A start to longboarding

[Zanci]

I will probably buy a loaded board, because they are the cheapest here.

I am very good carver on snow, and was wondering how long will I need to get good? Should I buy a dervish or a vanguard.

Please give me some begginer tips !

Cheers Z ;)

[Puddy Tat]

Thanks for starting this thread. I'm in the same boat.

[Awesomo12000]

It all depends on what you are doing. For just basic carving/cruising/sliding you will be set. But if you want to try DH, things are going to get a little sketchy.

Check out Silverfish Longboarding http://www.silverfishlongboarding.com/forum/index.php#general-longboard-discussion

And some good places to start looking:

http://www.krackedskulls.com/

http://www.raynelongboards.com/

http://www.cometskateboards.com/home/

http://longboardlarry.com/

http://www.rogers-bros.com/

Carving is very easy on a longboard compared to an Alpine Board

And I would personally not buy from loaded and Original.

[Mellow Yellow]

And I would personally not buy from loaded and Original.

Curious... why is that?

[Awesomo12000]

As far as loaded goes, their products are great (including Orangatang wheels), but their boards in my opinion don't feel right. But, many people love them.

Original is an entirely different story. Their quality control is terrible and their boards delaminate like no other. Their trucks are only capable of doing big heavy carves. Take this thing past 25mph and speed wobble hell (because of the non-standard spring design). Sure, if you want to have a carving board that delams more than usual and gets terrible stability, go with Original.

Aside from all that.... some tips :D

1. Helmet, trust me on this one.

2. Gloves, preferability Slide gloves http://silverfishlongboarding.com/forum/skateboard-sliding/42925-definitive-slide-gloves-thread.html

3. Learn to coleman slide/toeslide http://silverfishlongboarding.com/forum/skateboard-sliding/147794-sliding-dummies.html

Now for trucks:

Paris and Randal are great beginning trucks.

Wheels:

Abec 11 and Orangatang are good starts, 83a is a good grip to slide ratio haha. Higher the higher the durometer is, the harder the urathane is.

Bearings:

Dont listen to all the "SUPER EXPENSIVE=FAST"

Just about any properly maintained bearing will go just as fast.

Bones Reds are a good start

lastly Bushings:

Bushings also have durometer ratings but dont worry about bushings until you get the feel of your stock bushings.

[BlueB]

For most similarity to alpine carving, look into following disciplines:

LDP (long distance pumping), or simply pumping;

Slalom;

Carving.

A biggger slalom board would let you do all 3 of above, with great success. Narrower trucks work better. Randal or Seismic for the rear, Bennett for the front. Square lipped wheels, about 70mm, like ZigZags. You'll need some wedged risers too. Bunch of bushings of variable duros, eventually.

And yes, helmet, gloves (minimum safety), probably, knee, ankle and wrist guards too. Learn the stopping AND falling techniques.

Downhill is an adrenaline rush, but very little in common with alpine...

Both Dervish and Vanguard are too flexy, for just about anything but longboard tricks

[Zanci]

http://www.sickboards.nl/completes-c-37.html

which one do you suggest?

[Awesomo12000]

http://www.sickboards.nl/completes-c-37.html

which one do you suggest?

http://www.sickboards.nl/slalom-special-complete-p-862.html ?

Im not sure what you mean, you have one slalom board picked out, then an entire page of boards haha.

[Zanci]

Oops, silly me. :p

I really dont know what to buy, just suggest some boards from the page and then I will choose.

I would like something similar to alpine boarding , so i guess loaded isnt good. Will also probably ride downhill when i get better, so what to buy? :)

[Awesomo12000]

Well thats a hard choice... For now I wouldn't worry so much about DH. Because DH on a slalom board is pretty scary. The slalom board you had seems like a nice setup for now if you wanted more of an alpine feel.

[Emdee406]

As someone who does both, an option that might work for you is more of a GS/Ditch board. Something like this:

http://www.sk8kings.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=S&Product_Code=SK8KINGS060&Category_Code=C

Which would give you a turny set up that is pretty stable at the same time.

[Peti]

Thanks, Zanci for starting this thread, and thanks guys for your answers so far.

I´m looking for some summer sport, which is similar to alpine carving and I thought, longboarding is the one, I should try.

So please can someone give some approximate figures for a longboard, which is most suitable for summer carving, if this is possible. This way, maybe the decision is easier for a beginner. I´ve read already through a lot of sites on the net, but in contrast to winter carving there are (luckily) a lot of companies that offer longboard stuff for summer. I am a bit confused now...

I thought about figures for

- boardflex (I know its difficult to describe the boardflex in figures, maybe softer or stiffer is enough)

- boardwidth

- boardlength

- wheelbase

- concave

- camber

- truckwidth (is this term correct?)

- wheels (stiffness, width, diameter)

Should I care of these figures as a beginner anyway?

Thanks again

[Zanci]

I still like the loaded vanguard, seems like the perfect ride for everything?

Ok, lets forget downhill for this year. Slalom pumping looks good, love doing it on snow , but the vanguard seems a lot more casual ride that you can still pump well and do some sliding.

I am 71 kg, which flex to go if I choose this?

I would also consider buying a full slalom board, but they are hard to get in europe and I would like to get the board in a complete, so I dont need to put it together.

Can someone give me some links where to buy in europe slalom boards?

[BlueB]

+1 on that maximus from Sk8Kings. It would be an awsome do-it-all board. Pretty sure one could do some technical DH on it, too. The Skennett/Skandal combo shown in the pic is way better then standard RTX/RTS trucks. Or you could opt for wider trucks and just go plain Randal 125 and Bennett 5.0, for more all-round feel - it would save few $ too.

In EU, search for GOG trucks and Pawel boards (same company). It's the Kessler of slalom boards (or should I say Sense? ;) )! Very pricy, but as good as it gets.

Also, monitor slalom skate association classifieds, here:

http://www.slalomskateboarder.com/phpBB/viewforum.php?f=94

Lots of Euro guys on board.

[Gecko]

If you are gonna buy a Loaded look at the Bhangra its the most stable of all their boards good for carving and capable of going fast unlike the Dervish/Vanguard.

[BlueB]

Very flexy boards

[Zanci]

+1 on that maximus from Sk8Kings. It would be an awsome do-it-all board. Pretty sure one could do some technical DH on it, too. The Skennett/Skandal combo shown in the pic is way better then standard RTX/RTS trucks. Or you could opt for wider trucks and just go plain Randal 125 and Bennett 5.0, for more all-round feel - it would save few $ too.

In EU, search for GOG trucks and Pawel boards (same company). It's the Kessler of slalom boards (or should I say Sense? ;) )! Very pricy, but as good as it gets.

Also, monitor slalom skate association classifieds, here:

http://www.slalomskateboarder.com/phpBB/viewforum.php?f=94

Lots of Euro guys on board.

http://www.sickboards.nl/slalom-special-complete-p-862.html

Is this the same board Emdee406 linked?

Cause its almost 150 euros more expensive than the linked one... :rolleyes:

BlueB: I dont want to spend too much on the board since im a begginer

And would rather buy as a complete, so I dont need to put it together.

[BlueB]

Yeah, that's understendable, and better.

Same brand as emedee's, shorter board and less good front truck.

Check also this place:

http://www.longboardshop.de/shop/index.php?language=en

[Zanci]

SK8KINGS038 <b> SLALOM COMPLETE -- AXE II ORIGINAL-NOSE --

OustMaint: NO RaceDayBushings: No RIDER-WEIGHT: 200 AltBushingCombo: No AXE-ARMY-SHIRT-SS: No-Thanks WheelUpgrade: BigZigGB$11.00 $11.00 AA-Tee-LS: None UpgradeFrontTruck: NoThanks RearTruckUpG: NoThanks BearingUpgrade: Oust7$20.00 $20.00 CHOOSE-WB: 20inch Color: Racy-Red

Tpalka is offering me this board.

Hmm, my weight is 72kgs.

Would the board be too stiff?

Tell your opinion please. :)

[BlueB]

It has more to do with bushings then the board flex. Board, even if 0 flex, will still work, even better for some applications. However, bushings set for 200 pounder will not quite work for 160 lbs begginer. They are cheap enough to replace, though.

[xy9ine]

i'm also a new longboarder. i've got a rayne nemesis. i really like the drop deck nemmy, as it's low to the ground (easy pushing & footbraking), and has built in foot stops so you're not getting front footbite, or whatever its called (ie stepping on your front wheels & getting tossed). also locks your feet in for sliding sheenanigans. i've also got a rayne hustler; too flexy & feels tall in comparison (drop thru deck).

as far as trucks go, i really like indys for carving; the reverse kingpins i've tried (randal & bear) just feel dead. the indys have a nice progressiveness; almost springy 'pop' that, in conjunction w/ the drop deck feels nicely snowboardesque for carving.

also fond of orangatang purple durians; soft riding & grippy, yet with a nice predictable, relatively easy slide (though i'm a total newb at this).

[Emdee406]

SK8KINGS038 <b> SLALOM COMPLETE -- AXE II ORIGINAL-NOSE --

OustMaint: NO RaceDayBushings: No RIDER-WEIGHT: 200 AltBushingCombo: No AXE-ARMY-SHIRT-SS: No-Thanks WheelUpgrade: BigZigGB$11.00 $11.00 AA-Tee-LS: None UpgradeFrontTruck: NoThanks RearTruckUpG: NoThanks BearingUpgrade: Oust7$20.00 $20.00 CHOOSE-WB: 20inch Color: Racy-Red

Tpalka is offering me this board.

Hmm, my weight is 72kgs.

Would the board be too stiff?

Tell your opinion please. :)

You will be fine, these boards don't actually flex and their quickness of response comes from the lack of flex! However this is more of a loose slalom/tight hybrid wheelbase so not as good for long radius turns, like buying a 165-170cm alpine board. Blue is right, bushings make a huge difference, try stiffer in the rear to deaden the rear and soft in the front(for slalom) or both the same for GS. Shape to makes a difference, barrel shaped bushings for rebound, conicals for a looser ankle-turny style. Khiro do a huge range. Hope this helps.

[tekkheadd]

Hey all. I just got this board for crusin' around.

I love it so far. Still getting used to riding a deck again. its been nearly 20years!

i'm not all that stable yet going down small hills but on the flats and low pitch hills i feel like it carves rather well. I feel like the bushings could be harder but i'm going to wait on that till i have a few more days on them.

Wheels are 87a's and are very gripy even in the wet as we havn't had many dry days since i got the deck. I went ahead and ordered some 97a's (which i understand are super hard) so i can get used to sliding again.

girlfriend's mama glad i just had my 14th birthday..