Two pretty much “stock” setups that rip.

These are the two longboards I tend to ride the most, my Gravity Kalai and Gravity 42″ Spoon. Both are now discontinued models. What a shame. The longboarding world simply wasn’t smart enough to recognize how great these two decks were.

Both boards are laminates of bamboo and maple. Both kick ass. I have 2 other drop-through downhill boards, and the Kalai is simply a better board for carving. You can still get the Gravity Makai, which is the same deck except all maple (no bamboo). The Spoon, with its kicktail, is a fantastic all-around board. Long enough for great stability, it can take many different truck/wheel combinations.  You can ride it anywhere. I think it’s a shame that more skaters don’t appreciate a longboard with a traditional skateboard shape and a functional kicktail.

The truth, I think, is that most skaters of longboards would be much better served by riding a board like the spoon – a traditional shape with a kicktail. Granted, you really can’t run some of the giant wheels available today on such a board without lots of riser pads, but you can easily run 65mm – 70mm wheels on them. For most skating that more than sufficient.