Team Geared Up

ZURICH, SWITZERLAND (Team Geared Up) - This review has been a long time coming. After months of work, travel and crappy Swiss winter weather the Dervish review is finally here and I have to say, it was worth waiting for.

The Board

To re-cap from the First Impressions post done a few months back the Dervish is a 41.5 inch flexible bamboo based board set with 77mm grippy Seismic Speed Vent wheels and 180mm Gullwing Charger trucks. The board comes in two types or two “flexs” for different weight bearings. Flex 1 has a range of 170lbs to 230lbs and Flex 2 has a 100lbs - 180lbs load bearing range. I have the Flex 2. The board design is dual ended, the ends are skinnier then the middle of the board, slight concave to lock in feet and to top off with the trucks being totally exposed. This allows for big angled turns without any risk of board bite, which makes it perfect for heavy carving. This board has incredible flex which makes the ride far smoother and allows for some great pumping. Its also worth mentioning that this is a very light board to carry.

It features a very elegant style with a clear grip on top to show off the beautiful bamboo and an islamic style graphic on bottom.

The Ride

This is probably one of the most versatile rides I’ve been on. Whatever kind of rider you are this board will most likely tailor to you. Its length is perfect to be a city board and an open road street surfer. The flexible bamboo base gives you a much smoother ride then some thicker boards but still lets you feel the road under you.

Another point, this is probably obvious to most but still worth mentioning, watch out for some small rocks, I didn’t see one that was about the size of a grape, it got caught between the road and the front truck and stopped the board dead. Obvious to say that I continued flying forward. The wheels are big enough to get you over bumps/curbs of about three quarters of an inch. Turning is smooth as butter and the radius is quite exceptional.

The slight nose/tail on either side makes it great for doing little tricks, I was able to pull off some manuals after a little practice. The grip on top isn’t too grippy so you’ll be able to pull off some pirouettes but still have enough grip not to fall off when really pushing it.

Its also great for speed runs or downhill bombs and feels the most stable out of all the boards I’ve tried at high speeds. Not sure how it handles powerslides because I’m on grippy wheels but I’ve seen it done in videos and it seems to handle itself well.

Final Verdict

When you ride this board you will know that a lot of time went into its creation by people who clearly know what they are doing. The result is a board perfect for all types of riders and riding styles. Whether you are a speed junkie, trickster, hill carver or cruiser this board will do the job nicely. I would say beginners could start off on this board but maybe a more stable, less flexible board would be better and leave this to the intermediate/expert riders. The Dervish is one hell of a ride.

Image credit: Ann W. Debenham

-Alx-