Ok, a lot of people have been making posts regarding what longboard they should get. If you have a question, post it in this thread. It will save bandwith and also leave more room for actual longboarding threads.

Now, the FAQ!

What is the difference between a longboard and a normal skateboard?
A normal skateboard is obviously much shorter than a longboard and known as a longboard. The differences are mainly obvious. A longboard is harder to control than a smaller board because it is bigger. Shortboards can't carve quite as nice as longboards.

What can you do on a longboard?
You can do whatever you want. Longboards are obviously used for downhilling and going fast. Also, there is a less known style called boardwalking, which resembles freestyle footwork. Videos of this can be found here: http://media.putfile.com/BoardWalking (credit goes to member burkov) and here http://www.whoisadamcolton.com/videoadam.mov (you have to wait about five or ten minutes for it to load, at first it's a blank screen, credit goes to Adam Colton).

You also have downhill sliding, a style popularized by Sergio Ventura, I believe. Basically, this is the science of going down a hill (or going on flat really fast) reaching down and grabbing your board, and performing a bertleman slide like manuever and holding the slide as long as possible. A video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgnFnG7M6GQ of the Brooklyn Slide Contest or whatever will illustrate this style. http://www.ramprage.com/forums/media/data/500/Sliding_My_Life_Away.wmv Also we have a vid from our own member Rustyburrito, son!

Then you have the guys who skate shorter longboards (38" to 42" or so) who ride them like a shortboard. Videos: http://www.crooksusa.com/videos/Parker%20at%20Ho%20Bowl.mov Jesse Parker skating a ditch. http://www.crooksusa.com/videos/parker_at_pala_pipes.mov Jesse Parker skating a fullpipe. http://www.crooksusa.com/videos/brad_at_crow_bowl.mov Brad Edwards skating a pool.
Then finally you have street guys who want a bit more carve in their skate who ride the shorter boards, from 34" to 40" or so. Jesse Parker can kickflip on a 38", and you can do any number of street things on bigger longboards.

What longboard should I get?
It depends on what kind of skating you want to do. If you want transportation, and don't need to ollie up curbs, a nice big plank in the 45 inch range will do you. If you want street, ditch, park, and pool riding, a plank about 36 to 42 inches will do you good. Bombing hills? Any will work nicely, but the bigger the better. Adam Colton style dancing? Get one with lots of flex that's pretty long.

If you have an equipment question POST IT HERE!

Joyous skating!

EDIT NOTE (Necro): Cleaned up the spelling and broke it up into paragraphs.

There are actually many forms of longboarding that are becomign very popular. Cruising, Carving, Downhill, Slalom, and sliding.

Here are some videos that will give you an introduction to the above styles.
Downhill (http://www.nuac.ca/videos/dose%20of%20adrenaline.wmv)

Slalom 1 (http://www.sk8kings.com/new/video/DavidCarrascoSlalomWLAC.htm), 2 (http://www.sk8kings.com/new/video/RichyCarrascoSlalomRacing.htm).

Maybe i'll post other ones later. I must leave.

Great thread Lazerflip, stickied.

~Necro

Oh yeah Lazerflip, when you say "Bombing hills? Any will work nicely, but the bigger the better." I think you are mistaken.

Sure longer boards may be more stable but they are a lot harder to control and don't make very good downhill board. Most downhill organizations don't allow you to race boards over 48".

You also have downhill sliding, a style popularized by Sergio Ventura

His name is Sergio Yuppie.

Also in your first paragraph you say that longboards are harder to control because they are bigger. I and many other people I know find them much easier to control because there is a lot more stability.

Most downhill boards are around 40"

Sorry for the mistaken slider, I didn't remember his name. How stupid of me.

On the other hand, on Silverfish, I believe MalakiKingdom or whoever said that "50 inch and up boards are for seriosu downhilling."

And I have heard some people also say that they find longboards impossible to control.

Hey Rusty,
On your downhill video, what are those bindings on the DH Race deck in the parking lot section? Are they Skyhooks, or does someone else make them? Thanks

That's not my video and it's not a DH race. Yeah they are skyhooks and the board is a Landyachtz RIII. Basically an older model of the Urban Assault. You can't get the board anymore but if you cut the tail off an Urban Assault it's basically the same thing.

Oh yeah and about what MalakaiKingston said, i'm not sure why he would say that because just about every serious downhiller uses boards under 45"

I have a question about longboards.
The one I am thinking about getting is about 20 inches long. Is it still a longboard, even though it isn't long? It is one of those fish board shapes, but it it is short.

Wow lazer flip this was a great thread you came up with there! It seams to come in alot of use

FLM - I personally wouldn't consider that a longboard - I'd call it a cruising board myself. Although you could find some people who would call it a longboard.

~Necro

It would fall on the mini/slalom board category.

I'm starting to look into longboards. I wanna bomb hills and stuff like that. Can anyone suggest any brands and models?

http://www.gravityboard.com/pages/gstore/boards/be40.html This is Brad Edwards model, it's good for all around stuff. You could downhill easily on it, skate ditches and parks, and pop up curbs.

http://www.gravityboard.com/pages/gstore/boards/c43.html This would be good for soem Adam Colton style boardwalking, and good for hill bombing. ALso for pools and ditches, but not as much as the Brad Edwards.

Cheers, hope that helped!

I need to know if you're gonna get speed wobbles because I don't really wanna get into sliding, more like just going down hills as fast as i can.

Speed wobbles are really a mental thing. You can get speed wobbles on any board, but someone else, going faster, won't get speed wobbles.

My advice - start out with small hills and then get bigger and bigger.

~Necro

Don't get the Vrad Edwards if you just want to bomb hills, cruise, or carve. It's more of a park style longboard. I would check out Landyachtz. They have some great downhill boards.

Can anyone point me to some longboard shoes that don't die when you footbrake?

How do you boneless on a longboard? I can't pop my friend's longboard. And can you do tricks like kickflip on a longboard? My friend also said that he's "pro" at doing that.

What are sliding gloves and where do you buy/how do you make em?

How do you boneless on a longboard? I can't pop my friend's longboard. And can you do tricks like kickflip on a longboard? My friend also said that he's "pro" at doing that.


Definetely, Jesse Parker can do high kickflips to fakie in ditches, and he rides a 38".

Bonelesses are the same as on a shortboard. Just reach down, grab, pull up, and bring your foot on and land.

Definetely, Jesse Parker can do high kickflips to fakie in ditches, and he rides a 38".

Bonelesses are the same as on a shortboard. Just reach down, grab, pull up, and bring your foot on and land.

Thanks, my problem is that the board is so long, for me anyways, when I pop, it shoots up and it feels like it's going to hit my face.

How big is it?

What are sliding gloves and where do you buy/how do you make em?


http://www.gravityboard.com/pages/gstore/accessories/hfglove.html

hey guys, i really want to get into downhill sliding and carving... i need help finding equiptment and help on this, so any help would be appricated!

ok, i'm new to longboarding and i'm looking for my first board. I've ridden a sector 9 and liked it but it was a little to flexy for me. I'm 6'1" and about 220 so i need a sturdy board. I'll use it mostly for cruising, maybe eventually downhill. I like the pin tail style and really like the look and specs on the Landyacthz Big Gun and the Da Thug. The thug has a kicktail which i was advised to get if i was using the board for transportation to get on and off curbs. I would rather get the Big Gun because it's a pin and seems to be a pretty good all around board and i don't have any problem using the handicapped sidewalk ramps. Does anyone have suggestions for other boards for big guys? Anyone have any experience on either of these boards? Is the kicktail worth it if i'm not that experinced in boarding anyway? Any help is greatly appreciated.
Thanks

alrite i live in miami so there are no hills whats so ever but i want a longboard just get from point a to b but also since somedays i dont want to go out and try to jump stairs n stuff i just want to cruise whats a good board to start out for this and any other usefull information plz thanks

A lot of boards are good for cruising. I would personally go with something between 35-44". The Insect Dragonfly is a sick board but kinda pricy. You would probably be fine with a complete Landyachtz or Sector 9.

alrite i live in miami so there are no hills whats so ever but i want a longboard just get from point a to b but also since somedays i dont want to go out and try to jump stairs n stuff i just want to cruise whats a good board to start out for this and any other usefull information plz thanks

I think a sector nine would work good for you, and they aren't too expensive

All of you wanting a board but have little cash, just go pick up a nice, old, waterski. The ski has to be wood and be FLAT on the bottom, no camber. You can shape this into a longboard, just use the upturned nose as the tail. It's fun and cheap. Just take your time when drilling the truck holes, make sure they are straight and line up. And they are usually pretty narrow, so you can put street trucks on them. I ride one and go 40+ on it, with small street sized Independents and Abec 11 "No Skoolz" wheels and it works great. It was cheap and fun.

I'd recomend you get Independent trucks though. Ride the best, **** the rest.

i dont live in the states or canada, i am ordering a longskate by mail and dont have any way of trying it out, so i need advice. i got hooked to longskates a couple months ago after i tried a flexy Motion board that a friend of mine had, and i want something similar. i am 6 foot tall, i weigh 172 pounds, and i want a board mainly for transportation around town (but it would be nice if it would also be adequate at mild downhill). now the streets are quite bumpy and with holes in my town, so thats a factor to consider. i was looking at sector9's cosmic series, and came up with two options, the cosmic2 chopes (38') and the supercruiser (46'). has anyone tried these out? are they very flexy or just slightly flexy? are there any other options for similar boards in the market from a diferent company? whats good for me!!???? what size of wheels and which model of trucks should i get? any advice appreciated, thanks.

one newbie question :P i'm gonna buy a board. i tried my friend's longboard, that was useful for transportation.. but when i tried to do some tricks i saw that s impossible..
i want a board for transportation, but at least, i need to do ollies becouse there are many pavings and things that i can't pass without ollies. are longboards very faster than normal skateboards? can i use normal skateboards for transportation like longboards?
so i want a fast board that i can do ollies with :)
i need your ideas, thank you.

Hey im thinkin of gettin a longboard. It would definately be for transportation and downhill. Would these be any good?
http://www.gravityboard.com/pages/gstore/boards/bl36.html
http://www.gravityboard.com/pages/gstore/boards/sn45.html
http://www.gravityboard.com/pages/gstore/boards/be40.html
http://www.thelongboardstore.com/landyachtz/landyachtz_totem_tree_complete.htm
http://www.thelongboardstore.com/landyachtz/landyachtz_evo_eleven_ply_complete.htm

Suggestions would greatly help. PM me if you have any direct suggestions.

Great thread! Thanks alot.

I have a question about longboards.
The one I am thinking about getting is about 20 inches long. Is it still a longboard, even though it isn't long? It is one of those fish board shapes, but it it is short.

No that would be a banana board and i wouldnt go any smaller than 24" which is what im riding and its it still tiny so id go anywere from 24"-30" for a banana board

www.silverfishlongboarding.com

That will answer all your questions. Seriously.

wow i didnt know people had longboards anymore

would 5.0 mid destructos fit a 36' longboard?

You can do tricks on a Longboard but it just doesn't feel the same. Great for carving though, fast..... really fast.:icon_2gun

would 5.0 mid destructos fit a 36' longboard?

Probably, but it depends on the width of the board. 5.0 trucks are good for boards up to about 7.75 inches wide I think.

Hello, i am very VERY new to skateboarding all together(almost a week), so bear with me. I ride this board from "motobilt" or something. its as long as a regular skateboard but its flexible and it has wheels like a longboard. (ask me for pictures if you want to see)

I've been attempting "Pumping." When i attempt to pump, i go really slow and barley go anywhere. my body is moving side to side and my arms are moving also. I also practice by going down a very tiny slope, but still i go no where. I'm not asking for a whole tutorial, but for some advice. Sorry if this type of question doesn't belong to this thread. Thanks for reading this!

Hello, i am very VERY new to skateboarding all together(almost a week), so bear with me. I ride this board from "motobilt" or something. its as long as a regular skateboard but its flexible and it has wheels like a longboard. (ask me for pictures if you want to see)

I've been attempting "Pumping." When i attempt to pump, i go really slow and barley go anywhere. my body is moving side to side and my arms are moving also. I also practice by going down a very tiny slope, but still i go no where. I'm not asking for a whole tutorial, but for some advice. Sorry if this type of question doesn't belong to this thread. Thanks for reading this!

This looks like a pretty good explanation:

http://www.ehow.com/video_2020410_pump-longboard-skateboard.html