It’s official – I am way bigger (and heavier) than I was when I last skated and I wasn’t convinced my skinny, 20 year old setup was quite going to cut it anymore.
In a moment of inspirational motivation, fuelled by a weekend away to celebrate my wife’s birthday and a delicious breakfast at the Ivy, it was time to head to Welcome Leeds for some new bits.
Wheels – First stop was some bigger wheels. Something that could handle my extra weight while being soft enough to handle the debris of an outdoor, concrete park. After discussing some options I decided to go for a mid-sized 56mm OJ Plain Jane – not massive but bigger than my previous 53.5mm and a nice mixture of softness/toughness.
Deck – I’ve had the deck (and trucks) hanging around for a while after I got it almost free when I bought some shoes from Rollersnakes. It’s a nice 8.25″ Element deck with a good, fat nose and tail and a subtle concave. I needed something wide but I’ve always preferred skinny decks so 8.25″ feels nice under my feet.
Trucks – These came with the deck and are a good fit. They’re branded as Element trucks but I have a feeling they’re fairly generic. I did, however, upgrade the bushings to a set of Independent Super Hard to help handle my weight as I lean to turn.
Bearings – I didn’t need anything super-fast just yet so swayed away from the Reds, which were always my favourite, and opted for some Independents – solid and tough while still nice and quick.
Hardware – Sticking with the theme of tough, hard-wearing hardware, I went for some Independent bolts and grabbed some risers just in case I need a bit more room for turning without the wheels biting.
Skateboarding