Does the Powell Peralta team really ride the 8.5x33.5 decks?

Johnophean

I have been wondering this question for a while now...

Do you think guys like Chad Bartie, Josh Hawkins and Jordan Hoffart skate the standard Shape:181 8.5"x33.5" -15" wheelbase decks Skate One makes?

Or do you think they are skating shorter custom Skate One 8.5" decks? 

I ask this because as much as the Shape 181 deck is a great bowl/vert board, but I feel like they are a bit too long when it comes to street skating and smaller mini ramps.

On the street doesn't it seem like it'd be a bit too long for the flip wizardy of guys like Jordan and Josh?

Any thoughts? 

brigade_bill

jordan does indeed skate the 8.5 shape id say bartie would probably ride the 8.25

http://skateboarding.transworld.net/1000108234/features/my-ride-jordan-hoffart/

SK8ER

I wish the 8.5 decks were 33" long. Shaving off 1/2 inch would make a huge difference.

BermySkater

Saw Bartie riding an 8.5 at a park.

brigade_bill

weird

myren

8.5" is my choice for decks now days. Great size for my big feet!

Boneless One

me too

Johnophean

I know they both skate 8.5", I just figured what modern street skating pro is going to skate a 33.5'"long deck?

Ripper76

I'm a HUGE Bartie fan. He prefers an 8 inch wide set-up. If you look at alot of his footage, he's rolling his skull deck ( love this board) or the Pegasus 1 smaller shape for Jordan quite a bit along with the Ripper blacklight series ( also 8 inch wide). Me personally, the longer 33.5 is alot harder for me to pull any kind of flip tricks off whether it's a frontside flip, varial kickflip or hardflip.Shape # 127, that's 8 inch wide is my favorite now & i will not skate nothing else. Thank God Bartie, Hoffart, Martin all have pro models in those shapes aswell!

Johnophean

Pretty sure those decks you are talking about are 8.25" or 8.5" Skate One decks w/ the 8" transfer applied to it, they do this for Jordan and Cab does it too. Even Josh Hawkins has some special heat transfer graphic decks w/ graphics that aren't the shape of the actual deck. I just saw a pic of him skating a deck w/ the Old School Ripper graphic on it. 

It was the same heat transfer blue and green graphic as that 10x31.75" deck.

I started realizing they all were doing this when I first saw Cab doing it w/ his decks and then I saw the trick tips videos w/ Jordan Hoffart and he was clearly skating a 8.5" deck w/ the 8" purple pegasus decal on it. You can see when it doesn't fit.

They even pressed some blacklight skull & snakes for McGill on his special shape that deck that is custom for him.

And now we are seeing all different graphics popping up on Brad McLain and other am's decks all the time on pics on facebook and stuff.

Ya gotta be a nerd to catch this stuff, and clearly I'm a nerd. 

brigade_bill

ive noticed it too...brad has been skating the old pop art series from like forever ago

Chris

Imagine if they started taking custom orders.  You pick the shape, you pick the transfer graphic.  

I would have a closet full of LM Future Primitive, 181s.

brigade_bill

yea im dying to have some 7.5 and 7.625 skull and swords

Dr freedom

is that the sponsored special?

brigade_bill

hahaha yea

Paul Bound

I recently got a Skull and Sword 'now' deck. According to the site it measures 8.75 x 33.25". But it only measures 32.5" in length. This is typical for Powell boards, the always come in shorter than listed by a good half inch or more.

benb

For the love of God leave shape 181 alone! 8.5" x 33.5" 15" WB - K15 concave, 7" tail, long ass nose, made in Santa Barbara. Perfection! Yes I'm old, almost as old as dirt but not quite. But I can hold my own on a tall wall and that board works well to be a Popsicle... There are plenty of options. Complain about something else, carry on

SK8ER

I love shapes 180 (skull and sword now) & 181 too! I hope they continue to make PP boards in the USA forever.

BermySkater

Imagine if they started taking custom orders. You pick the shape, you pick the transfer graphic. 

Checkout fivepointsskates.com you can order custom shapes and sizes.

brigade_bill

i talked to tim at 5points the other day he doesnt do custom graphics anymore u gotta pick a five point graphic

Johnophean

Paul, I think the way you gotta measure Skate One decks is using a tape measure on the graphic side.

And not straight, but go across holding the tape down flat as you go all the way to the end.

I noticed this a while ago when I measured a Skate One deck and it was shorter than the advertised 33.5".

I then flipped the deck over and used a tape measure going right across, holding down the tape to the board from nose to tail, held it down against the dips at each and it was 33.5".

Been measuring decks that way since. Hope that helps.

Johnophean

http://espn.go.com/action/photos/gallery/_/id/8773138/image/1/jordan-hoffart-ice-plant-powell-pro-jordan-hoffart-friends-turn-backyard-skatepark

Johnophean

Anyone have any inside scoop news on Brad McClain or Josh Hawkins going pro?

brigade_bill

nope not pro yet

Johnophean

I saw a Josh Hawkins Bones Wheels graphic in a upcoming Bones wheels pic that was on Chad Bartie's Facebook a few months ago. It was taken down the next day. So I figure it's bound to happen for spring 2013.

Ripper76

I have that pic downloaded on another device. And it was a Hawkins 54mm Oh-Gee Bones PRO Wheel....so i'm guessing when the new springcatalog is released in the next week, we'll finally know forsure. I'm thinking J. Hawkins IS gonna be pro as soon as it's released, Bartie's crow deck was behind nearly 2 months due to colorway details & some other issues. That catalog info was straight from Kam @ skateone so any moment we should be seeing it.