Kudos on a very measured and unbiased review there. Although you say you're new to tinkering with bushings, you clearly get the concept well - There is no "normal" or "right" bushing. It's totally subjective. I'm currently testing a relatively high quality CX clone by Mindless from here in the UK and being very surprised by how much I like them. I feel like I can do just as much as I do on my Meraki, but with a lower ride height, massive reduction in weight and way more bushing options due to CX style trucks using taller longboard bushings. So far after testing a ton of combinations between Loaded (Nipples & Knuckles), Venom and Riptide, it's actually the Knuckles which I prefer so far. The difference on my setup and the Bolsa is that I'm running the softer orange Knuckles front and back, where as the Bolsa has the harder (90A) purple Knucks on the rear. I can see that being a good setup for a larger rider, but for me I doubt it would work. Having orange at both ends makes these trucks flow super nice and retains a ton of rebound. The Riptide Krank's I tried on the rear were 90A and it definitely felt a bit stiff and dead to me. I tried Venom cones roadside in both 85A and 87A, but both felt like they lacked the rebound I loved from the Knucks.
Thanks Steve! Don from Loaded and Orangatang here. I really like this review, as always it's very thorough and nuanced. A couple things to note: As you mention clearly, personal preference is primary. As always, we designed this setup for our personal riding style and pleasure. Most of us at Loaded are shorter people and for us having our front foot behind the front wheel well works well. But that may not work well for bigger stance riders or other stance styles. Regarding wheelbite: when we tested the board this was never an issue. However, in production there was some minor variance in some of the components (most of which we've solved) that did cause wheelbite for some (as you unfortunately experienced). After working closely with our good friends at Carver we changed the Knuckle bushings on the CX to our Nipple bushings and added a riser. Wheelbite potential is totally gone. This is true for all boards shipped after November 2002. And if you got one earlier, hit us up and we'll retrofit for you. However, this is a much "stiffer" setup than the standard Carver bushings but it is a much higher rebound setup which creates a more powerful pump. And a more energetic surfskate experience. Once again, it comes down to rider preference and this is definitely a different take on Carver's amazing trucks. We regard the Carver crew as family and are very thankful that they approached us to do this Collab and that we have been able to use their trucks to create a unique surf skate experience (for this board and for the past 15 or so years). Thanks again Steve for another great review! I'm a big fan of what you do.
Bolsa is my first surfskate after multiple longboards and hours of watching this youtube channel. And as a beginner (to surfskates) I am very happy: all components are functional, high quality, and I happen to like the wheel wells as they tell me exactly how to stand and they feel comfortable to me in the exact angled position demonstrated in the video. This review gave me ideas of what I could try next, thank you for that. Overall I think as a first-time surfskate it's solid.
Nice! Thanks for doing months of skating for your reviews instead of rushing through them. Those bushings are dope imo, I use the purple in the rear of my Slide Diamond and it was a massive upgrade on that board. Knuckles also come in softer durometer. I'd love to see you try out a few more like Venom, and get into pivot cups, because those are supposed to be a big upgrade.
Thanks, that confirms my suspicion that the Bolsa may not bring much to the game, in spite of all the hype (plus, people have been riding Loaded boards with Carver trucks since the ice age at least). I have owned a Carver SuperSurfer (at the time, I hesitated between that and the Black Tip), and the board's shape was so great I don't see how the Bolsa could better it. Also agree on the choice of trucks. I've always preferred the CX by far. This is definitely one of the greatest, most enjoyable and juicy system out there, and I don't doubt it complements such a short board admirably. The C7 is good and sturdy, but sort of boring. I'd pick the Slide truck over the C7 any day (as a matter of fact, that's what I ended up doing, sold my SuperSurfer and built a new setup around the Slide system, and I don't regret it any minute).
The love handle otang were not available yet for the bolsa launch, hence they used the 4 pres. Love handles are smaller and should remove the issue with the wheel bite. I am switching them soon
Fantastic review Steve! You are so honest and fair on your reviews. I felt the same way about the wheel wells and something like a black tip being a better choice. I love both Carver and Loaded. I was rooting for this board more than any other fan. Oh well. Still a nice board to collect as a collaboration of good brands. But not a daily driver , to your car analogies 😅
Great review Steve! I love how you give the review without telling us we must do this or that. I love my bolsa so it really is a matter of preference. Thanks for another rad video🤙🏼
I’m not happy with my bolsa CX. I have had some issues. 1st one wheel with a huge slice. Then fallen down due to a wheelbite. I tried with a C7 truck and no problem due to the thicker raisers. Loaded tells me that my kingpin is only showing one thread tightened and two or three threads should be better. I have several surfskates always setted on the first thread and never have issues. Think behind this setup is low development and test. My opinion is that the CX Bolsa needs a thicker raiser or smaller wheels. Thanks Loaded is sending to me a replacement wheel, thicker raisers and also a set of the 65 Love Handles that as they say works very well with the Bolsa, draw your own conclusions… Hope my feedback helps avoiding others falling down 🙏
Just bought this board with the c7's. Been bowl skating with it, and haven't been bothered by the wheel wells, dropping in, pumping, and snapping turns....don't notice them at all.
jeez where do you live man? You can swap those wide-open roads, immaculate driveways and amazing skatepark for rough pavements, traffic and pebbles where I am. Still, I bought the santa crzx x carver - with cx trucks and it's my debut ride tomorrow! - keep skating man. can't wait to get into this!
Ive tried both c7 and cx truck, I chose c7 for me.. for now, I know I will get cx truck but only parts (base, hanger and bushings) for front one because it's cheaper to get 1 flowy and 1 dynamic truck with carver since back truck is the same. It costs half the price and you get best setup possible enabling you to convert your board easily and affordably. I enjoy c7 very much I think you get more of a "swimming" feel with them but I've experienced that cx is better for generating a lot of speed quickly.
I have a deck with wheelwells, not a fan at all, make the front foot tiring quickly. The Smoothstar's wheelwells makes more sense being sanded in from the roadside rather than pushed up.
I think wheelwells at the front on a surfskate don't make much sense if the goal is to avoid wheelbites, because these happen much more toward the center of the board, not on the sides. The only benefit, I find, is to lock your feet onto the board, that's why I generally tend to like them, but I get it why some may dislike them.
Would the basic raisers for the cx from carver work? Im not experienced in replacing or tinkering with hardware and googled carver risers for cx i just dont know if they are thick enough for this board?
Thank you for this advice. I bought a Carver Triton on their blem sale for 136 shipped. It should be here tomorrow. Should I get a spring based board like the waterborne adapter?
All just personal preference, my friend. I'd say master that Triton first, then move on from there. But also no problem with experimenting with stuff. Have fun!
When's the review of the carver proteus... I thought that was the perfect sweet set up...? Really egar to see what you've got to say.. C7 and cx comparisons... 👍🏻
Great to see some street footage. Bombing hills on a longboard is scary, but this looks way more fun - I just wish I had somewhere to skate as good as that, where is it?
Hi Steve... Great technique you got... they call that swagger. Would you feel comfortable carving those hills on a C7? I've got both hills and plains with surpurb ashfelt where I am... the C7 would be a fit but I dont like the idea of people saying the spring comes loose ... plus the extra maintenance... what are your thoughts?
It's possible to pump with front foot in the pocket although the feel and technique is kind of different. Having your front foot in the pocket also makes it easier to do slides, speed checks, 180s etc but yeah, you gotta be careful to not tip the nose into the ground and go flying.
I'm an intermediate surfer who's away from the ocean for a bit so I want to invest in a surfskate to specifically improve surfing maneuvers with a bit of commuting short distances I've found a lot of contradicting information online when picking a surfkstate but I've narrowed it down to the Smoothstar Toledo 31.5" and Loaded Bolsa CX. I know they say Smoothstar is a 'better' surf trainer while Loaded's wheel wells seem to have people divided on comfort but I do love Loaded's overall board quality typically I weigh about 155-160lbs depending and 5'6 in height Any advice?
Those are very different boards. For what you're describing I would probably recommend a YOW Meraki for you. Have you gone through my Surfskate Selector? surfskate.love/surfskate-selector/
@@SurfskateLove I literally was just going through my results for that I've been very confused by C7 vx CX as far as how people describe them. I've been watching your videos saying Smoothstar is better for carving/practicing surf vs YOW is more of a street cruiser
yeahhhh!!!...you are crazy !!!...what a speed in the road with cars!!!...I thought i was the only one crazy!!!...jajajajajja ;-) ....nice videos...thnks
Moving a truck forward doesn't change anything about wheelbite. You can drill whatever holes you want. But I don't think you have enough space on the front of the Bolsa to do that.
I did not like the 4Prezs at all on this setup. They take too much torque to get up to speed and it doesn’t vibe well with these trucks or wheelbase. I swapped them for the blue Love Handles and it completely woke the board up in almost every way. Way better at building speed and keeping speed for its intended range of use with the LHs I think. Loaded should have set these up with those instead of the 4Prezs.
Is anybody getting wheel bite with the carver CX and maybe using the stock bushings for the knuckle bushings ? I been taking a few bad falls when I’m riding sidewalks or paver stone areas that will have some serious imperfections or little lips that I don’t see and I’m eating at big time and falling a lot on smooth surfaces. I’m OK I’m getting very sketched out about riding a surf skate, such as my Carver and I’m wondering, if I’m getting we’ll buy or the front CX truck is jackknifing and getting hung up and throw me down. I don’t have any marks to show wheel bite . Or perhaps the front truck has jackknifing a little bit or it nose diving and getting hung up on imperfect surfaces or some debris it’s really making me perhaps kill my joy and surf skating unless it’s perfectly smooth or every surface is clean . And I’m using the stock 78 durometer Roundhouse wheels.
@@SurfskateLove all was good. Learned from my mistakes got back on and carved my way down thanks to another one of your videos. Keep it up, your content has been some of the best advice I’ve received for this new style of riding.
Kudos on a very measured and unbiased review there. Although you say you're new to tinkering with bushings, you clearly get the concept well - There is no "normal" or "right" bushing. It's totally subjective.
I'm currently testing a relatively high quality CX clone by Mindless from here in the UK and being very surprised by how much I like them. I feel like I can do just as much as I do on my Meraki, but with a lower ride height, massive reduction in weight and way more bushing options due to CX style trucks using taller longboard bushings. So far after testing a ton of combinations between Loaded (Nipples & Knuckles), Venom and Riptide, it's actually the Knuckles which I prefer so far. The difference on my setup and the Bolsa is that I'm running the softer orange Knuckles front and back, where as the Bolsa has the harder (90A) purple Knucks on the rear. I can see that being a good setup for a larger rider, but for me I doubt it would work. Having orange at both ends makes these trucks flow super nice and retains a ton of rebound. The Riptide Krank's I tried on the rear were 90A and it definitely felt a bit stiff and dead to me. I tried Venom cones roadside in both 85A and 87A, but both felt like they lacked the rebound I loved from the Knucks.
Thanks Steve! Don from Loaded and Orangatang here. I really like this review, as always it's very thorough and nuanced.
A couple things to note:
As you mention clearly, personal preference is primary. As always, we designed this setup for our personal riding style and pleasure. Most of us at Loaded are shorter people and for us having our front foot behind the front wheel well works well. But that may not work well for bigger stance riders or other stance styles.
Regarding wheelbite: when we tested the board this was never an issue. However, in production there was some minor variance in some of the components (most of which we've solved) that did cause wheelbite for some (as you unfortunately experienced). After working closely with our good friends at Carver we changed the Knuckle bushings on the CX to our Nipple bushings and added a riser. Wheelbite potential is totally gone. This is true for all boards shipped after November 2002. And if you got one earlier, hit us up and we'll retrofit for you.
However, this is a much "stiffer" setup than the standard Carver bushings but it is a much higher rebound setup which creates a more powerful pump. And a more energetic surfskate experience. Once again, it comes down to rider preference and this is definitely a different take on Carver's amazing trucks.
We regard the Carver crew as family and are very thankful that they approached us to do this Collab and that we have been able to use their trucks to create a unique surf skate experience (for this board and for the past 15 or so years).
Thanks again Steve for another great review! I'm a big fan of what you do.
Don thanks for such an informative follow up, keep up the good work
Just to clarify a typo "This is true for all boards shipped after November 2002," did you mean 2021?
@@dannyli2163 yes, I did. Thx for catching that.
Just asking, the knuckles bushing setup is double cone in both trucks?
Thanks
Knuckles have cones on road side and barrels on the deck side.
Congrats to the cameraman on the street riding part of this video, it is flawless for me, really nice to watch and it seems so easy, but it's not! :)
Bolsa is my first surfskate after multiple longboards and hours of watching this youtube channel. And as a beginner (to surfskates) I am very happy: all components are functional, high quality, and I happen to like the wheel wells as they tell me exactly how to stand and they feel comfortable to me in the exact angled position demonstrated in the video.
This review gave me ideas of what I could try next, thank you for that. Overall I think as a first-time surfskate it's solid.
This makes me happy to hear! Thanks for sharing!
Cameraman work was brilliant at the end when street skating.
I love your honest & detailed reviews.
what a beautiful road! great job on providing the details of the surfkate boards, your channell really got me into surfkating, thank you!
Nice! Thanks for doing months of skating for your reviews instead of rushing through them. Those bushings are dope imo, I use the purple in the rear of my Slide Diamond and it was a massive upgrade on that board. Knuckles also come in softer durometer. I'd love to see you try out a few more like Venom, and get into pivot cups, because those are supposed to be a big upgrade.
Thanks, that confirms my suspicion that the Bolsa may not bring much to the game, in spite of all the hype (plus, people have been riding Loaded boards with Carver trucks since the ice age at least). I have owned a Carver SuperSurfer (at the time, I hesitated between that and the Black Tip), and the board's shape was so great I don't see how the Bolsa could better it. Also agree on the choice of trucks. I've always preferred the CX by far. This is definitely one of the greatest, most enjoyable and juicy system out there, and I don't doubt it complements such a short board admirably. The C7 is good and sturdy, but sort of boring. I'd pick the Slide truck over the C7 any day (as a matter of fact, that's what I ended up doing, sold my SuperSurfer and built a new setup around the Slide system, and I don't regret it any minute).
The love handle otang were not available yet for the bolsa launch, hence they used the 4 pres. Love handles are smaller and should remove the issue with the wheel bite. I am switching them soon
Fantastic review Steve! You are so honest and fair on your reviews. I felt the same way about the wheel wells and something like a black tip being a better choice. I love both Carver and Loaded. I was rooting for this board more than any other fan. Oh well. Still a nice board to collect as a collaboration of good brands. But not a daily driver , to your car analogies 😅
Great review Steve! I love how you give the review without telling us we must do this or that. I love my bolsa so it really is a matter of preference. Thanks for another rad video🤙🏼
Dang dude, you hit that downhill with style and grace, love it!!
I’m not happy with my bolsa CX. I have had some issues. 1st one wheel with a huge slice. Then fallen down due to a wheelbite. I tried with a C7 truck and no problem due to the thicker raisers. Loaded tells me that my kingpin is only showing one thread tightened and two or three threads should be better. I have several surfskates always setted on the first thread and never have issues. Think behind this setup is low development and test. My opinion is that the CX Bolsa needs a thicker raiser or smaller wheels.
Thanks Loaded is sending to me a replacement wheel, thicker raisers and also a set of the 65 Love Handles that as they say works very well with the Bolsa, draw your own conclusions…
Hope my feedback helps avoiding others falling down 🙏
Hi Ramon, did you like the Bolsa with the cx or c7 truck more?
Shredding all those driveways on that street looked fun as hell
So much! I literally spent three days combing my entire city to find these streets.
You gave justice on this review. Great place to ride! So dope!
Great, in-depth review! Your riding section also really helped hit it home for me and sold me on the CX setup. 🤙
Thank you Steve for your dedication to informative surfskate videos. Appreciate you
Just bought this board with the c7's. Been bowl skating with it, and haven't been bothered by the wheel wells, dropping in, pumping, and snapping turns....don't notice them at all.
Love to hear your thoughts on the new 2022 Carver lineup👍
Man, I love the terrain of that street!
Great review, Steve & what an epic ride! You look like almost jumping out of your skin with joy! :)
jeez where do you live man? You can swap those wide-open roads, immaculate driveways and amazing skatepark for rough pavements, traffic and pebbles where I am. Still, I bought the santa crzx x carver - with cx trucks and it's my debut ride tomorrow! - keep skating man. can't wait to get into this!
Your flexibility and strength have improved so much! So cool to see! 👍👊💪 Thank you for another excellent review!
Good 1, it's all about what the individual wants and nice shirt🤙
Ive tried both c7 and cx truck, I chose c7 for me.. for now, I know I will get cx truck but only parts (base, hanger and bushings) for front one because it's cheaper to get 1 flowy and 1 dynamic truck with carver since back truck is the same. It costs half the price and you get best setup possible enabling you to convert your board easily and affordably. I enjoy c7 very much I think you get more of a "swimming" feel with them but I've experienced that cx is better for generating a lot of speed quickly.
Excellent video! It would be awesome a review of the black tip!!🤙🏼
Thx for the review.
nice flow, nice compression decompression, nice review as always.
hey could you do a review and the carver triton
I have a deck with wheelwells, not a fan at all, make the front foot tiring quickly. The Smoothstar's wheelwells makes more sense being sanded in from the roadside rather than pushed up.
I think wheelwells at the front on a surfskate don't make much sense if the goal is to avoid wheelbites, because these happen much more toward the center of the board, not on the sides. The only benefit, I find, is to lock your feet onto the board, that's why I generally tend to like them, but I get it why some may dislike them.
it would be great to see a test of each board that you own and using same route on that road :)
Great review. Never tried this deck before. Would love to see it in real. Thx for your detailed review lesgo 🔥
Are the Bolsa wheel wells sufficiently and properly offset from the front trucks (like the Loaded Coyote) to actually help prevent wheel bite?
Do you like the Carver Black Tip or the Loaded Bolsa better for bowl riding? OR something different?
Black Tip for sure.
Would the basic raisers for the cx from carver work? Im not experienced in replacing or tinkering with hardware and googled carver risers for cx i just dont know if they are thick enough for this board?
Great review!
Have you seen that Waterborne have got some new completes?
Yeah I was just watching a video on that!
Thank you for this advice. I bought a Carver Triton on their blem sale for 136 shipped. It should be here tomorrow. Should I get a spring based board like the waterborne adapter?
All just personal preference, my friend. I'd say master that Triton first, then move on from there. But also no problem with experimenting with stuff. Have fun!
When's the review of the carver proteus... I thought that was the perfect sweet set up...? Really egar to see what you've got to say.. C7 and cx comparisons... 👍🏻
I won't review individual models. I love the Proteus and it's one of my all-time favorite cruisers.
ua-cam.com/video/Q0x41kfb9IY/v-deo.html
Great to see some street footage. Bombing hills on a longboard is scary, but this looks way more fun - I just wish I had somewhere to skate as good as that, where is it?
St. George, Utah.
Hi Steve... Great technique you got... they call that swagger. Would you feel comfortable carving those hills on a C7? I've got both hills and plains with surpurb ashfelt where I am... the C7 would be a fit but I dont like the idea of people saying the spring comes loose ... plus the extra maintenance... what are your thoughts?
Oh yeah, the C7 works great for carving hills. And it’s hard to say whether you’ll prefer the C7 or cx without trying them.
It's possible to pump with front foot in the pocket although the feel and technique is kind of different. Having your front foot in the pocket also makes it easier to do slides, speed checks, 180s etc but yeah, you gotta be careful to not tip the nose into the ground and go flying.
you need a shred shack colab
I'm an intermediate surfer who's away from the ocean for a bit so I want to invest in a surfskate to specifically improve surfing maneuvers with a bit of commuting short distances
I've found a lot of contradicting information online when picking a surfkstate but I've narrowed it down to the Smoothstar Toledo 31.5" and Loaded Bolsa CX.
I know they say Smoothstar is a 'better' surf trainer while Loaded's wheel wells seem to have people divided on comfort but I do love Loaded's overall board quality typically
I weigh about 155-160lbs depending and 5'6 in height
Any advice?
Those are very different boards. For what you're describing I would probably recommend a YOW Meraki for you. Have you gone through my Surfskate Selector? surfskate.love/surfskate-selector/
@@SurfskateLove I literally was just going through my results for that
I've been very confused by C7 vx CX as far as how people describe them. I've been watching your videos saying Smoothstar is better for carving/practicing surf vs YOW is more of a street cruiser
yeahhhh!!!...you are crazy !!!...what a speed in the road with cars!!!...I thought i was the only one crazy!!!...jajajajajja ;-) ....nice videos...thnks
Great street ride
Nice filming :-)
Does this make a good commuter board like a Dinghy or is it more for crazy carving?
Carving. You’d want a wider wheelbase for longer distance cruising.
@@SurfskateLove Those orange nipples bushings are harder than the original Carver front bushings?
Hey Steve do you think it's possible to drill the front of the board And move the truck forward... Or would this cause wheel bite...?
Moving a truck forward doesn't change anything about wheelbite. You can drill whatever holes you want. But I don't think you have enough space on the front of the Bolsa to do that.
one of the perfect countrys to have an skate or longboard USA
mate i wish I had a street like this to ride on . . . no cool rides down here in Louisiana, and no one else riding surf skates but me it seems :(
Bummer! 😕
Review on Fish Surf skateboard oxelo
I did not like the 4Prezs at all on this setup. They take too much torque to get up to speed and it doesn’t vibe well with these trucks or wheelbase. I swapped them for the blue Love Handles and it completely woke the board up in almost every way. Way better at building speed and keeping speed for its intended range of use with the LHs I think. Loaded should have set these up with those instead of the 4Prezs.
Yep.
Is anybody getting wheel bite with the carver CX and maybe using the stock bushings for the knuckle bushings ? I been taking a few bad falls when I’m riding sidewalks or paver stone areas that will have some serious imperfections or little lips that I don’t see and I’m eating at big time and falling a lot on smooth surfaces. I’m OK I’m getting very sketched out about riding a surf skate, such as my Carver and I’m wondering, if I’m getting we’ll buy or the front CX truck is jackknifing and getting hung up and throw me down. I don’t have any marks to show wheel bite . Or perhaps the front truck has jackknifing a little bit or it nose diving and getting hung up on imperfect surfaces or some debris it’s really making me perhaps kill my joy and surf skating unless it’s perfectly smooth or every surface is clean . And I’m using the stock 78 durometer Roundhouse wheels.
I get wheelbite on the Bolsa.
Took a hill for the first time on my carver cx and didn’t realize how much I had to widen my carves to lose speed and ended up rolling down the hill
Yikes! Stay careful out there!
@@SurfskateLove all was good. Learned from my mistakes got back on and carved my way down thanks to another one of your videos. Keep it up, your content has been some of the best advice I’ve received for this new style of riding.
So fun🦁
I have one, it's beautiful and very enjoyable to ride, but it has a lot of wheel bite.
👍🤙🌊
Looks too small for you, dude, so I can see why it’s not for you. If your front foot gets any closer to the front you’ll be nose manualling :)
Sleepy doge
You noticed! You're the first person to say anything. I like to leave her in shots to see if anyone notices. 😂