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Skateboarding Product Reviews

City Skateboards ‘Syndicates Crowbar’ 7.5” x 30.5”

Last week a fresh whiz plank turned up at my door, turned out to be the very fetching 7.5 model from the new range of City team boards, rad!

The first thing you notice about this board is that it is rather short, short enough for me to think that it was a mini, and was just about to pick up the phone to give Moose an ear-bashing when I thought it best to actually check, no it wasn’t. Phew.

The width is perfect, and the shape is pretty chilled out, not too flat, and not too much like and old skip. As well as the shape being pretty much spot on the graphic is sick, and my eyes pretty original too. It reminded me of that old game ‘The Getaway’ on the PlayStation and instantly made me want to cruise around stealing Rover 75’s with my new wooden crowbar. And on the plus side the graphic matched my shoes, chosen sticker arrangement and tee shirt, so I was feeling pretty fresh, and decided it was time to actually skate this fucker rather than stand around like a ramp betty admiring it.

At first size was a bit of an issue, (I’ve found myself saying that quite a lot recently), and took a while to get used to as every ollie I popped felt like my foot was about to boot the nearest bloke next to me whilst doing an outrageous no-comply in the air, but once that was overcome the pop made you feel like Wainwright! Every trick was like you were being cannoned up, over, through, or whatever you were trying to do, and I’ve never had quite the same feeling on a board. If I’d had this back in the grom days, I’d have been wacking two fingers up at my mates as I cleared the nearest pebble. Plus because of the length of the board you have so much more control over it, so you can throw tweaks, and shiftys at will and even the occasional kebab if you want.

The board itself has lasted well, I’ve had it on a few weeks and it still looks near enough new, no Gillette diamond coated Mach 24 razor for a nose and tail, no delams or chippers, even after taking trips into the side a bus and the back of a tram. Oh, and a slightly immature moment on my part when I couldn’t do some grind that I saw on Fully Flared. So it’s holding up nicely, and will probably be staying on for a fair few weeks after this gets put up!

To be brutally honest I am an 11 year old child at heart and the paint finish on the board is a little disappointing. Instead of the graphic smudging so I can blag to the local kids I can do back tails that actually slide, the paint flakes and chips and makes me look like some mong who has been smashing his way up and down curbs even after one skate. This disappointed me immensely, especially after I was given a gully bad man graphic, it’s now all chipped and makes me feel a bit limp, much like a kid who plays music out of his / her phone on the bus. Get out!

But back to the serious stuff, the board on the whole was a really nice ride, had a great feel, and most certainly ‘bare’ pop. After you’ve addressed the shortness issue it certainly becomes a proper rad board to go out and skate. I must mention briefly that the other board (7.625″) in the same series comes in slightly longer, so if you have real sized feet and legs you are catered for. Plus the only real downside is the shitty paint coming off, but again if you are a proper person you won’t care about that. To conclude, City would be up there now for the next time I purchase a board down at the local wood joint.

www.thecitystreets.com

9/10

Neddington