Liam Morgan Photo: Dustin Damron/Caliber

GREETINGS LONGBOARDERS!Welcome to the first edition of the Pocket Guide to Longboarding brought to you by ConcreteWave Magazine and S&J Sales. This mini-magazine has been designed especially for thosewho are new to longboarding. If you’ve got questions, we’ve got answers!

Over the past several years, longboarding has exploded in popularity. The reasons aremany, but the bottom line is that longboarding appeals to a huge number of people be-cause anyone can pick up and learn to ride, regardless of age or skill level. A large portionof the growth is due to the advantages of a board while commuting. A longboard has largersofter wheels that will roll longer and smoother, giving a much different ride than a typicalstreet board. The other major advantage is the fact that a longboard is much less bulkythan a bike, meaning it can be taken onto busses, the subway and even into class.

The other areas of the sport that have grown rapidly are downhill andfreeriding. With all the development in gear recently riders are nowdoing things that would have been previously thought impos-sible on a longboard.

As you get better acquainted with the world of long-boarding, you’ll soon discover a wide range of prod-ucts that provide different riding experiences. Weencourage you to try these various setups. Eventu-ally, you’ll find yourself building a quiver of boards.No matter the type of terrain you find yourself on, you’ll have the right board.

Every facet of longboarding is still growing and developing every year; more peopleare jumping on a longer, smoother cruising board, and getting hooked. Enjoy thisguide, and remember to always put safety first. For more information on longboarding,check out concretewavemagazine.com and golongboarding.ca.

stands on) is sunk below the trucks. It’snot to be confused with the drop throughmounting, although creates a similarfeeling by lowering the ride height to helpriders feel locked in. Dropped boards arebetter for pushing because your lower tothe ground and for freeriding becausethey slide longer because of the lowercenter of gravity. A dropped board willstill function great for Downhill too.

What is drop-through mounting?Drop through mounting lowers the rideheight similar to a dropped board but ina different way. A drop through board ismachined out so the trucks mount fromthe top. This is done by separating thehanger from the base plate. You thenmount the base plate into the boardfrom the top, followed by the hangarfrom underneath. Drop through boardstend to come mostly symmetrical inshape so that riders can ride better inswitch. Usually sits around 0.5-1” lowerwhen mounted in a drop through style,

makes the board more driftyand good for sliding.

I want a board that is funto cruise on. What shouldI be looking for?Longboards come in manydifferent shapes and styles,but also different thick-nesses and materials. As ageneral rule if it has a lot offlex, the board was de-signed more to carve andcruise. Flex in the board al-lows for a snappy quickfeeling carve and is greatfor commuting and bob-

bing and weaving betweenpeople on a sidewalk. Most

boards that feature flex are made of bam-boo or a bamboo composite combination.Boards are usually offered with differentlevels of flex, so that it can be tailored tothe person’s weight and preference.

BOARD MATERIALS

Maple - Maple is probably the most com-mon board material right now, becauseof its availability, price and durability.Maple creates a very stiff feeling boardbecause of its rigidity and thickness. Amaple board will also last an extremelylong time and should be able to hold upto even the hardest of skateboarding.

Bamboo - Bamboo is becoming a morecommon board building material in thelongboard world. Bamboo has muchmore flex and resilience than maple.Bamboo boards are more for carving andcruising because they have so much flex.Bamboo is usually used in combinationwith fiberglass to help hold the board to-gether under the stress of a skater. Abamboo board is usually not very thick incomparison to a maple deck, but thiscreates a board which is easier to carryaround when not in use.

Carbon Fiber - Carbon Fiber is the mostexpensive option for a longboard compos-ite, but brings advantages to the table.Carbon boards are very light and usuallyhave foam core to help lighten the weight.Carbon is usually used to wrap anothermedium to make it stronger, a lighterboard makes for a faster push off the startline and makes it easier to move aroundin slides. Carbon Fiber is more for an ex-perienced rider, because it takes time tolearn a board well enough to appreciatethe feel of carbon fiber.

TYPES OF LONGBOARDING

• CARVE/CRUISE/COMMUTECarving and cruising are the most wide-spread forms of longboarding. This ismore about using a longboard as a funway to commute from point A to B ratherthan seeing how fast you can go. Thegreatest thing about carving up the as-phalt with a longboard is that you don’tneed surf, snow or even a lift ticket. Youjust open up your door and go!Recommended Decks: Loaded, Madrid, DregsRecommended Wheels: Orangatang,Lush, Dregs

• FREERIDING/SLIDINGFreeriding takes things up a notch frommerely cruising or carving. Freeridingusually keeps the rider going slower thanstraight bombing a hill. Freeriding isabout flow and style and performingevery type of slide possible. Freerideboards are usually set up to turn a lot,and slide easy. They feature symmetricalshapes most of the time for riding inswitch (riding backwards with tail facingdownhill), and are usually set up withround lip wheels to help the board getsideways. Recommended Decks: Loaded, Comet, KebbekRecommended Wheels: OrangatangFreerides, Cult Classic, Kebbek Libres

• DOWNHILLDownhill racing is about being the firstperson to the bottom of the hill, and en-suring you have a lot of fun doing it. Youneed a deck that is stable at high speedswith no flex. It’s also vital that you wearall safety gear – not just a helmet. Mostserious downhillers have a full leather

suit. For information aboutracing, make sure you visitigsaworldcup.com.Decks we recommend:Kebbek, Comet, LushRecommended Wheels:Cult Death Ray, Kebbek Magnet, Orangatang Stimulus

• SLALOMWhile technically, not alongboard, slalom hascarved out its own placewithin the world of long-boarding. The reason issimple. If you love speedand the feeling of carving with precision,then you’ll enjoy whipping through cones.Slalom has deep roots within skateboard-ing and thanks to cutting edge technol-ogy, there is a whole new generation ofconeheads out there.

FAQ

What is a top mount?The simplest of all mounting styles, theboard just simply sits atop the trucks likeon normal skate deck. The advantages toa top mount come because it keeps theriders weight and feet over the wheels.This allows the rider to have maximumcontrol and leverage over the trucks. Top-mounts have emerged as a trend latelyespecially ones that are smaller and havea shorter wheelbase. Topmounts functionas great downhill race boards because ofthe grip, but people have been using themfor freeride lately which is also popular.

What is a dropped board?A dropped board means the riding plat-form (the part of the deck the rider

WHEEL SHAPE

Wheels that haverounded edgesare usually de-signed as afreeride/slidingbased wheel. Arounded lip al-lows the wheel tobreak sideways intoslides easier whichis what someonewho is interestedin sliding andlearning to slideis looking for.Rounded lips tend tonot be good as a racing wheel becausethe rounded edges don’t promote gripthrough turns.

A rounded lip wheel will work well fora person who is commuting as they don’tneed lots of grip. Wheels that have sharper

edges rather than a smooth round lip areusually designed more for maximum gripand racing. A hard lipped wheel doesn’tbreak traction as easily as its slipperycounterparts. That doesn’t mean thatwheels with hard lips can’t slide or be usedfor freeride. They are just harder to breakinto a slide. Hard lipped wheels are greatfor racers who will know exactly whichmodel and hardness they would like.

WATCH OUT FOR WHEEL BITE!This happens when a turn causes awheel to collide with the board, usuallyresulting in the board suddenly stopping.It’s something that you should test for,before riding any board. There are a fewways to prevent this from happening. Thesimplest is to keep the kingpin tightenough to prevent the hanger from lean-ing far enough for it to bite. The othereasy solution is to have a few risers in be-tween the trucks and deck. You can alsopurchase smaller wheels.

TRUCKS

Longboard trucks are very different thanregular street skating trucks. A Long-board Truck is known as a “reverse king-pin” truck, because the axel is on theother side of the kingpin compared to astandard truck. A longboard truck haslots of lean which creates the deepsmooth feeling carves which longboard-ers crave. Reverse Kingpin trucks are af-fected by many different factors, andknowing which trucks will go good withwhich board and style of riding is the keyto a proper setup.

Hangar WidthWhen selecting which truck is right forwhich board you must first consider acouple things. The first of these is thewidth of the hanger. The hanger width ismeant to be matched to the width of theboard. A 9”wide deck or greater will needa minimum of 180mmm Hanger width.With less hanger width the wheels aremore likely to come into contact with theboard during sharp turns and stop it sud-denly because of wheel bite. Decks thatare not as wide can get away with thesharper turning 150mm trucks as theyare designed more for smaller cruisingboards and minis.

Baseplate AngleBase plate angle also affects the way inwhich a truck will turn; a lower base plateangle will make the truck turn less, while

a higher angle will allow for more turn. A50* Base plate will also make the setupslightly taller than a 40-45* baseplates.

A 50* base plate is the standard forlongboarding, fifty degrees is a great allaround base plate because it turnsenough for cruising but still has somestability for downhill. While a lower anglewill be better for stability because it hasless ability to turn. This works great fordownhill but can take away some of thefun of a board when it doesn’t turnsharply for cruising. Most downhillerswill run a 42* or 44* base plate with a180mm hanger.

WHEELS

The magic of longboarding comes to-gether with the wheels. It’s crucial thatyou utilize the correct wheels, becausethey can make a huge difference in yourriding experiences.

Durometeris a measurement systemfor Urethane that measures its hardness.The lower the number means the softerthe wheel will be. An extremely softwheel will grip the pavement betterthrough turns because the urethane isstickier, although they may roll slightlyslower and not slide as smoothly be-cause they are soft. A hard longboardwheel will be around an 83-86 durome-ter. These wheels will roll faster, gripless, and chatter less in slides. This is be-cause a harder wheel has a higher rollspeed and less rippling in the urethanewhen sliding.

WHAT’S THATSKATEBOARD FOR?

SILVERFISH LONGBOARDING’SGUIDE TO BOARDS AND DISCIPLINESSkateboarding defies definition to many, but if you’re just getting intolongboarding or classic skateboarding, you might be blown away by thevariety of purpose-built styles and construction for skateboards. It’s notall popsicle sticks and teeny wheels, right?! So, here’s a quick and gen-eral guide to the basic categories of boards and the disciplines they’redesigned for. None of this means you can’t skate anything, anywhere, butfor those of you wanting to figure out what all those terms mean in therest of the Buyer’s Guide, here’s a look at the general disciplines andsome iconic shapes and setups you might recognize…

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OK, that’s a quick look at some of the general disciplines and skateboard styles ac-tive within longboarding and classic skateboarding. With experience, you’ll learnhow variations on these themes suit you and your terrain perfectly, but this shouldgive you a great start. If you’d like more information or input, jump on over to SILVERFISH LONGBOARDING.COM. There are forums for “Beginner Q/A” along with discussionareas for each of these disciplines, and much more. By the skaters, for the skaters,it’s the largest online skateboard community on the Internet, and it’s the place to checkin when you’re not out shredding the concrete waves. See you out there!

FREERIDING – a term used to describe any style of skat-ing downhill that includes drifting, sliding, hard carvesand aggressive maneuvers. Any board a skater is com-fortable with that affords the handling and agility canwork for a freeride board. However, the current standardis a bidirectional board with deep wheel wells or cutoutsand often drop-through mounted trucks of either “con-ventional” or “inverted” style. This is the style that varieswith you, but generally involves wheels intended for slid-ing and thrashing, typically 70-76mm in diameter, and78A-89A durometer.

SPEEDBOARDING – the sport of getting down a hill as fastas possible. Standard downhill (or “DH”) decks are rigidfor stability, with moderate concave, no kicktail andlengths typically ranging from 36” to 46”. Inverted-styletrucks are used, in drop-through and top-mount config-urations with wheels 70-100mm in diameter and 78A-89Adurometer. Look for designs intended to eliminate wheel-bite, and prepare to encounter the most exotic of materi-als ranging from maple to monocoque composites.

SLALOM – usually a timed sport that involves avoidingcones either on flat land with small spacing (tight), down-hill with more varied spacing (hybrid) or steeply downhillwith large, spread-out spacing (giant). Most slalomboards range in size related to the style of slalom, from30” to 36”; utilize asymmetrical concave (more in front)with a nonfunctional kicktail or footrest at the back andtoe-stops on the front of hardcore race boards. The stan-dard is for “wedged,” conventional trucks and 65-77mmwheels with durometers ranging 77A-85A.

CRUISING – traveling from one location to another in whatever man-ner the skater sees fit. Any board can be a cruiser, and this term isalso used by street skaters to describe any board with “soft wheels.”Cruiser boards tend to be medium to larger-sized boards, often withwide shapes that allow many foot positions. Wheels and trucks arebased on rider preference, but are often inverted-kingpin trucks withwheels to fit the board in a low to medium durometer. Soft wheelsand great turning ability are the hallmark of a campus cruiser andgeneral fun-hog longboard.

CARVING – the manner of riding a hill where the skater cuts backand forth in hard turns to scrub off speed and yet maintain control ofthe board, very much like surfing. Carving boards are often set up formaximum turning and allow the trucks and wheels to turn as deeplyas possible, with typical board lengths over 36”. Flexible decks arepopular but not required. Inverted trucks and high-traction designwheels with durometers 75A-85A are typical setups.

LONG DISTANCE – a growing style, broken into two groups: Long Dis-tance Skating, where the focus is the actual pushing over great dis-tances, and Long Distance Pumping, where the focus is generatingmomentum by pumping. LDS boards typically have a “dropped deck”for extra-low height to the road, and LDP boards are often similar inshape to slalom boards, yet slightly longer. Wheel diameters typicallyrun 70-76mm and durometers range from 77A-84A, depending onthe setup and riding style chosen by the skater.

BOARDWALKING – also called “dancing,” this freestyle skating fo-cuses the upon the skater’s ability to use the deck to accomplishtricks and maneuvers on the deck. Boards are typically 40” to 60” andmay have concave and a kicked nose or tail. Wheels and trucks areoften set up so the board’s agility is easily controlled by the rider andwheelbite is impossible, and smoothness is ensured via wheel diam-eters 70-76mm, durometers in the 77A-84A range and pretty muchany truck you like, either conventional or inverted.

TECHNICAL SLIDING – a specialized discipline with some crossoverto street-skating gear, this is the intentional breaking of traction onsteep hills to accomplish tricks that modify the board’s movementdown the fall line. Much more than “power sliding,” these tricks caninclude stalls, rotations and the use of gloves with pucks for hand-on-the-pavement moves. The decks are usually 34” to 38” with twin kicksand hard, smaller wheels on conventional trucks, but a variation grow-ing in popularity (see “freeriding”) uses 70mm or larger “soft wheels.”

It calls your name; it teases you inyour dreams. You know the hill – theone that eludes you, the one that

keeps you up at night, the next one onyour list to bomb. We all have a new hillin our sights, and when you tame itthere’s always another, begging to tasteyour urethane as you tuck, drift andslide your way from that dream into re-ality. When everything clicks, timeseems to stop. The asphalt is a blurunder your feet; it feels effortless.Something magical happens, and thestoke you feel lasts for days.

Leading up to this magical event, yourmind dances with thoughts: How fast willthis hill take me? What board, wheels,

bushings should I use? You start to com-pile a mental list: Standard helmet orfull-face? Leathers or pads? Who will Ishare this with? Can I make that hairpin?Speed check here, drift that corner, stayleft to avoid pothole... We seek that feel ofthe stoke and the hill that will serve it up.We also want to be able to order up an-other plate of stoke tomorrow.

There are many variables to con-sider when riding a hill at speed, someof which you control and others youdon’t. Before each and every speed runyou should inspect your equipment.Look for cracks or delamination of yourboard. Small stress cracks around themounting bolts aren’t a concern unlessthey penetrate more than one layer. Ifyou are one who changes your wheelsor bushings often, the more you removethe lock nut(s), the less effective thenylon becomes in locking that nut to theaxle or kingpin. If you can turn the nutby hand, it’s past time to replace it, oth-erwise it will vibrate off and the wheelor hanger will follow. While your check-ing your nuts, check to see if yourmounting hardware is tight. If yourboard is made of wood or has wood inits makeup, it will shrink and swell withthe changes in weather and humidity,causing the bolts to loosen. Bushingsare a personal choice and should be ingood shape with no visible cracks ordamage. The same goes for yourwheels. Check your wheels for flatspots; the vibration they create will bemagnified as your speed increases.

Once you have your board in order,pre-run the hill. It doesn’t matter if it’s anew hill or one you’ve run 100 times.Traffic, weather, road work and evenpeople can change the conditions of thecourse to be run. The goal is to identify

Safely out in front is Mason Ferick, followed by Ben Ramsey.Photo: Jozy Brink.

SAFETYatSPEEDBy MIKE MAHONEY

S U R V E Y S A Y S :

obstacles so they can easily be avoided.This can be done by first driving the hillor by walking it to closely inspect thesurface conditions. Make note of traffic,parked cars, blind corners, drivewaysand side roads that cars may unexpect-edly pull out of. Loose gravel, rocks,cracks, wet areas and potholes are es-pecially troublesome. Remove what youcan and learn to avoid the rest. Look forrun-out areas or places you can quicklyshut it down if needed. Position spottersat blind corners and side streets to alertyou of oncoming traffic. The faster yourun a hill, the quicker you need to be ableto react; pre-running a hill can buy youthose lost seconds you may need.

The thrill that speed provides is thedrug the hill is pushing. Controlling yourspeed is vital to managing your risks. Youshould be able to footbrake, slide/speedcheck and body/airbrake at a moment’snotice. Everyone has a maximum speedthat they are comfortable with; know whatyours is. This “comfortable” speed is oneyou are able to stop safely from. It’s goodto push your limits – that’s how we im-prove. If you know where that line is, youcan push yourself to it, step one foot overand be able to get back. The speed you’recomfortable with is different around acorner than it is on the straights.

On a new hill it’s a good idea to takethe first run slow and increase yourspeed with each run until you find the“line.” Practicing your sliding and drift-ing techniques will help you manageyour speed on the hill. Speed wobbles

are never a good thing, and you shouldlearn how to avoid and deal with them ifthey rear their ugly head (see article inprevious issue). Your shoes should be ingood shape and well secured in caseyou need to footbrake; leave the loafersand flip-flops at home.

Share your stoke. Don’t ride alone.When you share something with some-one that few others experience, there’s aunique bond that forms. When you sharethe stoke with your mates you’ve enteredthe fraternity we call longboarding.

Ride with someone who is pre-dictable. Learn where their comfort zoneis, how each they approach a turn, howthey slide and stop. Communication iscritical. Take a page from the Lycra-wear-ing, leg-shaving road cyclists and usehand signals. Develop a system of handsignals where you can notify riders behindyou of an obstacle, traffic, a hard corneror when you’re going to throw down aslide or stop. This is good for the spottersto use as well. You’re not going to be ableto hear a spotter or another rider with thewind howling in your ears as it forces theskin on your face tight, making you looklike you just had Botox injections.

Speaking of hearing, I know many ofyou like to ride to your favorite tunes.Leave the headphones in the car. Youwant to be able to hear someone ap-proaching from behind or from aroundthe corner. I have come up on peoplewearing headphones and scared the s**tout if them because they could not hearme – even when I called out or yelled.

All this is for naught if you don’t takesome basic precautions. A helmet, padsand gloves should be the minimumsafety gear used when riding hills atspeed. Typical skate helmets are not de-signed to take a fall at high speeds. Asyou become faster, you will want to lookinto a full-face helmet and a pair ofleathers. Keep in mind that drivers andpedestrians are not expecting to see youon the road. Make yourself as visible aspossible. Wear bright colors, and standup when traffic approaches. Check thehill at different times of the day and ridewhen traffic is at a minimum.

You should know whom to call if abuddy gets hurt. Tell someone whereyou’re riding and when to expect youback. Carry your cell phone and have anICE (In Case of Emergency) number.Emergency medical personnel know

what this is and will look for it if you areunable to communicate.

On your journey to find the stoke, youcan now approach that hill with confi-dence, knowing you’re prepared. You canface the challenges the asphalt brings tothe table, feast on the stoke and walkaway, ready to do it all again tomorrow.Ride Safe! CW

DISCLAIMER:This article was written from the re-sponses of more than 400 partici-pants in a survey conducted byConcrete Wave. This article is in noway a complete guide to rider safety.Each circumstance has its ownunique challenges, and it is expectedthat the rider evaluates them andadjusts his/her riding accordingly.Ride within your own ability!

“SHARE YOUR STOKE. DON’T RIDE ALONE. WHEN YOU SHARE

SOMETHING WITH SOMEONE THAT FEW OTHERS EXPERIENCE, THERE’S

A UNIQUE BOND THAT FORMS. WHEN YOU SHARE THE STOKE WITH YOUR

MATES YOU’VE ENTERED THE FRATERNITY WE CALL LONGBOARDING.”

Justin Rouleau. Photo: Jay Vonesh