Pintails as a breed of longboard suffer from some inherent problems, wheelbite being the most severe but others including useless tails, thin noses, no room for your feet and a general feeling that you are riding a finely shaped 2x4. The Bigfish however as pintails go is in a class of very select pintails, those that were actually designed by a skater not a designer.
It is a rare thing when a real rider gets on a pintail and has the feeling that the board was made to be ridden on hills instead of being carried to the liquor store from the frat house. No this is not you frat brother’s pintail this is a high speed, tight or soulful carving, downhill beast, and it was designed with every fiber of its construction to deliver performance. This board though rivals the stylish but useless pintails not only in performance but in price as well the; Motion Bigfish can be under your feet for under 200$ complete.
The motion Bigfish was designed by riders, the entirety of its construction was intended to mimic the legendary pintail shape but blow the typical performance of the form out of the water, and it did just that. The core is made of a light aspen with a hard rock maple vertical laminate, which is loaded with pre-cured fiberglass laminates. This simple but technically advanced formula, results in a board that is very light, highly responsive and has seriously flex. Not limp noodle flex but coiled spring flex, powering you through pumps and carves. The back truck mount is shot gunned with five positions so every rider can tune their choice of flex, either pulling the truck in and making the flex tight and fast maximizing stability or letting the rear truck trail on the tail and let the flex pattern be slow and smooth for deep soulful carving. The belly of this beast shows two stringers and is emblazoned with a skull fish graphic that is simple yet impactful. The board quickly became one of the most sought after pintails and for a while was even unattainable because of the demand. People were buying them up just to have them the demand became so great. Those who were lucky enough to have the board were often asked where or when they would become available, and all of this because Motion took a very classic shape and made it functional. Designed by riders for riders, they turned what is usually a un-ride able abomination and made it a high performance, high ability, highly loved longboard.
It’s not to be said that the Motion Bigfish is in the Top 10 Longboards because it is not crap,nor is it to say that the pintail is a useless shape. What is to be said is that the pintail is the most classical shape and design, the very element of form that many people associate with longboarding, and it can be more than just a mythical beast in regards to performance. With thought and good design elements the pintail can perform, can inspire and can evolve into something more. Into something absolutely amazing and the Bigfish did just this, of all the performance pins on the market this board stands alone as an example of appropriate design and purposeful thought in regards to what elements of a pintail make it truly unique and excellent. It is a longboard, it is a pintail, and it is without a doubt one of the best boards ever made, this is the Motion Bigfish.
Malakai Kingston is the mad genius behind the Silverfish Longboarding website, and has been sharing his expertise on longboarding and skateboarding for a long time.
