Longboard Decks – Types of Longboard

Each deck is made out of maple, birch, or bamboo wood. There are many different shapes of decks of a longboard. Decks can have advantages and disadvantages to each other. For the most part though, it’s pretty balanced.

• Drop-Deck

Drop-decks are probably the most common shape of a longboard. The tips of the drop-deck shape are cut out so wheels won’t be able to touch the board. Elevation of this deck is relatively low, making it able to travel at a higher speed. Usually the drop-deck is great for going downhill or to just race. The bad thing about having the drop-deck shape is that the board is too low and may cause the board to not be able to run through objects such as a speed bump. At times the board will grind on the speed bump causing the rider to potentially trip and fall.

• Pintail

Pintail decks are also quite common to see. Although the deck isn’t in a great shape, this board is still used often for beginners. Often times you’ll see beginners ride this type of deck because of how easy it is to ride. However if the ride turns sharp enough, the deck and the wheel may make contact and as a result the board will stop and the rider can potentially fall.

• Hybrid

Hybrid decks are perhaps the ones that are the most similar to a skateboard. Although it looks like a skateboard, it is still long and not ideal to do skateboard tricks on it. When riding on it, you can still think of it as riding a skateboard, the only difference would be that the hybrid deck is more flexible.

• Cruiser

Cruiser decks are sometimes called kicktail decks. That means the back end of the board is bent upwards like how a skateboard is bent upwards to do tricks. The front end is like a pintail deck because its tip is also tipped.

Although there are several different decks of a longboard, all decks can all be used for the same purpose – to cruise around. Really there isn’t any significant difference between them and there aren’t big advantages for either of them.

Longboard Trucks

Trucks are the metal part that holds the wheels and the deck together. Some trucks come in different width and style. The trucks are controlled by the rider pushing to the direction he or she chooses to go. Width of the trucks will affect the performance of the board. Wider trucks mean it’s more stable but not able to turn as quickly while narrower trucks can turn quickly but are less stable. Popular brands such as Gullwing, Randal, and Paris 180s are all good.

Longboard Bushings

Bushings are very small pieces that go inside the trucks that are crucial while turning. They are usually made out of polyurethane materials and have different hardness. Harder bushings aren’t able to turn as well but have more stability. Softer bushings are able to turn a lot quicker but they are not stable and require more balance while riding.

For example, even if a wide truck is bought but it came with soft bushings, it will probably be more towards quick at turning rather than being more stable. Bushings are a key and affect more than trucks do even though bushings are just a small polyurethane piece. Due to the small market of bushings, there really aren’t many good ones at all. The best brand would be Khiro Bushings because they have a wide variety of hardness on their bushings.

Longboard Risers

Risers are not the most significant part on a longboard. The whole point of risers is to make sure the wheels don’t touch the deck. Most risers are usually made out of plastic. A benefit of having risers is that it increases the durability of the deck. Most risers are pretty good regardless of the brand because they don’t affect the longboard that much. Not necessarily every set of trucks come with risers but most do. Note that it’s not necessary to have risers but you may get wheelbite if you don’t have them.

Longboard Bearings

Bearings are an important part if you want to ride at a consistent speed. They are made out of steel, titanium, and ceramics. The most common bearings are the ABEC bearings. ABEC bearings have ratings on them from 1 to 13 using odd numbers. Higher numbers mean it is smoother and the wheels will spin longer. Bearings made by other companies have their own ways of having smooth and long lasting spins on wheels.

Longboard Wheels

Wheels are the most basic and the most significant part on a longboard. There are many different sizes of wheels for a longboard ranging from 65 to 107 mm. Although big wheels won’t accelerate as well, they have a slower rolling speed. Small wheels have quick acceleration but won’t have fast rolling speed. Soft wheels are actually slower than harder wheels but have more grips. The average width of a wheel is between 40-56 mm wide. There are different shapes of a longboard wheel. The shapes are center-set wheels, side-set wheels, and offset wheels.

• Center-Set Wheels

Center-set wheels look exactly like a skateboard’s wheels. It has the most grips out of all the wheels. One thing to mention about center-set wheels is that it is symmetrical, meaning if you flip the wheels, it will still fit perfectly and ride normally.

• Side-Set Wheels

Side-set wheels are very similar to center-set wheels but have a bigger hole in the middle. This type of wheel has nothing special in particular and is an average wheel with no upsides or downsides.

• Offset Wheels

Offset wheels are the most common types of wheels. The wheels start denting to make a deep hole in the middle of the wheel. There are fewer grips in this type of wheel; however, it is easier to slide with because it’s able to move around more freely than the other wheels.

Taking Care of Your Longboard

You don’t have to treat your longboard like it’s a baby but you do have to maintain it every once in awhile. Other than the basics such as wiping your deck, wheels, and trucks, you should also clean your bearings. In order to clean your bearings, you open the bearings and drop a couple of lubricate oil (preferentially from Bones). After that you spin your bearings and then let it dry. Once it’s dry, you have successfully cleaned your bearings. This cleans the inside of the bearings as well as helps you get a fast and smooth ride.

You may also help make your trucks not as squeaky by putting lubricate oil inside of it. To go inside the trucks, you open it up and remove everything on it. The hole where you put your drops of lubricate oil should be where your risers are. Just like the bearings, you put about 3 to 4 drops of lubricate oil then you’re done. Cleaning the inside of your trucks not only prevents it from being dirty, but it can also make your trucks turn sharper and when it turns it’s quiet and smooth.

If you often ride your longboard, you may want to consider changing your bushings every once in awhile. After several months of riding your bushings, they will start to wear and tear. What I mean by that is the bushings will start to chip off and they could potentially change how the longboard turns. There is no way of cleaning your bushings because like I said, it will still chip off.

One thing that is absolutely important to know is the fact that you should try not to ride when there is wet floor. When you ride your longboard when the floor is wet, your bearings could potentially get damaged. Bearings should never touch water because the inside of it will get rusty, which will definitely affect the way your bearings spin and damages the durability significantly. The same goes for your trucks as it will have the same effect as the bearings. If you follow all these guidelines then you should have no problem with your longboard.

Longboard Tricks

It’s not impossible to do tricks with a longboard, it’s just they are not the same tricks as a skateboard. Though a lot of the tricks are somewhat similar, a longboard is still unique in it’s own way.

• Carving

Carving is perhaps the easiest trick possible and can be done on any longboard. In order to carve, while the board is moving in a straight motion, move your board like you’re doing a wavy motion. You don’t necessarily have to go too fast. You just have to go from side to side. This trick is pretty enjoyable and many people find it relaxing and it’s simple to perform.

• Pumping

Pumping is nearly identical to carving. The only difference would be that pumping is faster than carving and the wavy motion is smaller. The speed of how fast you pump is as fast as doing high knees when you’re working out. It’s not that difficult but if you pump for a while, it becomes faster and you may have to use more balance than usual.

• Sliding

Sliding is another common trick performed but it isn’t as easy as carving or pumping. Often times when you see people sliding, you will see a lot of them falling and tripping. It looks simple because all you do is you push your front feet to the side. But because of how difficult it is to slide your board, often times your board won’t slide and you’ll end up pushing yourself off the board or sometimes the board will slide a little and with the amount of power you put sliding, you’ll still end up falling.

There are many more tricks to longboarding; however, these three are just the most common ones you’ll see. Sliding can be done but it takes a lot of practice. Carving and pumping can be done by anyone and it only takes minutes for someone to master it. In fact, most longboard tricks only require balances. If you have good balance then you’ll be able to do a lot of tricks easily.

Longboard Sliding

Equipment

You should definitely wear the right longboard gear or equipments. Always wear a helmet because you never know what situation can happen and you don’t want your head to be fractured or have visual problems. If you are facing forward and you wear a helmet, your eyes can be protected because of the tip of the helmet being wide. Also wear sliding gloves, elbow pads, and knee pads if you attempt sliding. Failure of sliding may result in grinding on your hands, knees, or elbows which hurt and your skin may peel off if it’s serious enough. The cheapest equipment is to just wear long sleeves and long pants. It’s not the best protection but if you do fall, your skin will not directly make contact with the ground or whatever you fell on.

It’s important to have the parts that suit you when riding because if you get a part that isn’t necessarily what you want, your riding experience may feel different than you expect and it can be caused by a minor part like bushings. Also be sure to wear a longboard helmet in case your board trips over a rock and you fall down. Make sure you ride somewhere people and cars won’t come in and out often. Your longboard experience would be a lot better if you have somewhere not many people are around and it’s smooth to ride on. It’s best to ride on a clean road so you get the best ride possible.