Longboarding Blog: November 2008

Buy the Loaded Dancer longboard skateboard Complete here!

DANCE RELEASE INFO
WHICH DANCER FLEX TO GET?
The flex chart says,
FLEX 2 (100-170+)
FLEX 1 (160-230+)

If you weight falls between 160-170 lbs and you are really going to ride hard, do a lot of body varials and big jumps you want the FLEX 1. It will function better with your riding style and will have a less risk of bottoming out.
If you are lighter than 160 and you are going to be skating super hard the Flex 2 will work but if you prefer a stiffer ride with hardly any flex then get the Flex 1.
UNIQUE FEATURES
● 55” X 9" with a 40” wheelbase.
● Pressed with 100% natural linen using a high performance, non-toxic epoxy resin.
● Small nose and tail curvatures to lock your feet in.
● Nominal camber to keep the board damp and stable.
● Adam C. original monster artwork top and bottom.
● Bubbled bottom texture for finish and durability.
● Functional wheel wells.
● Different color linens are used at random to keep you on your toes.
HOW DOES THE DANCER SHAPE WORK?
● 55 inches long: a good dancing length, providing plenty of foot room. But it’s not way huge and clumsy. The dancer may even loose a few inches in the future.
● 9 inches wide: a nice size to allow plenty of foot room while still allowing you to find the edges easily and quickly.
● The nose and tail curvatures are KEY. These subtle features really help with nose manuals and shovits and are a huge adavantage over flat noses and tails. They are mellow and comfortable and really lock your feet in--giving you that extra leverage you need. Let’s face it, throwing around a 55in board is not easy. Having a little extra leverage is nice.
● Nose and Tail shape: The Dancer is not symmetrical and is built like this for a reason. The nose and tail can perform the same tricks, but each has its own advantages and feel which is nice. The nose of the board is wider and shorter and is easier for nose manual tricks. The back tail is longer and narrower making it easier to get leverage for shovits. Plus a longer tail helps with manuals, providing that extra bit to scrap the ground if you mess up.
● The wheel cut outs and wheel wells combined together make it very hard to get wheel bite. We feel it is important to be able to carve like a tiger on your dancer. We just didn’t want you to have to worry about wheel bite and adding tons of risers. Rest assured, the wheel cuts out are placed as wide as possible (while still preventing wheel bite) to give you maxim foot space.
● Flat platform: No concave (and almost no camber). We made this board flat to bring it back to the original roots of our flat-homemade dancers. Flat platform for ultimate dancing comfort. Also, the flatness helps disperse the thrashing the board gets flipped on its back. Developing a flat board with a long wheelbase and the right amount of flex was very challenging and one of the reasons it took us so long to launch this board. In the future we may add slight concave to make the board even lighter--time shall tell.
● Camber: Very minimal camber along the length of the board to keep the flex positive and the board damp and stable.
WHAT IS THE DANCER FLEX LIKE?
The dancer does not have a trampoline like flex. It has a damp flex that enables you to have a very comfortable ride while still being able to do boardwalking and manual moves with ease and comfort.
HOW DOES THE BOARD BREAK IN?
With heavy use, the dancer will become slightly softer over time. However, it will not be a dramatic change. The board is pressed with a small amount of camber to help prevent dramatic sagging.
WHAT WHEELS DO YOU RECOMMEND?
The Dancer off the Loaded site will come stock with 70mm 4Prez wheels, we feel a 70mm wheel works the best, but of course you have other wheel options to choose from. Any wheel between 70mm-75mm will work. With a larger wheel you run the risk of getting wheel bite. When the free-ride wheel comes out that will be the new stock dancer wheel.
DO I NEED A RISER?
We recommend using the Paris trucks along with their standard 3/16th” risers. The risers help absorb some of the shock and vibrations, work with the wheel wells, and provide more wheel clearance.
SPRAY GRIP
The dancer comes with a clear spray grip, which works very well. Once the spray grip wears off it is a good idea to add black magic griptape--especially on the nose and tail of the board were grip is most crucial.
MONSTERS
The Dancer is pressed with Adam Colton’s original monster artwork. The monsters will scare away bad energy and make rough roads turn into smooth butter pavement. They like to eat chocolate covered raisins.
WHY DOES THE DANCER COST SO MUCH? (price will be finalized when board is ready for sale, it will be more expensive than the Dervish)
● The dancer is made using 2 thick bamboo cores. Bamboo is not cheap.
● The dancer is pressed with 100% natural linen, which is a lot friendlier for the environment but costs more than the traditional fiberglass.
● The cure time for the dancer in the press is 3 times that of a Dervish, so building costs are more expensive.
● It’s a big board, so it requires the use of more epoxy and a lot more time to finish the edges.
ANYTHING ELSE I NEED TO KNOW?
Make sure to feed the monsters and wrap the Dancer in a warm blanket at night and tell it a 5 minute bedtime story. Practice makes perfect, ENJOY.
WATCH THE DANCER video for some inspiration.

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