Update

So, recently I havn't been very active, i've recently started to grow away from my laptop and since then noticed that barely anyone was viewing my page (Unlike previously) I will try to keep active posts, but please understand I am bogged down with work! Anyways there is a give away of free skate stuff on CambridgeSkaters channel, and it's really easy to enter! But yeah I will do more reviews and attempt to upload regularly.

P.S I upload to my youtube channel often, please subscribe if you want to keep up to date with what I do :)

Thanks,

Ben.

Bones - Red Bearings Review

So these nice little bearings are becoming more popular, Bones Reds are currently the most popular in the UK. In America it is FKD bearings. These bearings have 7 steel ball bearings in each full bearing. These bearings have many advantages, such as: Easy to clean, they are skate-rated not ABEC rated, they have rubber shields not built on metal cages, and they are also precision made & contain a low friction crown. When you first get them, they are pre-lubed with bones reds speed cream. When you first ride them they will not be at there best, they are at their best after a couple of hours of skating, in a while (Couple of months-A year) you will start to notice that they are really loud when you spin them, or some won't even spin! To prevent this, do not skate in bad weather conditions: Mud, Snow, Rain ETC. But still for £11.99-£20 the bearings are worth the price. If you don't have a lot of money get these, but if you're one of those rich kids/spoilt kids who get about £80 per month then get the best! Bones Reds Swiss Ceramic Bearings. But yeah these are really overall great bearings, and would defiantly recommend getting them. They also come with a sticker. (Worth £0.99)

Rating:
Strength: 9/10
Speed: 9/10
Looks: 9/10
Accessibleness: 10/10
Manufacture Quality: 9/10
Price: 10/10
Overall Rating: 9.3

Risers/Shock Pads On Skateboards.

Recently I have seen a lot of skating posers say that riser pads do nothing. Some call them shock pads, and in the name it can already tell you that it has some benefits. A riser or shock pad is a flat pad that can be mounted between the truck and the deck. Risers come in all kinds of shapes, colours and thickness's, as well as varying degrees of stiffness. Usually, a riser is plastic and a shock pad is more rubbery,  but the names get swapped around a lot, not in my friendship group though as we usually use 'Riser pads' or 'risers' or 'raisers'. They do 

very similar things. Riser and shock pads do two things:

first, they help prevent wheel-bite. This is where, when turning, your wheel touches the bottom of your board and gets stopped suddenly. As you can imagine, having a wheel on your skateboard stop suddenly is a bad thing to have happen, no matter what type of skateboarding you do this is so annoying, like you know when you're doing that nice nose manual? With your trucks to loose you will just stop.

Secondly, Shock pads and riser pads also prolong the life of the skateboard deck by reducing the strain that the deck gets from the abuse, therefore not getting pressure cracks as easily.

put only the trucks on and Skateboards without riser pads usually get small pressure cracks where the trucks meet the skateboard deck. Riser pads reduce this problem greatly.

Many skateboarders do not like to use risers, because they make the skateboard taller. A taller skateboard is harder to do technical street tricks on, and even the fraction of an inch that a riser pad adds can make a difference. But in the end I would still get riser pads/Shock Pads.

Ben Keppie

Element - Phase II Trucks Review

These trucks, I originally got them with my Element Thriftwood Team Dispersion deck, and lasted me through to my second board. These are the kind of trucks you buy and skate them a little while, whilst getting to grips with which skateboarding companies are good, and then you start to buy more professional trucks such as: Independent & Venture. The bushings are fantastic in these, real hard, and basically no breaking in time. The base plate is incredibly strong, the only weak spot I found was the piece of metal which wraps around the bushing, I say this through experience as it cracked at two places and then fell off all together. You can view the crack on this video at 1:40. The truck is strong though, so I would only advise getting these if it is just a temporary thing to last a year or two before you move onto better brands.
And from now on I will use a rating system as shown below:

1/10= Absolutely shit.
2/10= Pretty shit.
3/10= Argos standard.
4/10= Bad.
5/10= Liveable.
6/10= Becoming pro, not quite there yet. Major downside.
7/10= Nice, maybe a medium effective downside, could be improved.
8/10= Really nice, one slight downside.
9/10= Not the best of the best, yet still amazing, no doubt about it.
10/10= Best ever.

Ratings for Element Phase II Trucks:
Lightness:  7/10
Strength: 7/10
Kingpin: 8/10
Manufacture quality: 8/10
Price: 9/10
Overall rating (Mean): 7.8 (Really nice although it could be improved on it's weaker areas)

Ben Keppie.

Enjoi - Rainbow Fart Deck Review

So to start of with, this deck has a 7-ply Canadian maple expoy glue construction, the tail is not rounded, it is tampered, and ranges from around £40-£58. This deck has a lot of pop when you first buy it, and the main sizes are 7.62 and 8.25. But the pop seems to slowly go down, until your tail/nose goes pancake. But anyway, most skaters know that enjoi have the strongest glue out of all companies, no doubt about it; so no chips. I say no chips, but when a tail goes pancake, it does not matter how strong the deck is, it will chip. This deck also has a massive concave, So good for some, but may affect whether you purchase this deck or not. This deck has lasted me skating through every day in the summer, and I still ride it now when it's a bit wet and don't want to trash up my new set up straight away. But yeah, this deck would be amazing for beginners, and was a good, strong, reliable deck for me. The graphic is plain and simple, the way I like it, and looks like a remake of 'Nyan Cat' which was yet another bonus. But yeah, if you are busting out on the street doing some beginner tricks like: Ollie, pop shuvs, kickflips and some variations on those tricks, then this is the deck for you. And I also think that it would be good for vert if you ride the 8.25 one. It isn't amazingly light, but it's not heavy so again it is good for beginners.

Ben Keppie

England Football Managed Resigns? OMG 2012 News

Fabio Capello, the ex-England football manager has resigned. I am not that into football, but after all I am from England, so why not have some sort of patriotic blog, huh? This quote is to prove that he has actually resigned and isn't actually just some rumours: Fabio Capello, the ex-England football manager has resigned. I am not that into football,  but after all I am from England, so why not have some sort of patriotic blog, huh? This quote is to prove that he has actually resigned and isn't actually just some rumours: "The Football Association can confirm that Fabio Capello has today resigned as England manager. This follows a meeting involving FA chairman David Bernstein, FA general secretary Alex Horne and Fabio Capello at Wembley Stadium. The discussions focused on the FA board's decision to remove the England team captaincy from John Terry, and Fabio Capello's response through an Italian broadcast interview. In a meeting for over an hour, Fabio's resignation was accepted and he will leave the post of England manager with immediate effect." So yeah, this is kind of a big thing which is going to float around for a while in most general around me. "We have accepted Fabio's resignation, agreeing this is the right decision. We would like to thank Fabio for his work with the England team and wish him every success in the future."Bernstein and the Club England management team will hold a media conference at Wembley at 12 noon tomorrow.  So again, tomorrow there will be even more talk after more news is released on what will happen next. Will it be a good decision? Or a totally shit one which will just fuck England's football career. 


Thanks for reading! Would really appreciate if you regularly looked at the stuff I post, mainly skating and general good news in a summary, not some boring essay,


Ben Keppie.

Best Skate Shops - UK

So, often some of my friends ask me
 "So where shall I buy my new deck from?" Or
"Where should I buy my new shoes from?"
And to be honest with you I mainly shop at Routeone and occasionally shop at RollerSnakes but yeah, generally Roller Snakes is cheaper, although you are more likely to have to pay delivery with RollerSnakes but it depends on what offers are on, and Routeone Is generally more reliable as they have 'Been in the business' longer, and do tracked deliveries. RollerSnakes have some really good deals on at the moment, so go and check them out. But Routeone is better packaged, although while making unboxing videos that can be annoying taking ages just to open it up. Routeone also have some good deals on and would advise you to check out their jeans (2 for £49) as they are the most COMFY jeans ever. So really the main comparison is whether rollersnakes has what you are looking for, and whether you will get free delivery with one and not the other. This is for the UK and if you live in the US I would shop at CCS.

Thanks,
Ben Keppie