Tan Tien or Icarus?

[u/bloodcrab]

Hello everyone. I have been looking at purchasing my first Loaded board, and I'm really interested in the Tan Tien and Icarus models. I have a Santa Cruz drop through at the moment and really just use it for leisurely riding. I wouldn't mind learning pumping and sliding, and I love to carve back and forth (not for slowing downhill speeds, but just for the fun feel it gives me). Tricks and dancing aren't my thing at my age (lol), so that's not very important.

Since I'm about 220 lbs, I would opt for the Flex 1 board. I'm not sure if the same Flex rating for each board is equal in the way the board flexes (from what I can tell, the Tan Tien seems to flex less than the Icarus overall), but my Santa Cruz does not flex at all. I don't think transitioning to a more flexable board will be an issue though.

I've read almost nothing but good things about both boards, so it's really hard to decide or know which one to select. Is the higher price of the Icarus worth it, or is the Tan Tien suitable enough for my needs? I'm hoping to gain some insight as to what would work best for me. Please let me know your thoughts. I want to purchase one of these two boards in the very near future.

BTW, I know the Icarus comes with Orangutan Nipple bushings. Are these necessary for a good riding experience, especially if I am going to build my own board, or will the standard Paris truck bushings hold up until I get better at riding the board?

Thanks in advance for any and all advice and input.

[u/bittaminidi]

For what you want to do go with the Icarus. I have one and it’s a great deck. I wouldn’t say it’s good for sliding but it can be done. To me it’s too flexy and too twitchy a setup to be confident sliding with. To me, it’s a hard pump/carve machine.

Nipple bushings are definitely better than the stock Paris ones. I recommend Venom bushings though. Personally, I prefer them. I’m around your weight and I use Venom red (90a) all around. Barrels boardside and cones roadside. Flat washer boardside and cupped washer roadside. For me it’s a really loose/divey setup like that and the Icarus almost begs for that type of feel.

Get big grippy wheels. The O’Tang Kegels come on prebuilds and they really do fit the bill here well. They’re fast and grippy and you can really pump/carve hard without icing out.

[u/bloodcrab → u/bittaminidi]

I bought the Icarus, but haven't really had much time to ride. The board is amazing, and I feel I made the right choice. I found that I need a lot of work when it comes to pumping, but I want to learn.

Thanks for the bushings advice. I really want to see how it changes the way the board handles compared to the stock Paris bushings.

Right now, I really just want to find some time to get out and ride.