New Guy Needs Help!!

[Sinnister11]

Hello...new to longboarding and am having one hell of a time deciding on a setup. I've been carving powder since '94 and wakeboarding since '99...and its not enough..I need to "ride" the asphalt too! I've done quite a bit of research which brought me to your site. I've also hit the local skate shops...but the slection is very limted. Whats a good board for a big guy? Dude's 6'5" 240lbs???? The only thing I found locally that caught my fancy was a 46" S9 Bomb Hills.....I'm leaning towards a pintail...is there really any need for a tail?

Any help would be appreciated!!

Thanks!!

[PancakeOfDoom]

the bomb hills is pretty stiff. idk how it would feel at your weight, but it should do you good. for a beginner board going into a local shop and just grabbing a bomb hills w/ some chargers shouldn't do you wrong. if you're looking for a setup that will last and you like that bomb hills you saw just order the deck online like from mile high skates, and then grab your own truck/wheel/bearing/bushing setup based off of whatever you might like in the threads here.
it depends what you're into as well. if you wanna carve maybe try the hills deck w/ some paris trucks and lime big zigs?

[Facebrake]

Pintails a good place to start. What are you looking to do? For soul/surf carving a shorter flexier pin (though at 240lb what won't be...) would be a good start. For your height 40 inches would be a good shorter length. Something like a Gravity Minicarve might be more versatile I think it's got a nice lively flex, wheel cutouts and functional tail. The tail will help you depending on your experience level on a skate. If you've ridden a popsicle before then kickturning is a good way to navigate sidewalks, but it's vestigial for carving.

Truck setup will also influence the practicality of board design. Their are plenty of people that will steer you away from S9's, but with a good aftermarket truck (randal, bear, tracker etc...) a board for a beginner is just a place to stand.

Good luck!

[PancakeOfDoom]

@ facebrake. i'll steer anyone away from a s9 complete with missions or alpines, or the bamboo secrets board, horrible concave (if i'm thinking of the right one i rode). but i lov emy buddie's bomb hills w/ gumballs and some r2s i sold him. i like more solid boards, you can still turn (not really pump too well), but you can also bomb just w/ a quick truck tune. i think their completes can be horrible for the price (mine was definitely overpriced), but their decks are very very solid. mine has taken a pretty good beating and is holding up nicely.

[Sinnister11]

Well...I'm not really sure what I want it to do...I've been riding skates most of my life...I want a board that performs similar to snowboarding or wakeboarding..I like going fast!!!! I don't want to throw a ton of money at setup...but am willing to pay for something that will hold up!!

I'm not sure I understand what Flex is all about in longboarding???

Is there a big diffrence between The Randal II 180 and The Gullwing Charger? Again....New guy!! I'm sure these are questions asked an answered again and again on this forum..(sorry to you veterans)

Although I'm not sure about the deck....most people have told me its preferance more than anything. my first thoughts are Randal 180's, 70mm 78a Grippins With Bones Reds....Is there any reason to go with the Swiss or Ceramic on a beginner setup?

Thanks again!

[nicthekid220]

just stick with the reds no need for ceramics for your skill.

[kookyfish]

Hi sinnister11 welcome to the fish
The bombhills 46"pin is a good deck . it has nice concave and is stiff so good for as the name suggests, its a good starting place to learn , if you set it up with 180 randalls and 78a gumballs , just get some reds bearings and you should be good to go,
that set up will see you right for just about any road riding situation, later on you may want to up grade,,, you may want to look at a drop carve deck , just for the ease of pushing, as its lower to the ground,
Have a look at some of the threads on board length and flex for your height and weight,
If you like snow and water you may want something more of a carvy flex deck... there are many options, Think about the roads where you will be riding the most,
let us know how you go, and your progress,, with your background board skill you should be into it in no time

keep your trucks loosish not wooble, maybe your back one a little tighter than the front,
and get a helmet..and gloves/pads pls,

[sleutho]

My advice would be to start looking on the different online shops - milehighskates, daddiesboardshop, thelongboardstore, etc to see whats out there. when you see something that catches your eye, search for it on this site, its probably been discussed several times. If you like what you here, then try it out. thats what I did before buying my first "real" longboard.

as for the board selection, Ive never snowboarded, but Ive heard that flexy carvers such as the loaded devish/vanguard(god forbid), or something like that. the problem is if you want to go really fast, flexy is bad(speedwobbles), but if you are used to speed, then longer carving boards can handle moderate to higher speeds. If you like pintails, you may mike the never summer eclipse. its made by a snow boarding company and is supposedly fairly stiff, but should be pretty good for your 240lb. Also it should be plenty stable unless you are doing really high speeds. ive never ridden one, its just what i here.

oh, and randals and chargers are both fine trucks, also bear and paris trucks are good, just if youre getting a S9 complete, make sure it doesn't have mission1's or alpines which supposedly suck. I know m1's do

[Steve Ignorant]

I like when people are new, but totally cool. Much nicer than people who come in with a chip on their shoulder, demanding answers and arguing about everything. That being said, just follow through some of these guy's advice, lurk a bit, and you should have an idea of what you'll want.

[Sinnister11]

Thanks guys! .....any thoughts about bushings....I've read that alot of the complete have "shitty" bushings....would this be an upgrade I would want to do immediately?

[sleutho]

Thanks guys! .....any thoughts about bushings....I've read that alot of the complete have "shitty" bushings....would this be an upgrade I would want to do immediately?

Bushings come in different hardnesses, shapes and sizes. It depends on the trucks you get if you need to change. Paris come with pretty bad bushings, and I didn't like the khiro red inserts that came in my bears, but I kinda like the stock randal yellow bushings and I hear the stock charger bushings are really good. You also have to choose depending on your weight. since you weigh about 240, youre gonna want something fairly hard. You can't go wrong with khiro bushings which will work pretty well on pretty much anything(you might need an extra washer). whatever trucks you get the board with, ride it around and see how you like it. If the trucks don't feel quite right, get some khiros in either blue, red, or yellow (blue being softest, yellow being hardest). I think orange and white would be way to soft for you and I can't imagine anyone using black or purple because they are so hard. for reference, I'm about 160lb and like khiro blues, but I might go a little softer in the future.

[wake]

hey I've been wakeboarding since '99 too but not snowboarding. i definitely recommend a loaded vanguard. its a great transition from wakeboarding.

[boxcutter]

You might even like the neversummer line of boards, a little stiffer than the vanguard in general, but still a flexy ride

[Lee W]

Yeah the Neversummer could be a good option too. But you seem on the right track with the Bomb Hills deck. Should be stiff enough for you.

A kicktail really isn't too important on a longboard for most applications. You really won't miss it on the pintail. Plus if you really need to kickturn, you can still use the tail, it just takes some practice.

Randal 180's, Gullwing Chargers, or Paris 180's would all be great choices for you. They should all feel very similar (especially if you're a beginner I doubt you'd be able to tell any difference between them if they had the same bushings).

Since you weigh 240, some stock bushings (like the yellow Randals) might be too soft for you. But get the board and trucks together, and try it out. If they are too squishy then buy some harder ones from a company like Khiro. Don't decide something won't work before you try it though, lots of people on these forums do that and it's frustrating.

Wheels like the Grippins, Zigzags, or even Gumballs (wheels from 70-76mm, and 78-81a will be a good choice) should be good. Keep in mind that if you get bigger wheels, you run more risk of wheel bite (wheels hit the deck during deep turns, and makes you fall).

Cheap bearings are the way to go, Bones Reds are definitely sufficient. You won't notice difference with super nice bearings until you are hitting very fast speeds and are picky. Basically to me, any clean and lubed bearing performs nearly the same. I'd rather go through 4 sets of cheap bearings than have to be nice to one set of Bones Swiss.

[Sinnister11]

You guys rock thanks for the brain food!!

About wheel bite.....I couldn't get the Bomb hills to bite with the chargers.....(I think it had the 70mm 78a sector wheels) in fact I could get the opposite side wheels off the ground and still move. Keep in mind this was while the board wasn't moving...or at an extremely slow in-store speed } If I were to switch to say a same diameter grippins....would this be a wider wheel?? Does wider wheel = possible wheel bite?

[Sinnister11]

hey I've been wakeboarding since '99 too but not snowboarding. i definitely recommend a loaded vanguard. its a great transition from wakeboarding.

It's hard not to ride the snow here in Utah!! I love that free feeling. Once we bought our first boat I couldn't resist wakeboarding...and of course there's those months where the snow isn't great and the lakes are frozen! So here I am!!

I told my wife I need a couple longboards.....she said whats wrong with all the boards you have already!!! Ha!

[kirbenvost]

If wider wheels affect wheelbite at all, it's not by much. But if there's even a chance of wheelbite you should probably install some risers, or get a board with cutouts.

[Sinnister11]

I'm a little sketchy on the bamboo/fiberglass setups...I want a ride that feels a little more solid.....I don't want to be riding a 2x4 but not sure I want to be riding something with the flex of a diving board either!

Will a more rigid board (maple) handle the same as a Bamboo/fiber board with the same wheel/truck combo? I'm think at least a 46" board?

I plan on using this board for downhill thrill riding!!! I hope to crap my pants on the first "bomb" run! ha ha ha!

[TexasBomber]

Loaded Vanguard and Dervish designs are loosely based on snowboards. Plenty of deck to move around on, especially the "Vanny". for you, I suggest a flex 1 with any loaded deck. I own both the "Vanny" and Dervish (flex 1 both)

This web site had been slammed with a lot Loaded postings, enough to make you puke. They are not the only "awesome decks" out there.

[Wells]

You'll never ride a skateboard that feels just like surfing or snowboarding or wakeboarding. The rides might be similar; but your best bet is just to enjoy what wheels and pavement have to offer.

Check out the Rayne Pug and the Earthwing Superglider (the flex is a touch stiffer than the 6" longer supercharger; which is better for your weight). Also, some stiffer speedboards will probably do you right if you're into the whole going super fast thing. Look at the KebbeK John Caften.