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ASK
THE DOCTOR
With Rick Blackhart
WRIST-Y BUSINESS
My friend was just learning to drop in and
was wearing Rector wrist guards. He fell and
broke his arm right where the wrist guard
ended. Would that have happened with Cal
Pro wrist guards, or are they all the same?
Skater Scott
Redondo Beach, CA
Any wrist guard that is stiff enough to
protect your wrist is doing exactly what
is was designed to do. Obviously it work-
ed. If your friend wanted to protect his
arm he should have been wearing an arm
protector. He probably should have worn
a shoulder protector and a neck protector
also. Actually, the wrist guard is one of
those high performance type products.
You have to give up a little in order to get
something better back. They do protect
the wrist, but will have a tendency to
send the shock past the wrist, centering
on the point of no protection just past the
guard. Bottom line here is if you fall hard
enough to break something, it will break!
TELL TAIL TALE
The other day I got a new board and after
I got home I noticed the tail was not steep
at all. I mean, the tail was almost straight.
If this has happened to you, all's you have
to do is get a slanted piece of plastic or turn
a fail skid around and wear it down. Put it
on your board, put duct tape over it (a couple
of layers at least), and slap some grip tape
over it. In other words, build up your tail. It
worked for me. I didn't even bolt it down.
Lance Townsend
Albug, NM
Alright Lance. Now you're diggin' where
there's potatoes. Hey you're one smart
dude. No tail? Make one. That's all right.
I'm sure this method will enrich the lives
of all the other tail-less skaters out there.
GET PHYSICAL
I am a physics student at Medway High
School. As a project, I am designing the
perfect eight-foot quarter-pipe. I am looking
for information on the best amount of vert-
ical surface. I have various ramp plans but
I need some more technical and theoretical
information. As you know, there are no
scientific books on freestyle ramps, which
makes this report much more difficult. I have
to write a twenty-page paper and do a twenty-
minute presentation, so any information
would be greatly appreciated.
Jim Falzone
Medway, MA
Sorry, I'm not into physics and this
answer is not scientific, nor is it twenty
pages long. Technical? No way. Theo-
retical? Probably. No matter what height,
perfect radius ramps determine their own
amount of vertical. Increase radius, more
vert. Decrease radius, less vert. Got it?
Do it!
CLAY-MAGNON WOMAN
I've been an avid skater since the "clay"
age. I have bought and used all types of
boards and wheels for about fifteen years
and have amassed quite a collection of stuff.
My question for you is: Do you know of an
"Old Timers Club" of skateboard collectors
that find and rebuild old boards? If there is
such an organization, it would be appreci-
ated if you passed the info on to other skate
buffs out there like myself. If not, maybe it's
time someone started one. Also, I'd like to
give my commendations on the advice you
gave the young girl skater (May '87). It's
great to see someone helping another.
skater who's just starting out!
Lisa Soto
Stockton, CA
Hey cool letter. I don't know of anything
like an Old Timers Club. Great idea,
though. If there was one, I'd have to be
the General Manager of Parts. I've got
enough old parts, including complete
boards and a few never-been-ridden ant-
iques. Maybe your letter will spark some
enthusiasm with the older skaters of a
bygone era. Speaking of which, I'd like
to hear from any old skaters who share
the attitude that skating once had. Pick
up a pen and do it.
KINGPIN HEAD
I've figured a cheap way to replace.
broken kingpins on Tracker Ultra-Light
baseplates. First of all, drill away the plastic
that seals the bolt in place. (Drill until you
hit the hex.) Next, pound out the bolt with
a screwdriver. Finally, heat the plate with a
propane torch, slip a new kingpin into the
hot plastic and presto! A good-as-new
baseplate.
David Rauschenberg
Enumclaw, WA
Thanks for the letter. Good idea. Hope-
fully we all have drills and torches. Your
solution has got to be at least as expen-
sive and ten times as difficult as buying
a new base, but it's creative.
TUFF ENOUGH
Ya' know, I'm gettin' sick. I just read "Ask
the Doctor, where everyone whines about
how much their skate scene sucks. Well,
they need to pull their heads out and smell
the stench of sweat gained from some hard
skating! Here in Eugene there are no dit-
ches and only a couple ramps, so guess
what me and my crew skate? Walls! You can
do so many rad tricks on just a smooth
wall-handplant variations off the wall,
frontside and backside wallrides, the
possibilities are endless. All it takes is a lit-
the creativity. I skate tuff, and my knees suck
so bad that sometimes they go out just for
the hell of it. Do you hear me sniveling?
Course not. I just take it easy and skate tuff.
So wipe your nose, skate always, and don't
be an asshole.
The Bewildered Dan Chambers
Eugene, OR
You should be on this end of the whin-
ing stick. I have to listen to it all the time.
I feel a lot like you, believe me. The thing
that bugs me the most, which is the
hardest part of my job, is trying to tell
these people how to deal with it. Yeah,
sure it's tough, but hey, you're the one
who wants to skate, right? And that's it!
Haven't you people ever heard of "If It
Was Easy Every Idiot Would Be Doing
It? Well, that holds true for skating, oh
too accurately. "Iffen ya' got nuttin' to
skate, skate wot ya' got." That's a quote
from my skate buddy DUD, and you
knows he's exactly right. Anyway, I'm
glad you're smart enough to find some
skatable terrain where there is virtually
none. Hang tuff there Tuff Dan. Skate tuff.
By the way, tuff envelope.
Blackhaft
Now that your skate prescription is
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Box 884570, San Francisco, CA
94188-4570
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