This is a weird one. I’ve know about cliche for a long time and always had a small desire to ride a cliche deck, so it was inevitable that as I work my way through the brands of decks I would reach for a cliche skateboard deck.
This time I’ve explored and skated a Cliche Banco 8.25 Skateboard deck in white and blue. Read on to find out how I enjoyed skating a cliche on this review.
Key Specifications
Brand: cliche
Model: banco (white / blue)
Deck Width: 8.25
Deck length: 32
Concave: medium
Material: 7-ply Maple
Pro Model: No
Design and Aesthetics of the Cliche Banco Deck
Just like the toy machine deck , this isn’t a pro model, so id consider if a standard deck nothing special other than the brand. With many of the options out there for design, I chose the one I liked. Nice clean graphics with the cliche logo stamped on. Great design.
Performance and Feel of the Cliche Banco Deck
This is where I get disappointed. Cliche have been around for a good amount of time now, 20+ years if I recall. I therefore expected good, but from the moment I stepped on to this deck, there just wasn’t any magic. Nothing about it felt special.
It weirdly felt flat. I know the concave said medium, and that I could see the curvature of the deck. I could feel it below my toes and feet but it just didn’t work with me.
Regarding the performance, this thing is quite strong. I think I’ve been on it for 6 months and it’s still riding. No obvious signs of tension cracks, nothing chipped either, so it’s designed to last.
I’ve thrown a few heelflips at it, done plenty of kickflips, landed some delightful varial flips and even a double flip. It holds up well to the pressure of my 88kg body slamming down on it.
My Ollie’s are ok on this, but I do feel like my pop has suffered. Almost like riding a deck that got soaked and then you let it dry out. It just looses something.
Durability and Build Quality of the Cliche Banco Deck
The build quality is good. It hasn’t snapped, broke or even chipped. I therefore know it’s strong. Perhaps this makes it a good contender for vert, bowl or half pipe riding?
For durability, like I said I’ve thrown everything at this. Even a gap to board slide and it was fine. Id say it’s therefore as reliable as the zoo york I started on.
Pros and Cons
Pros: Strong, reliable and keeps going
Cons: Personal preference here but I just wasnt feeling it.
Who Is The Cliche Banco Deck Best For?
I see the cliche brand of deck now appearing on mid range skateboard completes and I think that’s perfect. It’s not a basic Walmart or Argos deck that’s flat and thin, but it’s also not what I’d call a pro deck, so right in the middle is perfect. Therefore if you’re a casual rider, or new beginner with a budget that’s not too low, then it’s perfect for you to throw around.
Price and Value
I paid for the cliche branco 8.25 skateboard deck around £40 from Route One, which if I’m honest after riding it, I feel is a bit expensive. It felt more like a fracture, enuff or mini logo deck, where you’d regularly pay around 1/2 the price I paid.
Conclusion
Let’s look at this from a positive angle, did it last longer than toy machine or element, yes it sure did. Could it handle kickflips, heelflips and Ollie’s? Yes it should could.
The point I’m making, it was quite a good deck for strength. Therefore it was an ok purchase.
I think the ultimate question to ask has to be, would I ride a cliche deck again. The answer is most likely not unless something happened, like a bargain I couldn’t refuse, and it would still take some convincing to make it more than a back up deck. So are Cliche skateboards good? Yeah there ok, but not my preferred choice.
I’m now moving onto my almost deck, and will leave this hanging in my garage I think. It’ll be a spare encase I ever run out of decks to skate.
