pavedwave longboarding

JeffVyain · Joined: 20 Aug 2009 Posts: 59 Location: Indianapolis, IN

I can totally understand the limited leverage. Right now, though, once I'm getting up to top speed, it seems like all my leverage, power, what-have-you, is coming from my back foot--subtle pulling with my toes and pushing with my heal; atleast, it probably seems subtle externally, but I'm putting every bit of force I can into the board without pulling my foot right off of it. Once top speeds are reached, I'm probably only working with a 12-18" amplitude on my "wave" so it's quick but more of a subtle wiggle than, say, baby tossing. I'm guessing that it would probably just take less effort on a dedicated LDP board, but are top speeds going to be much different? If I can go 15mph on the flats on a Dervish with flipped Durians on R180s, can I go 18 or 20 on the flats on a Mermaid? Or is the top speed simply limited by the length of the wheelbase?

I wanna go faaaaast! If I can be talked out of pushing, I am open to it. These city push races popping up are quite exciting, but I don't think they're going to be won by pumping unless someone can reach and hold 17mph or so and hold it for the length. I can push that speed without too much trouble, but then there's an obvious fatigue issue associated with pushing. Over an 8 mile race, probably doable, but over a longer distance, pumping may be the way to go. The thing about the Dervish, though, is it seems to be pretty good for both. Maybe I could start by just throwing some different trucks on there so pushing can still be comfortable, but pumping leverage can be maximized. I'll get a dedicated LDP board before too long so I can do some major distance comfortably, but I want to create the perfect racing board first.

JeffVyain · Joined: 20 Aug 2009 Posts: 59 Location: Indianapolis, IN

Also, I keep looking at this picture of Paul Kent on the front page and wondering to myself if drop-through really is a significant disadvantage.

LDPanda · Joined: 21 Nov 2008 Posts: 418 Location: Seattle, WA

Paul Kent is a pusher, not a pumper.

If you think you can maintain 15mph pumping your setup, more power to you. Considering 18mph is near world record pace for flatland, i dont see it happening but i havent seen your GPS.

The difference in pushing height between a well set up drop thru and a well set up ldp deck is about 1.5 inches. I would consider that insignificant over 10k. I would not consider the difference in traction and the ability to pump efficiently insignificant over that same distance.

A dervish is not an ldp deck. You could use it for long distance, you could use it for pumping, but it is not a long distance pumping deck.

If you want to see what speeds are realistic for flatland pumping, check out the cyber mile section.

pavedwave · Joined: 22 Oct 2007 Posts: 1120 Location: seattle wa usa

JeffVyain · Joined: 20 Aug 2009 Posts: 59 Location: Indianapolis, IN

That's just incredible to me that Paul could push that distance. I think the energy issues could be overcome with consistent liquid replenishment and gel packs, granolas, etc. but WOW that would put a number on my feet. I'm surprised he didn't end up with a stress fracture or something. It would certainly be much easier if I were a better ambi-pusher (my injury occurred from practicing pushing on my off-foot...got excited and started going too fast for my own good, weeble-wobble on my super loose front truck and tada!)

I totally agree--the zen is what it's about and definitely what keeps me going at it day in and day out. It's a great feeling, and certainly one of, if not the most energy efficient form of transportation we have available. The physics all makes sense...there's really no argument there. The question for me is what amounts to the fastest ride over a given distance, and it sounds like that could be different for everybody. Some may be faster pushing, some pumping, some a combination of both, and someone's setup will probably reflect the amount of each style of riding they do. I guess that's why we all have quivers! I'm working on expanding mine over time. I just re-took up this sport...I started skating a couple years ago in Nashville and was just getting a bit too crazy on the hills with not the right amount of safety equipment and gave it up when I decided I couldn't afford the hospital bills. I took up rock climbing for a bit--love/d that too--but now that I live in Indianapolis, with no good gyms around, I went back to skating, thinking I could survive on the flats much better than on the hills of Nashville. I continue climbing the sides of buildings here and there to satisfy those needs.

The thing that I love about racing is that it brings so many people together. It's a great environment for having a good deal of fun, making good friends, and having some fun competition. I've been wanting to make the broadway bomb this year and can only hope that my injuries are healed enough to have a go at it in October. I'll probably just end up cruising the race and taking a bunch of video, assuming I can be comfortable on the board. I used to be a cross country runner, and the competitive spirit is in me, so as much as I love the zen experience, I equally love competition. This is the perfect sport for me, because I can truly love my experience training (such was not the case with running at all) and equally love the experience of competing. Thanks for the replies. Can't wait to get back on my board.

Bullwings · Joined: 01 Aug 2008 Posts: 62

It's been quite a while since I've visited this site.

Like you, I've been recovering from an injury or rather, elective surgery due to a past injury.

Anyway, if you want a lower board, the Subsonic Century is definitely something to look into. It's a topmount dropdown deck, kind of like a Landyachtz Evo, but purpose built for LDP.

I got an initial prototype board from Scott, and it was great, with a few quirks here and there. I noticed on his site that he got rid of the wheel wells and has provided cutouts instead. About two weeks ago I chopped up my board and put some cutouts in too.

Anyway, the board has a good combination of still being a topmount, but dropped down. You do lose a little bit of leverage, but for me the added benefit of being lower to the ground more than makes up for it. With the cutouts, my deck is easily 2 inches lower than my subsonic Pulse setup. This is great for footbraking since I really suck at that. The board also has just the right amount of solid snappy flex to it too. It's a bit on the stiffer side, so if you want something flexier, just pick the weight level below what you weigh.

Also, I'm not sure if he's still offering two different drops, 1.5 and 2.5 inches. There's pros and cons for both.

That said, i've never been on a Dervish yet. I don't have too manny skater/longboarder friends. So, I can't quite compare the two. One thing is for sure, I can pump for a few miles if there's no head wind or inclines, and I suck at pumping.

I've been trying to make a setup that's super super super easy to pump, but is as stable as a hellcat, or demonseed, or evo when going downhill. The short answer for that, is that it doesn't exist... haha. Trade-offs... Can't have a Ferrari that goes 200+mph and off-roads better than a Hummer.