| Archive for pavedwave longboarding distance longboarding, flatland pumping, cross-country adventuring, boardwalk cruising, and all things skateboarding and good times |
| timbo666 |
HOW DO YOU GO DOWNHILL ON AN LDP?A slight worry before i get an LDP setup, how do you go down hills?When i have my front trucks on my Dervish too loose, going down hills at any pace is scary and speed wobbles easily. Any experiences and of course advice appreciated! Thanks, Tim |
||
| pavedwave |
A few things work for me:
- always keep an edge, just like in snowboarding - keep the trucks loose BUT responsive - meaning they should be tight enough to bounce directly back to center - be able to footbrake in your sleep. |
||
| jose |
On your dervish you should train carving and making the back wheels slide a little so you will be able to run down the steepest hills.
I've only experienced wobbles twice because I was riding on particular conditions I brake before reaching speeds I'm not comfortable. |
||
| jat. |
I carve deep and speed check a lot if it gets too serious. | ||
| egret |
I'm curious how wide are carves when you guys downhill? In relation to a street, one lane, two? Trails I have been on where inclines are are about one lane wide and carving does not do the trick for me and I have to foot break a lot. | ||
| JeffVyain |
Footbrake in your sleep is right. That said, I've never gotten a speed wobble on my LDP. I'm riding on a Seismic in the rear...maybe that has something to do with that, but this Bennett only turns when I tell it to, and the rear is so stable it feels like a speed wobble just couldn't happen at any reasonable speed.
Does anyone speed check on their LDP? I haven't even tried it...the thought scares me. |
||
| Odiwan |
I am curious about speed checking as well.
I have been down some moderate hills on my setup (Mermaid/Bennett5.0/Seismic105) and have no problem carving, up to a certain point. After about 25mph my carving becomes VERY minimal but as long as I am carving a little (as JP says keeping an edge) the I don't get speed wobs. But I was out with my bro last weekend and he skates a lot of big DH and sliding stuff, and it gave me the taste for sliding, cept, I cant really slide yet. So, does anyone speed check/ slide on their LDP setups? Any tips? Sorry if I seem like I am hijacking the thread, but I think every good downhiller knows how to slide, and I wonder if it is possible to do so on an LDP. |
||
| pavedwave |
What I found is for sliding, the wheels really made a difference. I was a lot more able to push bottle-green Bennetts and Abec Gumballs into short slides, than I can do on my Avilas. I don't feel comfortable with the way the 3dm's hook back up, they seemed to "skitter" more... but probably the better you get the less difference this makes. Still, I'm planning to spend my sliding practice on a lime or lemon Gumball setup, or some harder yellow Bennetts, with the same durometer all around.
On a topmount LDP, the two adjustments I'm making to make it a better slider are -- slidey-er wheels, and loosening the rear truck just a bit, to make the front a rear a little closer in the way they respond (that probably means going down one spring level on a Seismic...) Eric and his buds have been doing a lot of slides lately, you might have seen the Cambiar vids. The slightly lowered deck helps for busting free, but the rest is all practice and weight distribution. My slides are pretty short and nothing close to "controlled speed checks" yet... maybe Eric and crew can toss some tips in. |
||
| Odiwan |
After I wrote this last night I jumped onto youtube and found this clip
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-u4Ojr0lA_E&feature=player_embedded which Eric had already posted on the G-Bomb thread in the boards forum, here on Pavedwave (I haven't been on here in a few weeks). I think that it answers both questions: can you go DH and can you slide on a LDP setup. I have been practicing sliding (badly) on a shlong board, on which I have some 81A Alligators that I radiused a couple of days ago, which I noticed an instant improvement on. Yeah, I wouldn't even try to slide on my Avilas...that is not what they are for. I have been thinking about getting a dedicated DH and sliding board, but have misgivings about anything that can't be pumped as well. I think that the G-Bomb could be the answer. Of course if you are confident enough you can do anything on anything, but definitely some setups/ configurations work better than others. |
||
| edp_swakakin |
This rings very true with me. Certainly having the deck lowered a bit does help for breaking the wheels away easier. For a long time I tended to stay away from any types of slides that would put me into a switch stance. It was a great hindrance to me. The Illuminati even in the beginning stages always tended to slide a bit easier for me. Having the front Bennett be so progressive even at slow speeds you could at least chirp your back wheels. I completely understand your misgivings. For me I have not found anything that pumps as sloppy as a Bennett. Sloppy for me equates to creativeness… For other slalom style trucks, honestly I really haven’t ridden anything at length to speak of. I certainly would be open to it. But as for the reverse kingpin style trucks I’ve tried many. And it’s just not the same for me. The major issue I have right now is taking corners at speed. I’ve been told I ride a very loose setup. Double white short cone hour glass khiro’s and a lime reflex barrel. For trail pumping it’s awesome. And at straight away speeds I can handle a decent clip. High 20’s low 30’s max. But bring an aggressive corner into the mix and it’s a bit sketchy. Tyler in the video you saw can handle it front side. And at much slower speeds I can handle it backside. But with my trucks so loose just the slightest bump can Bennett dive the truck. I’m sure with more practice it will come along. But I am considering harder bushings for more down hill stuff on the same setup. I really can’t leave the idea of leaving a board I can’t pump per say. Trail Pumping makes up a large percentage of why I skate. It’s those moments on a 3 mile stretch of trail that brings the most out of me. Preaching to the choir… Without question you can speed check and slide an Illuminati (or Dark Matter) while having a pumping style setup, even at slower speeds. In some ways I find it easier because the trucks are so progressive. The good would be that you will most likely feel the same for initially learning slides. But as you get better and faster you may reach a point where stability becomes an issue. It’s kind of where I’m at right now. But I’m happy operating at slower speeds and now with the incorporation of 180’s I can control my speed very well. 180’s on the trail brings a slight more technical feel to it. On all those sections that I would bomb I now slide a lot while still having the same pumping setup. The bad would be once you get used to sliding a Bennett it is also a curse…..Going back to a regular reverse kingpin style truck for sliding feels completely foreign to me. You really have to lean into it to slide. It’s really the rider though I have a couple of friends who do both and have no problems. Just be warned… For pumping wheels that slide well – Tangs In heat and BZ Cheers Eric |
||
| pavedwave |
yeah i'm thinking the board I want to take out "for sliding" will probably by my 36" park-ish board with traditional indy-like trucks and pretty hard bushings. seems like on most slide videos the turniness of the board is almost zero-- its like the board is just another "puck" under their feet. for making my LDP more slidey I think its going to be the yellow bennett wheels. bottle greens slid really predictably. eventually i want to try 77mm strikers on my cambiar 
|
||
| skatersjourney |
I've found that I can get the back end of my Illuminati to slide out pretty nice on the right surface. Mind you, I'm running purple and turquoise Hotspots, so it's not really going to kick out that much. I'm not an expert at speed checks, more speed farts (that little noise you get when the back goes)...hehe!
As far as downhill goes, I go down some pretty intense and varied terrain inclines on my ride into Plymouth, with a front Bennett that feels scarily loose but so far, I've never got myself into any bad situations with it. I do find myself sitting out on the corner practice in some of our local spots though, just through sheer common sense! It will go down hills, you just have to yup...footbrake for your country and keep that edge, don't let the Bennett have its way! |
||
| JeffVyain |
Do you find that the Bennett even wants to wobble? Mine seems to only turn when I tell it to so far, but I have never taken the board 30+... | ||