I’m looking to buy a pre-made board but I’m new to the hobby, I recently escaped the Raptor 2.1 trap, and I’m a little apprehensive about jumping the gun on a new vendor before getting some decent advice. That’s where hopefully you guys come in.
I’ve got a budget of 2000-2500USD, and want something that is reliable, has parts available, and is run by people with a good name in the community as far as after sales support is concerned. I’m not in a rush to receive the board, and understand it can take months, but expect solid communication if/when hiccups in production occur.
With that said, I want a fast board that can handle pretty much whatever terrain I throw at it, for this reason I really want an AT setup, with pneumatic tyres. I also want something that can be user serviced so I can eventually tear it down and get into the DIY side of things. Also since I’m in Australia, and Australian vendor would be preferable because of the consumer protection side, but I’d be happy to go with an overseas vendor that has good feedback.
So far I’ve looked at the Baja S2, and the Lacroix Jaws. I’ve also had a look at the evolve boards, but I don’t think they’re quite fast enough and the range is slightly under what I’m hoping to get. To be clear I’m looking for ~50kmph (31mph) top speed, a 30% gradient climb, and ~40kms (25mi) range. Hopefully I’m not asking too much for my budget, but let me know if I’m dreamin’.
All very solid boards.
I’d suggest having a look at @longhairedboy. He always has great boards on display
Personally if I were to go for a production board, I’d choose jaws anyday…but I might be a bit biased as I live 25 minutes away from their shop XD
I had a look at LHB’s website but I couldn’t find anything available with AT wheels, which ruled them out, otherwise I’d be all over them like a rash. They are some sexy as fuck boards.
They run on mbs tires. I wouldnt say offroad(ex:forest) but AT (grass, gravel, dirt) without hesitating. The 3 2019 beasts they made are like riding on a cloud going 30+mph
I’ll just clarify for the sake of the thread, when I say AT/offroad, I mean exploring hiking tracks (compact dirt, maybe tree roots), bailing off the bike track onto the grass when the concrete has potholes etc. Definitely not rough rocks, beach, untamed forest, or anything like that.
I looked at kaly but they’re out of stock or out of my price range.
With the Baja S2 my biggest concern is if the trucks get damage, they look like hell to fix. Can anyone comment on that?
Un-trampas, @Kaly, @longhairedboy, @MBS and even Colab are great boards for off road/trail riding. Lots of different possibilities out there.
But seeing as you are “new to the hobby”, are you considering the learning curve with a board of the above mentioned? These are powerful boards and would not suit a new esk8r to learn on.
Spent my childhood at the skatepark, but It’s something I grew out of about 5-10 years ago. I honestly don’t know how well the skills transfer, but dropping in off an 8ft half pipe was something I was doing almost everyday. Worst comes to worst, you can tune down the throttle response right?
Also trail riding wasn’t something I was setting out to do heavily, it’s just an option I’d like to have in the future. To be honest, I’m more concerned with potholes/dodgy pavement, and having options other than bailing in my work gear.
I know I’ll probably be kicking myself in 6 months for not grabbing that Psychotiller, but I don’t think second hand is best considering I may really rely on support at some stage.
Not going to lie, if a few more people give the +1 on that psychotiller i’ll pull the trigger on it. Is it suitable for AT? Does it meet my other criteria?
