Monday, October 29, 2012

Miss Daisy -- Sector 9 Daisy Review

Hey There Longboard-Life Enthusiasts,

Sector 9 was kind enough to send me over one of the newer decks in their line up the Daisy. I was really stoked when I first learned about the Daisy because I've said it before and I will say it again I love kicktails and this board has a nasty one. The Daisy isn't a normal Sector 9 kicktail board this is a Sector 9 Downhill Division board that is meant to go incredibly fast and happens to have a kicktail on it for extra steeze-sauce. The Daisy is a Direction topmount speed board with a mircodrop and some very comfy concave.

Let's check out the Daisy's tech specs...
Specs:
Sector 9 Daisy
Length
39.5 in
Wheelbase
28.25 in
Width
9.75 in
Special Features
Kicktail, wheel wells, radial concave, and micro drop


The Daisy is meant to go fast as a greased up pig on the 4th of July, however, I like to cover how a board handles in all aspects of riding, so let's get into it.
Commuting
Daisy has a couple of nice features for getting from point A to point B. The most noticeable trait while riding this deck, but not necessarily from looking at it, is the micro-drop in the platform. It is very subtle but it does lower the board which is crucial when you have you to push a long way. In addition the fact that this board has a kicktail makes a world of difference. Generally when you are riding a downhill board your dropping a curb options are limited to early grabs, but once you throw a kicktail in the mix it opens a world of opportunities. Another nice thing about this board is that it is nice and stable. You can commute on it as fast as you freaking want without having to worry about it getting wiggly under your feet.
Freestyle
Miss Daisy is not a freestyle board, she is meant for going fast. However, if you just have one board and are looking to do some freestyle too then she can at least offer up some advantages. The most obvious of which is the giant tail on this deck. What's that you like manuals, you like shove its, you like popping your board up??? Well the tail on this board is perfect for all of those things! The Daisy also sports a nice long platform which means that you have ample room to hit up a little board dancing if you so choose. What could be better than a nice little cross-step to manual right before bombing a giant hill at 40mph?
Freeride
The concave on the Daisy holds your feet right where they need to be in order to hold out some for-serious slides. It is more than enough to keep your feet in place without not slipping off mid slide (which always has terrible consequences) but no so incredibly aggressive that you can't even move your feet when riding, and I do feel like there are some boards like that out on the market. The wheels base is nice and adjustable so you can decide if you want to move it in for a smaller wheel base, which I prefer for freeride and where I have mostly kept it. This makes it a little more responsive for slides in my opinion and adds a little more kick to your tail with that extra length. Finally, I love having that tail on this board for some sweeet blunt slides.
Downhill
Considering this board is a part of the Sector 9 Downhill Division, I am sure you might have already thought that this board was good at going fast. Well, if you were thinking this board can fast... You were absolutely correct. Not only is the Daisy good at going fast, it is out of this world for speed. This has become my go to downhill board. Daisy is great for freeride, however where she really just excels is downhill. The board is stable as a freaking table. When I know that I am going to be fast I adjust the wheelbase and make it as wide as possible. The longer wheel base makes the board all the more stable and fun to hit insane speeds on.
It can't all be good....
Every board has its ups and downs and the Daisy is no exception. While I obviously think it is a great board that is kickass at what it was designed for, I think that the kicktail is kind of a double edged sword.
I actually feel like this is the case of any downhill board with a big kick. My issue is that people get this idea in their heads that they are going to be able to ollie over curbs and kickflip this board no problem because of the tail. While it is definitely possible to do those things, it is really difficult to do so. The reason it is so hard is that even if you can generate enough pop from your tail any decent downhill setup will have 70mm wheels and about 180mm trucks, which means your board will be heavy and hard to get high into the air.
You really have to know how to ollie and kickflip well and then take time to get know this deck very well to do so on this board because of the weight. However, I don't this is necessarily a downside to this particular board because in my opinion that's not what it is meant for. However, I know that many people assume otherwise before riding it.

Anyways, I kind of got off an a tangent just then. I was talking about all big ol' downhill boards with kicks, not just the Daisy.  Let me get to the bottom line.
another board made a cameo in this shot, haha
Would I recommend this board to a friend?
I would recommend this board to anyone I have ever met who is into downhill and freeride. This board has enough of a tail to do a little bit of everything but is definitely a specialized board for going fast. If you are looking to keep your quiver of longboards slim or so slim it's just one board then I would definitely consider the Daisy as a top competitor for that spot. She is fast, has a nice tail, and is ready for a good time.

The Daisy has become my fast freeride board of choice because despite the general shape of the board being pretty simple she is actually pretty complex. The concave is super comfortable and keeps you feeling confident when going fast and going sideways. The tail offers up a variety of options from big ol blunt slides to hopping off curbs with the greatest of ease. Sector 9 really got it right and Miss Daisy has taken my heart.

Any questions, comments, concerns, ideas, evil plans???
Send them my way!
Stay Awesome,
Wayne Capps
My Current Favorite Setup:
-SECTOR 9 DAISY
-Surf-Rodz RKP 176mm 50* plates
-Pink SickSicks 66mm 78a
-Orangatang Nipple Bushings Medium
-Daddies Board Shop Bearings