If you serious about distance skating, you should probably consider a platform built for brackets. The Loaded Tangent bracket setup is specifically designed for dedicated distance skaters and commuters.
The Tangent encourages you to push your limits. With its super low platform, deep drop from the brackets, and BIG wheels, you’ll be eager to jump on the board and hit the road!
The setup builds on the Loaded Fathom and Zee Bracket system. The goal of the newer Tangent is to offer riders of all heights and sizes an incredibly comfortable ride. So if you like the Fathom/Zee Bracket concept but want a longer platform and an even lower ride height for more stability and effortless pushing and footbraking, you have to check out the Tangent!
Tangent overview
This is a highly specialized distance-pushing longboard built around the Loaded Zee Brackets designed by G/Bomb (the King of brackets), resulting in a high-performance double-drop distance setup.
The setup(s) offers an awesome alternative to biking for commuters, fitness buffs, and road travelers. It blurs the lines between longboard and bike, allowing for very high ride speeds and roll times thanks to a super low ride and the ability to run huge wheels (up to 105mm) without risers.
Very large wheels glide smoothly and handle bumps and cracks with ease. Surprisingly, despite these capabilities, the Tangent is a very agile, responsive, and fast-turning setup.
The Loaded Tangent is priced at $424 or $364 for the complete setup, depending on whether you opt for the 105mm Dad Bods or the 85mm Caguamas.
Tangent specs:
| Shape | Symmetrical double-drop bracket setup |
| Length & width | 35.75″ (including brackets) x 9.75″ |
| Wheelbase | 29.375″ (with brackets) |
| Weight | 4.3 / 9.7 / 10.7 lbs (deck only/Caguamas/Dad Bods) |
| Profile | Slight rocker, subtle concave, |
| Flex | Subtle |
| Price | $424 / $364 / $223 (Dad Bods/Caguamas/Deck + Zee) |
Who is the Loaded Tangent for?
The Tangent is a comfortable and functional commuting board with a roomy platform – larger than the Fathom – for taller riders and for wider stances. It’s a great board for:
- Fast and easy daily commuting on roads and bike paths
- Fitness training
- Long-distance skate travel
If you’ve ever searched for information on the best distance setups, you’ve probably run into endless technical debates on the best combination and config of drop deck, bracket/torsion tail, trucks, and wheels. There are very involved discussions in dedicated distance skating groups – like here or here.
The Tangent + Zee Bracket system brings the benefits of a low ride height + large wheels to distance riders right out of the box, without the need for config headaches. The goal is to make performance LDP and fitness skating accessible to everyone.
Is the Tangent well-suited for heavier riders?
The Zee Brackets are very robust, extensive testing was done on them under extremely high loads. They are quite stiff – most of the flex comes from the deck rather than the brackets.
That said, for riders much heavier than 250 lbs, the flex in the deck may break in over time, so the Tangent may not be your best choice for a daily driver.
Why a bracket setup?
If you’re new to bracket setups, you may wonder what’s so special about them. Brackets serve many different purposes, but when it comes to distance skating and commuting here are the main advantages:
- Bracket setups provide ample clearance and comfortably accommodate the largest wheels.
- While non-bracket setups can be made to run wheels like the Dad Bods by adding risers, a bracket setup allows for running extremely responsive trucks at a lowered platform height.
- First-time riders are often surprised by the responsiveness of bracket setups. Once they get used to them, they often won’t go back to a regular deck for commuting and distance skating.
- Brackets provide improved flex distribution, which results in greater strength. The flex designed into the brackets also helps dampen the vibrations from rough surfaces.
- Bracket systems offer a modular design for travel, with smaller decks. On the Tangent, you can easily take off the brackets and pack the whole thing into a bag or suitcase as small as 26″ – as opposed to 33+” for a traditional full deck.
- Brackets let you tune your setup without taking everything apart, you can swap out individual pieces. and slowly make upgrades.
A frequent advantage of bracket setups is that they allow you to angle the trucks to optimize pumping without pushing the ride height up. However, the Tangent is completely focused on distance pushing, so Loaded has made the angles fixed so that everything runs “plug and play”.
That said, you can choose the 43º baseplate add-on option with your Tangent custom build (see below).
Tangent riding experience
The Tangent pushes superbly. It’s also very nimble, even surfy because of the short deck. The board’s very low ride makes it extremely comfortable to push, skog, and foot brake on.
At 26″, the bigger platform lets you better adjust your stance for longer distances. It’s also easier to alternate pushing between mongo and regular.
The platform is slim enough for effective pushing, yet wide enough to comfortably place my foot across without foot rub (I’m a size 12).
The deck has a very low tub concave which is very comfortable for pushing and shifting your feet.
The upturned corners act as very effective footsteps, with your front toes and rear heel curling up on top of them. You know where your feet are at all times, and there’s no risk of wheel rub.
The Tangent feels very stable when pushing hard and fast – no wobbling whatsoever, feels like a flying carpet.
Despite the great stability, the board is highly responsive due to the combination of double-drop brackets and 150mm Paris trucks. Even when running the huge Dad Bod wheels, I’m able to easily steer the board with my non-pushing foot using only subtle pressure.
The Dad Bods have MASSIVE momentum and can climb over just about anything, including rolling up moderate curbs. The ride height, fast roll , and glidey feel on any pavement give you a truly unique riding experience.
The Tangent deck
At 26″, the Tangent deck in itself is quite short – the size of a mini like the Landyachtz Dinghy! Compared to the Fathom, the extra 3″ of length makes it more stable and suitable for a greater audience. The Zee Brackets add an extra 10″ to the full length of the setup.
While the Fathom is made from 8-ply maple, the Tangent uses a composite of maple and basalt (volcano lava), resulting in a subtle but long-lasting damp flex. Note that maple is used for these decks rather than Loaded’s usual bamboo to allow for more dramatic curvatures.
A good example of these curves in both decks is the curled-up deck corners (with reinforced grip tape). These act as solid foot stoppers, keeping your feet away from the wheels and locking them in place when riding fast.
The huge wheel clearance and the uplifted corners in the Tangent and Fathom shape really set it apart from other performance LDP boards such as the Pantheon Bandito.
The Tangent has a subtly rockered profile (lengthwise curvature) resulting in a nice locked-in, secure, laid-back feel when riding. The rocker also lowers the deck further, and makes it even lower than its shorter cousin the Fathom – which has a camber profile.
Loaded Zee Brackets
The Loaded Zee Bracket was designed by G/Bomb exclusively for Loaded. It leverages the design and technology from G/Bomb’s Adjustable Composite Bracket (aka Glass Drop) albeit in a new way that’s 100% focused on distance pushing (instead of pumping):
The Zee bracket creates a double-drop (drop-through + drop down) truck mounting system. It’s intended as a symmetrical (vs. directional) setup with 0°, non-adjustable truck mounting angles.
Loaded’s exclusive longboard brackets are more cost-effective compared to other brackets. This contributes to the reasonable overall price of the Tangent complete compared to other performance LDP setups out there.
The fiberglass composite material used in the brackets makes them really strong and super light. Robust O-rings are integrated into the brackets to protect the deck at the contact points, eliminating the need for shock pads.
The brackets help create a very responsive ride due to the tight flex and truck positioning. Unlike G/Bomb’s standard composite brackets, the Loaded Zees are compatible with Paris trucks without the need for risers.
Design & graphics
The Tangent deck’s top design is similar to the Fathom, with elegant grip tape patterns. The main difference is the turquoise background (vs black for the Fathom) that shows through the fine cutout lines in the grip tape.
The Loaded logo also appears on stylish silver circle on the grip tape, tangently surrounded by elegant grey and maroon shapes.
On the bottom side, the artwork dreamt up by Nana Studio features cool geometric shapes, arcs, and graphs that diverge and flow into tangent lines.
Tangent setups
The Tangent completes comes with highly responsive and durable 150mm Paris V2 trucks. The Zee Brackets require hangers at least 140mm wide.
The narrow-ish 150mm Paris contribute to the responsiveness of the setup despite the double drop and the large wheels.
Both the front and rear trucks have a 50º baseplate angle, optimal for effortless pushing. In contrast to the Fathom, which has zero wedging, the Tangent’s rocker profile wedges the trucks slightly. This results in even tighter turning and easy control at high commuting speeds.
The Tangent can be ordered with either the 105mm Dad Bods (77a) or 85mm Caguamas (80a). I’ve been a Dad Bods fan for a while, these wheels are super fast with incredible roll momentum and rollover, they’re insanely grippy and carvy yet very lightweight and agile for their size. See my full review here.
The Orangatang Caguamas are more “reasonably sized” and a bit more nimble than the Dad Bods, though still very beefy and fast. Being 20mm smaller, they give you fast acceleration and slightly lower ride.
If you’re wondering about bushings, note that the stock Paris bushings work well for distance pushing because of their relatively low rebound. High-rebound bushings like Orangatang Knuckles generally work well for pumping and carving at moderate speeds but may be a bit too lively for LDP.
Check out the Tangent completes on Loaded’s website
Which of the Tangent and the Fathom is better for distance pushing?
For truly long distance, the Tangent may be a better choice. Its larger size, longer wheelbase, and composite construction provide a smoother ride, especially over rough terrain and going down hills. The larger foot platform allows you to easily switch feet, skog, or move around.
On the other hand, the Fathom is lighter and smaller, which makes it more agile and easier to carry around for urban commuting.
If your commute involves a lot of open roads, rough roads, declines, the Tangent is likely the better option. If portability and quick turns are more important, the Fathom could be the way to go.
The following table shows the differences between the Tangent and the Fathom (other than these, they are very similar) :
| TANGENT | FATHOM | |
| Size | 35.75″ x 9.75″ | 33″ x 9.25″ |
| Wheelbase | 29.375″ | 26.5″ |
| Construction | Maple & basalt composite | Full maple |
| Profile | Slight rocker | Slight camber |
| Concave | Tub (flat in middle, raised towards rails) | Radial (consistent from rail to rail) |
| Deck Weight | 4.3 lb | 3.1 lb |
| Rider Max Weight | 300 lb | 250 lb |
| Price (Dad Bods / Caguamas / deck + brackets) | $424 / $364 / $223 | $389 / $329/ $188 |
Tangent for distance pumping ?
As mentioned, the main features that set the Tangent and Fathom apart from other performance bracket setups are the double-drop design and the “plug and play” symmetrical distance setup.
Most bracket setups out there are directional pumping setups with split angles. A lower degree rear vs front makes high-speed pumping more efficient as more energy goes into moving forward. This is a different application than what the Tangent is intended for.
That said, split angles can be achieved on the Tangent with different front vs rear baseplates. Loaded provides an add-on option for a Paris V3 43° baseplate in the Tangent custom builder. This allows experimenting with a 50°/43° split as an intro to directional setup tweaking.
Nub for vertical storage
Loaded has designed a “tail nub” that can attach to the rear truck, allowing the rider to pop the board up and even balance it vertically on end (depending on truck and wheel choice).
You can download the STL file here for free and use it to 3D print the nub at home.
In conclusion
The Tangent is the latest evolution in Loaded’s high-performance, dedicated distance setups. The Zee brackets and the double-drop design make this board amazingly suited to fitness skating, travel, and commuting.
The Tangent is an super-comfy deck equipped with industry-leading brackets and high-speed wheels, all in an affordable package. Like the shorter Fathom, this new setup gives me an amazing feeling of smooth glide and speed when pushing on bike trails or open roads.
See the Tangent bracket setup on Loaded’s website