Anyone get a new skateboard for Christmas?

I havent gotten anything new for a while, I need some motivation.  If you got anything go to the forum www.plasticskateboarding.com and post some pics.

Penny Tattoo

still fresh.  the red will go away.

Globe Tailpads on Penny and Green Banana

It got cold here so i finally got around to playing with the Globe Tailpads.  I used 2 of the ones that I bought.  I put 2 on a Green Banana Skateboards Lil' Nanner so the whole deck is covered.  After applying them I had 2 strips about 2-3" left over.  I used those to cover the tail of my black Penny and then used clear grip to cover the front half.  I think they look pretty cool.  They cut easy, but it is much harder to get perfect looking edges on the cut than it is with grip tape.  I will probably replace the clear grip tape on the penny with black.  I forgot how much clear grip tape sucks.  It doesn't stick the same as black, and this being the first time I have tried clear on a Penny I don't think it is going to hold up.

I took them for a ride right after.  They are grippy.  Maybe not as much grip as new grip tape but a different kind of feel.  The larger blocks feel like they stop your foot not just give traction like grip tape does.  It's hard to describe and not bad, just different.  

I will have more to say after getting more time on them, I only took a short ride on each last night.

for comments or discussion, thread about this post in the plasticskateboarding.com forum:

http://plasticskateboarding.com/forum/index.php?topic=184.0

for comments or discussion, thread about this post in the plasticskateboarding.com forum:

http://plasticskateboarding.com/forum/index.php?topic=184.0

S.k.a.t.e. and Shop Opening in St. Petersburg, Fl

Freshly Squeezed, a cool little clothing store started by a buddy of mine is having their opening party this weekend, if you are in the area stop by:

Globe Traction Pads

I used to build a lot of wood boards in my garage for fun.  I started with flat plywood, then started to layer the wood for concave and tails, then started to use fiberglass and then started to make foam cores with wood and fiberglass to strengthen it.  It was fun but I have not made one in a while.  I have lately been more interested in plastic skateboards so I have been buying different types of plastics and melting and bending and researching them and its even more fun.  I have made a couple that are functional and have broken a whole bunch more.  I will post pics of board and some of that experience at some point when I am better at it.
I bring all this up because on the favorite board I ever made, this foam core mini.

I used clear grip tape on the front and used part of a surfboard traction pad as the back half of the grip.  It was and still is awesome.  Looks really cool and provides plenty of grip for a cruiser.
Surfboard traction pads are too expensive, at least $30 and only cover half the deck, to use on every board when a full sheet of grip tape is $5 or less.  I was excited sometime ago to see Globe made their Cruiserboard Tailpad.  The price was still $20 but a little better.  I held off even though I considered buying one or two a couple times.  The other day I was ordering a few things and in the sale section of a big online shop were the Globe tail pads for $6 a piece.  I got a few and they just came today.  They feel just like the surfboard traction pad on my foamcore.  They are going to work well on flat decks.  I am going to try them on the Penny or Stereo and it they stick well enough and seem like they are going to hold up for a while I thing I need to order a few more for that price.

Ill add another post with my thoughts when I get some time riding them in.  In the meantime please visit the plastic skateboarding forum for questions or discussion.
http://plasticskateboarding.com/forum/index.php?topic=184.0

Kryptonics Wheels

I just bought 2 sets of Kryptonics Wheels.  I had a few sets, but gave them away some time ago.  We were going to a ride in Tampa so I gave them to a couple of the guys who did not have any soft wheels at the time.  So I have not had any for a while and saw them for a pretty good price and picked them up.  I got a set of 78a 62mm Cruise and a set of 80a 65mm Classics.  I have not used the Cruise yet but I took the Classics out a few times.  They are not bad.  I think it is definitely worth it to spend a few extra dollars and get better wheels though.  They have that too soft feeling like the Stereo wheels do.  I have not tried the Cruise yet, but the Classic are supposed to be the harder of the two wheels so I am not sure they will be any better.

They are OKAY!

discuss at  Plastic Skateboarding Forum: 

http://plasticskateboarding.com/forum/index.php?topic=174.0

discuss at  Plastic Skateboarding Forum: 

http://plasticskateboarding.com/forum/index.php?topic=174.0

GFH 3" Trucks

I just got these GFH trucks from Churchill Manufacturing.  I was browsing their site looking at the penny killer and the price on them was so awesome I decided to try a set.  I needed a thin set of trucks for a board I was making anyway.  I am glad I got these the closest competition for the price was Penny trucks and these have at least two advantages so far.
First, they are drilled with standard 6 hole mounting.  They will work on any board with new or old school mounting.  Second, I pulled them apart and checked the pivot cup and it is a standard size.  It can be replaced with the small Khiro cups.  I used the soft ones because I am out of the hard and it was still pretty tight so the hard may or may not work.  I took it for a test ride and the soft definitely work though.  The pivot itself is kind of blunt and not rounded, I haven't seen that before.
The kingpin is one of the loose ones with the square bottom but us the standard size and thread.  The bushings kind of sucked so I replaced them with blue Khiro barrels and short inserts.  I will probably swap them to something a little harder but I was out of Khiro red.  

Taken for a few test rides now, they feel pretty good.  More when i get a little more time in on them.

Flexdex Retrodex

This is the Flexdex Retrodex.  I ordered one because I like the Flexdex Grenade and thought this was similar enough to a Grenade with a tail so I should try it.  I didn't have a setup in mind so I threw on something to try.  I was going to just swap everything over from a Green Banana Lil' Nanner, because they are similarly sized and I didn't really love that setup on the Green Banana.  The setup was Ace 00 hangers on Independent Stage 9 baseplates, Bones Reds in Sector 9 wheels and Khiro barrels and short inserts, red in the front, yellow in the back.  The Stage 9 baseplates are only grilled for new school, like the Lil' Nanner so switched them with some Independent Downhill baseplates I had been waiting to use on something.  The longer kingpins in the new baseplates let me use a Khiro tall insert in the trucks instead of the short insert.  Put together, I took it for a test ride.  Maybe it is just because I love every skateboard I ride, but it felt really good.  The small wheel base and the taller bushings make it turn ridiculously tight, no wheelbite with 1/8" risers.  The flex is noticeable and fun, but not too much. The grip tape is really course, that might be the only thing I would change.   

Compared it to the Grenade.  It it about the same width, and maybe a half inch longer.  The length of the tail, about 4" comes off of the wheelbase so it feels much quicker to turn than the Grenade.  The difference in flex is very noticeable just stepping on the board.  Riding, the difference didn't feel so much.  The wheelbase and the shortness of the Retrodex pretty much keeps your feet right above the trucks so you don't feel all the flex.

Flexdex Retrodex and Flexdex Grenade

Retrodex and Penny

More when I get some time riding it...

Check out the Flexdex thread on the forum:

http://plasticskateboarding.com/forum/index.php?topic=15.0

Independent 109 Stage 10 Skateboard Trucks

I just got these Independent 109 Stage 10s.  I have been waiting for these for quite a while as Independent has not made anything smaller than 129s for a few years and just recently started making these again.  They have a 4.25" hanger and a 7" axle.  The hanger is the old style that looks more like a T than a triangle.

                                      

The baseplate is not the downhill style 6 hole baseplate I kind of expected it to be when I saw it was drilled for new and old school mounting.  It is a standard Stage 10 with 6-holes instead, id does not have the longer kingpin or the big emblem on the bottom.  

                                      

Other than the baseplate everything is as expected, cant wait to get them on something and see how they feel.  They seem like a good width for a Bantam or a Nickel.

Cool Skate Art

Holy Cow I don't think I have gone this long without posting since I started this blog.  I have been posting more on the forums www.plasticskateboarding.com/forum than here lately.  Anyway here is something cool to look at while I am waiting on some things to show up so I can make lots more posts here and on the forum.  

The above is really awesome and is locates in the z grille restaurant in St. Pete, Fl.  The Ribeye is very very big there.

Penny Skateboards iPhone case

My Penny iPhone covers came today.  They look awesome, it takes a little jostling to get them on right so they are not holding the power button in.  I had to take the back side plastic protector off to get them to fit just right.  I included a few pics of the Penny case next to the Vans iPhone case as a comparison.  I like the rubber on the Penny a little better, the Vans is softer and the sides can flap around a little.  The Penny is stiffer so it stays considerably tighter against the sides of the phone.  A feature I like is the hole for the vibrate switch is cut right so it fits the 4s and the older 4 where the switch is a little higher.  Nice case.

iPhone Backgrounds

I like making iPhone backgrounds while I am waiting for my Penny iPhone cases to get here.  These are the most recent ones.

Changing trucks on Penny, Nickel, Stereo Vinyl Cruiser, Globe Bantam, Fish Skateboards and others.

Changing trucks on Penny, Nickel, Stereo Vinyl Cruiser, Globe Bantam, Fish Skateboards and others.

These are how these various plastic and fiberglass boards are drilled in my experience.  I am also posting this at the forum,

http://plasticskateboarding.com/forum/index.php?topic=21.0 

If you have any additions or corrections, please comment here or on the forum and I will look into it and make the changes.  Hopefully this list will make decisions on upgrading trucks a little easier.

Hole Patterns on plastic or fiberglass skateboards

Creature Riprider - standard new school

comes with Bullet 105s, will work with any new school drilled truck in that size range

Fish Skateboards - non standard, a little smaller than old school

Mine came as deck only, will work with Penny or Stereo trucks, or with minor drilling any old school truck with about a 6" axle.

Flexdex Classic 29 - standard old school

Mine came as deck only, will work with any old school drilled trucks, size depends on your preference.

Flexdex Grenade - standard old school

Mine came as deck only, will work with any old school drilled trucks, size depends on your preference.

Flexdex Slalom v30 - standard old school

Mine came as deck only, will work with any old school drilled trucks, size depends on your preference.

Globe Bantam - standard new school

Comes with Slant trucks with 4.75" hanger.  Will work with any new school drilled truck in that size range.

Green Banana Eco Cruiser - standard new school

Mine came as deck only, will work with any new school drilled trucks, size depends on your preference.

Green Banana Lil Nanner - standard new school

Mine came as deck only, will work with any new school drilled trucks, size depends on your preference.

Nickel - standard old school

Comes with Penny Nickel 4" hanger trucks will work with any old school drilled trucks in that size range.

Penny - non standard, a little smaller than old school

Comes with Penny 3.125" hanger trucks, will work with with minor drilling any old school truck with about a 6" axle.

Stereo Vinyl Cruiser - non standard, a little smaller than old school

comes with Stereo trucks, will work with Penny or Stereo trucks, or with minor drilling any old school truck with about a 6" axle.

Plastic Skateboard Forum

plasticskateboarding.com/forum

I have been thinking about this for a while and a few commenters have mentioned it so I went ahead and made a little plastic skateboarding forum.

Anyone want to come join?  Its pretty much just me hanging out in there right now and I am having fun by myself, but everyone is welcome.  

And please, invite others who skate, start some threads, post some pics and make suggestions.  I will add whatever boards we need, if we get some people active in there it should be lots of fun.

I finally got a Creature RipRIder

My buddy Charlie sent me some pics of a skate shop he was in in California.  In a corner of the pic I thought I saw a Creature Rip Rider.  I have wanted one for a while, but have not seen them for sale anywhere a couple years.  I immediately called him back and asked him to obtain and mail it to me.  Charlie being an awesome guy did just that and it showed up today.  While I was waiting for it I looked around online and it seems that Creature re-released a limited number of them after not making them for 3 or 4 years.  I still have not seen for sale at any local shops or online.

My first impressions were that it looks really cool and looks like it will have wheelbite like crazy.  I took it for a ride around the neighborhood.  I was already thinking about what risers would look cool in it, but surprisingly it was not bad.  I tightened each truck 1/2 turn and could carve fairly tight without any bite.  

The Bullet trucks feel okay, I think this is the first set I have ridden so Ill hold my opinions until I get some more time in on them.  I will say that the bushings feel really good for stock bushings.  

The no name bearings and OJ IIIs felt awesome.  I like OJ wheels and the bearings felt smooth and fast for not even being broken in yet.  

The Coffin shape seemed just for style at first but after riding it is a really functional shape.  The wide part up front makes a comfortable platform with lots of leverage for such a small board.  

The deck is about 2" longer than a Penny and almost that much wider up front.  It feels noticeably bigger than the Penny when riding.  Its dimensions are more like the Globe Bantam but the Creature feels longer, probably because it tapers to be pretty narrow.  

The RipRider seems a little more flexy than the Penny, closer to the Bantam.  I am impressed with this board.  I can't wait to get some more time in on it.

For more discussion please check out plasticskateboarding.com/forum