Here it is! The Goldcoast Rat! We decided to do something different this time around, and do a "review in pictures", instead of the usual text-heavy product review. Hope you guys like it.
Those gold plates are the "Mactrac" system, which allows for a wide variety of wheelbase options, along with multiple nose and tail lengths. This is an awesome feature, because it also allows you to dial in whatever flex pattern you prefer, as well.
The only thing that I didn't like about the deck...? I would have liked the back end of the board to have been just a little bit wider. It was more than long enough- after all, you can make it whatever length you like- but, the slight width meant that my big 'ol feets spent a lot of time uncomfortably hanging off the sides.
The Mactrac system worked great. You'd think that two aluminum plates embedded into the deck would result in some weird vibrations, or strange shaking noises... but, nothing at all happened. If you didn't physically look at the board... or, if we had gripped over it or something... you would have never known that it was even there. Why does it work? Because, the wood is tightly sandwiched between the plates... and the harder you clamp down the hardware, the tighter the plates get. The wood sandwich, then, effectively dampens out the sorts of high-frequency vibrations that a metal-on-metal system would ordinarily make.
The production boards, I'm told, have stainless-colored plates; this particular deck was either an early-run production board, or a preproduction sample.
Close-up of the Mactrac plate, as well as the "Goldcoast V-8" emblem. If you haven't figured it out yet, the "Rat" is a reference to rat rods, which inspired this deck, graphically. The clean overall design, and the gloss black colorway, greatly emphasizes the board's natural curves.
As you can see, we set this up with Bennett 6.0's, and red 71mm Alligators. These are among the very best components available on the market today, and they really brought out the best of the Rat. Sharp-turning, highly pumpable trucks coupled with grippy, high-rebound wheels meant that the Rat was a hot rod in more ways than just a fancy paint job.
We gave the Rat a thorough wedge/de-wedge treatment, via angled riser pads, to further dial in the truck responsiveness, and the board's overall turning radius. The wedged front makes the front truck super-turny (Even more so than a stock, flat-mounted Bennett... which is pretty damned "turny", anyway), while the back de-wedge artificially stabilizes the back truck, improving grip. The result is that you can "drive" this board off of the tail very aggressively, without the rear wheels sliding out. Since the Mactrac system allows multiple tail lengths, it was exceptionally well suited to this sort of setup.
The final setup! Note the Goodguys Hot Rod Association sticker, just ahead of the red swoosh. I have a million of these around, and I was stoked to finally find a use for at least one of them. The clean contours and minimalist graphic treatment stand out even more, with these color-matching components. That wasn't intentional; I just got lucky.
The board rides even better than it looks, due to the ability to re-set the truck placement for whatever you're gonna do that day. Bombing a hill? Set the trucks all the way out. Doing some in-city errands? Bring the trucks all-in for greater maneuverability. Noseriding? Bring the front truck all the way back. Manualing? Set the rear all the way forward. Bowlriding? You name it. The Mactrac is highly versatile to a wide range of applications.
Because of that versatility, I might have to say that this is one of the more functional "longboards" that I've ridden in quite some time. It not only does a lot of stuff, but it does it all extremely well. Unlike many longboards, where the one "standard" choice that you're offered, is ultimately a compromise between a whole bunch of competing interests. This board lets you stop compromising, and start dialing in your preferences with a few turns of a wrench.
Of course: We used a cordless screw gun, because we did a hell of a lot of wrenching on this bad boy...
That little area on the tail where the black paint has been scraped off, is where we ran some hardness tests on the wood, to make sure that it's up to our standards. The deck is made in China, but you wouldn't have guessed that by riding the board. The quality was quite good, and it rides even better once it's broken in a little bit. There haven't been any problems with stress cracks, delams, the Mactrac plates... or anything else, for that matter. And, this board has seen a lot of use in a few short months. So: The quality and durability are more than adequate.
The concave is fairly shallow, with a mellow-transitioned tail. Not unlike a lot of other longboards on the market, today. Unlike most boards, though, this one felt immediately comfortable and functional, with no vices whatsoever. Again: The Mactrac dispenses with those, because you can- once again- simply move the trucks around to "dial in" whatever feel you're going for.
We would highly, highly recommend this deck to any longboarder, because of the limitless functionality of the Mactrac system. Set up well, this is a board that you'll be able to "customize" to your heart's content, and get years of enjoyment out of.
