To longboard or not to longboard...

kepler.

kepler.

Active member
So its summer, and I've been seeing multiple long board threads every day. Each one gets me more and more intrigued about this sport. My question to you guys, should I get one and try it out? I've got a few reasons why I want to try it, but I don't know if I'd be able to pick it up quickly.

So I'm really starting to wonder about it for college. I'm going to a fairly big college next year, about 35,000 undergrad students. So its a bigger campus. It's all flat though on campus but has mass hills once you get off campus. Everything is about 15 or so minutes to walk, but I figure longboarding around would be more fun and take less time.

NS, should I buy a longboard? I have no experience ever skateboarding, just because I've never been into killing myself to progress in tricks. But longboarding would be a fun way to cruise around IMO. Plus carving down a long wide street looks ridiculously fun.

*sparknotes: should I longboard in college? Never done it but I think it would be fun.
 
I'll look like a fool till I get good. I don't know anyone that longboards. So i'll be going alone till I meet people up there that do it.
 
if you have a few extra dollars, dont mind falling a bit while learning (wear a helmet), and dont weigh over 200 lbs, you should give freebording a shot... you can slay hills that you would never even dream of hitting on a longboard...

snowboard the streets...

 
im starting college in the fall too, and had the same question. i figure i should get one soon and practice up a bit around home before i leave so i can get good enough to enjoy it at school
 
if you have no experience with skateboarding, good luck looking like a little 13 year old girl trying to look punk and skateboard
 
i had no experience with longboarding but i got one and it took me about a week or less to fully start bombing hills and do mad carving
 
yeah im looking to start too, i just dont know where to start, i need a board but i dont know anything about it, any suggestions- loooking for a good price and something i can enjoy once i get good
 
Theres about 30,000 undergrads at my uni and i longboard everywhere. I can wake up 20 mins b4 my lecture get some food,shower and get to uni in time. Its great
 
I started longboarding in college. I had no skateboarding experience and it took a week or of looking retarded before I could skate little hills and carve decently. After a few weeks I was bombing real hills and then I picked up shortboarding after a few months.

Do it. It's fun, it's good transportation, and it will help your rail skills in skiing.
 
noooo my friend got one and his longboard is way better. you said you have a flat campus. and its like impossible to ride those without a hill so for college travel it will suck.

IMO..
 
yea... flats kinda suck, but i can push perfectly fine (took me a little while to learn).. but i agree, if your going to do mostly flats, freebords are not the way to go... but if you have any hills, and can deal with pushing, you'll be fine
 
Ok well I've pretty much made up my mind that I'm going to give it a good solid attempt. It seems so fun, I can't turn it down.

So can anyone help me out with a set up. I'm a complete noob when it comes to this and I don't know a single person around me that longboards and knows their stuff. I saw a thread Ryno posted about Kracked Skulls longboards and everyone seemed so stoked on them. I might look into those but I still need some help! thanks!
 
well im not sure like if your just getting in to longboearding you may want to buy something cheap just to see if it is something you like and something you will get into
 
i have an arbour fish and i rlly love it, ive ridden my uncles arbour pin its mad flexy and i love them both check into those boards. im not a pro on longboarding but from my experiences on those 2 boards have been positive and i love them
 
I'm the kind of person that when I do something I do it. So I really don't think theres a way I wouldn't want to longboard. I'm always looking for that new adrenaline rush
 
Longboarding was sooo clutch my first year at school. The U's campus is all downhill, so a 15 min walk is a 5 min longboard and there are busses every 10 mins and trax every 10 mins to bring you back up after class. I highly recommend it.
 
i would definitly pick one up. i got into longboarding with no skateboard experience at all either. it is real easy to pick up. hardest part for me was learning to foot brake, which just takes a little practice to make it look smooth.
 
A lot of people will hate on sector 9. It's like people who hate on Burton.

I ride a sector 9, this is my second one. Rides great, no problems. Like I don't fucking care if your pink fairy wheels have a more progressive slide or your trucks make your dick bigger. I just need something I can cruise around on. Sector 9s works great for that.
 
If it's the Burton of longboarding then I don't think I'd like to get one. I'd much rather buy a little bit more expensive boutique board, to support smaller businesses.
 
definitely yes. believe me, i hopped on a friend of mines who had one and cruised up and down the street a bit. insanely easy to use, get used to, and sooo much better than a skateboard. i love longboarding.
 
im going to a fairly big school this fall as wel, though have longboarded before. I love it. I just bought my first nice one (check my profile for the thread) and I got akrackedskulls board. they're generally cheaper than sector 9s and are handmade. it came in the mail a few days ago and I love it, super easy to cruse around on, and super fun
 
the kracked skull looks cool.

my advice is the landyachtz evo. its not a drop through per se, though its lowered. a lower board is just a shitload easier on the legs to pedal around. also landyachtz is a smaller company

landyachtz-evoblacktree-longboard2.jpg

 
id consider any board from the evo series a true drop deck... landyactchz is a super legit company and make some of the best boards ive ever riden... drop decks, drop throughs, short decks, regular longboards...
 
try it before you buy it. i have a friend who was in the same situation and he went out and bought one. then he realized it wasn't really for him and he ended up giving it away. wanted to sell it but couldn't find anyone.

personally, i love longboarding but $100+ is a lot of money to potentially throw away
 
theres nothing wrong with sector 9 there are just a lot of smaller and much better brands out there like arbor and Loaded
 
Yeah not saying they get hated on like Burton or even has the same rep as them, I'd just rather support a smaller company.
 
you could even make your own i have a lot of friends who have done it. the boards end up being really stiff and some look like shit but the all really like them
 
First of all, you will pick it up fairly quickly. Once you find the right mellow hill, it will be so much fun that you won't even mind learning and you will do fine.

As for a set-up, here is a good set up for both bombing and carving, and it is great for the price.

Kracked Skulls M1 Deck

Bones Reds Bearings

Randal R-II 180's

Really any wheels will work as long as they are above 65mm or so and not too big for the board.

The M1 should work great, the wide width is great for learning and should add stability. Once you get used to it you can also bomb fairly big hills with no problem. and of course carve. i would recommend getting the middle size of the three decks.
 
For your size i would recommend the 43 inch deck. If not then get the 40. Unless you plan on growing another 6 inches or so..

So i just looked on the website and it recommends 70mm wheels and a maximum of 73mm. This may limit your maximum speed slightly, so if you are really wanting to bomb hills you may want the scimitar for 20 more dollars which has bigger wheel wells for bigger wheels. But that means the wheels will be more expensive as well.
 
I really dont' think I'll ever get to bombing huge ass hills. If I do get there I'm sure I'll need a new board anyway. But thanks for the help!
 
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