Project Free Bomb

So here it is as a 28″ deck, 38″ complete. Rides incredibly smooth, sits at about ankle height, feels pretty solid, very travel-friendly, and can be dollied uphill.

– G|Bomb Standard Drop bracket

– G|Bomb Pump bracket

– Freebord “Mr Blonde” 85cm x 9.5″ deck chopped to 28″ bottom mounted

– Freebord Slashers 80mm 80a wheels

– (Bear 852 181mm Trucks, though any will do)

——————————————————-The Build—————————————————–

My quest to find a good and affordable platform for my G|Bomb brackets is nearing its end, but the first stage was still not nearly as adequate as I had hoped.

This time, I got a Freebord Mr Blonde 85cm (33″) x 9.5″ foot platform. Deck is a solid 7-ply maple symmetrical top-mount with maximum wheelbase. 33″ however, is still way too long for a bomb platform, but makes for a very solid speed board.

So far I drilled the standard truck pattern evenly into it and tested both setups out. Its definitely wide enough and should still have enough of a pumping platform if I chop it down to ~28″. Some people asked me why I went all the way to Freebord for a longboard kind of deck- you can’t beat that construction for $35 clearance on maple decks, especially with good grip and graphics. GBomb’s own decks are QUITE pricey for only 2 more ply, so saving $105 is some good stuff (not to mention absolutely NO need for such a thick plank that’s only 28″ long).

Here it is with G|Bombs-

And top mounted, with an added bonus of being able to dolly it instead of having to carry it up the hills (and I might just miss this fact unless it will end up being the same length post-chop).

**Edit:

So chopped the deck to 28″ and then bottom-mounted on G|Bomb’s. For pumping, overall 38″ is alright-ish, but for pushing on a super-low platform is a pure pleasure. The brackets serve as a nice foot stop/guide and the whole setup does not clip the road board-edge. Quite decent down light hills and with softer wheels formidable on iffy ground. Definitely a contender to Bustin Boards Sportster since I have an option of keeping it 38″ or cutting it down to 36″. All in all, a great replacement/upgrade from my Kracked Skulls M1 and utilization of the G|bomb brackets.

Ultimate Salvage – Green Banana Bomb

What do you do when you have knock off Randal 150s, few sets of wheels, a Green Banana Longboard (that you don’t quite like stock/as is), and a set of rad G|Bomb brackets laying around? Put them all together for a rad 33″ push board.

Details of the build- boardside “ebay” cone bushings, roadside Penny cones; 70mm Churchill MFG wheels; nose/tail cut Banana; G|Bombs “bottom mounted.”

So far, the result? Very heavy, but very flexy deck that turns like crazy on command, but doesn’t feel too floppy or unstable at mild speed. Also, finally a board I can drag behind me, sort of. Only con besides Randals being knock offs and having a slightly shorter than standard kingpin, is the massive weight for its size. Flip side- that massive weight keeps excellent momentum going unlike any of my other boards. The front adjustable bracket’s hump makes for a perfect push point/toe rest, thus I’d imagine distance skating on this guy to be quite comfortable.

I could possibly see this guy being a formidable mild downhill/freeride board per bushing tuning.

What to do, what to do…

Gotta start plannin my next set of cosplays for NYCC/NYAF. So far, definitely leaning towards Haru Glory from Rave and if I’ll figure out the build, Kazuma from S-Cry-Ed. Haru will save my on-hold .hack Black Rose sword that I started, but the other involved people bailed on the group so project went on hold. Kazuma’s arm should be my first armor build, so if I’ll pull that one off somehow, I’ll be open to bigger projects from that point on. All in all, stay tuned folks.