Ralston 36" vs 41"

[Ralston]

haha.  sabboth is fired up on his new 36".  here is my take, the 41 and 36 are both designed for harder packed conditions.  yes the 41 will get you through 6" of pow but it is not ideal.  powder requires bigger boards like a chillerdeck.  now with that being said it comes down to your riding style.  both are equally stable in hardpack situations.  if you want to ride like you are skateboarding than the 36" is the only way to go.  it can handle the biggest of jumps and is totally stable at high speeds.  the reason everybody believes flatdecks are for getting tech and doubles are not is because there has not been a double designed for the tech approach,  until now.  i am sure everybody can agree it is easier to ollie a skateboard w/ trucks and wheels than just a deck.  the ollie is the most basic fundamental to doing tricks.  so i do believe that flatdecks time is limited.  not saying they suck, just saying they are limited.  the 36 will be available very soon without edges and a center channel for locking rails.  this will enable minimal snow conditions and get kids sessioning the streets while giving more pop.  obviously it is harder to do one hit stunts on a double because there is more balance involved but there is nothing more rewarding than stomping a trick and riding away with control.

[AlexanderTH3GR8]

So u have 2 versions of 36" subs now, 1 with edges and 1 without?

[ChillWill]

the 36 will be available very soon without edges and a center channel for locking rails.

he said soon :p

[AlexanderTH3GR8]

I meant to say that u will have another 36" version soon.

[0910]

"i am sure everybody can agree it is easier to ollie a skateboard w/ trucks and wheels than just a deck.  the ollie is the most basic fundamental to doing tricks.  so i do believe that flatdecks time is limited.  not saying they suck, just saying they are limited.  the 36 will be available very soon without edges and a center channel for locking rails.  this will enable minimal snow conditions and get kids sessioning the streets while giving more pop.  obviously it is harder to do one hit stunts on a double because there is more balance involved but there is nothing more rewarding than stomping a trick and riding away with control. " = Right on !!

however...

"there has not been a double designed for the tech approach,  until now"       = BS


http://snowskaters.net/forum/index.php/topic,234.0.html

[Alan]

Sabbath, thank you for bringing up the flat/bideck divide that seemed to have gotten squashed a couple years ago.  By the way, did you only watch my part in sean's video and forget to watch my part in Skrill Clinton?  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kIRt4LIoCc  there ya go.  Have you ever even tried a singledeck?  You might like it and maybe, just maybe it won't magically turn you gay like you might think...

And flatdecks time is limited?  really?  Of course flatdecks don't go quite as fast as bidecks and are way harder to turn, however this skateboard ollie comparison is bullshit.  An Ambition or Icon is NOT just a skatedeck without wheels, look at the shape of the tails, they are drastically different than a skate deck.  I can ollie equally high if not higher on my Ambition as I can on my skateboard.  I can also ollie similarly high on a 36" bideck (Circuit or Ralston).  It's about adapting your motion, no reason to hate on one or the other.   The flatdeck ollie motion is different than a bideck obviously, it scoops to pop more than springs to pop, but neither is inherently better.  Also on the topic of being limited, what about the price limitation of bidecks?  A kid in the hood can pick up a flatdeck for $100 and have fun all winter, nothing else required as long as it snows.  Bidecks run around $300, already making them a little less accessible, add to that lift ticket prices, rides to the mountain and all that shit if you really want to have a good time.  Completely disregarding the issue of tech riding do you see where flatdecks can always have a place in the equation?  I do.  They won't die, just don't ride 'em if you don't like them, but shut the fuck up with the hate.  This is a site for all types of snowskating, I though we killed the animosity a few years back.  Maybe not...

Anyways, the Ralston 36 is a great skate, it handles about as well as the ralston 41 (the 41 is a bit better at high speeds) but is funner, because as everyone says it does tech better, true.  However, to claim that there has not been a bideck designed for tech is being very uninformed.  Circuit has been making a 36" sub with 33" topdeck for at least 4 years now.  If you watch my part in The Awakening, you will notice that about half my shots are on the 36" Circuit, including the part ender.  What you may not know is that a few of the shots in my part are actually three years old.  Frontboard or switchup on that blue down-flat-down?  Three years old? check.  On a circuit 36"? check.  Tech?  you decide.  Looking back even further, whoever was at X-games 2008 might remember the tech bideck that Jordan was riding?  It may not have been the funnest skate to ride but it got the tech job done.  2nd place in a singledeck-type tech course?  check.  Tre-flips?  check.  Circuit has made a tech focused skate since the beginning.  While the new iterations of the skate (the last 3 years, which are my overall favorite skate) work way better than the old versions, maybe some of you will remember the super old circuit copilot with the fat super-short sub.  Even if it didnt ride that great you cannot deny that it was an early tech-focused bideck.  Also lets add another to the list, 0910, I know you guys have had 36" subs out for a few years now.  This is at least the 3rd season if not the 4th (or even 5th?) that I know you have been making a tech-focused sub.  I see your riders always doing some flip tricks on them.

So, to answer the the question of this post, I would recommend a Ralston 36 over a 41 for most people.  If all you want to do is cruise and maybe hit some jumps too, get the 41.  Thank you Ralston for bringing a tech-focused sub that rides well and is easily available in North America.  However, everyone PLEASE get your facts straight.  Being uninformed is ok, but using people's uninformedness to claim shit that isnt necessarily true; I don't think thats ok.  Big Props to Circuit and 0910 for also making skates that ride well and work for tech (I haven't ridden an 0910 but I see that you guys make them work).

It's raining here in Montréal and I don't got much else to do at the moment so you got to hear my story.  It's snowing a bit north so tomorrow I'll be in Quebec flatdecking, probably hitting some shit that I would never hit on a bideck.  A month from now I'll be in tahoe on a 36 or 40 bideck hitting jumps that I know I could never clear on a flatdeck.  Hopefully I'll also be riding pow thats deep enough that it wouldn't work well on either of those first options.  There is a place for all these snowskates and damn it I'm going to ride them all and like them all.  It's your loss if you don't.

Thanks everybody, stay informed and keep your facts straight.  Fuck lazy/bad journalism/claims.  The snowskating world is too small for bullshit animosity as well.  Fuck the artificial divide, I love snowskating, all types.

P.S.  I do stomp and ride away in control on a flatdeck as well.  It's rewarding too.

Peace and keep shreddin! 

[barontieri]

Hi Alan, great post and you are the best example of a complete snowskater, it is always a pleasure to watch your parts on any type of boards, I didn't know you were in Montreal, it's finally snowing now, we should meet next time you're around.

[Jesse]

Right on alan.  What good for the goose is good for the gander.

[yan_montreal]

Hi Alan, I really think you are right and that's what I am trying to say to everyone. I STILL think 36" is a bit too small (for me) but It would be my pleasure to try one for sure. And flatdecks are rad, I really think it has its place in the streets.

Anyway, me and Thierry are in Montreal too! we should definitely meet up to ride in the coming weeks!

Congratulations on the "Awakening", your part is inspiring... 

[AlexanderTH3GR8]

Good read Alan! It's good to do it all! I try not to stick with one thing when I'm interested in another.

[snosk8]

if you have the right conditions 4X4 snowskating is fun too. Snowskating is fun and ride what you have.

[0910]

Alan said it all....AMEN!

[zak123]

Everyone got there favorite I'm the same way. I must say the bi decks are my favorite and are coming along way. You can pretty much do anything on them with a little bit of practice and a ton of beers. Lol

[Ralston]

many good points were brought up here.  my claims for the tech double are stated more towards the no edge mini.  yes, there have been smaller skates available for some time now.  outside of old junkyards and salomons most have been near impossible to get.  there has never been a double marketed for the streets as far as i am aware.  of course the price of a good double lays some limitations on the skate,  but once you have one there is no need to wait for snow outside of resorts.  i am pretty sure most the country has had minimal snow this season leaving backyard shredding very limited.  singles will always have their place in this world.  they are affordable and very user friendly for the backyard applications.  not looking to start some double/single  pissing match.  i have ridden singles and watched the vids.  but it is clear the control is lacking watching riders either jump off or slam while trying to stop or turn on hills.  just saying. so i hold my ground "claiming" there has never been a double designed for getting tech in the streets.

[Alan]

Montreal dudes:  I am only here two more days and I'm sick and we are trying to get a last bit of singledeck filming in, however if I think we are going to end up at the mountain (Mt. Royal) I'll try to let you know.  I went there today and although the crust layer is pretty nasty, the woods runs that had been walked or skied on rode really well.  hit me up on facebook if you want, i dont have a phone here in canada but im staying at some other ambition riders house near Jean-Talon and Parc, and you'll have a good chance of catching me on the facebook message game.  I totally forgot to try to contact you guys, I knew you lived here and I've been up here like 3 weeks already.  Oh well, c'est la vie.

Ralston:  Sorry if I came off really harsh, I don't disagree with anything I wrote, but you are right about the previous smaller skates being hard to get for the general north american public.  I would still beg to differ about being the only the bidecks designed/ marketed for the streets, as circuit did have some models designed/marketed for the streets (see the no-edge co-pilot), however your marketing and quantity abilities are on a whole different level.  Obviously the other stuff was marketed more or less in the snowskate community only, and you seem to be branching beyond that.  I just hate seeing snowskate history being passed over like there wasn't that research, testing or riding before, even if it was super underground status.  But I see where you're coming from and of course I am curious to see how your new street skate works.  And although my main bideck loyalty is to Circuit, (and to reference a little more history), i do gotta thank you (well, Goblin in particular) for getting me my first legit bideck at xgames 2008.  That thing started changing my bideck game for sure.  Anybody remember the pralston?  Anyways, keep doing what you're doing, I'll see you in tahoe.

Props to ALL the snowskater-owned companies innovating in all types of ways, street to powder, and especially those who have helped me out over the years.  Circuit, chiller, rocker, ralston, ambition, fuse thank you.  And all the individuals you are too many to list.  thanks!

I don't want to get into the singledeck debate either, so suffice it to say that I (not everyone) can control a single well on all but icey snow, and I'll be riding both types till i cant walk anymore or winter doesnt exist anymore.  P.S. I think even the haters will like some of the shots i've gotten in the last two weeks, video dropping in the fall as usual.

Keep you mind open and your feet free, peace, alan