I personally love the talk about wheelbase. Is it boring to most? Probably, but I find it super interesting. As a 36 year old skateboarder, I'm all about anything that gives me any advantage. So to talk about the way wheelbase can change the way your board feels went from something I didn't care about as a kid, to something that I almost obsess over as an adult, haha. I never realized how much all board measurements matter until I was looking for the perfect setup, as opposed to being a kid and skating whatever graphic looked the coolest to you at the time.
All the freestyle skaters with 13" wheelbases are going to watch this with their teeth gritted waiting for you to declare their supremacy. We all know the real answer is "whatever wheelbase Chris Joslin is standing on" tho.
@@_Maxten thats on your standard sized boards, I feel more comfortable on 8.75, but hard to find a good 8.75 with a short wb, i skate 14.25" wb 8.5 right now for freestyle and street, seperate deck for each, I also have a shaped 8.625 with 14.25 wb
@@BrendanBFree yeah, wheelbase will change when width changes because naturally manufacturers will change the length too. personally, i don't like how that happens because i love an 8.25-8.3 thats shorter in length and in wheelbase. right now i have an 8.25 thats 31.125" with a 13.5 wb that i use for freestyle/transition/street
In my experience, wheelbase matters, but it needs to be put in the context of overall board length/nose and tail length. For example, I skated a 8.25 Deathwish with 14.25 wheelbase. But it was only 31.5 long (6.5 inch tail). It was pretty hard to get a good treflip rotation. I next skated an 8.25 Alien Workshop deck with 14.25 wheelbase. The difference was this deck was over 32 inches long (longer nose and tail than the Deathwish). It was SUPER easy to whip around for treflips! It's not enough to have a short wheelbase, you need a short wheelbase in relation to board length. At least that's what seems to work for me!
Literally just had the exact same experience I bought an element deck from zumiez because it was on sale and in the area it was 31.5 inches long and 14.25 wb I hated it and the scoop just didn’t feel right so after a few weeks I switched to this Smokey the bear x element colab deck I got it’s 32 inches long with 14.25 wb and it feels way better in every way.
I'm short (5'6 or roughly 170 cm) and 14 inch wheel base with any length and 8 inch width feels like it has the most leverage and control for my build.
Justy wanna say thank you Ben, i've got back into skating after a falling out of love with it for a couple of years. I watch your videos a lot and you always gets me hyped and motivated. Keep on pushin! s/o from the UK!
as soon as you said "Primitive" in a wheelbase video i said "Yes!" Ive only ridden one, a 8.125 with a 14 in wheelbase and I really enjoyed it. not so much a fan of the graphics but the boards themselves are pretty great
This. I just can't ever buy a Primitive board cause I really don't like their graphics at all...I'd honestly rather skate a blank than a Primitive board
Great channel man! Super pro quality! Inspiring and intelligent tutorials and lectures! This is a dry topic but it matters and you did the homework so we can all benefit.
Currently skating a 9.75 with 14inch wb. So much fun. Short wheelbase keeps the tricks consistent on a heavy board. Can still 360 flip and kickflip really well, plus massive surface area to land on haha
The 8.25" x 14"WB primitive decks are great, I don't normally skate small WB boards but this is the only one I like, shape is amazing as well. Works best on Ventures (not joke).
your boy kylo ren's 3 flips are rad. i'm fairly certain he doesn't use his front foot at all, which i know some people complain about, but they look awesome. most people who do those big rad ones like that don't use their front foot i've noticed. i watched it in super slow-mo a bunch of times and it's close, but it looks like all scoop. that's not me complaining about it, that's me confirming that all the super cool ones just tell the front foot to get the eff out of the way.
@@idontdeserveaname1152 i know a guy that does them that way (all scoop no front foot with the rotation slightly more vertical) and he has them super on lock, flat and banks + gaps, but he hates the way he does them and wishes to make them using the front foot.too, lol
When I learnt to tre flip thats how i learnt to do them myself, its all about the scoop of the back foot and the front foot hardly does anything it basically just gives a light little love tap to the edge of the board as you scoop it up... in a sense the front foot is more of a trajectory guide then a true flick. When teaching tres to people trying to explain to them the front foot does basically nothing is so difficult for folks to grasp. The way i was taught and I always begin teaching others, is by showing people with one foot on the tail and one foot on the ground, just by using the pocket of the tail and the right pressure point/scooping of the board, you can basically flick a tre with just your back foot.. once you can grasp the pressure scooping motion of spinning a 360 pressure flip thing just with your back foot, then you can start trying it rolling with both feet and you just gotta be light on your front foot well you scoop the shit out of the board with your back foot and then just lightly tap the edge with your front foot to flip and guide the board around as your scooping it up.
Although this video is awhile ago, I haven't seen this one before. However I'm wondering you've tested so many setups. Every time I'm like don't you got messup with your adjustments all the time and actually forgot what's your best setups to ride ideally? I used to ride Tracker's then new Gen switch to Venture's. I've ride the same Hardwear for years, only boards I'm changing every 5 - 6 weeks if don't break. So my point is I've always have the same setup and find the sweet spot if the deck is good every now and then. There's not much a differences in sizing in vintage time. Only the board makes the difference to me. But I did all kinda little changes in parts max out to details. Now back on the board as an old dog, Also tried all kinds of trucks brands Grindking, Silver, Thunder, Ventures, Gull-wing, Sandiego you name it. I find Indy's so far my favourite to go with. Deck wise Primitive or Real, 8"/8.125 and 8.25. When I started Powell or Powell, 10.6xx... after Plan B and Girl, 7.5 / 7.3 and 7.75... I can't recall actual sizes. But I kept loyal to my gears for long time back in the days. I love this age, I mean this era has greatest sizing in gears wise!
I skated a shorter wheelbase board just to learn tre flips a few years ago. It was exponentially easier to keep it under me, but sacrificed pop like you said. Nollie heelflips were easier for me on that board as well. More wheelbase discussion videos would be super interesting, especially from a carpenter 🔨
I like these primitive decks with the 14" wheelbase, crailtap also has an 8.25 with 14" wb but as far as I know these are the only ones on the market in this configuration. I do think that they are easier on 360 type tricks (I do a lot of impossibles and it really helps to clear a well-wrapped one without your nose hitting the ground). However, I'm a bigger dude and these boards always feel a little small and like I can't power my tricks up as well on them.
7.75” was medium size when I last skated in 2007. Crazy how big boards are now. Good for me as I always liked 7/78 to 8 which is a “small” board now! Got an 8.25 with 148’s. The wheelbase is 14.25. Not sure I like it to be honest. I like the width but if I could find a 31.5 at 8.25 with a short wheelbase on a BBS would be good.
I find that having skinner trucks on a wider board, and tight truck help me tre flip. Because I can kind do a little 1/4 heel flip before I scoop. It helps because you don’t have to do much of a flick with your front foot
I love the primitive 8.25” w 14wb! Super easy to skate. Your sliding foot catches the nose/tail really quick and I feel like I can really control the deck and timing. I was trying to skate an 8.25 w 14.25” on Thunders and it felt so freaking long! I had a really hard time skating in it.
Ohhh I feel this so much man. I am literally the exact same height/weight as you. I used to skate 8.0 decks so I was used to the 14" wheelbase. I eventually wanted more room so I moved up to 8.25 where the wheelbase is also usually bigger at 14.25". I've been rethinking my setup recently because I'm having trouble learning certain tricks and I stuck my trucks on an old 8.0 and mannn so much easier to manual, do 180s, ollies felt lighter, etc. Really thinking about getting a 8.25 with a 14" wheelbase or literally just getting a 8.5 and drilling my own wheelbase holes. 14" works so well for me
Yea thunder trucks seem to extend the wheelbase further because the axle leans back more. So technically a 14.25 can feel like a 14.5 because of the trucks. Definitely going to try the 14.0 primitive
I had a Krooked deck with those same dimensions before (most likely pressed in the same place since they're both DLX brands), you're gonna like that deck
It may be that trying different setups with varying wheelbases, deck widths and lengths, tail/nose lengths and angles, concaves, heights (truck heght and wheel diameter), tight and loose trucks, might help one be a better skateboarder.
I say yes cause I’ve been on thunders for a very long time and last week I bought Indy mids and when I tried to do a shuv it… it went into TreFlip so easy that I had to figure out how to make it stop wanting to flip. I do like my Indy mids but I do wanna try the titanium ones tho. the tail hits so much quicker I don’t have to have that slight delay when skidding my foot like I do with thunders. And they feel good brand new bushings so squishy. But I hate the inverted king pins cause I can’t tighten them down like thunders but bones hard bushings solved that issue for me
And I also told u if you try caliber standard conventional street trucks they have an 8 hole base plate that will let you set up a 14.25 WB to 14. Calibers are 54mm high and turn just like Indy
Just picked up an April 8.25 with a 14wb. Coming from a Baker 8.25 with a 14.25wb. For the Trucks I ride Thunder Lights. I'm interested in seeing how different the wheelbase feels
Hey Ben, could you do a video about setups, which have „not fitting“ trucks? Curren caples for example rides 149 indys on a 8.8 tapered deck. On the other hand there are guys who ride 8.25 decks on 149 aswell for example. I‘d like to hear you talking about if doing so makes sense and in which situation it does or doesn‘t.
Ben's done a video about wider trucks on his main channel, go check it out. You can try 149 on 8.25 for yourself :) It's barely different than 144, only grinds feel more stable, at least to me.
My 8.25 32x14.38 krooked on hollow Indy forged feels sooooo much shorter than my baker 8.25 31.75 x 14.25 on venture v hollow hi. I know venture stretches wheelbase but that much???? I need some insight lol
I do dislike it when brands claim 14.25" is a 'short wheelbase' when it's really not. Yes, even when the board is an 8.8" or 9" wide deck. A true 'short' wheelbase is more like something like 13" or 13.5".
Thank you!!! 14 is a standard size i really wish more companies used a 13.5 inch wheel base or better yet sell a board with no wheelbase and just markings on the deck so we can drill in our own
@@urbanumbra6170 That would actually be a great idea, allowing us to just drill premarked wheelbases into them and pick our own. I'd definitely experiment with 13.5" or even less! It's actually kind of a frustrating thing, because I feel like it would matter a lot. With a 14+ wheelbase, it just gets hard to flick out through the nose and the board has a severe tendency going rocket (if you prefer popping the edge of the tail which I do), let alone landing them rocket which can result in slams. I'm not saying it's impossible to learn or master kickflips on a 14.25" or larger wheelbase, but in my opinion the biggest reason why beginners prefer the 7.5 and 7.75" has so much to do with the wheelbase.
I'm curious if you'd convince yourself shorter is better for them but you're just having a decent day or used to the board and after getting used to a longer wheelbase it'd be the same
Can u do a review on hardware, like how does s Phillips feel differ from an Allen head? Lol, jk.. your 360 flips looks better in a board around 8.25 imo.. & hey Ben, remember when Tyrone Olsons tre flip in the Storm became so controversial. People use to make fun of it for years
totally explained how it feels to me, can´t stand the feel of normal Indies on 14" 8" hehe , I love those pants sadly I always rip them, are those Carhartt? by the way Ben I wrote you an email but you didn´t respond yt, it isn´t spam from dignitym@
That's the reason why I haven't learned tre flips properly yet because I learned 3 shuvs first and I feel like it isn't worth it to get good tre's. But, it is! lol
Yes they are better, look at all the early 90s vids from the big pants small wheels era,... Super tech, double tree flips etc. IDK the science behind it, but yes they are easier. I've been skating 20 years and over the last year I went from an 8 to a 9.125 football shape and flip tricks are even easier
Which turns faster, a limo or a hatchback? I dont think width really matters its just for comfort doesn't really affect flip because it doesnt mess with the center of mass like having high trucks or big wheels do. Deck companies need to make short er decks since a short wheel base is typically better unless your gx1000. Also shorter length helps since for kickflips you dont need to kick off as far to kick off the board
