A longboard is a type of skateboard typified by longer decks and wheelbases, larger-diameter and softer (lower-durometer) wheels, and often lower riding height compared to street skateboards, though there is wide variation in the geometry and construction of longboards. Among the earliest types of skateboards, longboards were inspired by surfing, with early longboards drawing from the design of surfboards, resembling and mimicking the motion of riding a surfboard, but adapted to riding on streets in a practice known as sidewalk surfing.
Available in a wide variety of shapes, longboards are typically designed and optimized for cruising (covering distances at moderate speeds), commuting (as a practical means of personal transport), and downhill (racing). The act of riding on a longboard in general is known as longboarding, which can also include more specialized forms such as longboard dancing, which involves stepping up and down a board and other movements and motions performed on the board while riding, and freestyle, which can encompass trick skating and executing tricks often associated with street skateboards.
History The first longboards were made by Preston Nichols in the 1940s and 1950s as an alternative to surfing when the waves were too dull. Early skaters built dangerous, improvised boards out of planks of wood and roller skates. Manufactured longboards first became commercially available in 1959 when Makaha, Jack's, and Hobie became the first professional longboard distributors. These early longboards were still relatively crude, as they still featured metal wheels, but later had clay wheels due to improved safety factors. Longboarding became a popular activity in the late 1950s and early 1960s, but its popularity had largely died by 1965. Longboarding made a comeback in 1972 when Frank Nasworthy and the Cadillac Wheel Company introduced the urethane longboard wheel. Urethane wheels allowed skaters to reach very high downhill speeds which were not possible before. The introduction of reverse kingpins (RKP) also improved stability for riders. The exact inventor of reverse kingpins is unknown, however both Randal and Variflex had reverse kingpin trucks advertised and featured in Skateboarder magazine in 1979. The reverse kingpin truck improved stability and suppleness which helped downhill longboarding grow into a legitimate sport, with the International Gravity Sports Association (IGSA) as its governing body. The 90's also saw the introduction of the cutout deck, which has sections cut out around the wheels to prevent the wheels from touching the board during hard turns. Longboard technology has evolved rapidly to accommodate unique modern skating disciplines including downhill, slalom, freeriding, dancing, and freestyle. Modern longboard decks can be made from a variety of materials including fiberglass composites, aluminum, and carbon fiber. Precision trucks, which are machined with cutting edge CNC technology instead of die casting with molds, offer more strength and maneuverability than cast trucks and have achieved popularity among professional skaters.
Dimensions
Most boards measure in length while widths vary from . There are several longboard shapes, such as pintails, swallowtails, flat-nose riders, drop-through decks, drop decks and boards with the same shape as a conventional skateboard. Pintails permit looser trucks and larger wheels which are better suited for carving or a "smooth" feel, whereas drop decks and drop throughs allow the rider to be closer to the ground, hence a lower center of gravity which increases stability and allows these boards to support more high speed downhill riding disciplines. Mid-length boards, are the most versatile. Their greater weight and bulk makes them less suitable for many skateboarding tricks, but contributes to a fluid motion by providing more momentum. The longboard's design allows for big turns or quick short carves similar to the motions of surfers or snowboarders. Longboards have 3 axes: the tail axis (running from tail to tail), the central axis (running straight down through the center of the board), and the short axis (running from the width of the board and perpendicular to the tail axis).
Equipment and protection
The ‘helmet culture’ is more prevalent in longboarding than in conventional skateboarding. Most riders wear protective equipment in all disciplines, and nearly all professionals wear a helmet and gloves. Longboard protective equipment is similar to standard skateboard equipment, with the exception of slide gloves. Most longboarders wear slide gloves and helmets, as these are considered the bare minimum for protection. Additional protection includes leathers, wrist guards, knee pads, elbow pads and sometimes spine protectors and padded shorts. Many professional longboarding teams and riders are required to wear and advocate all aspects of protection. In the sliding and downhill disciplines, riders wear "slide gloves" which are specialized gloves made out of strong materials such as leather and synthetic fabrics, and have large discs called "pucks" attached to the palms. These are attached to protect the hands as the rider uses them to pivot during slides along the ground. The pucks are usually made of synthetic polymers: delrin, UHMW, or corian.
Components Longboards are very similar to conventional skateboards in terms of parts and general construction. Aside from the harder wheels of those made for sliding, they generally have larger dimensions, their trucks have tailored designs and proportions and their wheels are usually larger and softer. As a result, riding the specialized longboard feels quite different from the conventional skateboard.
Decks
Longboard decks are typically made from plywood: anywhere from two to eleven layers, each of usually in thickness, composed of birch, bamboo, maple, koa, or oak wood. Longboards are commercially available in a variety of shapes and sizes. Each variety has certain advantages and disadvantages, which come into play depending on the technique or personal preferences of the rider.
Decks intended for riding downhill are typically stiff and have a wheelbase of around . Designers and manufacturers aim to make these boards as stiff and light as possible. The primary three designs of downhill boards are "drop decks", "top mounts" and "drop throughs". Each design has its own advantages.
The "drop deck" has a lowered foot platform that sits below the height of the trucks, as a result, there is a lower center of gravity which adds to stability but gives less traction and maneuverability. Wooden drop decks are concave and have foot pockets by the drops. However, some carbon fiber boards feature concavity by the drops instead of foot pockets giving more leverage while turning.
The "drop through" design has cutouts that allow the base-plate of the truck to protrude through the board, thus lowering the deck and providing more stability. In addition to this, drop through decks decrease grip, as the deck is closer to the axle and moment arm of the wheel. There is also less leverage on the truck, which makes turning negligibly more difficult.
"Top mount" boards are the simplest design of the three. There are no dramatic bends aside from the foot concave. The board sits on top of the trucks as it would in a street skateboard. Advantages to this design include increased grip and ease of turning; disadvantages include a high center of gravity, which could contribute to a lack of stability.
There are many variations of the aforementioned designs, including a "double-drop" board, which incorporates both a drop through and drop down pattern. These are preferable for "freeride" as they are extremely low to the ground, which allows for ease of sliding. Footspace is important because there must be enough room on the board for the rider to form an aerodynamic "tuck". Downhill boards are made as stiff as possible to minimize the amount of energy stored in the deck in order to mitigate wobbling of the board at high speed (known as "speed wobbles").
Some boards are designed to be flexible. Flexible boards are usually intended for lower speed riding because when going faster, a flexible board can have torsional flex which is one cause of speed wobbles. Fiberglass is used in many new flexible boards as it is light like carbon fiber but more pliable.
Longboard decks can be shaped in such a way that they bow up or down along the length of the board. They can also have a downward bend along the width of the board. Concave boards, which bend upward on the sides, give the rider more friction for their toe and heel, thus giving them more control. A camber board is a gradual upward arch along the length of the board. This sets the center of the board above the truck mounts. This is often used on flexible boards to prevent the board from sagging when it is being ridden. A "rocker" shape is the opposite of camber, which sets the center of the board below the truck mounts when it is being ridden. This lets the rider more easily perform tricks like sliding by locking their feet into the board.
Decks recently have been made using materials other than wood. The types and quality of woods have increased over time and now many other "superior" materials have come into use. Aluminum, carbon fiber and fiberglass are just some of the new materials. Carbon fiber and fiberglass are used to strengthen or completely replace wood in decks because of their better strength to weight ratios. Some boards are pure carbon fiber with a foam core, these can weigh much less than boards of equal size. Aluminum decks are CNC cut out of sheets of aluminum and incredible shapes can be made. Bamboo is another popular material for constructing longboards because of its flexible and responsive properties.
Fishtail The fishtail or pintail's shape is used to prevent the wheel from coming in contact with the board (called "wheelbite") while still providing ample foot space. Fishtails are most commonly used with top mounted trucks. They are also good cruising boards.
Drop-Through Drop-Through boards, not to be confused with a double drop deck, have a cutout in the deck, allowing the baseplates of the trucks to be mounted through the deck. The lowered platform allows for a lower center of gravity, more control while sliding, and greater stability at high speeds.
Hybrid These kind of longboards include wheel cutouts which provide room for the wheels to turn at sharper angles while avoiding wheelbite. Hybrids also tend to be shorter than other longboards, which promotes maneuverability.
Cruiser A most common deck shape, these have a somewhat similar shape to normal skateboards, in that they have a "kick-tail" on the back. The main difference is it has trucks that are higher than standard skateboard trucks. Also, the wheels may be larger and are much softer than standard skateboard wheels. The bushings are much more flexible, giving the rider the ability to turn (carve) and maneuver more efficiently. These boards are more likely to cause "wheel-bite".
Trucks Trucks are the metal turning mechanism that attach the longboard wheels to the deck. They come in a wide range of styles, with wider trucks meaning a wider turning circle. They use the motion of the rider's feet and body to turn the board by pivoting a joint in the middle of the truck. There are generally two types of trucks used on longboards: reverse kingpin trucks and conventional skateboard trucks (vertical kingpin). Conventional skateboard trucks have the kingpin on the inner side (towards the center of the board) of the axle, whereas reverse kingpin trucks have the kingpin on the outer side (towards the nose and tail) of the axle.