Let me introduce...
Tom's new board.
Yes, we stock the Pantheon Supersonic complete as recommended by Jeff from Pantheon.
But in all his wisdom, Jeff isn't you.
Tom made a start online, reading around, finding the product video:
Next thing you know, he's in the shop for an hour and we're chatting about what he wants from the board, his riding style, local terrain and any worries he had.
So we made the following changes:
- We went for Paris 150mm trucks (50° front, 43° rear) to keep it even narrower than the stock Bear 155mm
- Seismic Speedvents (85mm) instead of Pantheon Karma (92mm) to keep the weight and diameter down in the interest of a more civilised ride and faster acceleration in urban environments
- Seismic Defcon bushings (81A) instead of stock (90A) up front to enhance the turning bias and pump-ability
It's always a pleasure to chat with someone so engaged in their board, and brings us back to why we opened a skate shop in the first place.
Stoke? Spread.
So if you've got an idea for a setup, consider us your sounding board. We've been doing it for ourselves for decades, and for you for almost as long.
And what with Bear Trucks coming out with a surprise 30° baseplate last week, the potential for tweakery just got way higher!
Currently available only as 130mm trucks from Bear themselves, but compatible with all Bear hangers.
A lower angle truck leans more to achieve the same amount of turn.
Therefore a lower angle in the back increases stability - each truck is leaning the same, but the back one isn't turning as much.
Sounds crazy? Imagine if the back wheels on your car turned the same as the front - now that'd be crazy! It's not a bad thing to have the back wheels following more and turning less.
Having the turning bias under the front foot also makes it easier to pump to maintain speed, and allows you to have a softer front truck setup (nice and turny) without sacrificing overall stability.
Previously you'd have needed to drop a lot of cash on some fancy trucks to test a 20° split front to back.
It's now available as a regular cast truck, at regular cast truck pricing.
We think that split angle setups are going to change the way we all ride in the not-too-distant future and I wouldn't be surprised to see more truck brands coming out with a lower degree baseplate before too long.
We're here for it!
See you in my inbox with those setup ideas you're mulling,
Matt @ Vandem
Tom went for split colours as well as split angles on the trucks! And why not.
We're getting lots of surfskate practise sessions recently.
May your shoulders ache less than mine.