pavedwave longboarding

blake · Joined: 29 Sep 2008 Posts: 198 Location: Seattle

I know most of you dont down hill but i thought i would throw this by you and see what you think. so i was thinking about this. i am a triathlon racer and i was thinking about a triathlon longboard style. like start with a dh to a pump/push then a slalom or something like that. or like start like a triathlon with a run to your boards at the top of the hill, then to a dh down the hill, then finally a distance ride or something like that. what do you guys think? give me some more ideas because i thought it would be good fun.

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The concrete is our canvas, our wave, our playgound, our catalyst for growth. When you feel it, flow with it, live in the moment; and shred it like you'll never skate again, everytime.

Ian the Groove Worshipper · Joined: 03 Dec 2008 Posts: 79 Location: Largo, FL

I've actually been thinking of coming up of ways to measure performance of your pumping, with hopes that it would help guide me and my fellow pumpers to a more well-rounded and balanced set up. Measuring results in a competitive type timed or measured setting seems to be the most reliable way to obtain objective data, thus I have thought about adding a couple of other events which test different aspects of your set up, to be used in conjunction with the Cyber Mile.

First, I thought that it would be cool to find a way to measure your acceleration ability, over a distance that would lend itself to the optimal gear selection that would provide both a fast top end speed, and hard acceleration from a very slow speed. I would propose that the skaters both start from a dead stop, and that only one push be allowed to get the wheels rolling. From that point forward, it would be an all out drag race with the skater who had the "lower gear" having an advantage at the beginning, yet with the skater with the "higher gear" having the advantage down the stretch. The distance would have to be carefully selected so as not to lend itself to either set up. I think 1/8 mile would probably be sufficient, however I'd like to know your thoughts. This race would also require absolute efficiency of your single push, which would also inspire improved technique in this area.

Next, I would propose a climbing test. The difficulty with this test is that it seems nearly impossible to find a way to measure climbing performance comparing data from one location to another, being that all hills are different. Nonetheless, I feel that hill climbing requires serious pumping skill, as well as an optimal setup.

The caveat would be that this would be considered the "Pavedwave Total" or something to that effect, wherein you would NOT be allowed to make any changes to your setup between tests.

The optimum setup would be the setup that scores the highest average of the three tests.

Ideally, this would result in an optimally efficient pumping setup over the ranges of terrain that we actually encounter over typical rides, inclusive of hills, obstacles/obstructions that cause us to accelerate from low speeds, etc.. At the same time that it would be helping the skater find the most efficient pumping setup, it would also push the skater to develop their pumping skills.

Of note, these tests are all focused on pumping performance. I have left out pushing contests, downhill performance, though I certainly think that those things could also be added to the mix as alternative ways to measure performance and inspire improved technique.

What do you think?