Seems like there is a trend in e-skate toward mountain board urban carvers for street use (channel trucks - Flux, Lacroix, Kaly, Tomiboi deck) - while there’s also more all terrain bamboo/carbon dkp/rkp pneumatics than ever before.
I’m curious for folks who’ve tried both - where do each of these excel, and what do you like about one or the other?
I’m personally starting a new build with a wowgo at2 deck, but keep getting distracted by all the options out there.
if you have decent roads then an AT board would be fine. if you have horrible roads then an urban carver would be best all rounder.
my first DIY was an AT board with 6in airless tire. It was good at handling the horrible roads in nyc but I ended up switching to 8in pneumatics on a mountainboard since it outclassed the AT board in almost every category. maneuverability, comfort, stability, speed, fun.
Those are wild. Why did you go RKP over channel trucks?
I…I don’t know
But the clients are really happy
The few times I’ve ridden channels, I didn’t really like them. I’d like to put some real time in on a set to see what the hype is all about. But I’ve been riding almost exclusively rkp for most of my life.
Dkp seems like it would be really sketchy off of the street, my rkp gets a little squirrelly off road and I imagine that would only get worse with dkp.
I haven’t ridden tkp since i was, idk, maybe 9 years old.
All of that is why I’d choose rkp for an AT build, but my opinion isn’t set in stone on that at all.
Where’d you get those brackets from? I’m assuming it can be flipped over to allow regular decks to use channel trucks too, which would be neat.
My street Flux is my favorite set up.
I really just ride it on roads and not on any rough trails.
My gravel flux has 9 inch knobbies.
which makes it feel a bit different.
but the big difference is that I am not afraid to get it dirty.
so I ride it I crappy weather and on gravel trails and dirt trails, and grass.
and a lot on the road.
this may be the best of both worlds…
the haero has full bindings and that is something that is still weird to me.
they make me nervous as hell on the road.
but it is pretty neat on dirt trails in the woods and doing little jumps.
The street flux is the fastest and it is my darling.
the Gravel flux is geared for torque and my trucks are kind of getting sloppy so I don’t go super fast on it…
The Haero is also geared for torque and I don’t got fast on it
all of these boards have matrix II. but feel different because the flux is soooo much bigger.
I really enjoy the giant standing platform…
and they make the Haero feel crowded to me…
Thanks for the info! I was looking into getting some made from them, but I wasn’t sure how thick of a material I needed to be strong enough to not bend, yet could be bendable by them to shape. What material and thickness did you go for?
That flux looks dope.
What do you like so much about the street flux vs your other builds with pneumatics?
1/4in stainless steel
Channel trucks feel so much better than rkp for me. It engages your whole body while riding and is just a way more fun ride.
I could take my hummie and 6" pneumatics offroad but it was no fun at all.
I can take either of my channel truck boards out anywhere and have a good time.
Not sure where you’re located but there’s enough good folks here that you could likely test some setups near you.
Tkp has forever been associated with popsicle decks in my head, and I’m not a fan of popsicle decks.
A large part of it is MTB style boards are just bigger, if you go long range and need a big battery or you’re a larger dude with larger feet the space helps
You can also go the other way around and make a MTB use case board from a longboard
I’m riding a Lacroix Nazare and Hoyt St. EL 2.1 AT these days. The difference to me is more the width of the trucks than the style. The choices are obvious. If I want to go further or ride over some rough terrain I ride the Nazare. Otherwise I ride the Hoyt St. The Hoyt St. is easier to carry and more maneuverable. The channel trucks with 8" pneumatics on the Nazare are much better shock absorbers but the width and size of them makes me feel like I am working to turn the board instead of it turning with me. However, on the Hoyt St. you feel the bumps with those 5" pneumatics. My own build had SixShooters on it. I think that is the optimum middle ground for typical SoCal road/bike path conditions.
Either way, the main thing is to wind up with angle blocks for feet. If that also creates to angle for trucks, so be it.
I have an acoustic longboard, that has small channel trucks. and I dont like it, but it likely has too strong of springs.
My main board has Flipsky trucks, 15 inch wide. With riptides. I only go 18 max, but very controllable. 7 inch wheels. Pumped max.
well dude.
a lot of it has to do with where I end up riding the board.
which is mainly for on the pavement trips around 25 miles…
like this.
But as far as the board goes.
it is the best suited for pavement.
it has the highest top speed. probably 37-38…
I really the 8 inch Kendas.
they can handle bumps well without being huge.
they run really true on the Kaly Hellcat wides.
the board still has a pretty low profile.
the matrix II are still relatively new so they are not getting sloppy yet…
All i ride is Channel trucks and my boosted (other class of things, when i need portability), I’m really itching to get a dkp or rkp to try out. I usually ride between 45-60kph and channels are great, but i always wonder if i could go faster and safer on the dkp or rkp. Any thoughts on the carving and stability?
