Tag archive for "skateboard"

Longboarding

Landyachtz Evo Review

No Comments 15 April 2009

The Landyachtz Evo is a 11 ply drop board that is super stable yet very responsive at the same time.

Taking the Evo on the first hill of the day felt great as I busted some hard carves and felt just how fast she could go. This thing just begs to be taken fast with such a stable platform. Dodging obstacles like potholes and rocks were no problem on the Evo and I was actually very surprised at how nimble it felt for such a heavy board. Did I mention this thing is super low? Pushing is a breeze on the Evo thanks to how low it sits.

Flex on the board is pretty much non-existent since it is designed to be a downhill board. The Evo sports aggressive concave to help keep your feet locked in and it certainly felt good for me. Tucking on the Evo and taking some tight turns was no problem and felt smooth as butter the whole time.  I did get to take it for a parking garage sesh and it handled it really well, just had to loosen the trucks up a tad.

The setup I was riding had Bear Grizzly (10mm axle) trucks, Abec11 Flywheels 83mm (78a) and Venom bushings. Keep in mind that using Flywheels on the Evo made it super drifty, so be warned if your looking for a really grippy ride. Since the board sits so low sliding the Evo is a dream with its concave keeping your feet locked in the whole time.

Landyachtz Evo Blacktree Concave
Landyachtz Evo Concave Shot

The Landyachtz Evo has won more downhill skateboarding races than any other speedboard out there and for good reason. This longboard isn’t exactly the best commuter thanks to its heavines. Sure it is possible to commute with the Evo but it is heavy and does lack a kicktail for going over curbs. This board really craves going fast on some steep grade hills so don’t dissapoint.

Whether your slashing your way through allies or bombing  that monster hill, the Landyachtz Evo is sure to fit the bill.

Longboarding

Loaded Dervish Longboard Review

3 Comments 12 April 2009

I thought I’d give my take on the ever popular Dervish by Loaded Longboards. The dervish is a drop-thru style, desgined to accomodate the Randall R-II, Paris, Holey, Bear, Gullwing Charger and Tracker Fastrack Trucks. The dervish is also available in two flexes depending on your weight. The guys over at Loaded Longboards really wanted to create a great all around, fun board when they created the Dervish and they certainly did a good job.

The first thoughts on riding the dervish was how similar it felt to riding a snowboard. I think that’s really what the design was going for and it feels extremely lively. The dervish can take on lots of stuff you throw at it, whether it be carving and cruising or sliding and a little downhill action. Keep in mind it is not a downhill board and the flex on it makes the Loaded Dervish very hairy at high speeds (45mph+). Sure there’s some people out there who have gone faster on one but there’s a reason all the best downhill boards are stiff. I personally took it to about a max of 35mph on one of my runs and although it felt fine, the Loaded Dervish definitely wouldn’t feel comfortable at a higher speed.

Anyway overall the board felt solid and was super easy to ride. The dervish sits nice and low thanks to its drop-through design, so pushing is a breeze. Speedchecking with 75mm Lime BigZigs was not a problem and coleman sliding was a blast. The board is definitely fun to just ride around and do some hard carving. Pumping around the neighborhood on the Dervish was really fun and the longboard just felt super lively under my feet. I did take it to a parking garage longboard session as well and it handled the 5-story garage no problem.

The setup I was on had Paris 180 trucks that were setup extremely loose with Venom bushings. I feel like the Paris trucks really make this board come alive with some aftermarket bushings. The Dervish is a bit on the expensive side with a complete running about $230 or so which is comparable to other high end longboarding manufacturers such as Rayne and Landyachtz. Also note that a drawback to the Dervish is it lacks a kicktail, so keep that in mind if your needing a board to ollie lots of curbs and ledges. I personally don’t own one but it would certainly be a nice addition to anyone’s quiver if your looking to carve, slide and just cruise around. The Loaded Dervish is a definite great choice for someones first board as long as their not looking to do serious downhill.

Check out this great video of the Adam’s brothers ripping it up and making it look easy on the Loaded Dervish.

Longboarding

Sector 9 Longboards

No Comments 11 April 2009

We all know how popular Sector 9 longboards are these days. Based out of San Diego, CA, they have been manufacturing longboards since the early 1990s.  In addition their the biggest longboarding brand in the game and have a large variety of boards that cater to all the disciplines. Whether you want to carve or cruise or downhill, Sector 9 probably has a board for you.

It seems they have gotten a somewhat tarnished image recently from being so commercialized and being available in all the malls. Just because a lot of people have them doesn’t make them bad boards. Every Sector 9 I’ve used is great and I have quite a few buddies who rip theres no problem. One of my buddies has the Sector 9 Kommi which is an awesome downhill board and is really great at carving. If your a beginner looking to longboard you can’t go wrong with picking one up.

One of the models I really enjoyed was the Goddess of Speed which is part of their carving series. Its nice and long and the concave is great keeping you locked in for hard carving and slides. It’s one of the many pintail style boards Sector 9 has and it’s an extremely responsive board. If your looking for something shorter in length definitely look into the Joel Tudor model or the Cosmic Sun. Both are great for city riding where you need to make tight turns to avoid those pedestrians.

Now I’m going to be honest here and say I’m not a huge fan of Sector 9’s wheels. There are some that are great such as the race formula series and the goddess of speed. When it comes to choosing longboard wheels I’d try and stick with some Zigzags/Bigzigs or even the recent orangatangs by Loaded. Also if you picked up a stock setup from a store like West 49 or something, definitely think about changing out the bearings for Bones Reds or something of similar quality. Decent bearings along with wheels will really help improve your ride.

Overall it’s hard to find bad things about all the Sector 9 longboards I’ve tried. If your a newbie looking to get a board check em out because they are cheap yet good quality. It’s a great buy if your not totally sure about longboarding yet and don’t want to drop the money on a more expensive brand.

Sector 9 Cosmic Rider

Sector 9 Cosmic Rider

Sector 9 Kommi

Sector 9 Kommi

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