Specs.

To say that the Wonder is a big board is an understatement. It comes in at 59 inches tall and 11 and a half inches wide. It came stock with:

• 76mm, 78A hubbed Wicked Skateboard wheels .

• A pair of Brakeboard™ Longboard Ver. 2.0 skateboard brake and front truck 50deg.

• NOjOH™ Brake Conversion Hand-Lever Kit (Patent Pend.)

• Abec 7 Titanium Nitride (Ti-N) bearings

• Shuvit Grip-tape

• Flux® lighted front riser

• Digital Speedometer by Gravity

• Original Graphics by Conn Johnson

• Coated with Spar Urethane for sun and moisture protection

This is far and away the most loaded board I have ever seen. Just about everything that you can put on a board is on here. When I first saw these specs I was a little skeptical. My experiences in the past have been that when you start to get all the fancy stuff and add-ons that invariably something has to give. Either the quality is shoddy or it just doesn't flow well together. Fortunately this is not the problem with the Wonder. . Along with the board you get a folder that contains an instruction manual, technical information, warnings, and a list of all the inspections and tunings done in the factory. Everything on this board works together and is tested at Wicked Skateboards before they're shipped out to assure quality control

Construction and Quality

Straight out of the package this board is a thing of beauty. I had family members who couldn't give a rip about boarding commenting on how tight the board was. The board itself is made of 13 ply Russian birch with a nice natural finish on it. Wicked Skateboards told me that the board had been tested up to 230 pounds, so I was a little anxious about my 250 pounds and how it would respond to it. As you can expect with 13 plies of birch there wasn't a lot of flex happening. The Grip tape is very professional looking with a cool sticker running through the middle for a nice racing type look. The routing is top notch and the wheel wells are terrific. Even with the big 76mm wheels I haven't had any wheel bite. There obviously wasn't any skimping on this board, everything looks very professional and of high quality. Wicked Skateboards were great to deal with. They shipped the board out quickly, and answered all e-mails promptly. They were very cooperative with my questions and helped me out with my questions.

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SPECIAL FEATURES

The first thing you notice (after the size) is the cord running out of the back. That little beauty is for the NOJOH Hand brake converter for the Brakeboard system. A while ago I did a review on the Brakeboard trucks. While the trucks work good there was always the issue of having to change your riding style for the trucks. In order to utilize the brake you had to ride at the back of your board, which requires a different riding style than I'm used to. Switching between the two was bothersome and awkward. The NOJOH brake converter takes the Brakeboard and converts it from a foot brake to a hand lever brake. Unfortunately for this review I didn't have to opportunity to actually install the NOJOH, so I can't give a very detailed analysis of it. The Brakeboard is rather difficult to install if you have big hands or fingers, so I am curious to see how the NOJOH installs. As for the functionality of the NOJOH it works well, in fact too well sometimes. More than one person made the mistake of squeezing down full force on the brake as they were cruising along. This resulted in some funny launches from the board and some even funnier landings. Now I know that a lot of boarders hate brakes, and feel that they cheapen the art of boarding. However everyone I know that's ridden with a set of brakes tell me that it actually helps their riding ability. I noticed that on the first run of a big hill I was using the brake a lot. On the second run I was using it less, and on the subsequent runs I was using it less and less. After a few runs I was taking the same hill with out using the brakes at all, and I was able to use any board. With this system you're able to ride exactly how you like and feel comfortable using the brake, if and when you need it. This is a huge improvement to the original Brakeboard.

The Wonder also comes with the nifty Gravity Speedometer that adds an entirely new dimension to your boarding. It's awesome to be able to know exactly how fast you're going and the fastest you went on your last run. It also comes with an odometer and a clock. The mounting is in the front of the board on top of the front truck. I kept on catching myself checking the speedometer after every run and going through the different functions.

The last special feature is the front flux riser. Silverfish did a review of some of the first Flux risers, and I personally didn't like them very much. These appear to be a much better version that really worked well. The lights are green that are suppose to last for hundreds of hours. At night these illuminated rather well and enabled us to see well enough to skate in areas that you know well. I probably wouldn't take any extreme runs or try to traverse any new frontiers, but for your normal run in the dark they work well.

THE RIDE

Like most big boards this is a very smooth ride. With the 72mm wheels you're able cruise over most obstacles without fear of being thrown. The turning radius is surprisingly tight with such a long board, which is due to the Randalesque design of the Brakeboard trucks. Even though the trucks help with turning this board is still made for cruising and bombing, not taking tight turns on narrow roads. With the help of the big wheels and the NOJOH brake set I was able to take some crazy streets that were way out of my league before. On one run I was taking a street that was still under construction, and hit a 2 inch drop off on the road going about 20 mph, and it didn't even faze me or the board.

Due to the NOJOH brake converter and the Flux riser this board is pretty high. This makes pushing pretty hard on flat land. This isn't really a problem because this board isn't made to push along a board walk or take for a marathon ride. Even though the board is really high it doesn't feel squirrelly or off balance. It's actually a very stable and responsive ride. The other annoying yet inevitable thing about the board is the cord. I know it's stupid to complain about the cord on a board with a hand brake, but it does get a little annoying. For me the little amount of extra time and energy the cord requires is greatly out weighed by the many good qualities of this board. For an every day board this board is too big to just pull out and take down the street, but you can't beat it for bombing hills and taking monster roads.

Overall the OTS Interurban Winged Wonder gets a high rating. The board quality is very high, and with the NOJOH hand brake converter, the Flux risers, 72mm wheels, and the Gravity Speedometer you get an overall package that can't be touched by any other company out there. The look of the board is beautiful and the functionality of it is outstanding. The winged wonder has let me ride some things that I considered impossible only a few weeks back. If you want a great board to bomb those monster hills in your neighborhood, and show off to your friends and family, then this board is for you.

Purchase the Interurban Winged Wonder Here

-Todd