A Street SUP wannabee with some build questions.

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9 years ago

Stand Up Paddle Foiling Board Talk & Reviews Wing Foiling

StewL

7 posts

StewL

7 posts

6 May 2017 4:00pm

I'm a kook and I know it.
A quick bit of background.....

Last year I built myself a hollow wood Stand up paddleboard. ( I had never been on a sup before I used it) I've fallen for SUP - really love it but I'm landlocked for the most part.

This year I built myself a hollow wood surfboard to repeat the process but to improve on it, and by making a surfboard it meant it was smaller to deal with and store.

I'm now thinking about my next build. I had it suggested to make a skateboard and that didn't appeal, though I did think a longboard might but didn't quite grab me.

Then I saw land paddling / street SUP!

A light bulb moment!

This could be perfect as a crossover for SUP training when unable to get to the water, potentially with me on a board while the kids are on their bikes.

I've been reading and researching, as I usually do! I've gotten really bogged down in the wealth of info out there and wondered if someone could help me back out of the pit with some simple guidance. I expect that I'll get moaned at by some for asking the questions but sometimes you have to and while I'm new to longboards and this forum, I'm not new to other subjects - I've done lots of reading before wanting to ask so please don't dismiss me straight out.

So, here it is....

I figure that I could just make a board out of a good thickness ply with no rocker or camber, shape the sides a bit and bolt some trucks and wheels on and off I go after knocking up a pole of sorts.

I also figure that after a bit of trying out the plank for a while I could then dismantle and make a new deck of a different shape once I've worked out where I would like more or less deck. Sound ok or a daft idea? Should I go straight in and copy a design or do I need to know more before I would know how to ride different designs?

Trucks - I see unclear advice on width. Advice is to match the trucks to the board but I don't have a board. Seems a bit chicken and egg! I don't know what size is sensible for a beginner, though ultimately I would like to be able to stand in a SUP stance to get as specific as possible so wide!

Even if I went thinner on the board and forgot sup stance for now, would 150mm wide trucks be too narrow for a kook or should I go wider to 180mm minimum? Is there any benefit of going narrower for a street cruiser that is not looking to do any carving (yet) or would it just give me a wobbly board?

Wheel size - so 70mm x 55mm seems like the size to start at. My question here that I can't find the answer to is how big of a bump in the road they can cope with. The paths here are not always the smoothest and I don't want to end up face planting too often! The videos I see are nice smooth Tarmac and that's not what I always have. I know a bigger diameter and narrower surface will cope with bumps and debris better but I can't find any sort of data as to what suits what and I know a larger diameter will be slower.

Sorry for being a kookookachu and I'll be sure to share anything I build here. Any help would be appreciated, even if it's just to point me to some specific threads or sites.

StewL

7 posts

StewL

7 posts

6 May 2017 4:50pm

That post came out weird! Is that normal??

colas

5395 posts

colas

5395 posts

7 May 2017 3:28pm

StewL said..
That post came out weird! Is that normal??

Yes, the way the forum display things is not adapted to the current way of replying to emails where you leave all the previous answers.

When you replay by quoting in this forum, try to trim the quote part (the yellow boxes) to keep only the sentence you are replying to. For the comfort of your readers, 2-3 lines max, you do not want the "select to expand quote" to appear. And of course remove any picture from the quoted part.

Nozza

VIC

2889 posts

Nozza

VIC, 2889 posts

8 May 2017 1:46pm

I'll do my best on some of your questions.
Wheel size I would go as big as possible - Hamboard 97mm wheels roll over just about anything.
No real idea on truck width, but instinct says the wider the better.
When I first started about a year ago, I tried SUP stance, or square on. It's very unbalanced and seems like a good way to face plant the road. I paddle in surf / skate stance, and "backhand" across the body isn't too awkward.
I would make a deck and give it a go - trial and error probably best as no one really knows what is best.
If you don't agonise over finish quality, you could pretty quickly evolve the design to what you like.
The pole I think is critical, something strong but with a fair bit of flex. The actual paddling is pretty high impact and you want something to absorb some of the shock.
And when I'm on the board, my "kids", 18 and 22 years old, won't admit I'm their father, much less ride along with me!
Give it a go - it's surprising how much fun it is.
And how did you find your way in here Colas? Street foiling?

colas

5395 posts

colas

5395 posts

8 May 2017 12:34pm

Nozza said..
And how did you find your way in here Colas? Street foiling?

No, my morning routine is eating my porridge and drinking my coffee while looking at the webcams and going to seabrezze "New posts in all the SUP-related forums"... So I stumbled on your post :-)

I must say Street SUPing seem quite fun... but I now live close to the water.

mick14

343 posts

mick14

SA, 343 posts

24 Jun 2017 10:02am

It would be interesting to compare the cost of DIY, compared to buying a Loaded longboard, where all the R&D has been done for you. I've got a Tan Tien and it works great with the bamboo pole I made, and also with a kite.

Bighugg

498 posts

Bighugg

498 posts

29 Jun 2017 9:05pm

Hi , StewL
Just give it a go follow your own bent and eBay/ Gumtree
we are making boards from 25mm structural ply,
Getting 3 ( 8 ft ) to 7 ( 4 ft ) from a sheet
with end of stock specials 185 mm trucks from $55- , soft no name 92mm wheels , 25mm broom handle n black Kong ball for paddle
These go great with bush kids. Made 13 set ups with this crew.
Myself, started out on a Street Sup Big Kuhna 59" ,3 hours out from Alice.
Main ride lately is a 360mm wide, 6ft cutaway on 250mm Originals ,1inch riser, 92mm soft wide wheels.
Went down the ply adventure with a, as a joke, 8 foot fish on 195 Paris trucks for my wife in lieu of surf trip.
We both loved walking the board .When the bow sags to much flip it over and u get great pop out of turns. Real limo ride on long outings

StewL

7 posts

StewL

7 posts

27 Aug 2017 3:36pm

Thanks chaps - I forgot about this thread and didn't have any notifications come through!

Managed to get hold of a load of mountain board trucks (40 odd!) so I'm well stocked - I'm attempting to move some on.

I've fit some to a basic board of two bits of ply I put a bit of a curve in. I'm already regretting how narrow I've cut it but it still needs finishing properly yet.

All good fun!! :D

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