Alpha's X country journey for the twins

[rayzor tattoos]

Second deck broke, long story short I was able to make it to the Columbia, Missouri area (~1000) miles after being lost for a while...hitchhiked to an airport and im currently in Cali skating with the tactis crew.

Thanks for all your support!

u r an animal
much respect
team..."serge the man!"
ray

[Daniel M.]

Badass. Glad to hear you're OK.

[Kenny_Ledesma]

so lbl pusher isn't very durable?

[Rarrazz]

so lbl pusher isn't very durable?

Keep in mind he kept on pushing, storm or shine.

Great job man!!

[Daniel M.]

so lbl pusher isn't very durable?

To be honest it looked like a shortage of glue or something similar. Common delam. This is a very slow type of failure and is nothing common to the deck I would suspect. My guess is that this was a rare occurance where normally you would say "Hey Larry, is it supposed to do this?" and he'll say no I'll take care of it or you could stick some epoxy in there and be good to go.

But when you're pushing across the country rain or shine without fixing it then things tend to get a little worse.

Not trying to speak for Larry but just what it looks like to me.

[FaceVsAsphalt]

I saw som LBL boards take some serious curb hits this weekend and no problems. I would imagine skating cross country takes it toll on any board.

[gabriel[abc]]

To be honest it looked like a shortage of glue or something similar. Common delam. This is a very slow type of failure and is nothing common to the deck I would suspect. My guess is that this was a rare occurance where normally you would say "Hey Larry, is it supposed to do this?" and he'll say no I'll take care of it or you could stick some epoxy in there and be good to go.

But when you're pushing across the country rain or shine without fixing it then things tend to get a little worse.

Not trying to speak for Larry but just what it looks like to me.

hmhmm but he said 2nd board. so what was the first?

[jkpvilla]

look at the bends. Regardless of how he's bending the board in what press, vacuum or ribbed, the majority of stress is being put on those areas. more pressure> less room for glue to spread>thinner layer of glue. Add in about 800 miles of constant skating, rain or shine... yeah.

[enemy combatant]

so lbl pusher isn't very durable?

Apparently not.

[dkeller33]

Big Kudo's to you Serge..

I guessing any wood board put to that test and that much water isn't going to last long...........Maybe a carbon fiber next time?

[Ogre]

All I can say, is that the day Serge got the 2nd board, he called me and stated concerns that the new deck was showing signs of delam before he even rode it. By the look of that pic, the glass wasn't wetted out well.
Defects happen to the best of board builders, it's just a shame that the problems arising here weren't as convenient to fix as they would have been from an end user from the comfort of his home. Either rate, hats off to Alpha and all those that were involved.

[enemy combatant]

Defects happen to the best of board builders

No. They happen least to the best board builders.

[Ogre]

No. They happen least to the best board builders.

I agree... but they still occur. Never owned an LBL, but have not heard any complaints, it's just a bummer a sub par deck was sent to a rider that was so dependent on it's performance and durability. Take for instance EC, wouldn't you be bummed if the nursing home issued you a wheel chair with weak stitching on the seat the day they served Mexican refried bean?

[SeanML]

My bet is water damage played the biggest role in deck destruction, though it does seem a little disappointing... I have the utmost respect for LBL though; I'm sure he would've furnished Serge with a 3rd, 4th, and 5th deck if necessary.

Hell of a good source of R&D for LBL, now that I think of it... at least now he knows where it's weakest


'twas an epic journey dude... serious respect.

[Ogre]

My bet is water damage played the biggest role in deck destruction, though it does seem a little disappointing... I have the utmost respect for LBL though; I'm sure he would've furnished Serge with a 3rd, 4th, and 5th deck if necessary.

Hell of a good source of R&D for LBL, now that I think of it... at least now he knows where it's weakest


'twas an epic journey dude... serious respect.

I agree on all accounts, but after the conditions (Roads and weather) Serge endured. I can't help but to think it was the straw that broke the Camelbaks (read camel's back)

[enemy combatant]

it's just a bummer a sub par deck was sent to a rider that was so dependent on it's performance and durability.

Make that two sub par decks!

Take for instance EC, wouldn't you be bummed if the nursing home issued you a wheel chair with weak stitching on the seat the day they served Mexican refried bean?

**** no. My wheelchair will have a Recaro seat and multiple batteries wired in series for maximum voltage.

[Ogre]

Nice EC.. how fast it top out at?

[Alpha06]

The LBL pusher is an awesome deck. I think I just got unlucky with my decks.

If I had to do it again though, I wouldnt go with a rolls rolls, their carbon decks dont absorb vibrations at all, especially with the 83 flys I was rocking. I'd go with a tactis deck, those would probably have given me 0 issues in all honesty since they would be waterproof/can take a nice amount of impact

[OldSkateGuy]

The LBL pusher is an awesome deck. I think I just got unlucky with my decks.

If I had to do it again though, I wouldnt go with a rolls rolls, their carbon decks dont absorb vibrations at all, especially with the 83 flys I was rocking. I'd go with a tactis deck, those would probably have given me 0 issues in all honesty since they would be waterproof/can take a nice amount of impact

Good job Serge, lots of courage to do what you did. The Tactis crew are a good bunch to hang with. Going to do any traveling while in California? Come visit if you have some free time.

I must respectfully disagree with you regarding the RollsRolls not absorbing vibration, mine has over 3,000 miles on it and still a dream to ride on long treks. Just curious what duro were your Flys?

[GPymp]

Next time put a rubber raft in your back pack.