Longboarding
Longboarding is an offshoot of street skating, but, like all board sports, its roots lie in surfing. Developed as a single sport on the west coast in the 1950s, by the 1990s, Longboards and Skateboards branched off into their respective disciplines. With the right setup, a longboard can give the feeling of surfing on hard smooth surfaces. There are a variety of riding styles: downhill, cruising and carving, slalom, dancing, freeriding, vert and sliding.[citation needed]
A longboard generally can be as short or as long as the rider desires; the most popular range is about 36 to 60 inches. As well as being usually longer than a standard skateboard, longboards may also be equipped with larger, softer wheels which afford a smoother ride. However, there are many different uses for longboards, as shown below. Since longboards use softer bushings than a typical tech skateboard, carving is generally easier. Some trucks use springs instead of bushings, such as Seismic trucks or Original trucks. Original trucks also feature a wave-cam mechanism to control the lean and turn of the truck. The truck can usually be slightly wider than the board but this is not always the case.
[edit]Transportation
The most basic use of a longboard is travel. Commuter designs take many different shapes, including long, wide cruisers as well as shorter hybrid type boards. Their trucks are designed to be loose to allow for sharper turns. It is useful to have a kicktail on a commuting longboard in order to corner on sidewalks and to lift the front of the board when riding off curbs. Also, one may prefer a shorter board, around 24"-35" for commuting, as well as medium sized wheels (65mm-75mm) which help commuters maneuver bumps, cracks and other minor surface obstacles.
Example of longboarding
[edit]Slalom
Slaloming is the act of weaving in and out of a line of obstacles. Riders often compete for the best time but pedestrian slalom (usually referred to as civilian slalom because of the
A longboard generally can be as short or as long as the rider desires; the most popular range is about 36 to 60 inches. As well as being usually longer than a standard skateboard, longboards may also be equipped with larger, softer wheels which afford a smoother ride. However, there are many different uses for longboards, as shown below. Since longboards use softer bushings than a typical tech skateboard, carving is generally easier. Some trucks use springs instead of bushings, such as Seismic trucks or Original trucks. Original trucks also feature a wave-cam mechanism to control the lean and turn of the truck. The truck can usually be slightly wider than the board but this is not always the case.
[edit]Transportation
The most basic use of a longboard is travel. Commuter designs take many different shapes, including long, wide cruisers as well as shorter hybrid type boards. Their trucks are designed to be loose to allow for sharper turns. It is useful to have a kicktail on a commuting longboard in order to corner on sidewalks and to lift the front of the board when riding off curbs. Also, one may prefer a shorter board, around 24"-35" for commuting, as well as medium sized wheels (65mm-75mm) which help commuters maneuver bumps, cracks and other minor surface obstacles.
Example of longboarding
[edit]Slalom
Slaloming is the act of weaving in and out of a line of obstacles. Riders often compete for the best time but pedestrian slalom (usually referred to as civilian slalom because of the