Loaded Dervish Purchase

After checking out my coworker's Sector 9 Sidewinder, I was completely stoked on getting my own long board this weekend.  I did some research and found out that my childhood and high school Rollerblade supply store also stocks an amazing selection of long boards.  I highly recommend the store, no pressure sales staff who's easy going and very informative of their products, and even willing to allow me to try out their own boards around the block.  You can check out Black Diamond Sports here.

I have realized today (and my SO for some time now) that I'm a sucker for up sells.  As long as there's tangible reason why the more expensive board is better, I'm all over it.  Initially I went in to check out the Sector 9, but after discussing with our Sales Associate Constantine about both my skill level and use of the board, he recommended 10 boards for me to try out.  The Dervish came up on top.

I was hesitant on spending so much on a board (but to my coworker's point, I have no qualms spending $170+ on dinner, fried chicken, no less), but after trying out one of the employee's Dervish around the block vs. the Sidewinder, I was sold.  The Dervish is much more stable than the Sidewinder, with a bigger surface area for my feet and has a lower center of gravity due to the way the trucks (I just learned what this meant earlier in the week, and it doesn't always mean a car with a bed to carry stuff) are installed.  In addition, the flexibility of the fiberglass laminated bamboo core pretty much absorbs any inconsistency on the sidewalk surface.  I was able to gain a lot of confidence on the board very quickly.  Keep in mind I only skateboarded as a kid, and stopped when the first Rollerblade Lighting TRS came out (back in 1992-ish).

During the purchase.  This board was $100 more than I was prepared to spend, but well worth it!  My SO and I did decide to swap out the red wheels for some orange ones, but stopped short of getting the black trucks to avoid the San Francisco Giants (or as my SO thought Halloween) colors.

Look, it fits in the back of my soccer mom mobile!

I did some more research at home after I purchased the board (which my SO says I always do: I apparently like to research my products AFTER I purchase them, not before).  I definitely believe I purchased a board beyond my means.  Check out what the board can do below:

My favorite quote from the site is, "The Dervish was designed and intended for speeds between 0 and 30 mph (0-50km/hr). You can take the board faster with skill and experience, but it is not intended for higher speeds due to its flex characteristics."  If my board ends up going anywhere near 30mph, I'm probably going to be concerned about other things, likely attempting to peel myself off the hood of a fast moving car on the Embarcadero.

Update:  Going with my "research" AFTER purchase habit, I have decided that when it comes time for me to replace my wheels and bearings, I would like to purchase some ceramic bearings as well as aluminum core wheels.  Yup, let's pimp that deck up!

On the plus side, Black Diamond Sports in Palo Alto actually has very competitive pricing.  I'm glad I was fortunate enough to purchase my board there.  I noticed online there were a few stores online and in SF that sold my complete deck for cheaper, but they get to that lower price by using cheaper trucks, bearings, and wheels.  When you compare the complete decks apple-to-apple, the price is the same, if not more.