Topmount VS. Dropthru VS. Dropdeck

[dosydos22]

BATTLE ROYALE!

Lets here it folks!

Today's speedboards are easy classified into 3 categories= Topmount, Dropthru, and Drop Deck

Well we already know that drop deck and dropthru allow for a lower ride height, increasing stability, but still the majority of speedboards out their seem to be topmount!

Do those topmount riders know something we don't know??

Post your favorite speedboard and tell us why you love it!

[ProStoke]

BATTLE ROYALE!

Lets here it folks!

Today's speedboards are easy classified into 3 categories= Topmount, Dropthru, and Drop Deck

Well we already know that drop deck and dropthru allow for a lower ride height, increasing stability, but still the majority of speedboards out their seem to be topmount!

Do those topmount riders know something we don't know??

Post your favorite speedboard and tell us why you love it!

Great Idea!
I've always wondered what the pro's and cons of each platform is.

[killdozer]

I ride an Avenger for DH and prefer the extra grip in the corners. I don't find it any less stable than my drop deck. I also think top mounts look better.

[vince-t]

at the moment i really love the feel of a low or rockered topmount. ive got two speedboards right now, one a comet voodoo cut to 28.5" wheelbase for more tech runs and an o8 avenger with flipped 42s for super speeds. also a topmount doesnt exactly have to be grippy, like my voodoo for instance is super drifty with some 78a grippins. essentially, i like the leverage and being able to have my foot right over the front truck and drop thrus and drops just dont allow me to have that

[jman1365]

BATTLE ROYALE!

Lets here it folks!

Today's speedboards are easy classified into 3 categories= Topmount, Dropthru, and Drop Deck

Well we already know that drop deck and dropthru allow for a lower ride height, increasing stability, but still the majority of speedboards out their seem to be topmount!

Do those topmount riders know something we don't know??

Post your favorite speedboard and tell us why you love it!

stability is the rider not the board
that being said I prefer different boards for different hills
p.s. who is this? thought the majority of you incondite guys don't dh..

[badger555.5]

Drop thro!!

[urbs]

Drop thro!!\/

Big ol Demonseed for me!

[Bookworm]

Drop deck: big wheels, stability in your sleep, footbraking is a breeze, big arms for controlling drifts/slides.

[swisschez]

flushmount pagan
-low
-comfy
-grip it and rip it satisfaction
-nice and agile with me paris 180s

[Xgecko]

drop through Jailbait/Baby Toe short wheelbase with Cindy's = more stable than topmount, low even with BigZigs easy foorbraking. I never could get comfortable on a top mount at speed it just didn't feel natural and for some reason dropdecks don't do it for me....lord knows I would like a Deznutz

[Bookworm]

drop through Jailbait/Baby Toe short wheelbase with Cindy's = more stable than topmount, low even with BigZigs easy foorbraking. I never could get comfortable on a top mount at speed it just didn't feel natural and for some reason dropdecks don't do it for me....lord knows I would like a Deznutz

I get that gecko. I just feel strange riding a topmount. Unless I'm not drifting, like on a slalom board, then I feel alright. I just don't feel safe drifting a topmount.

[Kenny_Ledesma]

Board design has more to due with final performance than mounting style. I prefer symmetrical boards over 9.5 inches wide.

[tomes]

Great Idea!
I've always wondered what the pro's and cons of each platform is.

Showing how the center of the board moves outward the further down you go.
or conversely, inward as you go upward.

I will try and make this easy--make a fist around a ruler at it's middle (or use a small stick) and hold it fingers down right on top of a table. Twist to the left without lifting your fist. The left end digs into the table, the right end wants to go skyward. Now, if this was a truck, it would also want to turn left and rotate with the left side coming towards you. With softer bushings, it would turn easier with less force of trying to turn your wrist to the left because they would flex allowing the turn. Less force to the left means less lift on the right which means more even distribution of force on the tires which means more traction. No matter what, a turn to the left would put more downforce on the left tires and wear the inside tire more. Softer bushings=Less upforce=more force on 4 tires=more grip for slower speeds. Why just for lower speeds? At higher speeds, gravitational forces in the turn play a bigger role. At higher speeds, you kind of have to look at your center of mass and what it's forces are in a turn.

What happens at a turn? Conservation of momentum makes your body want to go straight but you are turning and your tires want it to curve. The higher your center of mass, the more of a moment or turning force it creates at the trucks perpendicular to the axle. This force plays a more significant role at speed. Basically, when you go really fast and you want to turn, we have the bushing dilemma as described above, but we have an additional force wanting to throw us off the board at a right angle so we lean way over which moves our center of gravity to the inside of the turn. This also creates a moment at the trucks which wants to lift the outside tire. When we drop the board, we shift the center of force to the outside of the board countering this moment (see fantastic diagrams posted by SteveC above!). This is why dropped boards at speed turn nicer and slide more predictably--the shifting of the center of force on the trucks shifts towards the outside wheels.

Top mount: Most leanable, most grip (The reason being that at full lean your weight is going to be close to the center of the truck than with dropped boards, meaning that your weight is going to be more equally distributed over the four wheels), most control but this is at the sacrifice of stability for some. Really it just takes strong ankles. Some people don't like the straight deck aspect of these boards because there is no natural foot-stops on either end of the board, that is when your pushing your front foot may want to move forward if you aren't putting enough pressure on it and as your back foot has a tendency to slip back when tucking, you could have problems if your grip isn't grippy.

Drop through: Added stability but proportionally less grip/lean to the change in height of your center of gravity (say in comparison to a topmount). The reason for this is that because of the way a skateboard turns, as you lean you start applying less force down an more force to the side. You have less leverage with lowered platforms:

What happens when you drop a board is you're reducing the board's leverage over the truck's roll axis (this in turn effects how the bushings behave). It also effects the board's center-line under turn, and the angle from which the rider's inertia and other forces effect the board. (these two effect the weight ballance between the inside and outside wheels)

It also means that you have to put more weight on the edges of the deck to make the turn and that moved the center of gravity of the *rider* more off the center of the trucks than he'd have to move for a top-mount deck to make the same turn.
The drift on anything with a lowered platform is going to happen earlier and be easier to control. Usually this sort of straight deck drop though should have a ride height in between that of a topmount and drop deck. A disadvantage of this is that the nose and tail become noticeably weaker, a hit to a wall can shatter them. The board will still be usable (probably) but torsional flex will increase.

Drop deck: Everything about drop through is applicable here, except the part about fragility. There is the added benefit of front and rear foot-stops.

[AlG]

I'm an anomaly that feels most stable on a top mount. I ride a Earthwing Mystery Model 50/35 and feel a LOT more stable on it than my Comet Pagan 42/42 or 50/42. I gets wobbles fairly easy with the Pagan with green Elims in the rear and red Elim/red Reflex barrel top compared to the red elims rear and red Elim/red Reflex barrel top. I have no idea why. I enjoy my Pagan but it doesn't feel as stable as it "should". Could it be the rocker? When I first got my FSM on 42* plates it felt less stable than my Arbor fleewood (cambered top mount). I think I'm just a top mount guy. However, I enjoy the #### out of the Nemesis for freeriding. Haven't straight up bombed anything on it yet.

[ProStoke]

Showing how the center of the board moves outward the further down you go.
or conversely, inward as you go upward.




Top mount: Most leanable, most grip (The reason being that at full lean your weight is going to be close to the center of the truck than with dropped boards, meaning that your weight is going to be more equally distributed over the four wheels), most control but this is at the sacrifice of stability for some. Really it just takes strong ankles. Some people don't like the straight deck aspect of these boards because there is no natural foot-stops on either end of the board, that is when your pushing your front foot may want to move forward if you aren't putting enough pressure on it and as your back foot has a tendency to slip back when tucking, you could have problems if your grip isn't grippy.

Drop through: Added stability but proportionally less grip/lean to the change in height of your center of gravity (say in comparison to a topmount). The reason for this is that because of the way a skateboard turns, as you lean you start applying less force down an more force to the side. You have less leverage with lowered platforms:



It also means that you have to put more weight on the edges of the deck to make the turn and that moved the center of gravity of the *rider* more off the center of the trucks than he'd have to move for a top-mount deck to make the same turn.
The drift on anything with a lowered platform is going to happen earlier and be easier to control. Usually this sort of straight deck drop though should have a ride height in between that of a topmount and drop deck. A disadvantage of this is that the nose and tail become noticeably weaker, a hit to a wall can shatter them. The board will still be usable (probably) but torsional flex will increase.

Drop deck: Everything about drop through is applicable here, except the part about fragility. There is the added benefit of front and rear foot-stops.

Awesome info man, thanks for providing an intelligent answer.
I've always been a bit retarded when it comes to physics, you think you could dumb it down for me?

[tomes]

Awesome info man, thanks for providing an intelligent answer.
I've always been a bit retarded when it comes to physics, you think you could dumb it down for me?

Topmounts have more of an ability to grip than a lowered board because the riders weight is more on top of the truck.

[Cob]

The funny thing being is that the lads that drift and slide on the tour are rockin top mounts and the boys that go for railing ride dropped decks.

So I'd say it is the rider and not the board.

[tomes]

The funny thing being is that the lads that drift and slide on the tour are rockin top mounts and the boys that go for railing ride dropped decks.

So I'd say it is the rider and not the board.

The rider can make any deck good for anything, but physics wise and from experience Topmounts can grip in corners that Drops drift.

[Hmann]

i really havent decided what i like! i love how my topmount turns, but im not a big fan of how shaky it feels. i like how solid my drop feels but not a big fan of cornering on it. so im experimenting with tubular pivot cups. it really makes a difference

[dosydos22]

stability is the rider not the board
p.s. who is this? thought the majority of you incondite guys don't dh..

Im Alex from Incondite haha.. we all dh to an extent, but Tevs and Che are prolly our best dh