Longboarding Nation

Introduction

Here on longboardingnation.com we have always tried to offer solutions for the high longboard pricing. EBay, Extreme Sports Trader and the Silverfish Forums are good alternatives for people who have a small budget like students and unemployed people. However, one of our readers, Merrick, decided to construct longboards himself, with great results. In this post, Merrick will show what is possible and he explains how you can do this yourself too.

Instructions

There are multiple ways of constructing a longboard. First of all, you could use an old snowboard you do not plan on using anymore and cut it in any shape you would like, including the design of a classic longboard. The altered snowboard could be used as deck. Another method is to take a skateboard and either cut it out into a cruiser/trick board, or you can cant it out into a slalom/drop deck board.

In order to make the ‘snow longboard’ work out, you may want to reinforce it with a ski, because if you do not do this, the board will be way too flexible, and if you ride of a curb, the board might touch the ground!

The ‘skate longboard’ may function more optimally, if you cut out some wedge shaped pieces of wood, so that the trucks will sit flat allowing them to turn to their full extent, depending on what you would look.

Introduction

One of the most useful tools for learning longboarding is a forum. You might ask yourself how an internet discussion board will help you to perform better on the board. But for me it has certainly aided in the process of becoming better and even up to the point I qualified myself for longboarding contests all over the world. This article will explain how you can make the most of longboarding forums like Silverfish.

General Questions

First of all, you can ask all your general questions about the board in this place. Do not be afraid to ask a ‘dumb question’. However, I do recommend you to first use the search option, and see if there might have been a previous topic that addresses the problem or question you have. If not, feel free to just ask, people are there to help you.

Honest Reviews

What I also like about the Silverfish forum is that honest reviews placed by users. In this way you can get great independent information about certain models of longboards, without exaggerated promotion claims by the big companies. Furthermore, other users can recommend trucks and wheels for your board that could make your longboard perform even better.

Local contests and Fun

Often on the longboard forums, there are special topics per country or place in the world to organize contests or to just go ride together with a group of longboarders. This can be a great learning experience, and I can especially recommend this to intermediate longboarders. Other longboarders can see how you ride and they can give you feedback. Personally, I think these experiences have meant the most progress for me.

Second Hand Longboards

Finally, longboard forums are an awesome place to find second hand longboards for sale that are almost brand new. The longboards sold on these forums are often used a few times, but the owner of the board has found an even newer/better/faster board. You can make great deals here. Just be sure to only buy from credible people. Like admins, moderators or people with a very large post count.

Introduction

One of the most essential skills you need to develop as longboarder is carving. Carving is a great way to stop or maintain your speed when going downhill. Carving is one of the basic fundamentals for longboarders because they usually spend a lot more time going downhill than skateboarders do. Carving is also one of the easiest things to learn, it will not take more than a few days to master this skill.

Process

Follow the steps below and you will be able to carve in no time.

1. Gain moderate speed downhill. Carving is only really necessary when you go downhill. For people who just want to cruise through the city, it isn’t a necessary skill to learn. So begin longboarding downhill and increase your speed up to a moderate level.

2. Make sure your body is in the correct position. Balance your weight equally, like you would normally do. Bend your knees into a squat position as low and as comfortable as you can while maintaining your balance. Begin shifting your weight by leaning to the right or to the left, depending on which way you want to turn.

3. Start turning the longboard. As you get toward the bottom of the hill, turn as sharp, as wide and as hard as you can. The harder you turn, the better the carve.

4. Stop. To stop in a carve; turn sharply and really hard in either direction, depending on what way you feel most comfortable turning. The harder you carve, the faster you will stop.

Conclusion

Carving is one of the most useful and easy things to learn on the longboard.  However, it is only really necessary if you want to go downhill, otherwise it is a fun thing to learn but not mandatory. Follow the four steps given and you will carve like a real longboard pro in no time.

Introduction

As emphasized many times on Longboarding Nation, it is very important which material you choose in order to have optimal performance. You will need another board, wheels and trucks for other disciplines.  You can use the same longboard for all disciplines like downhill or cruising, but your performance will be less than if you have specialized your gear. However what type of deck is required for what discipline? The purpose of this article is to answer that question.

Transport

These boards are usually between 1 meter and 1.30 meters Long and do not have a shorter nose. They resemble surfboards very much. Trucks of this type of decks are set loosely, allowing tight turns.

Slalom

Slalom decks are considerably smaller. They are usually between 62 and 90 centimeters. They are often made of superior material such as carbon fiber. The shorter boards are used on tighter courses, and longer boards are used on steeper, faster courses and giant slalom. Slalom skateboards are used almost exclusively for competitive skateboarding.

Downhill

Downhill is one of the most fun disciplines there is. It is also one of the most challenging disciplines of longboarding, click here to learn how to go downhill. Furthermore, you will definitely need a specialized downhill deck. These boards should be 90 to 110 cm long and are usually very stiff. The trucks are attached to the ends of the board to maximize the wheelbase. In order to lower the center of gravity, downhill longboards sometimes feature a lowered platform, by mounting the deck below the baseplate of the axles, or by the shape of the deck itself.

Cruising

Cruising is a chill style, usually performed at slow speeds and involving tricks imported from classic surfboarding such as hanging ten, cross-stepping, and drop-knee-turns. Cruising longboards are typically much longer than the usual longboard varying from 160 to 190 cm.

Trick Boards

Trick boards are similar to the short skateboards in shape and construction but are longer and usually wider. The trick boards are never longer than 105 cm. Tricks that can be performed on these boards are the same tricks that can be performed on a short skateboard but the heavier weight and larger size of the board require more skill and strength from the skater. However, learning an ollie on this board will be easier than on other longboard deck types.

Introduction

One of the most fun things to do with a longboard is going downhill. You can gain great speeds, and the adrenaline that you get out of this experience is awesome. There are also longboard downhill races, where you can compete with fellow longboarders to see who is fastest. However, unlike regular cruising on the board, downhill is a relatively hard discipline to learn.  You must not fear slopes and high speeds. You will also need some protective gear, because there is always a risk that you will fall.

Selecting the right board

You will need a specialized longboard for the downhill discipline. You can do it with a regular cruising board, but I would not recommend this. The best choice is a speedboard; they have a firmer construction and are designed for high speeds. These boards are also a bit more resembling a surfboard on wheels.

Protection

Don’t skimp on the protection. You will need some decent gear for the downhill. You can get serious injuries if you do not wear protective wear.  Therefore always protect your knees and elbows with pads and furthermore wear a helmet. Finally, purchase some specialized longboard gloves, normal ones will not do.

Launch

Get the board positioned at the top of the hill.  Be sure the hill is safe. Before going downhill scout the area to be sure there is no garbage lying on the ground that can make you fall. Also be sure there is no traffic. Then kick off like you would do with a normal skateboard.  Don’t go too fast yet, until you developed the correct stance.

Stance

Put one foot in front of the other, about two feet apart on the longboard. The best is if both feet are pointing forwards. Squat and be sure to keep your eyes forward. Finally put your hands on your back.  Avoid crashing.

Learn to slide

In the beginning when you choose small slopes you can still jump off the board in order to stop. However later, when you are more advanced and hit bigger slopes, you cannot do this anymore safely. So learn to turn your board sharply to a 90 degree position and slide to stop. You can also use your foot to slow down, but this will damage the soles of your shoe and is therefore not recommended.

This is all you need to learn downhill longboarding. It is not hard, but you have to practice. Everyone fails in the beginning, but after some time you can hit the big slopes.

Introduction

What really persuaded me to buy my first longboard was the fact that the board is also an excellent method of transportation. It is way cheaper than to pay public transport each month, it keeps you fit and most important it is great fun!

Transport

This is also the greatest difference with the normal skateboard, they are not designed to cruise. The skateboard is a better option if you want to hit half pipes, but is far less capable for a relaxed cruise through the city. You can also notice that nowadays more and more people use their longboards to get to work, university or to visit a friend. Most of them are older people. The longboard is more attractive to people that are thirty or fourty than the skateboard.

Top 5 best transportation boards

However which boards are the most suitable for transportation? I have summarized this for you in the following top 10:

1. Loaded. Very flexible boards,  this board is really top of the bill when it comes to clean, smooth riding.
2. Arbor. What I really like about arbor boards is that they stay true to their surfing roots. You will notice this when riding the board; you feel like your on water instead of pavement.
3. Never Summer. Never Summer rides are very smooth, but also the material of which the board is made is great. This makes sure the longboard will last for a long while.
4. Flexdex. As you would predict by the name, the most flexible board on the market. These boards also have a bit surfboard shape, so you really feel like surfing.
5. Comet.The best part of Comet longboards is that they are customized to your needs. Each board is pressed and shaped individually, producing a highly tuned and comfortable longboard for everybody.

Conclusion

Longboarding is one of the cheapest, healtiest and fun ways of transporting yourself to your work, school or other destinations. You can’t go wrong with the top 5 longboards given in this article. However, if you want the most flexible board, I would go for a Flexdex board. If you want to be 100% sure your board will never break during a ride, choose Never Summer instead. Comet is the best customized board out there.

Introduction

Longboarding can be a very expensive sport. Board prices vary from around 100 dollars to thousands of dollars. But are these expensive longboards really worth the money?

And what is exactly the difference between the cheaper ones and the ones that cost over a thousand dollars? You will find the answers in this article…

Causes

There are multiple factors that influence the price of a longboard. The first one is marketing. There are many longboard brands that do not deliver that great quality, but still charge super high prices. The only reason why they are able to do this is because of excellent marketing and promotion. These sorts of companies strive to be well known with an aggressive advertisement strategy in order to achieve the most followers. In this way they can charge such high prices, because everyone just buys their products, because they are the most famous and ‘hip’. Excellent example of this is the longboard Dervish.

The trucks, wheels and deck of this manufacturer are not very expensive to make and are certainly not of the best quality in the longboarding market, but still they can ask for prices way in excess of other brands.

Another reason might be material of the deck. Some longboards are made of bamboo. This material is very expensive to work with. Furthermore, the type of board also has influence on price. A typical board for cruising will be cheaper than a specialized downhill longboard.

Beginner

If you are just beginning to learn the sport, there is absolutely no need to buy an expensive Dervish or Sector 9 board. I would recommend buying your first longboard second hand, check the article elsewhere on Longboarding Nation for the best sources of second hand boards. These boards will suffice because you will not be riding too steep hills in your first months as longboarder. When the time is ripe and you hit the big slopes, you can always buy a more expensive new board that is more appropriate for tougher longboarding spots.

Advanced

As advanced longboarder myself I liked the following boards best:

1. Neversummer N0rad
2. Carbon Evo
3. Bigfish Motion
4. Insect DragonFly
5. Rayne Timeline

However this list is by no means definite. Every longboarder has it owns preferences and style. If you are longboarding for a longer time, say 5 years, you will develop more feeling for what boards are good and which ones are garbage.

Introduction

For people who are not familiar with the sports, the difference between the two is often unclear. What do they have in common, and why should you choose one above another? The purpose of this article therefore is to answer these questions once and for all.

History

Skateboarding gained popularity in the early 1950′s as the surf culture of Southern California was transferred onto the streets. Sidewalk surfing consisted of surfers skating down the sidewalks to practice their surfing maneuvers. Both sports, longboarding and skateboarding were invented by the surfers to practice their skills on the streets.

Deck

The biggest difference between skateboards and longboards is the board itself. Standard street skateboarding decks, usually 30 to 32 inches in length, have a width of 7.5 to 8.5 inches. Longboard decks can range from 35 to 100 inches long and can be up to 10 inches wide. Furthermore, skateboard decks are designed to do tricks like the ollie and the kickflip while the longboard design is solely focussed on cruising or downhill rides.

Wheels

A skateboard’s wheel range from 48 to 55 mm in diameter. Decks used for street skating need smaller wheels to cut down on the board’s weight. The lighter weight of the street deck allows skaters to flip their boards while rolling. Read my article about longboard wheels elsewhere on Longboarding Nation for more specific details.

Bearings

Ball bearings used for skateboarding come rated by the Annular Bearing Engineer’s Committee. The street skateboard bearings, rated on speed, have a 1, 3, 5 or 7 rating. The slowest bearings on the consumer market received a rating of 1 while the fastest bearings garner a rating of 7. Bearings used for longboarding can receive a 9 or 11 rating. Longboards can function with these very fast bearings due to their loose trucks which allow for wide turning.

Conclusion

The main difference between the two sports is mainly the size of parts. Longboard parts are generally bigger. Furthermore, the skateboard design focusses more on tricks, while longboard designers aim at flawless cruising and high speed on the downhill.

Longboarding is in my opinion one of the most awesome extreme sports.  Furthermore it is also a very practical means of transport. It helps if you already have some experience with the skateboard under your belt, if you start longboarding. And it is certainly not hard to learn. In this article I will give you the steps you can best follow as newbee.

1. Decide what you want to do. Do you want to cruise through the city, show off at the skate park or gain rapid pace at the downhill? You really have to choose a board that fits your style. Longboards for each discipline differ.
2. Check if your goofy or regular. Respectively right foot in front and left foot in front. You can do this on intuition, just check what feels best for you.
3. At first you want to be sure you only ride on flat surface to get used to the longboard. This may be somewhat boring, but it is crucial to gain some control before you try out more difficult things.
4. After a few days when you grow accustomed to the board, try out an easy slope.
5. If you feel you lose control, try to focus your sight far in front of you, in this way you will regain balance.
6. The best and most safe way to stop the board is to slide. Learn this before you hit the bigger slopes.
7. Each time you go longboarding, try more difficult slopes, but don’t overdo it. Just chose slopes that are a little bit steeper than the last one you took. In this way you will continue to improve and avoid getting stuck on a plateau.

General tips:

- Buy gloves with plastic on the palms.

- When you go downhill very fast, stand up straight or use your foot to slow down a bit.

- Don’t get discouraged because you can’t do an ollie already. It takes way more time to learn how to jump on a longboard than on a skateboard.

- Use bigger and softer wheels if you want to ride faster.

- Alway be very careful with traffic and choose a spot that is not too busy.

-Before you ride, always walk around the spot to inspect if there are any dangerous obstacles on the way.

This is everything you need to know as a beginner. However if you still have some questions, feel free to shoot us a question.