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.

Globe Bantam

It has been raining a lot here so I put some new grip tape on my Globe Bantam yesterday.  It didn't take as long as I thought to cut the edges along the decks pattern.  I had this idea for a while and kept putting it off.  I like how it turned out.

For more discussion please check out plasticskateboarding.com/forum 

Penny Vs. Globe Bantam Vs. Nickel

Because there is a crazy storm over florida now I haven't been able to skate or take any photos for a few days.  So here are some old ones that i took around the time I got the Globe Bantam and never got around to posting.  Just some comparison pics of a Penny, a Globe Bantam and a Nickel.  THere is more detail on my thoughts on the Bantam on this post:  

http://libertyfl.blogspot.com/2012/05/penny-vs-globe-bantam-vs-stereo-vinyl.html

and a lot more detail on my thoughts about the Penny and Nickel in lots of posts.

All three are fun.  Since this pic, I have switched the Nickel's trucks over to 100mm Surf Rods and put Penny Wheels on it, just like the Penny.  This has made it ride just about perfect for me.  I have also swapped out the Bantams trucks a few times and am having trouble finding something just right.  I have Ace 00s hangers in Indy baseplates now and they are okay, but its still just not there yet.  

I did put a sheet of grip tape on the Globe as well.  I am of the opinion that grip tape is needed on any of these plastic skateboards.  Everyone I get I try it for a while without and it never feels right.  I do ride the Penny and Nickel more than the Bantam so far, but who knows if that will change when I find the perfect trucks for the Bantam.  

Penny Vs. Globe Bantam Vs. Stereo Vinyl Cruiser Vs. Fish Skateboards

For more discussion please check out plasticskateboarding.com/forum 

My thoughts after exactly one week of having the Globe Bamtam and much more weeks of having the 3 other boards.

From Left to Right: Penny Skateboard, Globe Bantam, Stereo Vinyl Cruiser, Fish Skateboard

The decks of the Penny, Stereo and Fish are all very similar.  The Bantams differences are pretty big in comparison.  The Globe is bigger, 6.5x23.5 vs the others 22.5x6.  It feels bigger that the difference in the number suggest to me, maybe because it tapers less towards the tail.  I have read elsewhere that the Bantam was stiff.  I do not find this to be the case.  I found the Bantam to be the most flexy, followed by the Penny and the Stereo and Fish to be the stiffest.  A factor is that the Globe has a little longer wheelbase, not by much though,  Most of the extra length on the Globe is in the nose and tail.  

The grip pattern is unique, but after riding it to the beach a few times and riding it home with wet shoes it will still need a sheet of grip tape before too long.  

I feel like the trucks are the biggest difference between these stock.  The slant trucks are pretty standard new school trucks, just narrowed to fit the board.  Much better in my opinion than the Penny or Stereo versions.  The Penny and Stereo boards did come with more appropriate bushings though.  The Slant trucks on the Bantam came with what I believe are 94a bushings.  These feel a lot stiffer than I would normally ride on a cruiser like this.  That will probably be the first thing I replace on the Bantam as I keep riding it.

The Bantams wheels I really like also .  They are a little wider, bigger, 62mm and harder, 83a than the Penny or Stereo.  I have been riding 62mm wheels on the Stereo and they might be my favorite size right now so these wheels are just about perfect.  The photos show them vs. wheels that come stock on a Stereo Vinyl cruiser.  Both good sized wheels if a little different.  The slightly harder Globes fit my preferences better though.

The bearings seem pretty good so far also, Im not sure if I will be swapping them out once I start to upgrade the Bantam.  

Hardware is standard, I was a little surprised that the Globe came with risers.  1/4"

This is the only board of the 4 with risers, the wheels are a little bigger, but with the hardness of those bushings a don't know if they are needed.  I may leave them on because I will go to much softer bushings, but I will probably try with out too for a while.

More thoughts to come as I get more time in riding the new board.

For more discussion please check out plasticskateboarding.com/forum 

Globe Bantam to the beach

I am going to post some comparison pics of this guy to a Penny and Stereo soon.

                                      

Globe Bantam First Impressions

I finally got a Globe Bantam yesterday.  I got it from a local shop, Reno Beach.  The owner also has Johnny Reno's, a bar and restaurant on the St. Pete Pier that my friends and I eat at a lot during our BMX rides.  After going there all the time and talking with Johnny about skateboards quite a bit we agreed on some of our impressions of the Penny, Nickel and Stereos.  He was out of the Globes but I decided I would finally get one when he got them back in.  

So last week he lets me know they are in.  It took me a week to get down there and buy it, but I picked it up yesterday.  Reno Beach is an awesome shop and the folks there were really cool, if anyone is in the area please check it out.  

On to the board.  I rode it for a while as soon as I got it home without changing a thing.  

The deck is a little bigger than a Penny or Stereo, and there is a little more nose.  The flex didn't jump out as being drastically more stiff or flexy but I didn't compare side by side yet.  Pretty grip pattern, I like it more than the Penny, maybe not as much as the Stereo, but that doesn't matter much as I think it will soon be covered by grip tape.  Nice design deck, that stands out from the similar Penny, Stereo, Fish and Brighton Boards.

The trucks are more like new school skateboard trucks than the Penny or Stereo's.  They are made by Slant, a company I knew made some long boarding trucks, but these are the first traditional trucks I have seen by them.  They aren't bad.  

I was surprised that they had pretty stiff bushings in them.  I didn't adjust them at all and as soon as I hopped on the board I was surprised by how tight the trucks feel stock.  I will adjust them a little and try them out, but will definitely be changing the bushings soon.

The wheels are similar size to the Penny and Stereo wheels, but Globe branded.  I will have to ride them for a while before I form a solid opinion.  The bearings are also Globe branded and say ABEC 7 on the shields.  They didn't feel bad, but I will have to ride them a little more before I decide on keeping or swapping them.  

Over all it is a solid board.  I am going to have to spend some time on it before I know if I like it better than the Penny style boards because they are all really similar and this is quite a bit different.  So far it is a really fun little board, can't wait to get some more time in on it.

For more discussion please check out plasticskateboarding.com/forum