Just gotta say I really appreciate all the solid info you’ve put out throughout the years so we can make informed decisions about our setup and not just falling victim to marketing and hype.

Unfortunately… I heard dwindle is… dwindling. They fired bill Weiss owner of madness, team manager and brand manager for blind. Enjoi is done. It’s owned by an investment company. And they are doing what a lot of corporations do. It doesn’t work in skateboarding tho

@Olsenator

Жыл бұрын

@Rhyan Sledge me too. Tilt mode man down was my first video. And Louie has been my favorite skater ever since. Bag of suck. Legendary

@gunkrock

Жыл бұрын

dwindle been dwindled

@tpderp5038

Жыл бұрын

Pretty sure nhs(maybe just Indy ¯\_(ツ)_/¯) also got bought by some huge corporation. Getting harder to support skater owned, but not impossible…

@VhaidraSaga

Жыл бұрын

Dwindle has been trash for quite a while. WHile they innovated in the epoxy, their wood has been garbage for a while and that sucks for me, someone who was a World Industries Mega-Fan from the beginning in the late 80s and early 90s.

@VhaidraSaga

Жыл бұрын

@@tpderp5038 its not only skater owned, but skater run that is key. Death Skateboards is both, owned & run by Nick Zorlac, uses wood from Woodchuck Laminates, which is both, run & owned by Max DuFour. Film Trucks is both, owned and run by Jeremie Daclin. Snot Wheels is both, run and owned by FOS, owner of Heroin Skateboards. Zealous Downhill Equipment, who make innovative bearings is both, run and owned by Bryce Brady. Other skater owned and run companies include Corey Littlejohn's Lil Jawns Rails, The Miller Family's Riptide Sports and Dave Defiant's Defiant Upgrades. And who can forget Mike Vallely's Street Plant?

I'll be real with you , I had this problem for the first 10 years of skating where sometimes I'd get a new board and randomly I'd be ghost popping every trick I tried and it was making me feel crazy like I was skating wrong . Wish I would have known these things in my younger days but on a positive note at least kids have access to this kind of knowledge today . Thanks Ben , and also to Paul Schmitt 🤙👊

Early 90's, with the change from 80's boards to roughly the "modern" popsicle shape, I found I could not ollie with the "new" boards with fingers of flat. I went from easily jumping over anything to being unable to jump over a beer can. From kickfliping up a set of three or four stairs to being unable to ollie up a curb. The board was glued to the floor, the tail did not snap. It drove me nuts. My solution was buying old 80's boards and using a "popsicle" as a model to reshape them using the nose as tail(mellower) and the tail as a nose(steeper). Late 90's early 2k's were hard for me, flat skinny boards, bearing condoms wheels, etc. Some time ago I watched a video when Mr. Degros explained the "technique" to skate boards with fingers of flat.

@bendegros

Жыл бұрын

Even with the “technique” it doesn’t mean it feels right or natural. I don’t like boards like that either.

@beatles42ohgg94

Жыл бұрын

@@bendegros its funny because this is my ideal skateboard among other reasons (lets not get into the mad mad world of pressure/old school tricks) that love that extra fingers of flat.

@chrhadden

6 ай бұрын

did you stop using risers in the 90s? im kind of the same way . i never really got into popsicles and tiny wheels.

@azazelreficulmefistofelicu7158

6 ай бұрын

@@chrhadden I went from about half inch risers and half inch baseplates(Gullwing street shadow) to a quarter of an inch total (shock risers and Indy baseplates). I got used to having a nose quite fast, flips up to anything, noseslides and "nosepick grinds" were my thing for a while. Later on couldn't get used to flat skinny boards with fingers of flat and the non existing wheels were a joke to me.

@chrhadden

6 ай бұрын

@@azazelreficulmefistofelicu7158 maybe i should try the risers again and see what happens. i stuck to them for a reason back then im sure

So stoked for a new vid ,Thanks for another amazing vid Ben , Much Love 🇿🇦🤘🏻❤️🛹

Much love and respect to you and your channel Ben.

this channel is so good for skateboarding as a whole. i dont know how we went so long without thinking of these sorts of things

Ben glad to see you still doing your thing that’s how we stay young! Much love from Bay Area!

In all my years of skating I've never fingered one of my boards. Will have to try now, thank you Mr. Degros 😄💕👍

That board looks incredible, it’s funny you mention the 90’s because it does look very much like a setup from that time 🤙

That was a very nice explanation of the geometry and effects on skating 🙏

This video was amazing such good work skating in between your topics great work much appreciated and your the best for the skate board community

awesome review... love the detail and intricacy...you can always just drill new holes in the back truck area. i did that on a blank that i have had for like 17 yrs, lol.... one thing i find really confident inspiring is when the front bolts have less flat to the nose... your foot just sits perfect and you don't have to worry about pushing to hard because it wont make the back come up... man that just feels so good in bowls. tks.

great video, I have recently switched to almost decks because of the shapes. I love the 2 to 3 fingers of flat, the mellow concave, single deck press, and overall attention to detail. Almost decks from now on for me.

my first non kmart board was an almost (way past them being cool, only like 4 years ago lol) and i loved the mellow concave feel. I kinda dig the visual of how quick you have to catch your flatground tricks, you obvs have the chops for that, but i can understand that it might not feel super great, but interesting how it seems to lend itself to a transition/ledge kinda setup. Love your wisdom & analysis as always Ben

This is good stuff. I've been skating in some capacity for more than 10 years and this is the first time I've ever heard about this. Most people only mention about length and width when talking geometry.

glad to see you back Ben 🖤🖤

Love you DIY channel Ben!

Something usually not mentioned with "fingers of flat" is that having more flat helps with getting a nice pop out of a noseslide or tailslide. With a tiny amount of flat sometimes you can just fall out of a slide when trying to get a little dip on the nose/tailslide before the pop out. Glad you touched on that. I never really understood why that happened until somewhat recently. When's the professor Schmitt designed Ben shape coming out? :^)

I always wondered why they would mess with their shapes but I never actually put two and two together like Ben did here; excellent work.

You videos are very interesting. Been skating since 96' and you bring up a lot of shit I never really thought of.

Ben, I implore you to look into what’s happening with dwindle and to _not_ buy their products.

Ben I enjoy your videos and your compensation for boards and trucks that meet your needs I'm a flat ground phenom But I suck at manuals and ledges cause I always ignore them keep improving skating

This video is like a Ben Degros and Vancouver Carpenter collab.

You're the best, Ben.

100%. This is why I still shop in skate shops as opposed to buying boards online. Well one of the reasons. I favour BBS boards for this too. Always at least 2.5 in the tail, around 2 in the nose.

about a month ago I switched from 14.5 wheel base to 14.25 and same thing, shorter board and same width but 100% accurate video. Everything you said makes sense now. Thank you for that

@kennethdeloria

Жыл бұрын

also same experience with no having pop, I thought I was losing it but somehow better at ollie into my manuals. BRAVO BRAVO great vid

Hell yeah that was So Good 🙂🫠

Great info Ben! Always dope videos!

So no joke dude. I just noticed wtf. THAT answered and saved much time as a scientist for myself thanks man! Lol🤙🤘

Nice Menu Skate Shop hoodie!! Love the place dearly.

i love dsm boards, and i think they are often overlooked/underrated. granted there is a pretty wide variance of shapes among brands they make boards for, but they are consistently good quality.

Excellent topic. I am gonna try to change an old board up to see how it feels popping it .

I just clicked on this video and you looked so familiar. Then it clicked, you helped improved my drywall mudding technique

Merci j'ai appris un tas de chose technique sur ma planche à roulette.

Sad to see Almost probably on the way out, really thoughtful shapes and (mostly) classy art..Glad I got one of their decks recently. I have two setups, an FA and an Almost and they are very different, but I enjoy them both equally.

This is the exact deck I am riding at the minute. I love almost decks the shape of them is just perfect I think.

Great video. That was a fun session, forgot about that.

I hope that all is well for everyone here and I hope that you all have a great day today.

I’ve been riding that same board for the last couple of months and I love it! Feels much more stable than my other setups

@mandoneutron4771

Жыл бұрын

Which almost is it?

@TateSkates803

Жыл бұрын

@@mandoneutron4771 just a black almost deck with a red logo

Love the dunks

Thats a mellow setup. Paul Schmitt mentioned on the nine club that most pro's ride between 34-36, angle of pop.

Honestly most skater I know don’t care a board is a board just skate it 🤷🏾‍♂️ thinking like this will have you in your head a lot. Love you videos Ben don’t get me wrong your info is very useful for the ppl out there that freak out about there boards.

Second comment 😅 I'd been running Almost decks, *almost* exclusively for close to 20 years now, whenever it was that Almost Round 3 came out. I really like their shapes, both the twin tail and the regular long nose, and also really like that I can get steep and mellow concaves depending on how my feet are feeling that season. That said, as I mentioned in my other comment, I went to a flight deck ... and I'm not likely to ever go back. I do miss the familiarity of the Almost decks (ran 7.75 up until August this year), but the durability and pop out of the flight decks is kind of insane 😅

Thanks pops! Woo!

I love dwindle shapes, to fix the pop situation I found I get more pop when I ride them with Indy’s. Gives the tail a bit more angle and time to pop.

Really looking forward to your mellow concave steep kicks Blind review. All my last decks were Enjoi(-Dwindle) steep kicks and after some madness with trucks, what I figured out was that if deck is 8.5-ish it really needs trucks more invards to have more leverage (like Ace Classics) and when it's 8 inch deck it works the best with trucks that make wb bigger, like Thunder-Venture.

Limosine boards have been killing it for me, they are bareback but the shape feels better than any other bareback boards I’ve had. They definitely have that blunt but still popsicle nose

@matroxman11

Жыл бұрын

I am currently in love with my 8.25 Hugo boserup limo board

a new Ben video on my day off = perfect inspo to go sesh later

right now, the tail on my board's kick gap is so short and steep that you can see my baseplate isn't fully bolted on flat, the back of it looks like its on the edge of a cliff. while my nose actually has close to 3 fingers of flat

hands down the most informativ skate channel

I had a thank you Daewon board about a year ago, it was exactly like this just as you've described. What made me give it away was front side flips were almost impossible with it.

Hi Ben why don’t you shorten your tail by redriling and enlarge the weel base « you are a Carpenter » 🤘😉👍 🇫🇷

Hey Ben, thanks for yet another informative video! I've been riding CCS Custom decks because I like to put stupid images on my boards, but I know very little about the decks other than width, wheelbase, and length - I'd be curious to see your take on how those perform

@NickFoxYT

Жыл бұрын

I really like those boards

haha ok man, opened this video and I'm like he looks sooo familiar... that's because I've watched tons of your home improvement videos! And you skate! That's too good!

I gave this video a thumbs up, even though I watched only 2 minutes of this video, because my head exploded. 🤯

Please do a tutorial on how to fs heel PLEASE !! Most beautiful I ever seen

Oh I love it! I don't think I'd feel comfortable riding transition, which is my fav, on a 14" wheelbase. I really like 15" wheelbase. It think the fingers of flat also help with slides on tails.

I have to say, in over 20 years of skating I'm not sure I've ever seen a board with such a pronounced visual difference between the nose and tail. Best possible board for this video, so good!

The numbers that you're talking about are so small that it's likely mostly in your head... I skated from '97 to '15 and yeah, I remember that nose shape too lol -- we snapped so many decks back then that if you didn't skate blanks then you'd go bankrupt but luckily this shop near me in Sacramento, called Copeland Sports had decent blanks with noses like that.

After a couple years of watching this channel, Ben finally reviewed a deck that I have. Mine's an 8.5 and I think it has a longer wheelbase. I like the more blunt shape of it, but the nose is so long and steep it makes nollies hard to pop.

Love these types of videos from you Ben! Just a thought when you mentioned shifting the holes back on the tail, there’s a tool/guide for that by chem skate you could try out to drill extra holes back. I know you said you’re done with the madness tho haha

I really like the almost impact decks, I can skate those without my knees hurting after every trick.

I think the low trucks are better for slappy's, gives you more lift on that wheel hitting the curb.

Legends never die kid….

For me I think 35 degrees is most favourable angle for the pop to start. In general I like both of the tips to be similar steepness so I could skate flat without thinking which is the nose and tail, it doesn't need to be a twin tip at all.

@taneltolsting2900

Жыл бұрын

Nope, my new favourite degree is around 34. Or it's just my brain thats been messed too much by the environment. Sometimes skateparks just don't feel as good as some random spots.

Just got a new board today, and had the same problems with the pop. Was about to throw it away but then you posted this video 😂

Mad skills bro

you know that when ben posts I'm liking the video at 0:01. Keep it up!!!

I think thunders would work well with that board. It would widen the wheelbase, and make the pop steeper.

Remember that 8.25 PS stix plan B sheffey deck you skated? The yellow one with the short tail that was only like 31.3 overall? That's the shape that made me realize how important FOF is. Even with the short tail some of my tricks instantly clicked. I dont know if it was a different mold or I just got one of the bottom of the stack but I havent found another one that felt quite the same yet. I've been skating the strangelove 8.25 x "31.75" (a little under 31.5 tip to tip) shape and its close but a little steeper in the tail.

I'm on an 8.25 Palace right now and it's the stiffest board I've ever skated despite the concave being on the mellower side. It feels slightly thicker than other boards too so it feels "big" for an 8.25. I think an 8.0 Dwindle would feel amazing with those qualities.

@loveandnapalm

Жыл бұрын

Thats because its a DSM board and uses epoxy instead of glue. It's the main reason chinese made boards tend to feel a lot stiffer and heavier than boards pressed in NA or Europe (HLC in spain does offer epoxy as an option I dont think that many people use it). I thought the same thing about them being thicker but according to my digital calipers they're about the same most of the time and when they're over its a fraction of a mm, so I think its mostly just down to the feel.

@lipscantgo

Жыл бұрын

@@loveandnapalm Right on! Thanks for the info on this. I knew it wasn't just in my head. Definitely feels heavy and stiff. Skates really well despite the heftiness though. I think it'll be better if it softens up a bit.

I don't know if its this spacing your talking about, or the carbon, or even the kick angle, but I got a flight deck finally and that thing has pop FOR DAYS. Don't know if you've had the chance yet, but I'd really like to see what you have to say about the Bones Formula X, I found the Dragons to be just a *little* too sticky but the Formula X's are absolutely great. Would be nice to have a video to reference for other opinions when homies ask at the park.

Good stuff Ben 👊👊

Good review

thx for all your in detail math and explanations. I feel like it helped me a lot finding a setup to come back after more than 15 years off skateboarding. never thought on stuff like that back then around the 2000s :) at the age of 40 I´m a bit tired of adapting to a new shape every time I change my deck. I don´t want to waste my limited time either. After 2 or 3 "trys" I ended up with an 8.25 /14.25 twin tail. The few I tried so far all felt kind of mellow. Ok, but could be better. Maybe someone got a recommandation for twin tails with a concave at the steeper end? Anyways, thx again for you great work, Ben. Keep it up. Greetz from germany

@HOLES69

Жыл бұрын

Try a Deathwish twin nose instead of a twin tail.

Fingers of flat feels so good, I don't ride low trucks and small wheels though. I'm tall and too little flat makes boards feel cramped. I got a Girl Couch deck with 13 7/8" wheelbase and about a mile of flat at the tail and it feels nice and roomy to pop.

Very cool Ben..I'm wondering if there's a way to measure/determine the optimum board dimensions for someone using a person's feet size/weight ?

YES THIS WAS MY problem for my thunder trucks

i've skated the tail as nose for more than 10 years now and i dont regret it xD. Feels better to me

Andy Anderson talks about how his newest shape actually has less fingers of flat and he says it gives it better pop

Could you re-drill the tail truck back 1/4 inch to test your theory? Or do you think other variables like the kick angle or shape of the concave would be make this a bad match? Love the channel brother. Old head here, 90’s crew represent. ❤

@LowEndMarauder

Жыл бұрын

I was about to say the same thing

@vancouverbill

Жыл бұрын

Would that not put the holes too close together to avoid excessive weakness?

@robertblackmore703

Жыл бұрын

@@vancouverbill it’s not too big a deal. Back in the day boards would sometimes come double drilled, I’ve also drilled back boards to make bigger noses when it was tough to get a board with a big enough nose.

I really appreciate this video for how technical you explain things, I think I quit skating backin the day after a few incidents of lumbar strain injury (where I tore a muscle in my back after landing). I've been thinking about buying a new board and I want it to be perfect this time! I have an old waterlogged baker with independents and sometimes I step on it for a few minutes, and I still have my basic kickflips and stuff and it's a little bit flat and I like it. I can flick the board without messing up the top of my shoe. I'm 5'8 and a little heavier in my upper body, I'll probably get a wider board and do some warm-ups and excercise in the future before riding. I've been doing handstands because I had surgery on my back for a lipoma due to a metal alice pack, but I might also try doing my abdominals and squats. Some people are just very light naturally for their height, but I'm not unfortunately. But that hasn't stopped anybody who wants it! I'll never be pro at my age, but I can skate and have a 100% fun by myself.

@RocketRacoon717

4 ай бұрын

That’s interesting do you do any exercises for your back? Lower back can get very sticky, if you have short hamstrings/ QL, e.t.c but doing some light exercise can definitely help with that !

@haroldcampos9661

4 ай бұрын

I stretch and warmup to skate in general and recommend a firm mattress, but my focus used to be mostly in the headstand/tucked planche with arms tucked too, face almost touching the floor. Instead of squats with weigh benefiting my core, this is what I did. used to do it for hours upon hours... this muscle is the erector spinae. It helped me a lot when my back was a disaster nightmare. It got the swelling down after surgery and all that, because I was forcing it to build mass and not just resting. I'm all messed up and trampled nowadays suddenly, but it was fun I guess. Now I wanna skate, but I have also gained 30lbs. I should be 140, but I'm not stressed about it. I also do a couple squats and hold various positions with my knee slightly hinged (over toes) to activate the muscle groups in my leg because my knees feel sore always since I might have skated too hard (was stupid). Been skating again since october. Ordered a complete in late september '23@@RocketRacoon717

Steep/Full Dwindle boards are where its at. Venture lows for the extended wheel base. Nice and snappy. I've been snatching up every 7.75" dwindle deck I can find because I'm afraid the days are numbered.

I just picked up a Globe deck and the tail is way steeper than I'm used to. I skated some Almost decks years ago, I might have to look into them again.

I started skating in 84 age 10 and my most favourite deck shape and style was the deathbox u boat concave boards. Early 90s UK company. They were like u had glue on Ur shoes that wasn't shoe goo. Great boards.

@seanmorris

Жыл бұрын

Deathbox did a really weird tail concave/winged/tri bend type thing for a bit. Not sure they stuck with that for long (Iirc some of their team riders were filling in the creases with layers of grip tape to mellow it out). Vaguely recall them having a really deep concave at some point.

@roddymac998

Жыл бұрын

@@seanmorris yeh I remeber them experimenting before settling with u boat concave 👍 I had the rocker and Alex moul models. Loved them and if I couldn't get them I'd go for an h street usually a Hensley. Happy days 🔥

Ben, random questions that maybe you've mentioned before: what are the dimensions of your tennis court (along the fences)? Seems like the perfect size to fit in everything you'd ever want to skate. Cheers from Ensenada, México!

2 finger of flat on the tail is what i do like the most

I've noticed that same thing when I ride low trucks ( popping high without something to pop over).

Currently trying an 8" real deck and I'm not amazed with the pop. this video helped explain why

this dad is fucking really good! holy shit

Daddy's Switch frontside 180 heelflips & Switch backside tails slides Wooooo.

This is a great insight to be aware of but I just try to get a good deal on any flight deck I can grab from 8.75 to just about anything and I just take time to adapt to the shape. Love me the flight decks, they last me about a year.

you're single-handedly going to bring back the market for sub 8" decks. 💪

@rovingmauler7410

Жыл бұрын

Nah. I never want those days to come back.

@JM_andtheArgonauts

Жыл бұрын

@@rovingmauler7410 lol. I hate flip tricks, too.

@AlexNiedt

Жыл бұрын

@Roving Mauler I rode 7.75 or 7.78 for about 20 years, and now I realize flip tricks feel better on an 8.25, and there's more board to land on 😄

@JM_andtheArgonauts

Жыл бұрын

Yeah I’m just having a bit of fun. 😂 I rode 8” back in late 90’s and everyone thought that was huuuuuuge. Now the 8.25’s are the norm.

@vancouverbill

Жыл бұрын

​@@JM_andtheArgonauts20 years ago people could only do tech tricks on thin boards, now you have fifteen year olds doing switch tres on 8.5 boards with 54 mm wheels. They don't need the lightness of a skinny board as they just have really good technique

Was that marble countertop salvage also a great product would be called the "true blank" and i could have a grid printed or better engraved on the top that you could use as a guide to drill your own holes for a personal custom setup.

I noticed this right away going from riding my Deathwish board and then jumping on my Santa Cruz....the Cruz has a bit of a longer tail and I was barely getting the nose off the ground because my back foot was naturally not sitting far enough back...I checked and the wheelbase was longer and the tail was longer on this particular Santa Cruz board....so measurements do make a difference.

I'm short at 5'3 and my weight ranges between 160-190lbs depending on time of year. My short legs need a little help. Right now I have a girl G027 has 3 fingers of flat nose and tail. Nose is 6.75" long and the tail is slightly longer at 6.8" I have ace af1 and 54mm wheels speedlab sidecut. Feels good to me. I like a light pop makes it much easier for my to level kick flips in any stance. Plus a nice pinch point for mannys, nose and tail slides.

Maybe try a blind I have one and it’s tail is much more pronounced than that one might like it love your content keep it up and btw I’m also an older skater that’s also a carpenter 🤟🏻

I think you’ll love DGK and Thank you decks

Canada's 6th favorite son. You're not a decenzo, but you got some good knowledge