| Archive for pavedwave longboarding distance longboarding, flatland pumping, cross-country adventuring, boardwalk cruising, and all things skateboarding and good times |
| dougpenick |
learning to pump on a miniI've bought all the gear lately that I can afford without my wife going ape... I've got a couple longboards set up for dh and cruising - and I'm starting to build my own...I've been playing around on this mini lately - it's a madrid surf & skate (25" x 7" + kicktail) with randal 125s and some 70mm/78a sector 9 wheels... I can get a pretty good rhythm right now with the front trucks really loose, and it's really fun and tiring at the same time and I seem to lose a lot of momentum whenever there's any uphill incline. I know that the mini is not the ideal setup, and I'm currently building a pumper deck - click here to see my design for the deck including camber, concave and shape http://www.dougpenick.com/mypumper.jpg it will be about 38" x 10" at it's widest... I won't be able to upgrade my trucks for quite some time and I want some expert advice on how to best set up my randals (how to wedge them, what bushings - etc...) or any pointers for me as I'm just picking up pumping/LDP.... THANKS. |
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| blake |
i don't claim to be an expert at all. and i have never used randals either but i am expecting that what i use would be enough for randals. i would recommend a soft riser with kiro 15 degree riser on top so it is around 17 because the soft riser squishes. and in the back two soft riser would do so its around 10 degrees. and for bushing i say kiro bushing kit. and use white and oranges and maybe blues depending on how hard you like the bushing. then in the back use harder bushing and less looseness. i use red and yellow bushings. but best thing you do is just buy a kiro bushing kit and experiment with all the bushings. | ||
| pavedwave |
Re: learning to pump on a mini
welcome doug- that's a great shape!! i understand the wife going ape thing-- i sold a lot of stuff on eBay and that kept a nice little paypal "slush fund" going for a few years 
i'd wedge the randals almost but not quite as much as you'd wedge the bennett, and i also think the white/orange/blue range khiro's a good start for the front with possibly red/yellow in the back. that should at least get you experimenting down the right path... |
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| dougpenick |
Thanks for your compliments man! It should be built within the next 2 or 3 weeks, I'll post some pictures when it's done.
I'm looking into getting some riser pads and a bushing kit from khiro - but I guess I've always figured it's a shame to waste all the gear I won't be using... anyone else have experience with pumping on a mini? I'm committed to mastering it, but I'm sure it's gotta be a night/day difference once you get on a proper pumping setup. |
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| cappa |
pumper shapeThat LDP shape is really cool. I love how JP's LDP shape has evolved over time.Was the cut down Vanguard the origin of the species? ie where the hips came from? I hope you post pics when you've finished it. |
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| pavedwave |
Re: pumper shape
The cut down Vanguard actually came more than a year after the Mermaid was done. The whole "hips" thing really started for me back on a Flexdex Pro60 around 2003. Because of the 44" wheelbase, I was riding the nose all the time, leaving the back of the board to fishtail, and felt that if there were a wider platform for the rear foot, about 2/3 up the length of that deck, it would actually work even with such a humongous WB. At one point I actually mounted a kickflipper skateboard on top of the Flexdex, a board-on-a-board, to get that feel (Munson can vouch for that story...he must have thought it was premature senility...) Then I drew up some really ugly mspaint diagram, and if I'd ever built that board it would have looked like a surfboard with tumors. Instead, I focused on bringing the wheelbase down several notches and finding the "sweet zone" for a long pumping cadence, then building around that. Which also resulted in an mspaint sketch I sent to both Gareth and LongboardLarry, this one: 
http://home.comcast.net/~pavedwave/images/design_gear_pwLDP_draft.jpg At that time (2006), Larry was also working on the Sandpiper, which had more of a classic pintail look and was made from bamboo. And since I'd been working with Gareth more anyway, we went forward with the Mermaid, and to this day, it's still the board I always grab! Gotta say once again... I really dig that shape Doug!! And I envy the use of whatever tool that is you're drawing with. I need to get some software that makes this stuff easier to do. Looking forward to seeing how this turns out. |
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| cappa |
LDP historyGreat story - any pics of the Flexdex double-decker?How about a LDP timeline? I'd love to see how LDP developed over time. |
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| dougpenick |
Thanks again JP!
I used photoshop. I'm a graphic designer by trade - so it's reasonably easy for me to get these ideas down. When I was working on the shape, I was taking my favorite elements from the earthwing thruster, the subsonic pulse, and the CHI+ILL zeppelin... I just wanted the most fun and pumpable board I could think up, I was excited before, but you guys' comments have gotten me even more stoked about it! Pumping on a mini is hard work - I can't wait till this baby is finished. |
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| LDPanda |
The design looks great, i think the ldp market is really lacking in the kicktail department, its something i really liked about my superglider when i was pumping that. You say you cant afford to upgrade your trucks but a bennett front would only run about $15 and can be paired with the randal rear (or a tracker rear for another $15), just a suggestion. | ||
| dougpenick |
Where can I find a bennet for $15? That's a better deal than I've seen around... I've seen $27 + shipping for those trucks, plus in addition to the bushing/wedge upgrades - I was estimating another $80 - $100 or so just to get my trucks setup.... | ||