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As we all know.....somehow or other the K2 fatty is the most 'popular'
skate in Malaysia. Though most of us know that they aren't exactly the best
skate out there, just the cheapest and most easily available ones (heck, you can even find them at the World of Sports).
There is usually at least 2 fatty riders for every 5 skaters. Some say they suck some say their ok. They are actually good skates (look at 'Long &
Easy' Jeffrey- he makes fatties look good with his smooth bs royales) though
a little soft and breakable (ask Tauke Mervin).
No worries though my experience with fatties (I've been through 3 pairs of
fatties) have taught me a coupla things about them, and I'm here to share you some tips about how to make your fatties last longer.
The frame- Everybody agrees that it is just too soft and slow. After a few
months you will have a royale groove deep enough to fit Nazrul's left breast (and let me tell you it is HUGE!) Anyway not much can be done about
the frame durability though. But here is a little tip for speedier souls- try
super gluing strips of road side cones (u know the orange ones they use
to alert motorists) to your frame. A 4 by 1 cm strip near the front part of
the soul should be sufficient. Although this doesn't last very long (maybe
month or so) it is cheap and when it wears out simply paste a new one. The
small soul spot of the fatty (not the fatty pro or fatty SC- they already have and enlarged soul) can be rectified. Simply screw on 2 by 4cm strips
of chopping boards to the heel of the soul so that it sticks out sideways increasing your soul spot by about a cm or so. This helps you lock on to
your alley-oop and rough grind tricks. Also, try installing a similar piece to the negative side to help out on the negative tricks.
The cuff- its is usually ok, but mine use to break a whole lot. The rivet that held it together would pop off in about 2 months or so. Also the cuff
itself would snap. Here is a tip- if your cuff rivet has snapped, try replacing it with a
short nut with the tip sticking outside (a 1cm long nut should be ok0 too long and you'll cut yourself while doing grabs), make sure you put a washer
on the inside, so that it doesn't wear out. If your cuff snaps or cracks, there is nothing much you can do. I've seen
people doing all sorts of things to rectify this- none of them worked. Some
of them even preferred to ride cuffless (see sanjit). The only thing left to
do is to replace it, the good news for Klang Valley residents is that this
is quite easy, simply pay a visit to Vigorvest- the K2 distributor for Malaysia (14, Jln Rahim Kajai, Taman Tun Dr. Ismail Tel no.7199778) and
they will replace both your cuff and rivets for only RM15++. Though don't
count on this to last too long though.
K2 Fatty
Buckles- another big problem, although they are metal and look though- they
aren't. Buckles are expensive at Vigorvest (RM15 last I checked) so I suggest investing in a
power strap.
Here is a fun thing to do with your fatty, PAINT it. One good thing about soft boots
are that they are easily
to customize (is this the right spelling). I suggest using oil paints on the cloth sections of the skate as the last
longer. Change your look every month.
Worn out royale grooves on the boots- sometimes doing too many royales and
torques will tear a hole in the cloth of the royale spot. My recommendation- ware THICK socks. It bloody hurts when you royale on your
bare flesh.
Putting extra tongues- if you want to go for the hip-hop look put an extra
shoe tongue beneath your laces. Sometimes it looks stupid sometimes it looks good, just match it properly. Also make sure that its puffy for extra
style points (trying shoving some bits of cloth or sponge beneath them). Ask the Tauke on tips for 'tounging' your fatty his look like they can
almost jump out and lick your left testicle.
That's about all I can think about for the moment. If you would like to add
on to this list, contact the editor or me with your tips.
HAPPY MODIFYING!
-
Sukeats
You're
tripping' on me Ah Ko...... - Ed |
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