thought I’d do another update post esk8con
Ended to receiving a new deck prior to esk8con (literally like 5 days before I flew), and rushed to build and test it before flying to Vegas.
It’s still in prototype, so can’t delve too much into it as of yet, but should be a fun platform going forward. Though it is quite short compared to most raceboards out there.
Managed to get a single short session in with my original 16s5p in a backpack, since the battery for this deck was shipped directly to Vegas in preparation for esk8con.
A welcome side-effect of a short deck and brackets was that it fits perfectly in my regular suitcase with minimal disassembly, which made flying a tonne easier.
Unfortunately, said battery never arrived. Insuing a pretty stressful two days of trying to source a battery prior to the race. @HAIRYMANJACK @tuckjohn @fessyfoo @CHADFARTHOUSE @Dinnye @poastoast @Swol_Moon I can’t thank you guys enough for helping get everything together in time for me to run on Friday morning, pretty inspiring to see everything come together. I really wish I actually took some photos of the setup haha.
this has been the only pic I’ve found
Just before quali I ended up swapping to a 95.5 WFB barrel/fatcone from my barrel/chubby which gave me a more linear feel, which was what I was looking for. Do wish there was a bit more resistance throughout the range but you can’t have everything. @Titoxd1000 recommended me to try fatcone/chubby and step down from 95.5/95.5 barrels to 95.5/93 on the front, so I will be experimenting with that when I’m back on a board.
Quali itself went well, ending up in 13th with a lap I was pretty happy about. A couple mistakes here and there, but overall a solid lap. (though I believe I did better than my results show - see this) The board felt great now that I’m finally at axle height, combined with the fatcone it felt like I could point the board in any direction I wanted to with minimal effort.
Free practice on Saturday morning, felt like there was significantly less grip, with many more 4 wheel slides going at about a similar pace. Though it didn’t matter since my stupid decision meant that for me the weekend ended sooner than expected.
Glad I was about to get back to the track pretty quickly tho and watch @Dinnye @davidpilny and @VasekHruby all get into Pro finals, have to say especially proud of @Dinnye for making it to Pro finals at his first esk8con. After watching him get faster and faster in the European circuit over the past couple of years, it was a pretty cool moment.
Looking forward to Prague next month, where I’ll hopefully be able to bring a few more upgrades to the board and finally put @davidpilny behind me haha.