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-

ZURICH, SWITZERLAND (Team Geared Up) - Longboarding has very much been a thing to do on wide open streets and in areas with little traffic or bombing down hill runs or cruising in open parking lots. But for many of us who live in a busy city where we can’t do that, we just want a board that can get us from A to B but with a little more style. Enter Bustin Boards, a company based in New Jersey right next to New York City who built boards for just that purpose. Inspired by a city built upon self expression the guys at Bustin aimed to build a service that would tailor to such a city.

The Service

Usually with a board company talking about the service is not worth mentioning but for Bustin Boards, this is where they shine. Using their website customers are able to pick from three different boards, over a two dozen templates and then customize the color scheme to come out with a board that suits your tastes and is truly individual. Riding it around and showing it off gives customers a real sense that this is a custom board that really matches their unique personalities.

The Board

I got the 41 inch Complex board, the largest in the collection. It’s not too big though about as big of a board you would want in a city, trust me my 49′er can get a little cumbersome but this one is almost perfect. My style of riding is mostly super craving so I got Kryptonic Classic K wheels for ultra grip and Gullwing Mission 1 trucks for smooth carving.

At first glance you can see the board is quite unique in shape. The wave like shape gives you a flat nose, concaves in the middle then flattens out again and turns up into a tail kicker. The shape encourages your feet to sit at shoulder width in the flat regions and move into the middle to tighten your carves.

The graphic looks awesome and as I said before gives you a sense of satisfaction that few other companies can give.

Not to mention the logo on the grip tape side is a very nice touch.

The Ride

The Complex is a very smooth and fun ride. The positioning of the front wheels gives for a very tight turning radius for great carving. However be careful not to carve too far because the front of the board will hit the front wheel stopping it and send you flying as my right side of my body, who met Mr Asphalt for the first, time can tell you.

Tighten the trucks for some decent downhill action, although I wouldn’t recommend this as a downhill/bombing board. But I can confidently say that this puppy can get some speed.

As you can see from the photos, the tail kicker is perfect for getting some kick turns and tail manuals in to add a little style to your riding. Although with the board so long, holding a manual can be a little tricky.

Final Verdict
This is a great board for laid back city dwellers and is great for those who are a little more style conscious and want a bit more choice in the graphic of their board without breaking the bank. Handling and durability is top notch however super carvers and downhill bombers may want to invest in this only if they want to take a step back in hot dogging.

-Alx-

Image Credit: (Ann Debenham, Alx Cahiz)

ZURICH, SWITZERLAND (Team Geared Up) - Longboarding is the granddaddy of skateboarding and in recent years has been regarded as a retro pastime for nostalgics. However longboarding is making a big comeback with big name high end snowboard companies like Never Summer (NS) starting to produce boards to help drive the revolution. Released just this summer is NS’s high end line of longboards with something for everyone. The prize of the pack being the Eclipse.

Although using the classic 70’s pintail design there is nothing old school about this board. It uses a multi-layered system of hard rock maple, carbon, exclusive wood core and two layers of advanced pretensioned fiberglass to make for the sturdiest and most reliable ride you can find. Its got a sick wave graphic on the bottom also sporting a stylized NS logo and custom grip tape with camo style NS initials. Not to mention their see-thru custom wheels have the NS logo in them which just gives it that extra bit of style.

It also features P-Tex front and back bumpers that help protect the board from high speed impacts and ensure a longer life. These are a life saver for novices who may fall off or need to jump off because they are going to fast. The P-Tex ensures that the wood board doesn’t sustain any damage at the front and back the two likely places of impact and therefore is a great board for beginners.

It uses Randel II trucks which are one of the best in the industry and allow for very smooth turning. Get some longboard gloves on and loosen the trucks a tad and you’ve got yourself a carving machine. People may be worried about deck bite from the wide base while carving but from my experience you’ll probably be riding on two wheels or fall off the board before that happens. Although without a concave to keep your feet locked in, best leave that to the experts. The ultra durable 64mm Aend Urethane wheels ensure the best grip and are great for high speeds and smooth rides.

This is the ultimate super cruiser with the ability for some real downhill fun and ability to ride in big bowls, but not too great for races or power sliding. At 47 inches this board is pretty long so you’ll need about one and a half lanes maybe two to do a complete U-turn. Its great in busy cities in areas less populated or crowded. However due to its size its not that easy to weave through pedestrians. With that said this is a top class board and if you are looking to scratch that summer snowboarding itch and don’t live near a coast, or just want to take a break from skateboarding to kick it old school this is the board for you!

Join our ongoing discussion running on the best Longboarding spots in Europe.

-Alx-
(Image Credit: Never Summer Longboards)