If I were to talk about my most minimal quiver, it would be a mini cruiser board, a freestyle/pusher board, and a “rain board.” That’s because I live in New York City, where frequent rain is just a fact of life. Plus, with our humidity, yesterday’s rain can impact your ability to ride today. My quiver has far more than three boards in it (in fact, it has more than three cruisers in it, because I’m a board hoarder), but I consider a setup for the rain or wet pavement to be an absolute must.
So today I’m going to discuss my rain board, a setup I nicknamed “Swamp Thing.” While this works for what I want to do with a rain deck, it might not work for everyone. So, be sure to consider your own needs, don’t just copy my board. On second thought, if it sounds perfect, feel free to copy it!
Table of Contents
Step 1: The Deck
Your deck can decide what kind of trucks you use, wheels, risers, grip tape, and more, so let’s start by talking about the deck. Wood is typically the best option for a skateboard, but in the case of water, that’s not always the case. Water can get in between the layers, the deck can absorb it, and it can grow mold or come apart. You don’t want that. Wood can be treated, painted, waterproofed, but with how much you beat up a skateboard, it likely won’t last.
You have a few options here:
- Accept that a deck will break down quickly
- Try bamboo, a more water resistant wood than maple
- Get a plastic deck
- Get a metal (and rust-proof) deck
- Get a carbon fiber deck
There are excellent aluminum setups, like those from ThreeSix Downhill or Beercan Boards. Carbon fiber’s expensive, but you can find companies making carbon fiber boards. But you might be more drawn to the cheaper solutions: plastic and bamboo. Since bamboo isn’t perfectly waterproof, and plastic is, you can guess what decision I made.
I got a Penny Board deck.
Swamp Thing Deck: Penny Board (Nickel)
I went with the 27″ “Nickel” Penny deck. This is reinforced plastic, so it won’t rust, split, or deteriorate from water. I went with this option over the 32″ skateboard or the 36″ longboard because I wanted something small and light, and I didn’t anticipate needing a nose during my commute. Although, looking back, I likely would have been happy with the 36″ longboard as well, especially given the extra deck space and larger, more stable turning radius. Still, because of the other choices I made, my Nickel deck is just about perfect for me.
This deck keeps the wheels under the deck enough that they don’t splash water up on me. It also has some raised edges on the bottom, which makes it easier to grip without putting my whole arm on it. That keeps me dry. There are raised areas for the trucks, giving it a surprising amount of wheel clearance. It’s also a little flexible, which helps keep the ride smooth.
However, I did add grip tape. This is because wet rubber on top of wet plastic (my shoes on the plastic deck) would be difficult. I didn’t buy grip tape from Penny, instead I got some Jessup coarse grip tape. I wanted something cheap and effective, and that’s exactly what this was. It’s very coarse, so even when my shoes are wet, they don’t slip. I highly recommend putting grip tape on your setup, even though the Penny deck and diamond top pattern makes this difficult.
Step 2: The Trucks
I could have just gotten a Penny complete, right? Well, not exactly. I didn’t go with anything else from Penny, for a few reasons. First, Penny trucks are more narrow, and shorter than what I wanted. This means they can’t support a 70mm wheel as easily (more on that in a second). Furthermore, Penny’s trucks, while functional, never seemed to have much life in them, as I found with my 22″ Penny complete. I love that little board, but it’s definitely not one I grab for any reason but to travel or hide in a back pack when I have to sneak a skateboard somewhere. Finally, I wanted to really tune this in and try some different things.
Swamp Thing Trucks: Paris 108mm Street Trucks
I went with Paris’ 108mm Street Trucks. These were well reviewed and taller, so I believed they’d fit well on the Penny platform. I was right, they’re perfect. I don’t get wheel bite thanks to the deck shape and this higher baseplate. I’ll describe the wheels I chose below, but they’re large. These give me the space I need to fit them without wheel bite. I have about a full centimeter between the two with my trucks set at a moderate tightness.
These have an excellent feel. Great carving motion, quick responsiveness, and great rebound. They play well with the flexibility of the deck. These of my favorite TKP trucks, to be sure. I highly recommend them for a cruiser setup. Paris made them specifically for cruisers like these.
Step 3: Wheels
I needed 70mm wheels because those were the smallest wheels I could find with rain grooves. Sure, I could have a shop like Harfang potentially make me a custom set of 65mm wheels, but that would be expensive. Harfang offers a number of their grooved wheels, but none as small as 70mm. Nothing I could fit under a cruiser.
Swamp Thing Wheels: Eastside 70mm Grooved Wheels
But Eastside does. Eastside has grooved wheels in 70mm with a 78a durometer. Believe it or not, due to the design of the Penny deck, which has generous space for wheels, and the taller Paris trucks, I can fit these under my 27″ Penny deck with no risers. It’s a tall setup, to be sure, but those wheels are stoneground and grooved. That makes them great for plowing through wet roads.
Why grooves? Flat wheels need to push water away to make contact with the ground. The more surface area you have, the more water they have to move quickly. At even low speeds, you hydroplane, which is to say you’re not on the ground, you’re riding over a pocket of water. Grooves in your wheels, just like the tires of your car, allows this moisture to escape quickly. It allows your wheels to make contact with the ground. A stoneground surface gives a little more grip as well.
These wheels are great. They give me a shocking amount of grip on wet roads. Sure, I can still throw them out for standup slides and speed checks, but it’s not as though I’m skating on ice. Rather, it feels like I’m just skating on slightly less grippy wheels. You’re still in control. But you do have to be careful on wet roads. You could slide in an area that has less traction only to grip up somewhere and get tossed from your board. You’ve got to be willing to go easy and learn about the ground beneath your wheels when playing on wet roads.
These are great in wet weather, though the sharp corners on the grooves mean you’ll pick up small stones a lot. This is just something you’re going to have to accept. They make a bit of a clicking noise as you ride. If you have a lathe and proper air filtration equipment and a mask/goggles, you could widen the grooves slightly and perhaps give them a rounder, more parabolic shape. But that’s a lot of work, and the wheels already do their job well. Besides, if you can do all that, you could just make your own rain wheels!
Step 4: Bearings
The main reason you don’t ride in the rain, outside of safety with hydroplaning, is the rusty bearings. If you ride in the rain with steel bearings, the very first thing you should do when you get home is dry them off, clean them, and re-lube them. If you can’t do this every time you skate (say, you’re commuting to work), then don’t go with steel bearings. I tried this and found they rusted after just a few short trips. They were cheap bearings, so it wasn’t an expensive mistake, but a teachable one.
Swamp Thing Bearings: Zealous Ceramic Bearings
Instead of steel bearings, get some Zealous ceramic bearings. They’re cheap, and have fewer parts that can rust. You should still clean and re-lube them often, but they won’t lock up as quickly as steel bearings will. I’ve found these bearings to be a good setup, but not the best bearings I’ve ever used. However, they’re comparatively inexpensive, and, for a board that’s going to see a lot of wear and tear, you may not want to splurge on extremely expensive ceramic bearings. They’re surprisingly high quality for the incredibly low price. Sure, you can go with Bones’ ceramic bearings, but do you really want to drop that much money on something you may have to replace yearly, depending on how much rain and care you give them? Maybe, maybe not. It’s a big gamble. The Zealous bearings work great, and they’re shockingly cheap.
The cheapest rain setup you could do is swap out your normal bearings for some ceramics every time you go for a ride in the rain. It’s a tedious process, but it’s the cheapest solution.
Step 5: Anything Else?
You may end up seeing rust on your hardware, so be sure to check it often. You may need to replace parts sooner rather than later. But, in the few months I’ve had this rain deck, I haven’t seen any rust outside of my first bearings. If you take a paper towel or tissue and dry off exposed metal areas after every run, you should be fine for a very long time. Also keep an eye on your bushings and pivot cup in the base of your trucks. You could find they rot or break down before they normally would.
You may have to play around with the bushings, or choose a different deck. Maybe it’ll take a while to find the right fit for what you want to do in the rain. But be ready to experiment.
What to Wear
In my experience? You’re going to want a thin, warm weather rain coat and some glasses or goggles. I got a surprising amount of water in my eyes. I use some yellow tinted computer glasses, because I stare at computer screens all day, so I just wore those. That helps a lot in cold weather as well, I’ve found, as my eyes water in the winter constantly. Some sport or wrap around glasses would be perfect for this. One thing that caught my eye were clear safety glasses for woodshops or gun ranges. They’re often clear, and they cover your eyes well enough to keep them from exposure to cold air or raindrops.
Helmet and Visibility
Always wear your helmet. Always. But when it’s rainy, it can serve another purpose. You can use reflective stickers (Bones bearings come with reflective stickers!) or reflective tape on your helmet to make it more visible. Drivers have reduced visibility in the rain, and might not see you on the road. So, if you’re riding in a downpour, be safe. Pay attention to your surroundings and be sure that others can see you.
You can take another tip that I sometimes use when skating at night. Turn on your phone’s flashlight and stick it in your back pocket, or turn on the flashlight on your Apple Watch or other smartwatch. This can make you much more visible at night or in a heavy downpour.
Be exceptionally safe when it’s raining! It’s far more dangerous!
Remember to Stop Early
Also, remember, it’s going to take a lot longer to stop. Foot braking will be slower. Much slower. I sometimes joke around by sliding to a stop from far back from an intersection. You’ll find you’re foot braking for about twice the amount of distance as usual. Speed checks won’t be as effective. Sliding is going to be easier, but if you grip up, you’re going to get thrown off. You’re going to have to stomp the ground to stop reliably. Be ready for that, and never go outside of your limits. Pretend you’re a beginner, learning to skate again, and slowly build up what you’re willing to do on wet road. First easy foot stopping, then foot braking and speed checks. Just be ready, this is far more dangerous than skating on dry pavement.
Bring Touch-Up
Finally, if it’s raining and you’re someone who wears makeup (like me), be sure to use a setting spray before you head out, and have some touch-up foundation or power and eyeliner. Obviously use waterproof mascara and eyeliner, but nothing’s perfect. You might mess these up, so be sure to bring some along. With some setting spray, I didn’t have much of a problem, but everyone’s skin holds on to makeup a little differently.
Bet you weren’t expecting makeup advice in a skate blog.
Putting it All Together
So what does the Swamp Thing feel like? I commuted to work once with it in a rain storm. I put on my rain coat, fixed my helmet to my head, put on my computer glasses, and hit the road. It was amazing. The feeling of water splashing my face, the slightly reduced friction and grip, the rebound of the flexible Penny deck and the lively Paris Trucks, and the surprising amount of reliability in those wheels was combined with the smell of a summer rain and the hint of brine in the air from a storm so close to the ocean. It reminded me of trips to the beach as a kid, kneeling on a boogie board and ripping the waves. This must be what surfers feel like.
Truly, I had the biggest grin on my face. I felt like I discovered a whole new form of skating. It gave me other ideas for wet setups. What if I went with a long bamboo pintail longboard and some reverse kingpin trucks? Or what about a surf adapter, like one from Waterborne? Would it be deadly to turn that fast in the water, or would it feel like surfing more than anything you could possibly do on land? What other wet setups could I come up with? An extreme downhiller? A long distance board made with extended platforms and a drop? The possibilities and combinations are endless!
This setup does ride exceptionally high, which makes pushing longer distance or uphill a real drag. But for normal cruising or some extremely careful and restrained freeriding, it’s a blast.
To put it succinctly, stop getting sad when it’s raining. You can absolutely still skate and have the time of your life! It’s a lot of fun, and you should give it a try. Just make sure you have the right setup so you don’t damage your board or yourself!
Full Setup Recap
- 27″ Penny “Nickel” deck
- 108mm Paris Street Trucks
- 70mm Eastside Rain Groove Wheels
- Jessup Coarse Griptape
- Zealous Ceramic Bearings
