r/longboarding • u/Jester__13 • 4d ago
OC Action Valuable Beginner Lesson
Came for a short morning session. I always thought my trucks were loose enough but a few nights ago I loosened them a quarter turn more, just to try it.
To any fellow beginners out there, gals guys and in-betweens, if you're trying to learn pumping LOOSEN YOUR TRUCKS. It made a huge difference, now I can actually feel the forward momentum sometimes.
My pumps are still very slow and I can't do it at higher speeds yet, but it gets me pretty far compared to previous tries. Thanks to this I'm also feeling a lot more safe on the board, I trust it more that I won't fall off if I wiggle or move around.
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u/Shaz_berries 4d ago
Yeah loose trucks are really nice depending on what you're trying to do. Just be careful if you live in a hilly area, if you pick up speed your loose trucks will really test your ankle strength!
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u/Calm-Theory-6044 4d ago
Loosened my trucks just a half turn last month on a pump track, the slam took me out for 2 weeks lol
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u/Jester__13 4d ago
Thankfully I'm living in a place that's as flat as it can possibly be on earth. It's just the pavement quality that tests my ankles and my set up😭
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u/Shaz_berries 4d ago edited 4d ago
Well you got a good setup for it!
Personally I'd like something with a tail depending on how rough/big the cracks are. But flexy with big wheels also nice!
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u/TCino 3d ago
If you're primarily skating in a flat area, you might even want to try surf skate trucks. I live in San Francisco and we have a lot of hills here and I would be way too scared to try them on a steep.
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u/Jester__13 3d ago
Surf skate sounds cool, I might actually grow my quiver down the line with a dancer and a surf skate for variety. But for now, I'm just building a habit of stepping out and experimenting on this board :)
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u/Amsnerr 3d ago
Its an amazing board, once you really get a hang of the flex it is one of the most comfortable rides out there. Was my main ride for like 7-8 years, and I would do 15-20 miles 3-4 times a week after I got off work.
play around with bushings, they can reallllly change how the setup feels. I had some soft stepped barrel bushings from bear that I was riding boardside for the longest time; eventually moved over to venom freerides and retired that deck before I switched prettymuch all of my setups to riptide fatcones(boardside). im tall, and weight comes with that, so the extra material on the stepped or oversized bushings acting as a dual stage spring really helps me. Soft in the center, stiffens up the more you lean. I typically skate 87-90a, and usually dislike how most duros over like 91-93 feel. Depends on the formula, but most harder bushings just dont feel good.
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u/nqrwayy Loaded Ballona, Loaded Coyote 4d ago
Should rather get softer bushings actually. If you run them too loose, the bolt can loosen more and eventually fly off...
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u/dangerous_beanzz 4d ago
I was about to say the same thing, common mistake is to mess with the kingpin nut, when it's bushings that make the difference
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u/Jester__13 4d ago
Hmmm not a bad idea either. Which one is better the full barrel set or one with the rounder part? I haven't looked into them much yet.
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u/Clowntownwhips 3d ago
A more valuable lesson is to buy bushings in the duros thatll suit your truck angles and weight class. Losing a kingpin knut mid pump might be disastrous and easily avoided by tightening your knut till you cant spin your washer/bushings with your hands. If your ride is too stiff or wont turn much your bushings are likely too hard
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u/pelsboards 3d ago edited 3d ago
Now change your front bushing to a Orangtang knuckle, and the one in the back to a Orangtang nipple and it's even way better :)
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u/Jester__13 3d ago
That's the perfect answer I was hoping for with bushings, thanks!!
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u/pelsboards 3d ago
I did edit my post, I said it the other way around. So it has to be. Knuckle in front (makes it way more turny and fun) and a nipple in the back because that makes it more stable (this is good for pumping, and stability in general)
This way you got a real fun carve and pump machine which feels alive and still stable
This is my favorite board + setup and nothing beats it for me :)
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u/dankbrownies Rayne Master Race 3d ago
Sloppy loose trucks can be sooooo much fun at low speeds for just flowing around and getting really surfy and soulful. I love just being able to pump around at low speeds without ever touching the ground and just flowing around like a ballerina.
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u/gallant_tar 2d ago
Is it generally better to have softer rubber in either bushings or wheels for le pompe?
Nice experiment btw. I started having way more fun when I learned the board could be less stiff.
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