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The
Flare 55
As
you'll all know, Highland is the UK's first
ever Streetboard manufacturer and the Flare
55 is their debut board. Taking the words straight
out of Neil's (Highland Owner) mouth - the Flare
55 has been designed to ride well on all types
of terrain - the swiss army knife of Streetboards.
In this review i am mainly comparing the Flare
55 to the AS2, as this was the board i switched
from (except for Nomad footplates) and as most
people ride the AS2 already it will make a good
comparison.
The
first thing you notice immediately once you
step on the board is the slightly longer stance
than the AS2. If you are accustomed to the 54cm
of the AS2 you will notice a difference. There's
only 1cm difference (the Flare is 55cm) but
this extra length makes for a more stable ride
and it makes gaining speed on the flat easier.
You get used to the extra 1cm within 10-20 mins
of riding. The crossbar feels stronger, as the
centre of the bar has been made a little thinner
and the neck's are wider. Dependant on your
foot placement this may cause problems as there
is a slightly smaller pivot rotation, however
i noticed no difference at all. The thinner
crossbar does make tricks like smiths a little
harder, however i don't think this is a bad
thing - tricks need to have a challenge and
not be made easier so go out there and learn
to sit on your smiths! The bar feels more solid
on tricks like disasters, yet you still have
a decent amount of give in the "up and
down" movement on your foot, thusly giving
you a comfortable ride whilst gaining speed
easier. If you're a park rider get on a mini
and try some airs. The board is somewhat lighter
than the AS2, my first ride on a mini on the
Flare resulted in higher airs immediately.
Talking
of smiths - this is where the Mercury trucks
come into their own. They employ the extended
blunt plates over the axle as seen in Dimension's
Demon truck, which means you don't get wheel
hang up on rails and coping (especially if you're
on softer wheels). Apart from the fact the trucks
have the sexy pimped out look from the polished
alloy, the trucks take the best elements of
the Viking and Demon trucks and put them together,
making them - in my opinion, the best trucks
currently on the market. The trucks fit all
wheel sizes and they have a shape similar to
Viking's, meaning awesome blunts and nose/tail
slides. They are a few millimetres higher than
Viking's which isn't noticeable after a few
minutes of riding. The higher size was designed
to allow for a larger wheel size and also for
more alloy around the axle, making for a stronger
truck all round - especially if you're throwing
yourself down stair sets or off drops. You may
have also noticed the alloy on the axle is quite
a bit thicker, this is to add extra strength
and also to provide a longer grinding life.
All this and yet - they are lighter than Viking's
and Demon's!
The
Flare 55 uses the standard "OG" pivot
system seen in the Dimension boards, making
the board transition as easy as possible and
as you'll all know - a smooth footplate rotation.
The
footplates have been shaped to give you great
balance on nose and tail slides, along with
k grinds. They feature the WSA standard binding
holes which are all countersunk ready for your
bindings to be bolted into. And as with the
crossbar, they have been made out of super tough
9 ply canadian maple so you can thrash your
board around for a long time without damage.
All
in all, Highland have done a great job with
their first board - light, strong and great
to ride on all terrain. Even if you don't want
the whole board you can buy the spare parts
to make your perfect set up. Give this board
a try, everyone who has so far has not stopped
riding it since.
Click
here to buy this board now from the Flipside
UK Streetboard Shop
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