[racer128]

I was wondering if the s9 Carbon trylam would work well as an ldp? I would set it up with bennett 5.0 and probably avilas or another wheels of the sort. It seems to be a lot like the boards that are LDP specific, and although I could buy a Pulse or a Mermaid, my Fibreflex that I am using now is pretty much dead, so I can't wait months for a new deck. The trylam is relatively cheap so I could upgrade it easily later.

Or I could go with an insect dragonfly... any thoughts?

Please comment, any help is appreciated.

[pavedwave]

The trylam works great if you're on the heavier side, like 180 lbs++.  My buddy Patrick rides one when he's not breaking his bones and recouperating anyway!!  I'll try to post up a pic of his board from last summer some time.  

DFly is too narrow, and too much camber for my tastes.   Lots of other thoughts as well but I'll leave it at that for now     back to work!

[racer128]

ooooooooooooohhh, yeah, I m only 135-140... I haven't owned a real LDP set up before. I have been riding longboards for 4yrs (a while considering Im a sophmore in highschool), and I am an endurance athlete (I mountain bike race and the 6+ hr races are some of my favorites), so I figured LDP would be up my ally. So now I have been doing less DH and a lot of distance stuff... kinda cross trains a little for cycling. I have been using a fibrelfex with indys and zig zagz.

Any other suggestions? The ladera ripper?

PS- the board doesn't have to be cheap

[racer128]

anybody.............................????????????????

[Parson Adams]

I'm using a Gravity 45" Spoon Nose.  It work VERY well until my Mermaid gets in--5 weeks and waiting.  I know how you feel about the turn over time.  I really wanted the board for summer use, but I guess that was wishful thinking on my part.  I should have just ordered Larry's Walkabout--it would have come in in about 3 weeks or so.  I've been informed by another Mermaid owner in town that his wait was near 9 weeks.  But when it comes in, it will sing.....

[racer128]

yeah... the trylam looks like it would work but I am 40 lbs less than what JP recommends...

[pavedwave]

racer post a shot of the fibreflex, seems like that board should serve you really well, what do you like/not like about it?  how do you have those indy's wedged, and do you like em?

[racer128]

I've had it for 3 years, almost 4. The flex is almost "dead" because it is so used. It is a 44 inch pin, so you can see the problem with that. And the indys are 215. It works, but I got it for distance cruising/kicking.I hardly knew what I was doing 4 years ago...

btw, the flex is like a trampoline...

[racer128]

Click to see full size image



Click to see full size image


Click to see full size image


Click to see full size image


Click to see full size image


here they are. I wedged the rear, but I was wondering if it should be de-wedged? I can pump it really well on smooth to normal flat roads and slight uphills. On rough roads and steeper uphills, the flex absorbs everything I put into the pump, since it has to be more aggressive. The wide trucks make is really hard too. I can still pump though, just have to push it up hills. When I say the flex absorbs all the energy put into a pump, I mean that the board is no longer lively like it use to be. I have done hippie jumps, bonelessed off walls and went sliding in the rain on this deck, so it has taken a beating.

I was also thinking about using seismic 155mm or 130mm trucks on my new board. red springs in back, yellow in front. Any opinions on that? 130 or 155? Also I would run light green front and yellow back if I ran 130

[racer128]

any feedback??????

also, if I made it sound like the board is un-pumpable, it isn't. it is just pretty hard to go uphill, or on rougher roads, which I attribute to the long wheelbase and wide trucks, which call for a higher "cruising speed" before you can get into a good pump.

[racer128]

I dewedged the rear... makes a huge difference. The wheelbase is still a little  debilitating, as are the wide trucks, but it works.

[racer128]

[pavedwave]

well it seems like you know what you need to do with it, and just need to get the right stuff -- i.e., narrower trucks for starters, better bushings.   you can always move this stuff over to a 'better' deck later.

in the immediate term, why not just drill a shorter wheelbase, bringing up the rear truck a couple inches or more?

[racer128]

cause I bought the trylam... =(

I might cut it up and re-shape it (like cut the tail off) and make it more how I want it

[pavedwave]

well, my feeling on that is if you're kinda sorta sure the trylam isn't really going to work, but you're giving it "one last chance", before you cut it up, think about taking a small loss and selling it for some cash toward the deck you really want.  i've done lots of "turnarounds" on boards that didn't work for me.  once you start chopping into it though, consider it "your" board pretty much for good.   which is okay too... i've seen many a longboard eventually turn into a great little slalom board!

if you meant you're thinking of cutting up the fibreflex, i'd say go for that... even if it turns out the be the same length as the trylam, it will have much different flex characteristics, i would think!

the other thing you mentioned was seismic trucks, I kind of lost patience with them around 2002--2003 when I was trying for over a year to get them dialed.  if I did go for LDP it would be the 135 with light white spring in front and red or green harder ones in the back.  i'd consult with Gesmer himself if you really want to get dialed.  i didn't have the patience to fiddle with those more, and besides, i really like the feel, ease of tweakability among other things, with urethane bushing-on-metal trucks.

[racer128]

I was talking about cutting up the fibreflex... shoulda been more clear.

I think the trylam will work, even though it is a "mainstream" company it seems that that was the only stock deck that really fit what I wanted.

I went with extra light green in front and light yellow in back... I will fiddle with it a little more.

The fibreflex is honestly on its death bed, and giving it some new mounting holes and shortening it up should preserve its flex... I guess I will just cut it straight across and then put glass resin over the "wound". It could be a really  cool LDP, if only they made it wider and shorter.

[racer128]

I shortened the wheelbase and turned the zig zagz "inside out", so that the effective wheel width is narrowed for quicker pumps (215mm trucks are waaaaaay too wide)

[gldsndz]

How did flipping the zig zags work for you, I've been thinking about doing the same?

[edp_swakakin]

I 2nd that question....

[racer128]

the zig zags provide TONS more grip flipped and seem to work better-- they are supposed to be grippy wheels, but offset they aren't quite as good.

I did 21 miles the other day in 2hrs... board is great

[Parson Adams]

I'll flip 'em tonight and ride them in the AM.  Thanks for the tip.

[racer128]

sure. The indys are actually kinda nice... once you get em going, they really hold speed. They definitely take a drastic change in technique to pump uphill- you have to change your weighting a lot. The 169mm or 149mm might be really nice... they can be customized to be very turny or insanely stable like a kickflipper truck. To get them to turn right for LDP, you have to screw with the kingpin and the way the bushings contact the hanger and baseplate (washer on top, not bottom). Just figured I'd update that since I was asked about them earlier.