Tow in Skateboard..

i wanted to make a super fast skateboard for 'tow-in-skateboarding'. it needed to have much lower drag on the wheels than a small skateboard and a longer board, smoother ride, kind of wakeboarding/snowboarding feel. Here are all the parts and most of the tools i played with assembled before i begin. I had a carcass of an old beach skateboard to play with, which i ended up using almost nothing of. oh well. i like the way projects evolve.

an old piece of 80-20 is the stiff part of the board, the trucks are attached with a plate as you see. the huge wheels are from those cheap skooters. the scooter wheels can be found for 1-2$ each. because they are thin and have 100-120mm diameter they are WAY WAY faster than skateboard wheels. come to think of it i'm not sure why kids use skatewheels that have such small diameter.. the bigger wheels also ride out the bigger cracks and potholes so much easier, especially at speed.

cheap trucks can be found at most sports stores on kids boards and at dollar stores. they are fine
for experimenting, but are never wide enough, and usually the centre bolt bends under high load.

the trucks are attached with a plate as you see. this one has been used on beaches and in sand a
lot hence the rust. lock nuts are a necessity on truck fixings as they always rattle loose.

so it looks really cool but it wasn't worth it. i waterjet oval sections out of the 80/20 to take some weight out of it.

these were convenient and not metric ( a lot of skateboard and bike stuff is) and were a fine substitute.

the old ones were bent up from the sand boarding so i'm preparing to fit new ones. nice to have a groove such as the one in this band saw table so the board stands on it's edge while you do this stuff.

nice cheap new trucks ($2 at building 19 1/8)

these things are larger diameter and thinner.
that means faster (less rolling resistance)
and better at handling bumps and cracks in road.
i don't know why all skaters don't use 'em.

i don't know, i like this. should have been one red and one green to teach me finally which is port and which is starboard.

or whether i'm goofy or natch.

red and white. the first football team i ever supported, the St George Dragons were red and white...

it mightn't be obvious in this photo, but i'm leaning over full tilt on this board trying to steer the
wheels and they, as you can see, aren't exactly turning much. one problem is the deck is flexible
and the connection between the deck and 80/20 is not rigid enough.

i went out and tested this board, and it sort of sucked. took two city blocks to actually turn the
thing. not the 'feel' i wanted for this board. It was super fast though.

also found the 80/20 spine made the board way to stiff. feels more like surfing when the deck
flexes. that must be why everyone else did it that way. great to reinvent the wheel....