Gordon and Smith Skateboards

It is highly recognized the Gordon and Smith continued carrying the torch for a flexible skateboard deck. While the original Zephyr board actually may not have flexed because of its heavy glass and resin construction, the G&S boards did. Skip said the rocker design was meant to keep the dense stiff fiberglass from cracking under weight. Whether the rocker profile changed the glass and resin structure is speculative, but it seemed to solve the problem simultaneously creating an ergonomic slalom-styled deck. G&S began creating decks that actually moved in response to the rider’s weight. They were dynamic creating a new responsive deck that interacted with the moves of the rider. The G&S Fiberflex became the Cadillac of skateboards during the late l970’s, and its model never has been replicated. Gordon and Smith customized their Fiberflex with newly available Bennett Trucks and World Industry produced Road Rider wheels. This was the second school of the original Sure Grip truck and Cadillac wheel. “Mr.” Bennett used aircraft aluminum to create a highly technical truck that was tall, sharp-turning, and efficient returning the hanger to center after it had been torqued in a turn. The Road Rider easily replaced Frank Nasworthy’s Cadillac wheel mostly because of its new sealed precision bearing. The Cadillac wheels had open ball bearings that could spill out and crash the rider if too much weight was placed on the wheels. Likewise they could get dirty and rusted easily if not cared for properly. The Hoover bearing set the standard for sealed precision bearings and although originally found in vacuum cleaners made the transition to carrying people easily. The combination of the G&S fiberglass deck with Bennett trucks and Road Rider wheels revolutionized the skateboard production industry.