Hi there,
My name is Garret Krampe and I have an 11 yo son (Leigh) that skates vert and street.
I found that there were many problems with skateboards to date,
so, being the tech kind-a guy, I set about solving some of those issues.
1./ Boards heavy , loose their pop in time, in wet weather and break easy.
2./ Trucks heavy and bit sloppy on the finish and turning.
3./ Wheels with poured centers were inaccurate and caused a lot of drag with the bearings being
out of alignment, poor resilience, noise,wear, generally hard to push around....
4./ The hardware parts were just plain industrial nuts and bolts. Heavy and rusted.
5./ Bearings were expensive, rusted, and needed cleaning all the time.
6./ Wheel technology was very basic, nothing really outstanding in the way of design or performance.
Still very heavy and based on 1980's technology.
7./ Helmets and crash gear all uncomfortable, expensive, and very hot to ride in.

These are the pure design elements that needed to be addressed in skateboarding today.
I found that deft fashion, marketing and grunge were the prime drivers of the sport and felt that things should change.

Anyway take a look at the gear I have made for my son, as I've had kids and pros all asking him about this stuff
so I have started manufacturing and distribution.

you can find my facebook page
http://www.facebook.com/lesk8
or
just the pictures.
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.116021321834268.11749.100002792011211&l=abc7e487e3&type=1

Regards,
Garret Krampe
MD
LESK8

Hey Garret,
Welcome to Boardworld.
First off I would like to say WOW to the time and effort that you have but into designing and producing a product. Skate is a hard market to get something represented.
Second, thank you for supporting your son in the world of board sports.
Also thank you for sharing it with us. For me skating is about all things working grand. I am keen to see your product in the flesh, more to understand things like the bearing seat.
Feel free to PM about anything I am always down to hear and help with skate.

Welcome to Boardworld, lesk8.

I see you are based in Sydney? I'd love to check out your product range some time.

Good on ya Garret. I've never really seen much difference in the boards most people ride today apart from the obvious shape and size differences, and perhaps the occasional bamboo or carbon-fiber inserts. Your products are really something else. Also, are you going to release any wheels?

lewis - 22 September 2011 11:53 AM

Good on ya Garret. I've never really seen much difference in the boards most people ride today apart from the obvious shape and size differences, and perhaps the occasional bamboo or carbon-fiber inserts. Your products are really something else. Also, are you going to release any wheels?

In a word (or two) Already in production as we speak.

The wheels are the real cherry on the cake.

A lot of guys just like wood and I don't want to change that .. (but .. today I had a guy ask me for a wood board and he pays top dollar for them .. so I said .. fine you pay me $30 bucks more and I'll make you a carbon fiber one. Done deal .. perhaps he was not that hard to sell just the price was too high.)

Anyway .. a couple of them asked me for wheels as my son was pretty much the fastest thing there on the day .. not pumping too hard. rode 5 hours straight and he's 23 Kgs wringing wet ..

So one Vert rider converted to Lesk8 wheels today but I asked him to wait for the production wheels in 2 to 4 weeks as the
prototypes had been well used, run over by cars, ridden through storm water drains and mud.

So in short yes. And they are the fastest thing out there .. I know that phrase is used a lot buy "bloggers" but I dare you to ACTUALLY beat my wheels in FACT not in talk , blog or "culture pruning".

The patents are pretty costly so I need to finalise them BEFORE releasing too much more detail.

The outer "tyres" are Quick Release in larger size (46mm center) and replacable on the 25mm sets.
Yes the tools are supplied with each wheel set and I offer a service via post to take just about any wheel you like and convert it to the le-sk8 format.

I offer only a few flavours of "tyres"
1./ Vert 60mm 83B medium rebound. 33mm contact. (basically the same as Bones Miller 60's) for 46mm le-sk8
2./ Street in 56mm 83B high rebound non flat spot on a 46mm and a 25mm centre. Basically same as Bones STF 56
3./ High Speed. 80A 60mm very high rebound on a 25mm and 46mm le-sk8 centre. Basically same as Bones ATF.

But I can literally make what ever you like.

Regards Garret Le-SK8

rider26 - 21 September 2011 04:50 PM

Welcome to Boardworld, lesk8.

I see you are based in Sydney? I'd love to check out your product range some time.

Welcome anytime .. just with some notice of course ....
Garret Le-Sk8

Very impressed with what your doing.

Hope it all goes well for you.

Great to see hanging out at Boardworld.