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No matter where you live, if you skate all
the time you're going to have to deal with
skating in the rain. Hopefully this month's
column will give you some ideas on how to
keep skating in less than desirable condi-
tions. The first thing to do is set up a board
especially for those wet days.
The rain board is usually made up of old,
battered equipment, equipment you didn't
want to use or someone else's equipment.
But the rain board that I'm talking about is
one that's made of custom equipment and
is actually a one of a kind board.
Wheels are the most important equip-
ment on a rain board. I recommend soft
wheels, about 88A or 90A durometer, in a
taller size for speed and wider for maximum
traction. Even with the gooiest urethane you
are going to be sliding sometimes. The
wheels that best fit this bill are red Road
Riders. They are smooth and fast, and wear
evenly. They also have plastic hubs, which
means that the bearings will stay seated
properly. Also, the most lasting wheel in
skate history, the red 70mm Kryptonics, is
great in wet weather. They are big, soft and
smooth. What more can you ask for?
Whatever bearings you use will get
munched in the rain, regardless of what you
do. To help inhibit rust, lube bearings before
and after you ride. Don't use WD-40
because it will break down the protective
grease layer in your bearings. Try either
Powell-Peralta Triflon or L.A. Skate Co.'s
White Lightning Bearing Oil.
PATROL
by Jake Phelps
Your trucks will be the standard trucks you
usually use but you might not want to use
your new trucks for a board that is going to
take so much abuse. Try some old ground
down Indys with softer bushings and you
will be alright. You want to ride your trucks
loose so that they will be responsive in a
hurried situation and your wheels will stay
on the ground.
Decks take the most abuse in the rain.
Most board manufacturers have a clause
in their warranty stating that their boards are
not covered for water damage, delamination
is almost inevitable, but, like I say, to keep
skating in bad weather you have to make
some sacrifices. Madrid's Fly Paper grip
tape can give you a little extra stick-to-it-
ness. Try some of this stuff when it rains dur-
ing spring and summer, put on some shorts,
take off your shoes and go skating. It's a
blast.
A hint on reducing delamination: don't
lean your board vertically when you've
finished skating, because the water will
soak into the tail area and cause more
damage. It's better to set it flat on the
wheels. Also use t-bolts to hold delaminat-
ing areas together.
I wrote before that Dogtown was coming
out with a mid-sized deck. It arrived too late
for review last month, but you guessed it,
here it is. There have been very few decks
between the standard 30" and the long 36"
board-until now. The Muir Red Dog, Mid-
Size Crisis is a first. How many of you have
ridden a 30" deck for years and yearned
for just a few more inches, then tried a long
board and thought that it was too long? This
is the deck you have waited for. It is 32½"
long and 10%4" wide, has a 3½" nose, a
6½" tail and a very stable 16½" wheel
base. Dogtown Skates, 322 East Beach,
Inglewood, CA 90302.
I also received the Santa Monica Airlines
long board, which is definitely one of a kind.
At 40%" long it is for the cruise or the style.
While the new Santa Monica decks are
made by the Santa Cruz woodchucks, this
board does not have the Santa Cruz con-
cave. This deck has a smooth concave and
tail. This is my new rain board. The chances
of finding one of these decks in your local
skate shop are slim, so write to S.M.A.
directly to get the low down. Grip tape for
this baby will cost a lot, but you don't need
full coverage. Write to: S.M.A., 4050
Spencer, Unit I, Torrance, CA 90503.
As you may be able to tell, new products
have been slow to arrive this month, so once
again, I'm asking manufacturers to send
equipment, facts and trash to Product
Patrol, c/o THRASHER Magazine, P.O. Box
884570, San Francisco, CA 94188-4570.
Thank you and get on it.
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