DH on Slalom Boards

**Petary791** · 09-21-2009 03:51 PM

As a lowly Midwesterner I miss out on a lot of the skate trends that goes on out in the skate Meccas. Fortunately Silverfish fills me in on a lot of crap info but some good info too.

I've seen a lot of shots of dudes bombing on slalom boards at Maryhill especially. I think I saw Zak do it back at WWII and I've heard of P-Swiss bombing Munnsville on his TS board. What's the deal? Are these guys just running GS boards with 125mm trucks and their standard slalom bushings or are they beefing it up for DH? I had fun with my HS board on a 30 mph hill, but I'm interested to see what the other guys are doing.

**El Tadashi** · 09-21-2009 04:00 PM

I saw zaks board when he raced the slalom at cathlamet(right before maryhill) He was riding a Pavel foam core with adjustable GOG trucks and he has adjusted the bushings for downhill as he did race it at maryhill this year(Only when it was dry) That is about all I know about his setup and form what I herd he was huging the corners like no one else could.(Hence why he used it)

**green** · 09-21-2009 04:04 PM

Zak was on 100mm trucks for the record. If you can handle the small wheelbase and the narrow trucks, then go for it. I have heard thru the grapevine that Pswiss had trouble sliding his 23" WB slalom board and after som experience with a similar setup, it is pretty tough to slide a small board.

But for certain races like maryhill, where slowing down isnt an issue, and grip is, a small board would be ideal for more than one reason.

I have wanted to make a finely tuned slalom board and take it down GMR or something, but i would never even think about trying to throw a pendy on a board THAT small.

**streetheap** · 09-21-2009 04:04 PM

I used to get jiggy with some DH on my Skatebuilt GS. Wedged Indy 149 front and dewedged Tracker Street Track rear. Not exactly a killer slalom setup, but pretty stable + turny.
The drifting/sliding thing was the real bitch.

**K-Rimes** · 09-21-2009 04:07 PM

If you can ride the course on a slalom board and are faster and /or more competitive it speaks volumes about the track.

I'm STILL waiting for the challenge of real tracks that scare you enough to get on a big board.

**leadfoot** · 09-21-2009 04:34 PM

Originally Posted by K-Rimes

If you can ride the course on a slalom board and are faster and /or more competitive it speaks volumes about the track.

I'm STILL waiting for the challenge of real tracks that scare you enough to get on a big board.

Mt Panorama scares me.

**Petary791** · 09-21-2009 04:38 PM

Right on, it appears my initial thoughts were spot on. Thanks for the info guys. I'm stoked on my Fullbag Death or Glory. I wish I hadn't have sold my Airflow 129 I got for $7. *facepalm x10009494209*

EDIT: And it is TOTALLY possible to slide a tiny ass board. At Slide Fu this year, some dude was killin' it on a chopped Nemesis on Trackers and Orangatangs. Dude was probably pushin 35 on it.

**Eddy Martinez** · 09-21-2009 04:54 PM

Back in 2006 at The Texas Cold Fusion Sizzler. David Price won the speed trap I believe he hit 54 mph on a DH rig. The slalom guys were bombing that hill on slalom boards and pulling it off. That is talent, what else could it be. Your Amigo Eddy Texas Outlaws.

This is Karl Floitgraph the bro was killing on his Pocket Pistol that day.

**Mercado** · 09-21-2009 05:05 PM

I couldnt agree with Kevin more.

**Brian Holden** · 09-21-2009 05:15 PM

Originally Posted by K-Rimes

If you can ride the course on a slalom board and are faster and /or more competitive it speaks volumes about the track.

I'm STILL waiting for the challenge of real tracks that scare you enough to get on a big board.

Hell yeah! Kozakov was def a gnarly track to ride, and I have heard that Mt Panaroma is one of the fastest courses out there, (besides Teutonia)

The old Euro Circuit had a ton of fast, steep technical hills that need to be brought back.

Countertal, COASH, and some of the french races have sick tracks to offer.

**Xgecko** · 09-21-2009 05:16 PM

I've skated with Karl on a 40mph hill he was railing his GS board alongside guys on long WB Downhill boards so I can see where its possible but not with my skill set.

**Petary791** · 09-21-2009 06:11 PM

Karl and Brian Parsons were bombing a pretty big hill on a HS and TS board respectively this weekend. Cool stuff. All this talk about having runs hard enough where you can't use it makes me feel like a super noob. RAWK

**beigebomber** · 09-22-2009 04:20 AM

I'm STILL waiting for the challenge of real tracks that scare you enough to get on a big board.[/QUOTE]

See the post called 'Google earth' that UltyHuck started up yesterday. Also, the Spanish gravity sports association runs races for metal-wheeled soapboxes, they let us longboarders into the races so as to make up the numbers. Thing is, metal-wheeled soapboxes take a lot of incline to get up speed, and the races tend to be steep. Paresi in the Basque country has a 2.5k race where 1.5k of that is at 16%, with hairpins. It's just after Peyragudes, only about 150 miles away, and costs about 30 bucks. Have a think about it for next year, if you're gonna be in the area anyway...

AJ · 09-23-2009 01:31 PM

Originally Posted by Petary791

Phoque Yeah Braden Tibbles!

he's got it down!

**DH Reaper** · 09-23-2009 01:54 PM

Being a DH'er and riding some of my buddy's slalom boards I can definitly see the appeal, lots of possibilities for pre-drifting. Those short, light boards are a hell of a lot of fun.

**Petary791** · 09-23-2009 10:18 PM

Originally Posted by DH Reaper

Being a DH'er and riding some of my buddy's slalom boards I can definitly see the appeal, lots of possibilities for pre-drifting. Those short, light boards are a hell of a lot of fun.

What's interesting to me is that I feel like there's not much pre-drifting with such a small board. I feel like you kinda gotta rail the turns and grip grip grip!

**CarlTheSmokingCrab** · 09-23-2009 11:13 PM

The more turn, the more grip! I can grip corners on my slalom board so f'ing hard I cannot even believe it.

**green** · 09-23-2009 11:31 PM

Its not the more turn, its how close and tight the wheels are together side to side and front to back, and how much more focussed your weight is on the tighter group. More turn can mean more grip, but at a certain point, the more you turn, the more your wheels want to brake loose.

**Petary791** · 09-24-2009 07:24 AM

Originally Posted by CarlTheSmokingCrab

The more turn, the more grip!

I'mma have to agree with green on this one too. The more you turn, especially with a wedged/dewedged setup, the more potential you have to whip the back in out. But at the same time, I used to run super loose Bennetts on my Hybrid and I could not get the wheels to standup slide very well.

**zavenhook** · 09-24-2009 09:53 AM

Originally Posted by green

Zak was on 100mm trucks for the record. If you can handle the small wheelbase and the narrow trucks, then go for it. I have heard thru the grapevine that Pswiss had trouble sliding his 23" WB slalom board and after som experience with a similar setup, it is pretty tough to slide a small board.

But for certain races like maryhill, where slowing down isnt an issue, and grip is, a small board would be ideal for more than one reason.

I have wanted to make a finely tuned slalom board and take it down GMR or something, but i would never even think about trying to throw a pendy on a board THAT small.

I agree that sliding a small wheelbase board is NOT fun. Its still possible, but since you're weight is so centered over your trucks it hard to control. (not to mention crazy angles on a slalom board.) I road my slalom board at maryhill and i loved it.

As for going fast on a small board I've taken my slalom board up to around 65mph and it was pretty sketch. It does depend on the run, but a slalom board could be a huge advantage on certain courses, and not on others. I wouldn't wanna run my slalom board down a run like lookout mountain, but maryhill seemed prime for it.