A few weeks ago I attempted the first race of the Czech CGSA cup series at Makarov with my collection of Buttboards and Luges, plus some setups, to give you all an impression and a little help to choose your deck. It’s all based on my perception and riding style. And the second goal of the weekend was to reach the podium on race day 😉
The Testees
- Flying Dentist Buttboard, ISIS 150 Hanger/Randal Comp 60° Baseplate front (TM), Navigator Drone 170 50° Baseplate back (DT), FatAnt Barrel Bushings, Cult Raptures 77a
- Alpha Longboards Buttboard, Ronin Cast 180, Ronin standard Bushings, Hawgs Bigger Biggies 78a
- Manowar Buttboard, Randal DH 160 Hanger/Comp 60° Base front (TM), Caliber 180 Hanger/Randal Comp 50° Base back, FatAnt Barrel Bushings, Hawgs Bigger Biggies 78a
- TikiBoards Buttboard (made by Hackbrett), Randal 180 Hanger/Comp 60° Base front, Randal 180 Hanger/Comp 50° Base (TM), FatAnt Barrel Bushings, Cult Raptures 73a
- 9.81 Buttboard, Amok 150 Hanger/Randal Comp 60° Base front, Caliber 180 Hanger/Navigator Drone 50° Base (DT), FatAnt Barrel Bushings, Hawgs Bigger Biggies 76a
1. Flying Dentist Buttboard
On first day’s schedule was freeride and practice, so it was testing time with 2-4 runs with every board I brought. Starting with my Flying Dentist Buttboard on my special setup to get used to the track as it was my first time riding this year.
This Board and setup works perfect for me as I’m really used to it. I know my position on the board as I ride it since 2011 and with the setup it turns tight with tons of grip and still stable at speeds (around 80-90kph at Makarov).
2. Alpha Longboards Buttboard
Next up I choose the South African Buttboard from Alpha Longboards made by Kent Lingeveldt from Cape Town as it got a similar shape to my Flying Dentist, but is heavier, so I found my position on it very easy and liked the feeling on it.
The front truck is mounted with a 5.5° wedge riser to give it more turn, for me a good alternative to my favourite trucks, the Spanish Guga Trucks Black Lotus. Couldn’t go as tight through the corners as with the Flying Dentist, because of more weight and the wider hangers.
3. Manowar Buttboard
Now it was time for the new version of the Australian Manowar Buttboard made by Phill Champion. It’s one of the new generation boards with a drop or flares in the front, so you come a little bit closer to the road and have a support for your butt to find your position easier.
The original wheelbase is longer (same to the 9.81) than my usual board, so I had problems getting the corners on the race line with my riding style. Thanks to the flared front I found my riding position very easy. Changed the wheelbase to my standard length and added rails, now it waits for more testing and a report will follow.
4. 9.81 Buttboard
The Swiss 9.81 Buttboard made by the Robert Brothers is a well known classic and was one of the first with the flared front. The longer wheelbase and drop through truck mount makes it stable as hell, but you need to work more in corners to get a tight line.
I’m not a fan of the narrow back of the deck as I can’t work enough with my shoulders in light corners. As for the craftsmanship, it’s pure Swiss quality!
Tikiboards Classic Luge
Last one to give a ride was my old Tikiboards Classic Luge. It was made by Hackbrett in Freiburg (Germany), with their experience in laminating top class decks, to my specifications. The many wheelbase options and simple shape makes it a deck for every riding style and size of rider. With the added rails it handles nicely in corners and you always have a good grip with the hands. If you get the chance to get one of these – buy it and get yourself a light weight gun!
Race day
Sunday was race day and I choose to use the Flying Dentist Board with the 75a version of the Raptures I tested the day before on my Street luge for that extra bit of grip in the high speed sweepers.
As we were only 6 riders we started with semi finals. In my heat I got two Czech riders and on the other semi Austrian Konstantin Weigl had also to race two locals. For the finals, I switched to my favourite wheels, the Cult Rapture 77a for some extra speed as Konstantin is a heavy fast guy on the straights.
So it was Konstantin, Don Hoblinon (fb name, sorry can’t remember your real name), Petr Záleský and me. Everyone who knows me from the races, is aware of my slow starting, so I was really nervous with Konstantin next to me and some more weight, he had a big advantage on this track.
“Riders ready … Riders set … GO!” and we were off!
Surprisingly I came second off the start line, staying close behind Konstantin through the first right hander, staying inside for the following left 180 sneaking through on first position and controlled the race from there on till the finish line – first race of the year and top of podium – stoked big time!!!
Great race, awesome road and nice organisers who know what they are doing made this weekend perfect!
Still got one more board for you – at last years Teolo race I got the chance to ride Mikel Echegaray‘s Hare Buttboard from Goat Longboards in Spain.
Mikel mounted his signature Guga Trucks, the Black Lotus and RAD Advantage 78a. The deck has a drop after the front truck, which is top mounted and a drop mounted back truck. For me the drop could be a little bit more to have a perfect fit on my butt.
Believe it or not, but Mikel has some more weight then me and so the bushing setup was a little bit to hard for me, but I didn’t changed it, as he has set it up for race day. Apart from this, it felt really nice and I’m looking forward to get my own.
Street Luge Austria
