In what will surely go down as one the most epic longboard videos ever…the Orangatang crew hoist a time bomb at us.
There is a lot to like about this video, and it shows longboarding is following the same trajectory as mainstream skateboarding. Producing quality videos, and the brands competing with each other to create bigger and better videos. Unlike mainstream skateboarding, longboarding is still portrayed as fun and humour play a big part in the videos. Mainstream brands are taking themselves too seriously.
Like all Orangatang and Loaded videos watch it a few times to find and laugh at the extra content, or read the cheat notes on the Loaded blog.
What a trip it was, a big shout out to everyone in Vancouver and Cali for being incredibly rad, no matter where you are from or how bad your hair is [cough...leigh and bowditch..cough] there was always a warm bed, couch or floor to be slept on and plenty of shredders more than happy to show you around and take you to rad hills and parties.
Thanks to Jacko, Yates, Leigh and Bowditch for being awesome team members and helping me out with food, drink, money and love when I lost my bank card. And a big thanks to Hop for helping me out with gear, entry fees and spending money. I couldn’t have done it without the support!
Hopefully next year there will be even more Aussies making the trip over with us, I’ll be going back to skate those hills again for sure, hopefully I’ll even be able to make it to the Euro tour too!
With so many riders all over the world pushing the limits of what can be done on a skateboard the sport is only going uphill (or should I say downhill) from here. Start saving your dollars and booking your airfares Aussies, next year is going to be RAD!!!
While travelling around I saw some pretty crazy new advancements in gear, here’s a few things you might be seeing on the market in the near future!
Mischo Erban and Fred from Knucklenuts are working on a new truck that looked pretty awesome, they are called Ronin Trucks.
They are just like a regular CNC truck but with one little addition. The design is similar to that of the Fyre trucks, but not as overworked. There is a thick metal pin on a ball pivot running from the middle of the hangar (above the bushing seat on the board side) down to the baseplate which takes all the weight off the bushings. This eliminates any chance of ’slop’ from the turn of the truck.
I had a little ride around on Mischo’s setup. He was running 96a bushings and still had all the stability that a harder bushing gives, but at the same time they had the lean that you would get from a 78a bushing. Cool stuff eh?
While at the skatehouse in California I got to know one of the guys who works with Munkae Trucks in Arizona. Zeid was an awesome guy and lent me his setup to thrash on the whole time I was there. I got talking to him one night about what’s happening behind the scenes at Munkae. They are working on some 174mm hangars at the moment (Hopshop will have them in stock in the next 10 days), apparently one of the team riders has been testing them out on some fast hairpin corners and the amount of grip from having your weight right on top of your wheels is incredible. He has been gripping through corners on that everyone else has to slide for, these sound tasty! Also look forward to two new baseplate angles, 49’s and 35’s should be out soon!
I also managed to check out a set of CNC cut Randall 180’s that James Kelly had been given to test out, these looked like sexy trucks. Not sure if they are going to be on the market for a while but keep your ears and eyes open!
While I was staying in Laguna Beach with Evren i had a chance to ride the new Sector 9 Race board that Evren designed. A sleek little topmount with a nice, simple concave (no W-cave), a wheelbase of about 27′-28′ and a sick graphic to boot. He was stoked that I liked it and said he would try and send one out to me when they made a few more. These should be in production soon, YEW!
Along with his new trucks, Mischo is also starting a board company called GMR.
I only saw a couple of their designs while I was there, one of them Mischo’s own board and the other a sick looking top mount cruiser.
Mischo’s board is a drop through design with a very short wheelbase (it looked around 27′) he had built up a multitude of foam gas pedals on the front and back of the board which made for a pretty snug foot-lock. I didn’t get a very good look at the cruiser but it looked like a fun cruising/carving/commuting board.
Evren also showed me some sick prototype Sector9 square-lipped wheels. They were 74mm, 78a and at first glance looked like any other wheel, little did I know that they were a set from the first batch of wheels with a core made from urethane! Evren said they were grippy as hell and perfect for railing corners. He’s going to be testing them out at Maryhill this week, I should have an update on how they went soon!
Jacko came back from the crazy wonderland also known as the Loaded/Orangatang workshop with a set of 75mm Purple O’tangs which looked and felt like an ordinary O’tang. After looking at them for a good 10 minutes trying to figure out what was different I noticed that the core was made from METAL! He shredded them down Tuna Canyon the next day and said they felt goooood!
Hopefully all of these new innovative designs will be out on the market soon, the technology behind longboarding is getting more and more advanced every day!
Its great to be back in Aus, super keen for some Bomb Squad action this week!
Look forward to a write-up and some pictures of my first bombsquad back with the crew!
Thursday Night, 6.30PM, Railway Square near Central station, Sydney. COME AND SHRED SOME GNAR!!!
Peace
Gabe
P.s.
Sector 9 is also starting a Grom team in California, look out everyone, there’s some more crazy grommets about to come into the scene!
Doing the usual internet surf, clicking through my favourite sites. What’s new, what the … Luca is – BAM – in the middle of the Loaded Boards website.
When Jackson was on the mend from his injury, he really got into photography. He found a lot of the same processes to make a good photo was similar to making a good video. Composition, Colour and Action. He followed a few of Adam Colton’s guides to photography editing. I have embedded the videos below, they are a good reference for anyone that regularly takes photos of skating.
The background on this photo is Jackson took the Hopkin Racing Team for a session on one of our local laneways near the Hopshop. The result was some sick urban skating photos, one of which now graces the front page of Loaded.
For the record, Luca is not sponsored by Loaded or Orangatang. Orangatang is his wheel of choice, his loves the BroTang for freeride, longboard and racing. Dont argue with one of Australia’s steezist skaters!
First impressions of the Tan Tien is WOW. It is an amazing looking board, griptape on the top is very sticky, not your average tape. The parquetry pattern on the bottom of the deck is a nice touch. Visually the stand out feature of the deck, when it is in your hands, is the two ends. The neck on each end is a lot thicker than other boards this size. The truck drop thru pattern looks the same as a Dervish. When we put the trucks on, the issue of wheelbite became a talking point. Due to the neck thickness, even with 70mm wheels, it looked like it was going to wheelbite on the edge of the deck. The Loaded warning of no 75mm wheels is correct. I’m using a sharp edge wheel, which is a bit wider than a freeride wheel. There is no bite, the Paris 180 hanger stops it from going that far around, plus not many skaters will be not be setting up their deck gangsta loose. With a freeride wheel like the 70mm Stimulus, it is not even close to a problem.
Trucks are on, I’ve replaced the top bushing in the Paris truck with a red venom barrel. The bounce and extra lean I get is worth the effort.
We could rave all day about the industrial design and set ups but you want to know what it is like to skate.
First skate was my local shop run. I needed more ummm… cornflour – in the kitchen, better do that 20 minute skate up the road to get more!
The Tan Tien seems lower to the ground, which is the case if you normally skate 75mm wheels. Definitely a nicer push. The bigger nose and tail feel weird. It is like I’m skating a duck or the duck bill longboard. Maybe we can nickname it the platypus. I have to keep reminding myself that this is not a skateboard, I can not lazily slip my foot back and rest it on the kicktail.
I’m 5′ 11″ (6 foot ladies with big footbrake soles), and a healthy weight, so I chose a flex 1. Most skaters will go with flex 2. I really chose flex 1 because I wanted a stiffer board. One to throw around a bit, commute on (stiffer deck is easier for me to switch push on). It seems to flex in the middle of the deck, I know that sounds obvious but it is almost like the flex pattern makes the deck have a rocker shape. That is not a bad thing, as you’ll see. The trucks definitely have extra bit of life in them on this deck. I don’t know what it is about Paris trucks and Loaded Boards, but the combination is perfect.
The push up my home hill, the Tan Tien feels like it can pump up the hill just by carving. The carve I’m getting is almost like a slash slide. The maneuverability is awesome. Push, carve, cut away from objects. Short foot platform and hence shorter stance takes a bit of getting use to. It is not uncomfortable, actually helps make the board easier to pump. The flex to a rocker shape is helping here as well. The deck feels nicer to stand on than the Dervish, and lets face it everyone will be comparing them: The Tan Tien vs Dervish. The griptape pattern actually helps you move your feet around. Your feet are not super glued onto deck. I would say the griptape will be harder wearing than the spray grip on the Dervish, a nice compromise between griptape and natural bamboo.
Kicktail and Nose
When I first saw the decks and stood on a complete, the nose felt awkward. So many longboards don’t have much nose and tail, the Tan Tien is an embarrassment of riches. It means you could be re-thinking your longboarding technique. After a bit of time on the Tan Tien it all sort of fell in place. The tail and nose have a sweet spot that fits the ball of your foot. Once you lock it in, a whole new range of possibilities open up. One downside to the longer tail is it is harder to flip into your hand. Longer tail means it hits the ground earlier and does not pop as high. Again, nothing a bit of practice will not fix.
It was a long skate home after the shops, which is really only two blocks away. I had a heap of fun, this board just has so many possibilities when you are having a skate around. You don’t need to be bombing/carving a big hill to have fun. Every object, bump, bank, ledge, gutter, crack, old person becomes another object to skate on. On that simple skate I had two people throw me positive comments on the board, maybe because I was having so much fun, or is it because this board stands out from the crowd?
Gotta go, another shop run, forgot to buy something. I’ll be back later.
Hopshop recommended set up is Paris 180 trucks and 70mm freeride wheels. I think the rounded lip of the freeride wheel will make the board a lot more fun to skate. Reviewed by hop.
It is hard to get information about when new boards will be available from Loaded.
There is a good reason, they are always out skating, testing, and eating chocolate bars. Loaded take their time to prototype, test and revise, to get a product right. We spend our hard earned cash on a Loaded Board, so they want to make sure you love every minute from when you first step on it. The result is a slap in the face with a fish, something you’ll never forget, a ride to waken the senses.
Adam Colton, this week in the Loaded Newsletter, outlined a roadmap for new products. There were no release dates, vague on details, but a tantalizing taste of what is to come. Start saving, here are the boards that are in the Loaded pipeline.
The three boards he talked about this week were: Tan Tien, Dancer version 2 and a speedboard.
Tan Tien
The Tan Tien will be available soon, as it has been in prototype the longest. Release date is unofficially March 2010.
This is not a replacement for the Dervish longboard but best described as a mini Dervish. 38 or 39 inch in length, a shorter wheelbase, which should all make it more maneuverable, easier to slide, better to commute. Nose and tail will be more functional making tricks a bit easier.
What we do know is there will be different flex patterns and it has now gone into production.
Dancer v2
There have been rumours of a new Dancer longboard in the works. This week Adam confirmed the first prototype has arrived for him to start testing. There is very little detail to go on, more information will be released in the next few months. I would expect a slightly shorter deck, and moon rocks in the grip.
Freeride/Downhill
Do not get too excited on this one. It will be a long time coming. Still fun to speculate. Keen viewers of Loaded videos would have noticed a few mystery boards being skated. Maybe there have been speedboard prototypes out and about for a while? All we know is that Loaded have said they are going to pursue a deck for the downhill and freeride market. Makes sense, they have some of the fastest skaters on the planet in their combined Loaded/Orangatang teams.
Official word is: Drawings have been completed and preliminary design is in motion.
Reality is 2011.
Loaded and Orangatang have been playing with Hi Def pro camera’s and the results are really starting to show. Enjoy this one, then go out and freeride.
October 16, 2009 - 12:38 pm in the category "Loaded Boards"
I’m on holidays this week, though most people would say my life is one big long holiday.
The kids are out of school, so I’ve packed them up and headed north to where it is hot.
As you can see (photo below) there is always room for a longboard. The Loaded Ceviche fits perfectly in a standard travel suitcase, makes an excellent luggage divider. Dont let the wife/mum/dad/brother/sister tell you there is no room for your board. You will be kicking yourself when you get to your destination and find a road with perfect hot mix surface or a boardwalk aching to be skated.
Tip of the hat to Bernie, who found a new housing estate at Palm Cove on his last visit. Oceanbreeze behind novatel resort is a new estate that has not sold. Perfect hot mix, no traffic and a minute to the ocean to cool off after a skate. So if you get up here to Palm Cove, check it out. They have also put in the roads for the new Village resort, a lot of fun to be had there as well.
Thanks to the GFC, there seems to be a lot of new estates waiting to be discovered and skated!
It is the last race of the year for the ASRA Conehead Cup 2009. Giant Slalom in the Blue Mountains at the Pumpstation.
Pumpstation is a locals only area, if you are planning to come out for the day, you’ll need to know an ASRA member to get the directions. The address is not posted on the internet.
ASRA calls the race Giant Slalom, but it is GS Australian style. Which means the giant part is extreme speed. The cones are places in a mixture of tight, hybrid and Giant styles. Most of the skaters will be on Hybrid boards because the course has a tight start and finish with a few bruising offsets. The middle part of the course is classic Giant Slalom, with widely spaced cones on a big fast curve of the track.
We have been working on the trophies in the Hopshop all week. This year they are special. Best of all we have found a use for all Jackson’s coned Orangatangs.
Jackson Shapiera has just sent in his race report. Here it is….
So far, things are going pretty well over here in Europe, after over 30 solid hours of consecutive plane, train and bus rides I finally got to Peyragudes late on the Tuesday night. It was a pretty chilly night but i got settled in my room with a few beers and was ready to roll straight up the next morning.
Took so many runs with the Loaded boys and Scoot, following their lead and learning things along the way, and it really paid off. Riding with that crew was seriously stepping it up to the next level, some of the things I was seeing them do was just insane, but to be keeping up with them down the track was a real boost of confidence in myself to race this track.
When qualifying heats came around on the 2nd day, the jet-lag caught up to me and I was burnt out, my first run was a real leg burner so I was surprised to be sitting in 6th position, and the next run was even worse, so to qualify at 9th position was a pretty good, and I was stoked considering my performance in the qualify runs. The next day practice was canceled due to rain, so I got a nice sleep in and chilled out for most of the day, then Yatesy and I went hitch-hiking into the next valley to skate some of the local hills and keep the legs in check. The scenery there was amazing, we skated one road that was 15k’s of constant downhill, and found a nice set of 3 hairpins to practice speed checks on for the race.
The next day was race day, we got a long sleep in as they needed to run Inline, Buttboard, Skullboard and Street Luge before the standup, which was really handy to give the legs one more rest.
My main goal for the day was to make it to round 3, and anything else after that was a bonus. Round 1 and 2 are usually pretty easy but if you make a mistake or crash your day is over and you end up with a pretty average result. Getting to round 3 puts you in the higher section of the bracket and you end your day with a smile, so for me to advance past this round and get a shot for the finals was a big stoke for me.
In round 3, I was up against Mischo Erban and Christof Batt, both extremely talented and fast riders. I pushed out in front and held the lead into the first big right hand hairpin, where I was a little too fast and scrubbed a bit too much speed while taking the corner and watched Mischo blow past me. Luckily I have a strong push and had enough distance from Christof to push myself into a decent spot and hang in Mischo’s draft. For the rest of the course I could feel Christof slowly closing the gap through the rest of the course but I didnt give him any room in any of the corners and held my lines well to secure the 2nd position and advance into the semi finals.
The next round (the semi finals) is the round that sorts out the top 8 for the day. If you advance here, you go to the finals, if you come 3rd or 4th you move down to the consolation final and battle it out for 5th to 8th place. I had Mischo Erban, Martin Seigrist and Jo Jo Martinez in this round, all extremely fast and well experienced racers. So once again I pushed out first and took the lead, and held it as long as I could. Coming into the big right hand hairpin I was still holding the lead but the other riders were close in behind me, so I had to push it a little bit harder, and unfortunately couldn’t pull it off and slid out into the hay, and watched them all pass me by. That put me into the consolation finals.
The consolation final consisted of James Kelly (USA), Jo Jo Martinez (France), Sebastian Hertler (Germany) and myself, and it was a very nerve racking start line. I was up against some of the fastest guys on the hill, and at the same time I was so stoked to be there racing with the best in the world. James pushed off hard and I followed behind him, but unfortunately he fumbled in the first right hand sweeper and went down, taking us all out. As we all got up and scrambled for our boards I realised my board was no where to be seen (later i found it in a ditch down the road) and everyone else powered off and battled for the win. Jo Jo took the consolation final and was awarded 5th place, with James Kelly in 6th, Sebastian in 7th and myself in 8th.
In the finals, it was Louis Piloni (USA) Mischo Erban (Canada) Erik Lumberg (Sweden) and Martin Seigrist (Switzerland) battling it out for the podium finish. All of these riders had been skating hard all day and dominating each of their heats, and also bringing a wide variety of riding styles to the race course. In the end, it turned out Louis had the most dominating way of tackling the hill, with massive long slides into corners with no footbreaks, he left the competition in the dust. Erik crossed the line next to take 2nd and Martin took 3rd and Mischo crashed in one of the corners and ended up with 4th.
It was a big win for Louis, his first win in any downhill race and also his style of riding opened up so many eyes to what was capable on a longboard.
The morning after the race we packed up (with massive hangovers) and started out journey to Ancey for the next race, the Graveyard Call. We will be touring the country side and hitting as many epic hills as we can find along the way, and hope to keep our skills up and learn new ones along the way.
Here is a taste of Peyragudes from various POV cameras. Check out all the riding styles and lack of footbraking. Speed checks and power slides through corners are setting the fastest riders apart from everyone else!!!
May 28, 2009 - 12:21 pm in the category "Loaded Boards"
This is the most common question we get asked regarding Loaded Dervish longboards. The information listed here applied to the whole Loaded range of longboards. A disclaimer, we have copied this information off the Loaded blog and reproduced it here, big thanks to Adam and Louis for the original blog post.
If you weigh 70kg to 85kg you could skate either a Flex 1 or Flex 2. What flex do I choose?
Choosing your flex will depend on your riding style. Choose Flex 2 if you want a comfortable flowy ride. Choose Flex 1 if you are going to do more aggressive tricks and want a more responsive ride.
Flex 2
Flex 2 is a softer flex and will suit a more mellow style of riding and carving. It will feel playful and comfortable. While it will not bottom out while riding or carving, you still can bottom the board out with a forceful downward surge. If you use the board mainly for commuting, a softer flex will be an added comfort. You can still slide aggressively on a softer flex but a stiffer one is more suitable. You can use a softer flex to really carve into some dance moves. You can still perform big spins and old skool kickflips but you run the risk of bottoming out. You can take a soft flex up to speed but a stiffer flex will be more stable.
Flex1
Flex 1 is a stiffer flex and will suite a more aggressive carving, sliding, and pumping style when you are constantly slamming your weight down onto the board. It will be easier to perform shovits and flip tricks along with boneless airs and aggressive sliding. The added stiffness will add stability at speed and in the bowl when you are generating speed off a wall.
Hope that helps choose your flex type. If you know what you want, you can buy one now buy clicking on teh links below
Manufacturers
