Protect Yo Neck!

As rad and as invincible as you may think you are, you’re not.  I definitely encourage wearing at least a helmet while you float about on your longboard.  Also good but not as necessary are knee pads and sliding gloves.

Helmets and knee pads are easy to find.  They can be purchased at any skate shop, athletic store, or online shop.  Sliding gloves on the other hand, might be a little more difficult to track down.

Big & Tall

Longboarders who do not lie withing the average height/weight range may have some difficulties finding a board that suits their sizeable stature.   Riding a board too small or too thin will greatly lower stability, foot room, and overall comfort.  I am here to give you a few ideas for decks if you are 6’+ or 200lbs +.

If Loaded bamboo is your thing, Loaded’s newest board the Bhangra is a dancing/freestyle machine.  With a length of 48″ and a 32″ wheelbase it leaves plenty of room to shuffle and slide your feet.  It also has a large, useable nose and tail complete with wheel cutouts and pre-done grib tape.  The stiffest flex, (flex 1) supports riders of 250lbs or more.

bhangra

Bushings, bushings, bushings

Bushings are those magical rings that fit in your trucks and make them able to hold their shape and turn.

ooooooh colors.

Broken decks =[

It tends to happen.  Skating along, maybe being a little rougher than usual.  You jump in the air, come down on your board and CRACK!!!

Your deck snaps.

Although it can be an extremely frustrating, discouraging, and perhaps expensive failure, no need to cry over broken bamboo.  Don’t allow nostalgia over your old longboard get the best of you: it is time to start shopping for a new board.  And this time it will be much stronger!

When bad luck strikes and your left with two planks rather than just the one, turn your misfortune into something more positive!

Flip Trick Tips

I decided to keep with the current theme of flip tricks for trick tips.  I did not make these videos myself, however these videos were the resources I used when I was going through the process of learning them myself.

I suggest starting with the ghostride kickflip (the first video).  Most riders would agree it is the easier trick.  Once you got the kickflip down, challenge yourself and learn the heelflip!  Or learn them switch!

Be patient when starting to practice.  Many of the motions involved do not feel completely natural to the body and need to be developed through repeated balance.

I hope you enjoy and hopefully learn something!

Official Trick Tip #1 : Flatop Fingerflip

Dirty Bearings

When you first got your ride it felt like you were gliding on air.  Now, when you ride your board you get a nice vibration under your feet along with an unpleasant rattling sound coming from your wheels.  You just don’t go as far or as fast with one push as you used to.  This means one thing.

Your bearings are dirty.

Trucks, Trucks, and Trucks

When choosing trucks for your set-up, you have several choices.  Some boards like Original Boards, can only be bought with pre-installed trucks.  Most decks however, require you to choose a set of trucks to pop on.

Many decks are designed around a particular truck geometry and will list that brand as their preferred truck.  However, this does not usually mean that other trucks of the same size will not work on the deck.  180 mm is the standard for most longboards but trucks can get much smaller or as big as 220mm.

Kick, Push, Coast Podcast #1 : Wheels

I have recorded a podcast for people who may be looking to buy new wheels.  I hope it is helpful.  Click the jump for the video!

Wheelbite =O

Wheelbite, a scary word, is when the longboard deck you are riding on comes into contact with the spinning wheel, causing friction and ultimately loss of your skin and/or pride.