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The
AS2
Dimension's
AS2 board has had it's fair share of problems
in the past in the strength department when
it came to trucks and footplates. While a lot
of riders could go months without breaking anything,
it was becoming apparent that, likewise, a lot
of riders were. Something had to be done.
Known
in some countries as the "AS2 V2"
and the "AS2-Demon", whatever you
want to call it - this latest incarnation of
Dimension's top-of-the-line board IS that something.
Visually the only thing that looks different
about the board is the trucks (which we shall
come to a little later), however it is below
the surface where the real enhancements are.
The
main difference is a much better quality of
wood on the footplates and crossbar. The board
employs the kind of rock hard 9 ply Canadian
Maple you will have become accustomed to on
the AS1 so you don't have to fear hurling yourself
off those big drops and putting your heel through
your footplate. Dimension decided to not change
the shape of the board (and why would they,
when they have a design that works well and
looks good) but making these improvements in
the strength and have furthered the board's
possibilities.
It
has been designed for a slightly taller individual
when compared to the Nomad, the crossbar is
at a stance of 54cm and the footplates are 2cm
wider to add extra comfort to the larger foot
and also provide greater stability on slides.
The crossbar is also wider than the Nomad's,
this aids in a lot of extra stability on slides
and grinds, especially fs and bs smiths, allowing
you to hit up huge handrails and not die halfway
down. Of course, when purchasing a new board
for the first time you must be sure you're putting
your bindings on correctly. No matter how strong
a board is, if your feet are too far over on
either side, you run a high risk of breaking
your bar quickly. All boards and parts come
with binding instructions/warnings to help prevent
this from happening.
The
board has been designed with Street riding in
mind, and it's no more apparent than when you
have a butchers at the trucks. Dimension's new
rock solid "Demon" trucks are now
included as standard. The whole design of the
trucks has been to greatly improve your Street
riding, as well as also being gnarly for Park
skating. Firstly they are made from a hardened
Rockwell axle, which is coated in aluminium
to make sliding on concrete a pleasant experience.
The blunt plates are wider and they also have
an angled k grind area built into them for stability
on k's.
The
other advantage is the blunt plate extending
over the axle, which provides not only a locking
point when you go for grinds like smiths, it
also stops your wheels from catching up on rails
(especially if you have softer wheels). The
wider blunt plates and new angle supports on
the inside near the axle ensure no more axle
snappages as seen in the first version of the
Viking Trucks. The only downside to these trucks
is due to the extra bulk they are a bit heavier,
so if you're wanting to make your board as light
as possible these trucks may not be for you,
however when riding them, it is hardly noticeable.
The other downside is the trucks only fit wheels
of 60mm and under. Punks and Shamrock wheels
do not fit them due to the wheels being so wide.
All other wheels 60mm and under will fit them
however, so for all the advantages these trucks
give you in return - they are worth it.
The
only other slight disappointment shared by some
of the riders who owned a first version AS2
is the elimination of the Slick on the crossbar.
While it's not a really big issue as most riders
who rode AS1's will know that riding a normal
wooden crossbar is still fine, the Slick did
add extra smoothness and consistency when sliding
that a lot of riders really came to love. The
reason the slick was eliminated, however, is
due to it sliding too fast when attempting huge
handrails, so the bar was brought back to a
plain wood finish to enhance the response you
get when sliding. As we said before, the board
has been designed with rails in mind and will
allow you to take your riding to it's highest
level.
The
other teething problems that have been eliminated
are to do with the pivot. The first version
had a distinct rattle in between the needle
bearings where the spacer was justtt a tad too
thin. While it had no effect on how the board
performed, it still was one of the niggling
complaints people had about it, so, on this
new version - it has been eliminated. Also the
needle bearings use larger rollers to lengthen
their lives, the small needle bearing especially
now is a huge improvement over the previous
one. This all provides a super smooth turn for
your board. All parts are WSA standard so you
can chop and change with the other boards on
the market that are also made to this standard
to get the perfect set up for your style of
riding.
Overall,
the board has been through the mill a bit in
it's time, but now this latest incarnation is
the best and strongest yet. If you are a rider
under 5'5' you may want to look at the Nomad
first due to it's smaller size but if you are
a Street rider wanting to take your riding to
the highest level, then this is the board for
you. Likewise, this is also a killer board for
park riding, especially on coping and park rails.
A lot of the top pro riders use this board,
so you really can't go wrong.
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