I'm going to be in Toronto for a couple of weeks at the end of June and am looking
to buy a new setup while I'm out there. Can anyone here reccomend some shops in the
Toronto area? Ideally I want somewhere that stocks Abec11 No Skoolz. I had a look on their website but they don't list any dealers in Toronto..... humph. Also, any nice, long, smooth, hill recomendations would be great as well.
hills, beaches is nice and mellow for a long ass ride downhill take the young subway as far north as you want then ride it back down...
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The sage, Longboard Buddha once said, "A tree spends 100% of its lifetime in a static environment and only after its reincarnation as a deck is it allowed to move at fast speeds...
when allowed, the wood will give thankless service if
allowed to flow."
oh yea if you want to roll with a crew on the weekends in toronto they run from hogtown sometimes e-mail this dude, good people...
tbrowne @ goodmedia.com (remove the spaces)
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The sage, Longboard Buddha once said, "A tree spends 100% of its lifetime in a static environment and only after its reincarnation as a deck is it allowed to move at fast speeds...
when allowed, the wood will give thankless service if
allowed to flow."
Also, any nice, long, smooth, hill recomendations would be great as well.
Cheers
SmallEgg
It's not super steep, but Pape from Danforth ave south is very smooth and a nice mellow run. It's usually full of cars, but late at night or early morning is fun. Lots of other short hills near it too.
My buddy had a bad experience buying his first board at Hogtown. I found out later it was actually the owner that was serving him who was being a dick! WTF? So I ended up going to Flood on College near Ossington and got a wicked Earthwing Superglide with Indy 169's and Powerballs and Bones Reds for less then he got his S9 Supercruiser complete at Hogtown. The people working there were sweet and I left very happy!
I had also made a purchase at one point at Hogtown. The staff I have met are terrible. Confrontational, and not helpful. I really don't want to bash them but this happened on multiple occasions. And I had the unlucky chance of meeting the owner as well, and he was very impolite, curt, and downright rude. He happened to be at the cash register and rung up the sale. Gave me a dirty look and all. WTF? Needless to say, I will not be making any more purchases again at HogTown.
There was one staff member who tried to be helpful and courteous, but those are few and far between. It all boils down to how the shop was run, and the management. If the management consists of angry, rude, and uncourteous people, it will follow down the chain of command. Sad, but true.
I started making contact with another shop, (I have no affiliation with this or any other skate shop in the area), and had a pleasant experience. They were even nicer than BoardSports. BoardSports, I thought had terrible customer service as well. But check out Flood. They are great, very courteous and helpful. Strong management.
YAh hogtown is well stocked, but sometimes the guys working there are jerkoffs.
Buying 10mm bearings from them was a long process.
"You know these aren't standard bearing size"
"Yes"
"And they don't come with spacers"
"I have some kicking around"
"10mm?"
"YES"
"Cause those aren't the standard bearing size"
They have lots of stuff in stock though.
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Quiver!
- KS M1, R180, Flashbacks 78a or No Skoolz 96a -
- Comishin, Bear 1040, Lemon Bigzigs or Monster Hawgz 82a -
- EW Bigfoot Drifter, Tracker 149, Slide A's -
I had also made a purchase at one point at Hogtown. The staff I have met are terrible. Confrontational, and not helpful. I really don't want to bash them but this happened on multiple occasions. And I had the unlucky chance of meeting the owner as well, and he was very impolite, curt, and downright rude. He happened to be at the cash register and rung up the sale. Gave me a dirty look and all. WTF? Needless to say, I will not be making any more purchases again at HogTown.
There was one staff member who tried to be helpful and courteous, but those are few and far between. It all boils down to how the shop was run, and the management. If the management consists of angry, rude, and uncourteous people, it will follow down the chain of command. Sad, but true.
I started making contact with another shop, (I have no affiliation with this or any other skate shop in the area), and had a pleasant experience. They were even nicer than BoardSports. BoardSports, I thought had terrible customer service as well. But check out Flood. They are great, very courteous and helpful. Strong management.
Flood is the way to go! All there staff is very knowleadgable and they have the best selection of longboards I've seen in most shops in Toronto!
__________________
Quiver!
- KS M1, R180, Flashbacks 78a or No Skoolz 96a -
- Comishin, Bear 1040, Lemon Bigzigs or Monster Hawgz 82a -
- EW Bigfoot Drifter, Tracker 149, Slide A's -
Flood is the way to go! All there staff is very knowleadgable and they have the best selection of longboards I've seen in most shops in Toronto!
Thanks Cuna!
Hogtown is the largest and most well known skateshop in Toronto, and if you're visiting, you should drop by, it is definitely a part of the history of skating in Toronto. They have a couple of rad staff members, who will shoot the #### while you browse. Well stocked.
Here are my favourite shops, and I think you should check them out too.
Junction Skateshop (Roncesvalles and Howard Park Ave.)
- My local shop, rad guys, love and support the skaters in the neighboorhood. They have some wicked events including art openings and parties. They sold me my first pair of legit skate shoes. I spend my money there even though I get discounted product at my shop, I wholeheartedly support these guys and there business. Wes is the guy to talk to there. He is a rad artist, and you can see his art in the shop and on the shop decks. He is currently contributing artwork to a series of skateboards by the local "Change Skateboards". The series portrays different intersections of the city, as seen by the artists. Can't wait to see them! 5 stars for Local stoke!
Flood Board Co. (College St. and Shaw St.)
- My shop, we carry alot of soft-goods as it is a walk around neighbourhood, and we count on that business, I'm not going to lie. However we are the largest retailer of Longboard hardgoods in southern Ontario at the moment, after only five months at our location, we have set-up over 200+ longboarders with gear. I'm proud that I can walk down the street and see my customers riding on their way to work, shredding banks and ledges, pumping and sliding down Roxton Avenue. Infact I think that I've skated with most of my customers. If you're ever in the area, come by and say hello to our staff and check out our digs, then come rip some paths when we flip the sign.
Hammer (Queen St. East)
- Beaches skateshop, and the local shop of Vanderhoof, the raddest bowl in Toronto. Dave knows his stuff, he opened up the shop after working for Ontario's larges skateboard hardgoods distributor for over 5 years. Nice guy, no "core" attitude, and a shop with a lot of character, housed underneath a tattoo parlour in Toronto's east end. He has a good selection of transition gear, and a bit of longboard stuff to boot. Fantastic prices.
Longboard Haven (No Retail Location)
Online store run out of Toronto, and Burnaby B.C. by Patrick Switzer with a racing pedigree. You may know him as the 2nd place finisher in munnsville, first place qualifier in maryhill, with a 7th place finish. Perhaps you know him as a Team Rider for Orangatang Wheels, and Kahalani Trucks. Rad skater, and generous guy who has done a great deal to grow and stoke the scene in southern Ontario. I bought my first DH deck with him, went on my first session with him, and my reference to my current position... Still not sure if this was an act of sabotage, but I'll er on the side of generosity Knows his gear, knows how to ride, gets all the hottest products, when they are released. Many can vouch for the level of rad this man has reached. If he were a scientologist, he would be 7th level Clear. It doesn't get much more legit.
These shops are where are where I bring my business, and my recommendations if you hit up the T- Dot.
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I want you to lay it on your radio, let the vibes flow through.
Funk not only moves, it can re-move, dig?
Last edited by Zach_Wolf; 09-23-2008 at 03:10 AM.
Reason: To remove lame.
Shopping for longboards in Toronto....
Knows his gear, knows how to ride, gets all the hottest products, when they are released. Many can vouch for the level of rad this man has reached. If he were a scientologist, he would be 7th level Clear. It doesn't get much more legit.