How to Know What Longboard You Need
Are you struggling to choose the right longboard for you ? Feeling lost in the dense jungle of longboard options available on the market ? Getting airheaded looking at the huge choice of decks all shapes and sizes, the many sorts of trucks, the endless types of wheels ?
Finding the right longboard setup requires deciding how you're going to ride your longboard. A longboard is the sum of its components, so choosing a longboard amounts to picking the correct components, which in turn depends a lot on exactly what y'all'll want to practice on your longboard.
You need to know your own style of riding. Are you mainly going to exist cruising and carving? Commuting? Traveling over long distances? Freeriding or speed skating downhill? Doing tricks and riding bowls? Dancing?
Once yous know why, how, and where y'all'll be riding, you have a good starting betoken for choosing the features you really need, including which shape, which trucks, and which wheels.
Of course, your riding mode alone will not entirely determine the kind of longboard that's right for you. Your environment, your concrete build, your feel and learning ability, and your preferences also play a major part.
In the following section, I'll briefly get through the most important features to consider when choosing a longboard and how they tin affect your riding.
Then, we'll look specifically at each riding style. Based on my ain feel and knowledge, I'll give you the best recap I tin come up upwards with regarding the setups that work all-time for each style.
Encounter also: the globe's all-time longboards by riding way
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Choosing the right longboard for yous : what to look for ?
Here'south a quick rundown of the key features to look at when choosing the right longboard for you :
- Deck size & wheelbase : the bigger the deck and the longer the wheelbase, the more stable the lath, and the more speed it tin handle without wobbles. Larger boards, yet, typically have a larger turning radius.
- Deck elevation : distance between the deck and the ground. It affects the riding feel of the longboard. Higher decks are harder to push / brake on (more distance for the pes) and less stable. Lower decks (e.g. dropped decks) are more pushable and stable.
- Mountain type : topmounts (deck is mounted on top of the trucks) have more wheel leverage and are more responsive. Drop-through decks (trucks are mounted through the deck) are lower to the ground and more stable.
- Deck flex & profile : flexier decks (fewer maple plies, bamboo) are expert for carving and pumping, not so adept for speed. Camber (upward curvature) and rocker (downward curvature) also affect flex and bounce.
- Deck concave and kicks : human foot pockets allow human foot lock-in, good for carving, freeriding, and freestyle, not so good for cruising and dancing. Kicktails are important for freestyle and street cruising.
OK, at present that we understand the kind of features to take into account when choosing the correct longboard for you, let'due south move on to discussing the most appropriate feature mix for your ain riding style.
Choosing the right longboard to cruise and carve on
Cruising refers to relaxed, leisurely pushing effectually on your longboard at slow speed. When cruising, y'all want to exist able to look around without worrying most losing your remainder or constantly avoiding pebbles and cracks in the ground.
Carving involves a more dynamic riding mode through continuous turns, shifting your weight back and forth and playing with the terrain to carve imaginary curves, similar to snowboarding.
Choosing the correct deck shape & style
Near shapes will work for cruising and etching :
Choosing the right deck size
- For cruising on boardwalks or in spacious park areas, a deck length of 36″ to 42″ (width 9.5″+) works well as it provides condolement and stability.
- If you're going to be cruising mainly around congested city streets, slaloming around pedestrians, jumping on and off curbs, onconstantly picking up your board to walk, a smaller 28-34″ cruiser is a better fit. Choose i with a kicktail for quick turns and obstable skipping.
- If your focus is on carving a lot, go for a shorter longboard as well. Shorter decks turn faster, all other things beingness equal.
Choosing the right deck flex
- A deck with a bit of flex will aid blot shocks and vibrations, providing a better cruising feel. Likewise, less stress on your ankles and knees than a super strong deck.
- Medium flex is good for carving as y'all get more free energyrender from your impulses during turns, helping yous gain more speed through carves. A slight cambered profile also adds feedback and helps with carving.
- Keep in mind, yet, that too much flex can actually make pushing and carving less efficient as a lot energy gets lost through excessive bouncing.
Choosing the right trucks
- Cull reverse kingpin trucks for your cruising or carving longboard : more space for bigger wheels, more turning.
- Choose a 150mm truck with a pocket-size city cruiser deck (width < 8.5″), 180mm for a bigger board. For cruising and carving, a standard 50º baseplate angle works fine.
- For more than intensive carving, you may want consider "surfskate" trucks which let yous cleave similar on a surfboard. These are quite different from standard longboard trucks. See my article on pumping.
Choosing the right wheels
- Bicycle diameter of 65 to 75mm is nearly right for most cruising and carving setups. A bicycle this size will let you to roll at relaxed speed, while aborbing most modest obstacles seamlessly. Make certain your deck has plenty cycle clearance (bike wells or cutouts) to avoid bike rub.
- For both cruising and etching, yous want wheels with strong grip. Choose squared wheels with a softer durometer , e.g. 70A – 78A. This volition allow you to ride comfortably on crude surfaces while maintaining proficient traction throughout your carves.
For more well-nigh cruising, check out this postal service. Or see this article for more details about carving.
Choosing the right longboard to commute on
If you plan to use your longboard for transportation on a daily basis, you want to choice a board that'due south stable, fast rolling, comfortable on rough surface, and easy to push and foot brake on.
Choosing the right board for you to commute on has similarities to picking a longboard for cruising, merely with a few primal differences : yous'll be riding your commuter board a lot more, for longer durations and over larger distances, and probably with more than frequency than your cruiser lath.
Choosing the right shape and mount type
- Commuting typically involves a lot of pushing, so you want to choose something that rides as low as possible and that volition give yous maximum whorl for your push button.
- This means you should opt at least for a drop-through, or fifty-fifty a double drop (drop-through + drib deck) for maximum stability and pushability.
- Stay abroad from pintails and other topmount decks for commuting purposes – you will exist exhausted later a couple of miles.
- A shape with big cycle cutouts (or at least serious bicycle flares) will provide the clearance you need to run bigger wheels for open road commuting.
Choosing the right board size
- If your commuting involves riding on the open road or wheel lanes, you should cull a longboard with a large wheelbase for stability, and wide enough to fit comfortably on. Selection a board at to the lowest degree 40″ long and 9.5-10″ wide.
- If on the other hand, your daily commute to school or piece of work goes through decorated city streets, opt for a slighty shorter setup, say a 34″-37″ urban center cruiser, that will let you turn and weave through obstacles swiftly.
- With a shorter setup, while you may lose a fleck of stability and comfort, your longboard will be easier to carry around in a store and stow away at work or school.
Choosing the right flex
- As we've seen for cruising, a niggling flex can help brand your pushing more than efficient by adding to the energy of your kicks, potentially speeding upwardly your commute. Again, beware of overly flexy decks though, which can negatively touch your experience especially at those higher commuting speeds.
Choosing the right trucks
- You'll typically want to choose 180mm RKP trucks to friction match that larger driver deck – whose width will probable be well over eight.5″ wide for comfy daily riding.
- For open road / bike lane commuting, you may want a lower angle truck (e.g. 45º) for stability and larger turning radius. This volition allow you to push button hard without worrying most changing direction, and reduce speed wobbles on the incline sections of your commute path.
- Conversely, if you're commuting through inner city streets, yous want more turny trucks that will permit y'all exercise quick turns for dodging people, dogs, street lamps etc.
Choosing the right wheels
- For open road commutes y'all'll need bigger wheels for fast roll. A bore of at to the lowest degree 75mm is a good option, provided your deck has enough clearance. Bicycle rub at higher speed isn't fun.
- If you opt for a city cruiser, y'all'll probably need to go for smaller wheels, say sixty-65mm wheels depending on your deck'south clearance and your truck'southward superlative and angle.
- Most of the fourth dimension, softer wheels (70A-78A) will be a practiced pick for commuting because they'll provide pause and comfort over rough stretches of road.
Check out this article for a more in-depth look into commuting on a longboard.
Choosing the right longboard to travel on
By "travel" I mean long distance, whether you're skating to the adjacent boondocks, across the country, the continent, or the planet. And so this is a footstep upwards from the concept of commuting.
Choosing the correct shape and mount type
- For long distance skating you demand a very low riding dropped platform board so you can push with minimal effort (for hours or days on cease).
- Your deck should have huge wheel clearance, and be wide enough for your front end human foot to fit comfortably.
Choosing the correct lath size and flex
- Specialized long distance longboards such equally GBombs are typically under 30″ in length, lightweight, and designed to be used with bracket setups (encounter below)
- Flex is a very subtle and important factor in distance skating, afflicted by the deck's length, lay-upwards (number of plies), fabric (full maple, bamboo, fiberglass hybrid), and bracket blazon (see beneath).
Choosing the right wheels
- Your distance setup should have as large equally possible wheels, typically in the 80mm+ range, for maximum speed.
- For optimal and frictionless rolling you lot should consider investing in ceramic bearings (due east.thou. Bones Ceramics).
- Every bit mentioned, your deck should also be equally depression as possible to the basis. On a normal truck setup, this would potentially result in serious cycle bite given the pick of very large wheels.
Choosing the right trucks
- That's why specialized distance setups use brackets which extend the deck and provide nearly unlimited wheel clearance.
For a more in-depth look into long altitude / travel skating, read this article. For more information about longboard pumping, cheque out this post.
Choosing the right longboard to freeride or downhill
Freeriding and speed skating / racing are the two main types of longboarding disciplines that involve downhill.
Freeriding involves riding at moderate, controlled speed while executing elegant slides and other skilled maneuvers.
Downhill speed boarding and racing is a search for sheer speed, finding optimal speed lines and using advanced sliding techniques only to control speed earlier speed corners and dangerous road sections.
Choosing the right shape and mount type
- For freeriding, yous want a symmetrical shape (for switch riding), typically 38 to 42″ in length – or a 24-29″ wheelbase.
Choosing the right flex and concave
- For freeriding, you want your deck to have plenty concave to lock in your feet as you go into slides or pull a 180º. A flake of deck flex tin help with sliding and carving at moderate speed.
- For speed downhill, on the other mitt, you want a actually stiff deck, typically with rigid composite material, and more than subtle concave for tucking.
Choosing the right trucks
- RKP trucks provide better traction at speed than TKP. Trucks should be strong plenty to withstand the pressure of sideways sliding. A width of 180mm works fine with nearly setups, although some riders apply smaller trucks for faster turning.
- A 50º baseplate angle provides expert residue between grip and stability, and enough deck height to avert wheelbite. Use a higher angle for easier sliding, or a lower one for more stability at speed.
Choosing the right wheels
- Freeriders and speedboarders alike seek to notice the correct residuum between traction and sliding.
- 68 to 72mm diameter wheels are a good middle ground for traction / slidability /durability. Choose a rounded / bevelled lip profile and a durometer between 78A to 82A – or slightly harder for a heavy rider.
- Centerset wheels with regular bearings typically work well for beginner level downhill skating, with speed rings / spacers to protect bearings during slides.
- For more technical and hardcore sliding, choose smaller wheels (eastward.g. 60-65mm) with a college durometer (85A +)
Read more than here about freeriding, and here about downhill racing.
Choosing the right longboard to freestyle on
Freestyle longboarding involves tricks such as jumping on and off your board, flipping and spinning the board, and riding on your lath'south nose or tail. Skatepark riding on a longboard is some other aspect, similar to skateboarding.
Longboard dancing is a special type of freestyle that'due south less acrobatic and more artistic and elegant in nature. You perform dance moves on your longboard, walking up and downwardly your deck, spinning and cantankerous stepping while riding.
Choosing the right deck shape & manner
- If you lot're looking to perform street tricks and ride ramps and bowls like on a classic skateboard, yet you want the added condolement and versatility of a longboard (eastward.g. for cruising), cull a hybrid shape : similar in shape to a street deck but slightly bigger (e.g. 32″ ten 8.five″), stiff flex, two kick tails, mild concave.
- If you lot desire to exercise nose riding and stepping longboard tricks such as nose manuals, shuvits, tiger claws etc, go for a medium sized board (e.g. 34-38″), topmount for maximum control and responsiveness, with a kicktail and/or nose, a little flex, mild concave (too much concave gets in the fashion of moving your feet).
- For dancing yous want to choose a bigger deck (42-48″) to take as much room as possible for moving effectually and cross stepping. Ideally it should be apartment (no concave), optionally dropped, with a fleck of natural flex given its size. A tail and nose are helpful for performing trip the light fantastic tricks.
Choosing the right trucks
- For street fashion and skatepark riding, you'll want sturdy, standard kingpin (TKP) trucks, which sit higher and provide more control and maneuverability for tricks. For hardcore grinding and jumps consider getting forged or precision trucks, more resistant than cast trucks.
- For mellow nose tricks and dancing, standard RKP trucks will work fine. For a dancing board, become for trucks with a higher angle (> 50º) and open bushing seats to allow for faster turning despite the large wheelbase.
Choosing the right wheels
- For street-style freestyle, 57mm wheels come up with with most hybrid decks, with durometer betwixt 78A and 82A – harder wheels will be easier to slide just less comfortable for everyday riding.
- If yous cull a medium sized deck for fluid longboard tricks and nose rides, y'all can go for medium sized wheels (65-70mm). The durometer y'all choose will depend on how much carving (softer) vs sliding (harder) you plan to do.
- For a larger dancer board, pick wheels in the 70-75mm range with foursquare lips for grippier etching turns while y'all cantankerous-stride upwardly and downwardly your deck. A durometer of around 80A works well for almost dancing styles.
Read more than about freestyle longboarding in this article.
Wrapping up
Choosing the correct longboard for y'all is a complex question due to the endless range of combinations of decks, trucks and wheels – non mentioning the subcomponents within and between these, bearings, bushings, hanger, spacers, etc. Which combination works for you depends on your own personal usage pattern, riding style, and physical abilities.
In this post I tried to sort through the information and epitomize the virtually mutual choices longboarders make for each kind of riding. Hopefully this will be a useful tool for y'all to first understanding what to look for in a longboard, and hone in on the type of board that'south right for you.
Naught replaces stepping on a longboard to get a feel for how information technology rides, though, and so armed with all this information, go hit your boardshop and attempt'em out before you buy !
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"Loaded Banghra" with permission from Loaded Boards
"GBomb push complete" with permission from GBomb Longboards
"GBomb brackets" with permission from GBomb Longboards
"Paris Trucks" with permission from Loaded Boards
Source: https://www.ridingboards.com/how-to-choose-the-right-longboard-for-me/
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