Im completely new and looking for advice

[Noodelz1231]

Well, Im new to longboarding. I got into it because a friend of mine showed me it in florida, and said that it only takes one person to start in an area, then they are everywhere. He got that right, as since ive started, 2 of my friends got longboards and dozens are considering.

Although i am the 'pioneer' of practical application of longboards in my town, I am completely lost. I have been reading and reading, but nothing is really clicking. See, this is how i got started.

I went in to my local skate shop. they had 2 longboard decks. I picked one and then picked some cool looking wheels that i thought were the most practical for a longboard (big and soft, to make a smoother ride) some Abec7 bearings and some trucks that say "QEAQ" except the first Q is upside down. and is has "52" carved into them.

So, I went home and it was very hard to turn the board so i loosened the bearings up quite a bit. After reading more, I think that a male of my size (5 foot 6 inches and 105 lbs) Should have purchased a smaller board with smaller wheels and smaller everything.

44 inch, board pretty thick too, about 8.5 inches thick in the middle
76mm wheels 78a
Trucks ??? I dont know how to describe them.


Here are my main questions. What variable components of the board have what factor in skating? I live in a relatively hilly area and I use my board for cruising around and transportation. I really prioritize a smooth ride. I want the least bumpy ride possible and still have the board be reasonable for my size as far as maneuverability and speed goes.


Decks- Longer and shorter decks have what difference on skating, and for what genre of skating (racing, cruising, crowded transportation) are they best for, and what should a person of my size be looking for?

Trucks- Does truck difference really really matter for someone as beginner as me? Also, as far as tightening and loosening trucks goes, is there anything i really need to know as far as guidelines to doing so? is there a way to make sure its even? Are there any pros to tighening or losening the front end more or less then the back end?

Wheels- I have pretty big wheels, and they feel pretty soft, although i have no idea what im comparing them to. What sort of wheel size is good for what, and what differences does it have on riding it? Same with hardness/softness. And of course, what should a person of my size be looking for considering what im using the board for?

If someone could help me out with these questions, I would be IMMESNLY grateful.. You would be helping me a massive amount. Just remember to try to keep the termanology simple, because im not familiar with all of the words and terms people use to describe boards and longboarding in general. That is the main reason why its been so hard for me to learn from reading.

Thankyou to all who will answer this extensive inquiry
Your help will be greatly appreciated here.

[GoofyGirl]

Since you're not sure what you have, can you post some pics of your setup?

[Down & Dirty]

They are Bear 852 trucks. the first Q is a b and the second Q is an R. These are good trucks.

Is your deck a pintail? (pointy tail, kinda shaped like a long teardrop)
What does the graphic look like?

I think your setup is fine, 8.5" is actually pretty narrow for a longboard and unless you get wheelbite (wheel hits the deck when you turn) your wheels are not too big

to answer your questions:

a deck with a shorter wheelbase can turn more quickly and a longer deck has more foot space.

trucks matter but not nearly as much as bushings do. bushings are the little squishy things inside your trucks. you never want your back truck to be looser than your front. One thing you should do with your bear trucks is to take the bottom washer off (the one closest to the deck) and flip the top one over. This will allow you to turn a lot more. If this causes you to get wheelbite then change it back. Eventually I would recommend buying some bushings with a different shape, barrels or cones. The shape of the pumpkin bushings is very restrictive, meaning it doesn't let you lean as far. Barrels allow more lean and cones allow the most. Some good bushing companies are Sabre, Venom, and Reflex.

with wheel size, I generally go as big as I can without getting wheelbite, but never more than 85mm. I usually use 70mm or 75mm wheels. softer wheels are more grippy and harder wheels slide more. the shape of the wheel is also a big factor in grip - square edges give you more grip and round edges give you a smoother slide. Companies that make good wheels are ABEC11, Retro, Pink, Orangatang, Seismic, Tunnel, Earthwing, Gravity (recently), and Landyachtz (recently).

[Terrorsathan]

You've got BEAR trucks... Keep reading. All the info you need is on this message board.

[B_Dubya_B]

its not qeaq

are these your trucks?



these are bear trucks.

[GoofyGirl]

Do you have stock bushings?

[cuzz467]

with wheel size, I generally go as big as I can without getting wheelbite, but never more than 85mm. I usually use 70mm or 75mm wheels. softer wheels are more grippy and harder wheels slide more. the shape of the wheel is also a big factor in grip - square edges give you more grip and round edges give you a smoother slide. Companies that make good wheels are ABEC11, Retro, Pink, Orangatang, Seismic, Tunnel, Earthwing, Gravity (recently), and Landyachtz (recently).

does wheel size matter a whole lot if your racing?
for example 66mm/70mm v.s a 75mm will it make a big difference?

[AFTT]

When going downhill, there will not be much of a difference between wheel sizes.

The idea is that the 65mm will accelerate the fastest, but hold less speed,
and the 76mm will accelerate slower, but hold a good bit of speed

70mm is seen as a good compromise.

Any will work, though.

On flatland, bigger wheels are better, because you have to push less because they hold speed better.

[Crowman]

Your setup sounds fine to learn on. If turning is still difficult even after loosening the kingpin nut, get softer bushings. Since you are new to tweaking boards, try out a variety. Khiro makes a starter set (a bit expensive but worth it IMO) that will let you try about any combination. If you want to save some bucks, start with very soft bushings and get harder ones if necessary. Soft bushings will help you get the feel of carving, and you can always tighten the kingpin nut to adjust. I find that this works better than running loose with hard bushings since the trucks can feel sloppy when too loose.

I like Hardcore Soft bushings. They are relatively cheap and have nice rebound. On my Bennett Vector trucks I use 2 Hardcore Softs and a Khiro Barrel. You may have to mix and match to get the right feel for you. That is what is nice about the Khiro starter set. You can experiment. The problem with bushing setup is that everyone has their own take on what feels right. There is no one right answer. What is right for you depends on how heavy you are and the type of ride you like.

Good luck and good riding.