Yesterday I had the first session on the Nuke Baby deck (see previous posts). It was raining out, so I took my grind bar to a parking garage. I have a lingering pulled groin muscle, so I kept it pretty mellow. The first 10 min or so, the board was feeling a little awkward, but then I got used to it…and started to have a lot of fun.
The squared-off tail was really nice for tail slides (lots of board to get on there with). The bigger width, and longer wheelbase, felt really stable for 50/50s and boardslides. Feeble grinds on it felt really good, but I was oddly having some trouble with Smith grinds…just couldn’t get them as solid, and I had to struggle with them a bit. Here are a few quick clips from that session: youtu.be/MG7cSF52Y…
I have certainly grown accustomed to having two “tails” (e.g. the popsicle decks), and some things felt really odd, because what was going on with the front foot (nose) was very different than what was going on the back foot (tail). Of course, this was also part of the fun. Despite being a bigger, clunkier, set-up, I managed kickflips on it w/o any real issue—and that surprised me.
I set this up with Indy 149s and 54mm Radial wheels. The deck is 9.25” wide at the front trucks, and 8.5” wide at the back trucks. 149s have an 8.5” axle length. So, with 149s on this, there is serious “magic carpet” going on up front. At the rear, the outside edge of the wheels sit just inside the edge of the deck. 159s are 8.75” wide, so even with those there would be “magic carpet” up front. In the rear, 159s would put the edge of the wheels flush with the edge of the deck. I brought a set of 159 hangers (and 54mm Classic wheels) to the session. My intention was to swap some of this stuff out, to see what made for the “best” set-up with this deck. I still intend to do that, but it never happened at this first session. Why? Because the 149s and Radials seemed to be riding great, and I had no inclination to think, “This set-up would be better with bigger trucks, etc.” The wheels did feel a little…clunky…at times compared to Classics, but it was by no means a deal-breaker. Next session will be at a skatepark, so I’ll get to try it out on some transition.
Overall, it was a fun board to ride. It certainly won’t be my daily rider, but it’s also a welcome addition.
