The practice of longboarding is declined in different disciplines. Thus, we will speak about freeride, downhill, dancing or cruising... Each of the longskate disciplines has its specificities, is practiced on certain types of grounds and requires an adapted and more or less pointed material.
Attention, it is important to keep in mind thatin longskate, there are no established rules about the equipment. Indeed, there is not a size or a type of board only dedicated to one discipline. Naturally, a 1m50 long longboard will be adapted to dancing and strongly advised against for downhill but the most important is to be comfortable on your board. For that, some riders prefer a board with flex, while others are looking for stiffness or soft wheels while the last ones use hard wheels on the same spot.
In each section of our guide, we make a selection of equipment to help you orient yourself without having the claim to hold an absolute truth.
Here is a presentation of the main disciplines that can be practiced in longboard and a selection of boards and parts that we consider suitable for each activity.
Cruising
It is quite simply tocarry out any type of displacement with its longboard on the flat or light slopes. It is not more nor less than to take pleasure while strolling with its longboard. There is also a practical aspect since, compared to walking, you will save a lot of time by moving with a longboard.
For this type of practice, a large number of boards will be appropriate but if you want to have a lot of maneuverability, we advise a board lower than 40" (101 cm) and wheels of 70 mm. For a good grip, opt for a wheel hardness of 78a to 80a. As for the trucks, depending on the width of the board, 150 mm to 180 mm.
Carving
This discipline, very accessible, consists in making close turns in weak to moderate slopes. The way these turns are made allows you to manage your speed. Long, hard turns by sending your weight to the opposite side of your trajectory will allow you to slow down considerably. On the other hand, small successive curves using the boost of the board at each exit of the turn (pumping) will allow you to gain speed.
The Dancing
The dancing consists in carrying out sequences of figures while moving on its longboard with weak to moderate speeds. This practice thus requires a stable and long board to have a beautiful zone of evolution. For the dancing, we advise you to use a longboard of more than 1 m length.
Freestyle and Street
It is a question of carrying out any type of tricks with or without module. Ollies, varials, kickflips but also boardslides or grinds, in freestyle everything is allowed. We will use manageable boards, with a kick tail and sometimes also kick nose (back and front of the longboard raised). Wheels with a reduced diameter and width will allow to have a playful longboard.
Freeride / Slide
The longboard freeride consists in launching itself in slopes of any type without having as only objective the speed. The idea is to have fun by taking turns and making slides, sometimes associated with figures (example: slide + rotation of the longboard in varial), or simply big curves. As in many other board sports, the freeride is the free expression of the rider with the only objective the sensations and the pleasure!
The choice of equipment is therefore wide. You can, for example, go for boards with a mounting drop through for a good stability and control in the slides. Some will opt for a longboard with flex to have a good relaunch and comfort, others will prefer a rigid board in Top Mount for more performance...
Even if it is now a discipline in its own right, the slide is often an integral part of the freeride longboard because it opens up a large number of possibilities, particularly for controlling speed. To be able to stall easily in slide, you will need duro 82a to 86a wheels with rounded lips. Indeed, wheels that are too soft will offer a good road holding but will not be very adapted to slides.
Downhill / Race
Certainly the most radical discipline of longboard. You climb to the top of a slope, often a pass, and you descend at full speed, managing each turn in an optimized way to brake as little as possible. Longboarding downhill requires a set of protective gear, including a full face helmet and wetsuit. downhill Since riders regularly surpasses 100 km/h, it is essential not to skimp on protection. In race, it is the same thing with several, the first one arrived at the bottom won!
For this type of practice, one will use boards of longboard rigid even very rigid, in top mount or drop through with concave for an optimal wedging of the feet and a length from 35" to 43". We will choose wheels of 70 to 80 mm of hardness 75a to 80a to have a very good road holding.
The Slalom
As its name indicates, the principle is to slalom between the poles while making the best time. This discipline of longboarding requires balance and great precision. We usually use very reactive boards and trucks allowing a lot of control.