flex is perfect for someone of my weight and the low deck height from the drop through trucks makes it as stable as you can get on a longboard. it also maintaned grip even though patches where sand is scattered over the concrete walkway. later that night i ended up riding it all the way home about 6 miles because i had so much fun on the way in and wanted more. I ride my longboards almost everywhere. When I moved to Miami Beach I traded my car for a longboard and never looked back. That being said, when I was looking for a well-Priced board that I could use for a commuter, I wanted something fast and stable with enough agility to get around the walkers and bikers flooding the beach walks and streets of south beach. Lets look at the features of this board one at a time and compare them to other things to make the concepts easier to grasp. keep in mind I'm 5 ft 7 145 lbs. THE RIDE (most important): The low deck height makes for a VERY stable ride with very linear turning and easy pushing. this is my choice for a beginner board or a really comfortable cruiser for intermediate riders. while top mount boards like the quest 44" will ride like a surfboard on water with progressive turning in a tighter radius, this drop through rides more like a bike, with linear even turning, great response and a slightly larger radius due of course to its long 33" wheel base (wheel nut to wheel nut) The Deck: This is the wooden part of the board by itself with no wheels or anything, they can be flexible or stiff and made of many different materials. the deck in this complete board is rather flexible on a scale of 1-10 I would rate it a 6+ maybe even higher depending on your body weight. since there is no real rocker or camber in this board (its nose and tail are the same height as the center of the deck) this board is best suited for someone 180 lbs and below and at the top end of that you will feel a large amount of flex especially on the edges. going over bumps in the sidewalk and various road hazards, i notice quite a bit of torsional flex as well (twisting) which is great for a smooth ride but not what everyone is looking for. The edges of the board flex just as much of the rest and so far it has held its shape nicely despite feeling a little "squishy" on the edges when riding hard over rough terrain. because of the flex, it rides like a dream, there is a bit of shape to the deck, between the center-line and the left and right edges of the deck it dips down a bit making the edges higher than the center, this gives greater response when leaning on the board and also strengthens the deck since the wheel base is so long, this prevents it from sagging too much in the middle. When standing on the board there is a noticeable strength running down the middle that makes it almost feel like it is reinforced but this is because of that shape pressed into the deck. Wheels and bearings: the wheels on this board are on the harder side of longboard wheels but they are perfectly balanced with the flex of the board, giving great grip and also a smooth ride, not ideal for sliding as they have a large contact patch and beveled edges. I've not lost control with them even when hauling through the streets in the rain trying to catch the bus 10 blocks away. The bearings that come with this are standard 608ZZ bearings that have non-contact rubber shields that are labeled ABEC-11. If you've done your homework you already know that the ABEC rating of a bearing has little effect on the overall ride speed and there are many other more important factors. That being said, these bearings are still rather well made and great for cruising, needing no maintenance right out of the box. the easily removable rubber shields make them easy to clean and re-lube at your discretion but should be done often if you're a daily rider or expose your board to the elements like i do regularly. Trucks and hardware: The trucks are pretty standard drop-through reverse kingpin trucks. not much to say here they seem to be pretty heavy duty. the bushings in them could probably be a little stiffer and may wear out quickly but that is the case with almost all pre built longboards. most people will find the trucks a bit loose straight out of the box so you may want to order a standard skate tool so that you can make adjustments to fit your riding style as soon as you get it. I liked the way they were out of the box but we had to tighten them up a bit for my girlfriend who is still learning to ride longboards. Other: The grip tape on the board needed a big of trimming near the trucks cutouts but nothing you cant do in a few seconds with a sharp knife, along the edges it has held up very well, I personally like the stripes i the grip tape. the Logo on the bottom is nicely applied but seems to be some type of screen printing and doesn't have lacquer or poly over it so it will scratch off pretty easily. personally i dont care at all about this as with a daily rider, even if it was lacquered id wear it off pretty quickly anyway. we're actually planning to sand it off and custom paint the bottom. Its worth noting that it DOES come with bearing spacers already installed in the wheels between the bearings. it has speed washers as well but only 4 they are located on teh outside between the wheel nut and the outer bearing. many experts recommend 8, having the other 4 placed on the inside between the inner bearing and the hangar. you may want to pick these up if its important to you. they cost less than 3 bucks or you can get a set of 8 speed washers and 4 spacers here on amazon as an add on item for about 4 bucks TLDR: -Great for beginners and intermediates alike (experts probably arent buying pre-built boards on amazon) -Perfect ground clearance even on hard turns -No wheel bite thanks to cutouts in deck -Smooth ride right out of the box -be sure to buy speed rings and a skate tool with this board (both are cheap as add-on items) -be careful choosing this board if you're heavier than 180 lbs as it is very flexible and may sag too much for you -EXCELLENT choice for beginner riders and a favorite of pros. -I personally love it for my commute as a daily rider I hope this was helpful, I tried to answer all of the questions I had when I was buying this longboard please comment with any other questions and I will do my best to help out.