Recently there’s been some discussion about bearings, manufacturers, and materials. I recall when my wife was in roller derby, someone handed out a flyer explaining the ABEC rating and bearing maintenance.  It stated that the ABEC rating was worthless unless you are HAULING (70 mph).   Spending the money to get a high ABEC rating, which ranges from 1-9, the highest being aircraft/rocket ship precision.

This prompted me to do some research, and I found this article from Transworld called, “The ABEC Myth,” which verified that many people are buying into an unnecessary level of precision.  In this article, Steve Heplar, national sales manager of Alliance Bearing Industry, says:

An ABEC 1 or 3 is all you really need on a skateboard. In skateboarding, you’re not using the precision of the bearing. Today, skateboard companies are selling bearings, mainly with ABEC 1, ABEC 3, ABEC 5, and ABEC 7 ratings. The common misconception is that the higher the ABEC rating, the better and faster the bearing. This isn’t necessarily true. The precision or the ABEC of the bearing doesn’t really matter because skateboarding is a non-precision application. …unless the skateboarder is going 70 miles an hour, which is rather unlikely.

Here’s a few more contenders for the Weirdo Skateboards giveaway, including Frankenberry, dad’s doing handstands and pregnant wives on roller skates. Come on Weirdos, the field is pretty narrow so far, so your chances are good. Get your dork session on before it’s too late!

I can’t recall the date exactly, but I’d say this was taken in 1990, or 91. There was a hipster nightclub in Chicago called Shelter. They would have all kinds of events and promotions, and since I was a partner in the silkscreen business that printed for them, I occasionally got to be involved behind the scenes in a minor way. For instance, I got to hang out with some the famous club kids from NYC, before they became famous murderers. Another event that I didn’t understand but certainly enjoyed, was the outdoor miniramp. Someone came up with the promotion to build a miniramp in the outdoor section of the club, whic was really large, if I recall correctly. The club was located in a sort of derelict industrial area, next to some railroad tracks, so noise wasn’t an issue. Originally I was actually supposed to build the damn thing, but somehow it got puled out from under me, and a guy named Sluggo took charge, which was kinfd of annoying as he was an employee of mine at the time. Sluggo? There are a few “Sluggos” in skateboarding scenes across the nation, this guy lives in Chicago. So they set up the ramp and had people skating it on nights when it was open. I don’t think anyone got paid to skate, out side of the opening night maybe, I think you just got in free. Basically, sweaty guys would skate and then drunk girls would watch them, or not. I brought some friends over to skate it a couple of times during the day when the club was closed. It was nothing special, except for the setting. I think maybe 12 ft wide and 5 feet tall, but that’s a guess. This shot is (Is NOT!) Chicago skate legend Steve “Dread” Snyder, the same guy from the famous Alva team ad, and more recently Uprise employee with his own Nike Blazer. The guy in the upper left hand corner is probably Jesse Neuhaus, and the Sessions sticker was for the short lived Chicago location of Sessions. Check out the Shot of the Week.

Poweredge Magazine is hitting the streets again. The first new issue is scheduled to come out in August. It’s a gutsy move when other mags are getting thinner or moving to online-only presences. Hopefully there is room for another. I was a fan of Poweredge back in the day, even when I considered Thrasher the best, it was nice to have a different voices out there. Check out the covers, the last one from 1991 above left, and the new 2009 one is on the right. It would have been cool if they had Todd Congelliere reprise his cover shot for the new volume. Check out Tod in the Santa Cruz vid Risk it! after the jump.

UPDATE: I guess that’s not Todd on the old cover. I assumed it was because his interview has the biggest headline. The guy on the new cover? Dayne Brummet.

A reader sent in this shot of a DIY project that he was involved with last summer. It was under a bridge that spanned a small creek. Looks like there was no concrete whatsoever (aside from the support pillar) until they got involved. I asked for some more pictures to get a better overview, but I haven’t heard back in a week or so, so this is it. I can’t even tell you what state this is in. Keep sending in your DIY pics.

Ahh… Facebook ads. Check out the selection of skateboard bearings at VBX.com, prices range from $5 a set to $320 a set if you buy the fully ceramic ones, and I mean fully ceramic, right down to the casing. Of course for slightly more than $350 you can get 100 sets of “ABEC 7” Bearings. Buyer beware. Rockin’ Ron, were are you?

The time lapse movie of Conahan’s bowl pour was a big hit, and if you like that, you’ll love this secret, behind the scenes video of one of the world’s most famous skatepark crews in action, obtained by covert actions at Skate and Annoy. Sure, we’re going to really piss some people off, and we may be alienating ourselves from the entire Northwest, if not U.S. D.I.Y. skate community, but we feel it’s worth it to bring the truth to our readers. Explore the myth vs. reality, fact vs. fiction, as we blow the lid off “the great” skatepark builders of the Northwest and this secret project. Sit back and enjoy.

– Thanks to Sarib Khalsa for the tip.

But not really. Here are four pool skating videos, three of which have a connection. If you can guess it you’ll win the coveted No-prize. The last one is vaguely connected with SnA, in that we loaded it up on YouTube. It was supposed to accompany Skreech Week. Check ’em out after the jump.

Portable FIlm Festival is showcasing some Buddy Nichols & Rick Charnoski shorts. Six Stair is going to be the new name for what used to be known as NCP FIlms, but what the heck is Portable Film Festival?

The Portable Film Festival is a daily online film channel. We profile one great new release each day, every day of the year, plus hunt, tag and collect random great web-based films spotted by Portable Film Festival curators. This is the Portable Film Festival’s serious commitment to international screen culture and to broadcasting and distribution models outside of traditional old media channels. Through our site, quality international releases will find audiences online, every day, all year round.

So.. It’s a web site with films. Check out the Six Stair showcase from the reigning kings of capturing skateboarding on film, the 18 frame per second kind. If you are in Australia, you can catch the premier of Deathbowl to Downtown at the Melbourne Film Festival in August.

Here’s a couple of contenders for the Weirdo Skateboard giveaway. Come on people, all you have to do is wander off the beaten path a little bit and send in a picture. On the left, a guy who looks like he’s actually from the Weirdo Comics of yesteryear. On the right, a high jump session over someone who is engaged in the ever lovin’ daffy. Let’s see some more weirdos!