pavedwave longboarding

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

BITCHIN!!

that is all Very Happy

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

Sadly the wet season is closing in and I may not be posting much more this year. But since my Roe Mermaid arrived, I can write up some comparisons.

From earlier postings, some of you know I started with a Surf One Classic and modified it into a reasonable pumper. I had a blast learning about the technical side of pumping boards, and actually learned to pump. While waiting for the Mermaid to show up, I put together a Sector Nine Trylam and it is a fabulous pumper. Now I've put some miles on my new Mermaid and want to let people know how they compare.

My longest ride to date is only 12 miles. I was hoping to do at least a 20 mile day before the end of good weather, but that hope is slipping away. Next year though.... I know these distances sound short to you Ultraskaters, but I only started longboarding in June, and didn't even know about pumping until July.

I got the medium flex Mermaid and it's stiffer than the Surf One and a lot stiffer than the Trylam. But it does have more room for my feet so I think I put a lot more power into my pump. But the Trylam still feels more fun than the Mermaid. It has this springy, lively feeling to it that just makes me laugh. The Mermaid feels more business like, but I think it pumps a little better.

The Surf One is easily outclassed by both of the others, so it's going to be converted into something else. I don't know what yet, but I do want to learn sliding next year.

On my standard route, the Centennial Trail in Spokane, I'm averaging about 8 mph on a course with some ups and downs. I'm sure that average will improve as I improve my ability to pump up hills. I still have to push occasionally, but never on the flats. I'm assuming you skilled pumpers pump up everything. On the downhills 20 mph is about as fast as I want to go. The Mermaid is just a tad twitchier than the Trylam, but when I get my foot firmly over the front truck, tuck a little, and put my hands behind my back, it feels fairly comfortable. I'm thinking that same expanse of real estate up front allows my foot to give more input to the board, hence the twitchiness. The Trylam is rock solid at 20 mph. Since both have the identical truck and bushing set up, I think it's the deck itself.

The Mermaid seems to get up to speed with a little less effort than the Trylam, and it's slightly easier to maintain that speed. Again, I have little data to support my findings, but that just means more testing is necessary. I'm still frustrated by my inability to go up anything but the slightest of inclines. Still, I can't complain. I couldn't even pump 3 months ago.

We've gotten almost 2 inches of rain in the last 4 days, and the high temperatures are only getting into the low 40's. When the road is dry, 40 is warm enough to go out. Sunday I was pumping in 37 degree weather, and that wasn't too bad.

Finally, on Sunday I was pumping along on the flats at a pretty good clip, about 12 mph. Four or five teenagers were on the side of the trail and saw me coming. All of their mouths were wide open in amazement and one of them yelled, 'How old are you?' I said, '57 years old!' as I rolled on by and the kid shouted 'HOLY CRAP!!!'

I was feeling pretty good.

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

Great hearing your stories -- have I said Inspiring??! Your progress sounds pretty freaking fast from what I've heard so far. Watching the kids jaws drop has to be a kick.

The flex and Mermaid impressions never cease to surprise me. Over time I'd like to get everyone's weight and some kind of baseline impression we can all agree on, how to define "snap" for example. It has to be the trickiest element in this game. For a guy like you I sometimes wonder whether a Medium or Stiff flex is better -- especially comparing that flex with the Trylam, which I'd consider to be more like the Medium if not somewhere in between.

I hope you can find some garages to satisfy your pumping soul over the winter? Thats the one thing that saves us physically and mentally...

crote123 · Joined: 31 Jul 2009 Posts: 5

Surf One,

You and I have had a similar path to LDP. I started pumping in June instead of July and you got me beat by about a decade (I'm 46). Except in my youth (30 years ago), I also skateboarded so getting on a longboard wasn't a learning process (funny how muscle conditioning lasts a long time).

I also started with a non-LDP board (Sector 9 Custom Weave with Gullwing Mission 1 trucks and Sector 9 wheels) that was very flexy. Reading this forum site, I came across many names for LDP boards and ordered a Galac deck. In the meantime, I modified the Sector 9 to a Bennett 5.0 in front, Tracker RT/S in the back with OrangOtang In Heat 83a wheels.

This gave me some time to experiment with "setup" as I've tried many wedging/dewedging angles and Khiro bushings (and others) color combinations. Just with that, I saw a difference with my pumping efficiency.

I finally received my Galac deck (it's beautiful) and carried over my setup to that board (just needed to change wedging/dewedging angles as the Sector 9 has camber while the Galac is flat). First thing I noticed was that it wasn't as flexy as the Sector 9 (which I kind of enjoyed being flexy) and that the improvement that I was expecting from having an LDP specific deck was not as much as I had hoped for. That is, until I went out a few more times and actually got used to the board's width and experimented with feet placement. Then I started to notice the difference, especially when you start picking up speed. Like John (of Galac) told me, it's when you're over 10mph that you're going to notice the difference and I'm sure it's valid for all LDP-specific boards.

Now, I'm stuck like you. Winter is near, last few weeks have been crap (rain and cold with lots of leaves on the paths). So, it hasn't been the best environment to test out my new deck but I'm quite happy I made the jump to an LDP-specific board.

One change you may want to do if you find your flex not good enough on your Mermaid would be to use the longest wheelbase if you haven't done so, or if possible (not sure you can and want to do it) to drill more holes in the back of the board to increase the wheelbase. It should help with the flex a bit.

As for going up hills, IMHO, it's all about going very nose heavy (front foot completely over the front truck, the screws are under the foot) and using the counter rotating technique (upper body rotation). You may also try soft bushings (I'm actually using all whites in the friont). On the flats, the front side of my front foot is just behind the screws of the front truck (I promise, I won't mention "front" again Very Happy

). Also, I snap more the board on each side than rotate (my upper body pratically doesn't move), it's all lower body motion for me (maybe it's wrong but it works for me).

One last advice, if you can afford a Garmin 405 watch with a heart rate monitor, do so. It's incredible what you can learn about yourself and you can follow your progression as you put more time on your board. I've actually "surprised" myself with one stat for a 4km lap. My average heart rate for that lap was 174bpm. "Common wisdom" has maximum heart rate at 220-age which would give me 174 max heart rate. I actually hit 183 on that lap (and I know I can hit higher too).

Nice to read about older riders as I don't feel alone and ridiculous in my passion for LDP. I sometimes ride and feel awkward about LDPing at my age but then out of the blue, I'll get people walking, biking, skateboarding even in the people in their cars giving me a thumbs up as I pass along them. Then I know that it's all worth it.

Finally, this is a bit OT but if you get snow in the winter where you are and if you don't already, start alpine snowboarding (snowboarding with hard boots). It's incredible, I love LDP but alpine snowboarding is just tops for me. What a rush carving hard down a hill.

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

You old men are the heart and soul of LDP. I'd be interested to see how the market for LDP boards splits up between age brackets

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

I had no idea how addictive this pumping thing would become. I haven't skated outside for any distance in over a week, and it's driving me crazy. So I've started a new training program on an indoor route. It's not as much fun as outside, but it will keep me in shape. Since the hall in the high school where I teach is 330 feet long, one lap is 660 feet, which makes 8 laps to the mile. I can make the turn around at each end without stopping. I get to school at 6 every morning, so two or three times a week I go for about 25 laps. The really fun part is since the floor is level I can pump the entire way. Even with the turnaround, I'm averaging about 8 minutes per mile. My best morning to date is 3.5 miles. I have the hall to myself as few people show up before 7. My current goal is to do a ten mile pump. It will take me over an hour, and I'll be a sweaty mess, so I better do it on a day off.

I can go faster, but it makes the turnaround tough. Sometimes I have to footbrake to slow down for the turn. I wonder if I could learn to slide a bit to scrub off some speed. That would be fun. The other day I was cranking into the turn much too fast and the wheels broke loose. I wasn't ready for that and ended up high siding and getting pitched off the board. Fortunately a wall was there to stop me. Very Happy

I've also been looking at the gym with much interest. I don't think my wheels would hurt the floors, but I'm pretty sure my skating days would end shortly if I entered that sacred domain. Besides, the gym has security cameras. I really want to get some video of my pump, but maybe not that way.

stocago · Joined: 14 Apr 2008 Posts: 227

I used to be a runner and would strive for daily workouts, but since I've converted to LDP, it's been very easy. It has been addictive. I skate everyday, unless it rains. Since I live in Florida it usually works out, especially this time of the year. Since the days are getting shorter, especially with the change to standard time, I have run out of daylight on most days, since I often work 6 days a week. I have found a stretch of path that is fairly well lit and I just do repeated out and backs, which are boring, but I can at least get my fix in. I've been experimenting with a headlight, but that will be secondary as it's still not safe riding in the dark.