My new summer ride..

[bri_guy]

I'm so happy I thought I had to share...

Here is my new summer ride...

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/orangeprince/4539916774/" title="The Completion! by brianwolk, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2720/4539916774_ef0fdc7952.jpg" width="333" height="500" alt="The Completion!" /></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/orangeprince/4539916744/" title="The Completed Longboard by brianwolk, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2804/4539916744_2b4ef1d52b.jpg" width="333" height="500" alt="The Completed Longboard" /></a>

The longboarding scene in Toronto has really exploded lately it seems, and I figured after a great winter of skiboarding, I wanted a summer obsession. Toronto's "worse than L.A." traffic (actual quote) makes it a pain in the ass to drive, and our lack of bike lanes makes it a dangerous place to share the road with cars. All this is helping to make longboarding extremely popular.

For those who are interested, here are a few links:
http://www.longboardliving.ca/ (specifically to Toronto area)
http://www.landyachtz.com/D25.cfm?place=1 (different types of boards)
...and just a fun video :).. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkviQ41u0eQ

[koneco]

I've been looking to get into longboarding as well. That looks to be a downhill/carving board for more advanced riders, but I don't know anything about anything, so please let me know how it works for you. I'd say I'm intermediate, though I haven't skated in freaking years, and I'm just looking to cruise around town, which will include the occasional downhill. I was looking at some of the Sector 9 bamboo boards, but they were styled pretty traditionally (wheelbite IS possible), so I dunno. Plus, I am broke, and boards are typically 120 - 160 from what I've seen.

[bri_guy]

The board I got is actually more of a cruiser (flat deck) but with wheel positioning of a downhill. Here is the top view (me holding it):
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_XWB6qq30mc0/S8yUxUg5JDI/AAAAAAAABjs/NupmI3WnMDA/s1600/P1060175.JPG

I'm a beginning and I'm definitely not doing any downhills with it, but I really like this shape. It's also fairly low to the ground which is important to me.

Sector 9 boards seem a bit commercialized, but for all I know they'd be okay. I see you're from NH but I would recommend you contact Ryan at Longboard Living in Toronto (where I got mine) and he might be able to give you some tips on what to look for, at longboardliving@gmail.com.

[Dave Bloom]

Longboarding is way fun for sure. I've been doing it up for a long time and love it most along boardwalks at the beach. An early morning beachside cruise at sunrise to get a coffee and bagel just may be my favorite summer morning activity. Kinda makes me long for that salty air.

[nate]

I just got my first longboard today. A lot of fun so far. I got a Kracked Skulls M1. From what I gleaned online before my purchase it's a pretty solid beginner board. Came with nicer hardware than your average Sector9 board but similar price (mine was $150 shipped). Nice and low for pushing.

http://hphotos-sjc1.fbcdn.net/hs591.snc3/31171_1347755548045_1656026944_848267_3300319_n.jp g

[ElkCloner]

I've wanted to longboard for so long, but the nearest sidewalks are a 15 minute drive away. :(

[bri_guy]

15 minutes? What kind of place do you live at? Are there any seldom-used roads nearby? :D

[ElkCloner]

15 minutes? What kind of place do you live at? Are there any seldom-used roads nearby? :D

My driveway

2247

[bri_guy]

Dude are you kidding me??? That driveway kicks ass for practicing!!!! I'm so jealous......

[nate]

kinda looks like gravel to me.

[ElkCloner]

Dude are you kidding me??? That driveway kicks ass for practicing!!!! I'm so jealous......

My driveway is on the left, the road keeps going
2248


I've hit 40mph on my bicycle on that hill. Too much loose gravel, and 2ft deep ditches on the side.

[ElkCloner]

kinda looks like gravel to me.

tar and chip sprinkled with pebbles

[bri_guy]

Ah that makes sense. In the pics it looks more like old pavement. Rough but solid.

[ElkCloner]

Ah that makes sense. In the pics it looks more like old pavement. Rough but solid.

Fairly new actually, lol (6 years I think)

Anyhow, I haven't been able to justify purchasing a longboard when I don't know how often I'll get to use it. But I might get one anyhow.

[bri_guy]

Dooo it! You'll find ways to use it more often :P

[nate]

I just got back from skating a local parking garage. Soo much fun to just cruise and carve down and then just ride the elevator back up. After a while I got my friend to come over and bring my shortboard so we could both have something to ride. The shortboard was reallly not much fun at all, but it only took 1 run on the longboard to have him hooked on it (his first time on a longboard at all). Now I just need him to buy his own longboard...

[bri_guy]

A short board is how I learned to balance, and even to ride in the first place (not even too long ago--maybe 2 months at the most). But everything I didn't like about a short board was "fixed" with my longboard-- longer wheelbase (no wheel bite), easier to balance, no kicktails so no risk of doing accidental wheelies/ollies (this is a con for people who like the park), wider base, bigger (more) "sweet spots", better flex for carving/steering.

It almost makes me want to try snowboarding! ;)

[nate]

Yea I definitely still like my shortboard for messing around and ollieing and tricks, but it's such a harsh ride compared to my longboard. Before I got my longboard I was using it for transportation too, but now I wouldn't think about going back, the rides is just sooo sweet with big wheels and a nice flexy deck.

[Dave Bloom]

I feel you guys on loving the longboards. But, this summer I'm strapping back on my eight wheels and gettin' silly for sure.

[nate]

I just wanted to bring this thread back up cause I'm loving longboarding more than ever. Getting into sliding and hills and it's soo much fun. For the moment I'm not missing winter at all.
When I got it I had seen vids and stuff of Downhill and sliding, but figured that wouldn't be for me. And cruising is definitely fun and worth having a board just for that. I use it for commuting all the time. But sliding opens up a whole new world of fun. Great to just go out with a friend a ride a hill for a couple hours.
A couple shots from the other day learning some new stuff.
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs574.snc3/31331_1385475331016_1656026944_930441_3041265_n.jp g
http://hphotos-snc3.fbcdn.net/hs594.snc3/31331_1387449420367_1656026944_935484_5603319_n.jp g

[kx125rider1313]

I dont know if you guys have heard of HAMBOARDS taking about long boards those things are loooonnnnggggg!!! These things are 80" long and have like 14" wide trucks on them. They look like a lot of fun. I ride a Barfoot board with revenge trucks. I love that thing its 47" long and the replica of and old harbor surfboard. I also ride a vintage 1973 Dewey Weber woody its a shorty tho at 27" and only 6" wide. I reconditioned it by re varnishing it and then getting new Bennett Vector trucks and 3DM wheels.

Here is a link to the hamboards site
http://www.hamboards.com/_product_63954/Blue_Classic

and a link to my barfoot board
http://www.barfoot.com/detail.html?cart=1275715502137612&s=SLHTHARBOUR

[bri_guy]

@kx125rider1313: I've seen boards that long at my local shop, but I didn't know what they were called up until now! They look insane! How do they handle?

My board is 42" with Paris trucks, and my wife just got her hands on a Kebbek drop deck with a drop-through truck mount (a double-drop is apparently pretty rare nowadays but she loves being so close to the ground).

Your Barefoot board is sweet looking! I absolutely love that design! Do you ever get any wheel bite with a design like that?

@Nate: I'd love to learn to do tricks like that, but I don't even know where to start! Getting over the fear of falling might be a good first step! And I still need to learn to STOP properly!

On a side note, I think it's ironic that we ride long boards and short skis. I suspect I'll just enjoy anything below my feet that's around 103-106 cm long :)

[nate]

silverfishlongboarding.com is a great resource. More info there than you cuold ever ask for.

But briefly. First learn to footbrake. It's pretty straightforward, just lower your foot to the ground and apply pressure. Just takes practice to get comfortable doing it at speed and to be able to steer while you're braking. It's the most important skill (imo) for general cruising.

As soon as you start doing hills, however, you're going to need something with a bit more braking power. This is where sliding comes in. Even if you don't want to slide just for the heck of it (you will), you're going to want (need) to learn it if you're going to start riding any big hills.

To start sliding you're going to want a few things.
1. Slide gloves. Link (http://www.silverfishlongboarding.com/forum/skateboard-sliding/42925-definitive-slide-gloves-thread.html) This thread has more info than you could ever wish for on making or buying. But basically get some corian tile samples at home depot or a cutting board at target and glue to palms of gloves.
2. Helmet. Ride safe.
3. A road. My preferred way to learn new slides is on a wet patch of road. (as in above pics) That's convientely just at my house, it's a very slight hill. I just hosed down a spot 30ft long or so. It makes it a lot easier to get the slide going, especially if you're on soft wheels. Not too wet so you don't get your bearings all rusty. Just after it rains works too.

So now you have what you need. Next it's just getting out there and trying things. There's 101 tutorials and instructions on sliding on silverfish and on google. A great one to start with is a 'Coleman slide' google it and there's a bunch of step by step directions.

Ask if you have any more questions. Go out and ride :)

[ElkCloner]

Argh. Want.

Been reading reviews, a Kracked Skull does seem to be one of the best $150 boards out there.

And Nate, I spotted you on silverfish. How long did it take to get the activation email for your account?

[nate]

I got it immediately.
And yea. I haven't found a better board in the price range. $50 is pretty fantastic for a quality deck.

I've been lusting over the Landyachtz Switch.
http://www.daddiesboardshop.com/images/switch_0.gif
The drop deck just appeals to me for sliding cause I find my feet sometime slip while sliding my M1. And it looks freakin sweet.
But then I realized I'm a pretty capable builder and I have all sorts of material leftover from skibuilding. So.
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs338.snc3/29531_1391745367763_1656026944_948153_3668139_n.jp g
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=51400&id=1656026944&l=98895218e6
Foam core, Fiberglass and Carbon fiber.
We'll see how things go.

[ElkCloner]

Hm, it's been 6 hours, haven't gotten it yet. Argh.



But yeah, I'm inches from getting a KS. Did you do the grip yourself?

[nate]

Yea. Don't get the quartz grip I've heard it's not very good.

[EmptiMind]

Wear a helmet! I'm just recovering from a TBI that I got in March from Longboarding.

I've got six boards.

Landy DH Race named Zooey
Clutch Deeznutz named Ayanami (She's the one who tried to kill me)
Comet FSM named Lilith
EW Corchia named Marla
Arbor Blunt named Savannah
and a Rogers Bros RB30 named Delaney

I've also got a drawer full of trucks and wheels. Think I've got 12 sets of wheels now, and 5 pairs of trucks without homes.

[nate]

Ha, I'd been wondering if you were still around emptimind. I remember when you were first posting about getting into and addicted to longboarding. At the time it sounded crazy but now I'm falling in.

You have quite a nice quiver. I'm jealous.
Anyways, glad you're you're recovering ok, ride safe :)

ps. If you're looking to sell a pair of trucks let me know. ;)

[EmptiMind]

What're you looking for? I think I have an extra set of Crails, a few Randals, some Indys and a set of Paris. But I'd have to recheck. My boards are more or less setup how I want them.

[nate]

Not positive yet, we'll see how this board I'm building turns out. But probably some Randals would be good. Though I've heard Indys are super fun and a nice change from Reverse KP so I've been thinking of trying that out.

[EmptiMind]

Indys are great, I love them on my Comet FSM. That's my all-purpose/slide/other-stupid-stuff board. For downhill, I wouldn't recommend an Indy type truck. Reverse Kingpin is much better.

Also, they're pretty short. I don't think they'd work well on your drop design, you'll probably end up getting a bit of rail bite.

Here's my stuff.

http://www.silverfishlongboarding.com/forum/members/emptimind-albums-skate-stuff-picture3490-more-recent-stuff-more-organized.jpg

Left to right, Zooey, Lilith, and Marla.
http://www.silverfishlongboarding.com/forum/members/emptimind-albums-skate-stuff-picture3518-savvy-lilith-marla.jpg

Savvy
http://www.silverfishlongboarding.com/forum/members/emptimind-albums-skate-stuff-picture3489-savannah-she-run-over-still-alive.jpg

How Zooey used to look.
http://www.silverfishlongboarding.com/forum/members/emptimind-albums-skate-stuff-picture3487-zooey-shes-got-lot-more-battle-scars-since-i-started-using-her-freeride.jpg

How Zooey looks now.
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/hs326.ash1/28455_1318243601279_1386430978_726133_5460880_n.jp g

A picture of everyone, besides Savvy, she's hiding.
Left to right, Zooey, Lilith, Ayanami, Marla, and Delaney.
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs316.snc3/28455_1318244001289_1386430978_726134_328769_n.jpg

[nate]

Haha very nice indeed. Dropped indys must be super low.

I'd be tempted to switch to indys on my M1 and then move my randals to the drop deck.

[EmptiMind]

I own more Randals than anything else, not only cause they're cheap, but they're quality.

[nate]

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs055.ash2/36092_1405271785915_1656026944_982208_2161260_n.jp g
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs115.snc4/36092_1405541712663_1656026944_982725_4784642_n.jp g
<object width="400" height="300" ><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="movie" value="http://www.facebook.com/v/1405528672337" /><embed src="http://www.facebook.com/v/1405528672337" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="300"></embed></object>

So my new longboard is (was) finished. Super fun, but it started to break at the drops. So now it's back under the knife. (meaning more carbon fiber at the weak spots) But I love the drops, so easy to lock yourself against them. Only other problem is not quite what I had expected. Railbite is definitely not an issue, but I'm getting wheelbite even with my <70mm wheels. I was hoping to be able to run some bigger wheels (maybe Hesher Snoballs) but I'll have to reconsider.

And my wheels are getting a little flat-spotted/ovaled. 70mm Flashbacks at about 59mm now.

Anyways, longboarding is fun. :D

[EmptiMind]

Hah, I hardly have any wheels less than 70mm. My drop decks are running 90mm and 80mm wheels. That's the BENEFIT of a drop deck. Might've made the necks too wide, or too short.

[nate]

Haha yea. The nose is too short. Plus the deck is over an inch thick. So that eats up some clearance. Oh well live and learn.

[EmptiMind]

Yeah, both my drops are thick. They're tanks, but man, walking back up hills really sucks. One weighs about 25lbs fully setup. With my bum knee and my normal 1 to 1 and a half mile hills. I go down twice if I don't have a ride, then I hibernate for three days.

[Greco]

ultimate longboard...

<embed src="http://video.mpora.com/p/XNaFqAsS5" width="680" height="515" allowfullscreen="true"></embed>

[Dave Bloom]

That was one of the coolest things I have ever seen.

[EmptiMind]

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs034.snc4/34063_1337463841773_1386430978_772641_7861632_n.jp g

New board, no name yet. Thinking Envy.

[nate]

Envy would be a great name, really good looking board. Suprised to not see some Indys on it though.

I got some 215's and put them on my M1 dropped. Needs some modifications though, no wheelbite, but hangarbite. Thinking about making some hangar-wells haha. Not close to wheelbite at all really. Also got some of the new Earthwing wheels. 70mm Floaters. Seem pretty nice so far.

[EmptiMind]

This is a freestyle fast board. I've already got a freestyle slow board. Plus, I'm out of 215s. :P

I'm getting wheel bite, I'll need to make its neck longer.

How you liking the 215s? Awesome, eh?

[nate]

Yea, but I don't really like the stock bushings. Need to play with them a bit. What do you like in yours? Do you mod the kingpin for taller bushings?

[EmptiMind]

I've got a Core baseplate. So I can get real busihings in there.

[nate]

I'm not sure what I think any more. I've got a khrio barrel/cone kit and they fit nicely height-wise. So I tried soft (orange) barrel/cone and wasn't that crazy about it. Now I'm back at stock for the moment. Which I'm actually liking. Feel more stable than my randal setup before. (but I was running super soft bushings). And my ovalled wheels probably didn't help.

[EmptiMind]

It's really what you get used to. Indy base bushings are crap. Khiro isn't that great either. In my opinion. But others will say the opposite.