pavedwave longboarding

Surf One · Joined: 05 Sep 2009 Posts: 13 Location: Spokane, WA

At 55 years old I had no skateboard experience other than a summer of crashing in 1965. We’d take apart metal shoe skates, and nail them to a 2 by 4. Riding down ‘Colonel’s Hill’ was a rite of passage that year in Fort Richardson, Alaska. Every kid in the neighborhood had gravel embedded knees. I never wanted to ride a skateboard again.

Last year one of my students brought his longboard to school. I was intrigued. This thing didn’t look like the 1965 death trap. I was pretty sure I could learn to ride something like this. A few days later I visited two skate shops but was ignored at both. Then I tried to purchase one on line only to run into permanent back order status. Trying to acquire a longboard was so frustrating I gave up.

In June of 2009 a friend showed me how to push and turn his longboard on a smooth private driveway. The feeling of rolling along and carving turns reminded me of telemark skiing. The idea of falling, however, seemed a lot more painful. Wrist guards, knee guards, and helmet sounded like a good idea. The next day I went to a skate shop to buy a board. The guy who built it was friendly and knowledgeable. He set me up with a Surf One Classic, with Randall 150’s, and Alligator 71mm, 81duro wheels. The neighbors looked surprised and amused when I started cruising up and down the block.

Regular stance felt right, but I tired quickly so I’d switch to goofy. I’ve continued that idea – practicing half regular, half goofy – every time I go out. I think it helps me understand balance better, plus it shares the load on my legs. I was surprised at how tiring pushing was. Particularly the leg you stand on. I practiced too much the first three days though and strained my right Achilles tendon. During the week I stayed off the board, I starting searching the web for information on longboarding. When I stumbled onto pavedwave and long distance pumping I knew I had to learn to pump.

Somebody on the forum advised simply watching the videos and learning to pump holistically. This is excellent advice. Going through the motions of pumping helps both balance and strength even if you aren’t actually propelling the board.

The trail I practice on is a 3.75 mile long straight with almost no elevation gain. In two weeks I was pushing the full 7.5 miles out and back. People smiled as I gyrated by, so I wasn’t the only one entertained. But I still wasn’t pumping. Or was I? Maybe I was but so slightly it wasn’t obvious. I needed some way to measure my progress. The next time I took my Gecko 201 GPS and held it while I rode. My first experiment went like this: Over a marked distance push off from a dead stop until you are doing about 10 mph. Stand on the board and ride straight to the end of the course and note your speed. Now repeat this process but pump instead of riding. If your speed at the end of the course is higher on this pass, you must be pumping. This might sound kind of pathetic, but I was desperate for some feedback. When you don’t have an instructor, you have to figure out some other method of collecting empirical evidence of learning. And the proof was in! I was pumping! OK, we’re not talking any records here, but I was a little faster at the end of my pump run than just riding. It wasn’t much, but it gave me the confidence to keep trying. Each night I’d watch a few pumping videos over and over. I’d stand on my board in front of the computer screen and mimic the body movements. Then, the next morning I’d head out for my 7.5 mile practice.

I didn’t seem to get any farther for the next few days. So I went back to the skate shop and asked if anybody could pump. Neither of them had heard of LDP, but both were competitive slalom guys. They swapped out my bushings for softer orange and blue Khiros. I went back to the trail to try another one of my experiments. This one involved riding down the only (very small) hill on the trail. I wanted to see how far I’d go just riding, then go back and try pumping down the same place. I stood on my board at the top of the rise and rode down. I accelerated to about 12 mph and rolled about 250 yards before coming to a stop. Then I rolled down the hill and started pumping. I pumped for two miles! I think I’m getting it. Now I’m waiting for a dedicated pumper to see how much that helps.

cappa · Joined: 11 Oct 2008 Posts: 42

Just want to say what a cool and inspiring post. All power to you sir.

Surf One · Joined: 05 Sep 2009 Posts: 13 Location: Spokane, WA

Time for an update.

Since I’m on week 8 of my wait for a Roe Mermaid, I decided to try and make my Surf One Classic a better pumper. So yesterday I bought a Bennett truck to replace my front Randal 150. I also got a Khiro wedge riser kit for experimenting. After attaching the Bennett with 15 degrees of wedging, I headed off to my local test area. The difference between the Bennett and the Randal is quite pronounced. Turning the Bennett feels much smoother. But it was obvious from the moment I started pumping it could use softer bushings. Back to the skate shop today for a small bushing selection. After studying all the bushing advice on the forum, I choose the orange-white-orange recommendation. I bought spare whites, oranges, and a set of blue for further experiments. For the test ride, I used a local street with a slight incline I’ve never been able to pump up. Now I can start down the incline for about two blocks, turn and carry enough speed through the turn to pump back up the two blocks. I won’t get a chance to try out my standard places until the weekend, but it already seems the Surf One is a much better pumper than before.

I really appreciate all the help and advice on this forum. I never would have guessed that such subtle changes would result in such huge differences.

funkymonk · Joined: 22 Jul 2009 Posts: 14 Location: Wales UK

Its true, the personal research that has been shared on this forum is priceless.
Although pumping a skateboard is a technique used somewhere in most skating disciplines, even if it had occurred to me that it could be used excusively to make a discipline all of its own - LDP - I cant imagine how much work, expense, time and frustration it would have taken to get me to the heart of pumping a skateboard.
Honestly I would probably have given it up as just a dream.

Corny as it may sound, LDP puts you in touch with a rhythm that is so personal and at the same time so universal, it boarders on the mystical.
_________________
Pulse II - longest wheelbase
Bennet front 5'' spherical hangar 20* + wedge
White Khiro barrels
RTS 129 rear - 18* neg wedge
Stock bushings

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

First off, a great story, nice to hear your progression! That "first time crash" experience is one of the things I hear the most from guys in the 30--50 age range. That "ah ha" moment hits for those who see the bigger board with bigger wheels and quickly realize the potential. It's inspiring to see you growing the Masters division!

And thanks for the kind words. That's what this place was designed for, to share the learning process, keeping it informative vs. commercial. Even occasionally spiritual (but more of the James Brown gospel vein) Smile

SkateKi · Joined: 15 Aug 2009 Posts: 36 Location: redmond washington

awesome!
_________________
Derek Munson
masakatsu agatsu
http://www.alienallstars.com

Surf One · Joined: 05 Sep 2009 Posts: 13 Location: Spokane, WA

The Saga Continues…

This morning I finally drove out to my test track (the Centennial Trail near Mirabeau Park) to try out the new bushings. I pumped most of the time for just over 9 miles. The most recent change was to increase the wedging on the front Bennett to 20 degrees. This made a noticeable improvement. I’m pumping up more inclines, but still lose a lot of speed and end up pushing. My average speed is up to 8 mph, and I often hit 11 or 12 on the flats. Now I wondered what else might help.

On the way home I stopped by the local skate shop so I could try out some new wheels. It’s the only thing I haven’t changed on my Surf One pumper wannabe. I bought a set of 75 mm 83a Orangatangs to replace my 71 mm 81a Alligators. They made as big a difference as the last two changes!! I only pumped about 2 miles around some newly paved local streets, but it was all pumping. Finally I can pump continuously around a 10 block loop and finish at my starting point. I understand why the bushings helped, but I’m mystified why the wheels made such a difference. The specs don’t seem that different. But it sure keeps me amused while waiting for my Roe.

How much longer will this weather last? Further testing is still required. Tough duty, but someone has to do it.

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

Nice dude! -- you've just jumped a gear moving your wheelsize up another 4mm from the 71-->75's, and at the same time a slight increase in durometer. With a larger wheel that has slightly less roll resistance, your top momentum is going to be faster overall now. I'd place more of the difference on the size than the duro -- a 4mm diameter jump is surprisingly significant.

funkymonk · Joined: 22 Jul 2009 Posts: 14 Location: Wales UK

yeah.. it took me a while to figure out why a seemingly small increase in wheel size makes so much difference
but then i remembered pi

4mm x pi = 12.5663706 mm

that's 12.5663706 mm (or a half inch) extra in wheel circumference, so half an inch further you travel with every turn of the wheels

when i was a humble pusher, i figured out that the wheels would turn at least 20 times on the smooth flat with each push, so, with every 300 pushes, I was 100 yards ahead! cool eh?

Surf one; starting with a non LDP board and modifying and tweaking like you have been doing is - IMHO - the way to go, when you finally stand on a 100% specific LDP set up, you'll be ready for it.
_________________
Pulse II - longest wheelbase
Bennet front 5'' spherical hangar 20* + wedge
White Khiro barrels
RTS 129 rear - 18* neg wedge
Stock bushings

wafflesole · Joined: 15 Apr 2008 Posts: 82