Official Longboard Thread

my friends are big fans on Loaded Longboards, they love them, and have a few different models.
i just got one aswell

well you need to know what length your looking for, what you plan on doing with the board, soft flex for playful and freestyle riding, stiff flex for bombing hills stuff like that, go on different brand sites and just read into them

The only two brands of longboards i've ridden are sector 9 and original and my orginal totally owns.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rXwBmGyMRo

they also have a crapload more videos on youtube you can check out as well.

Here's their website

www.originalskateboards.com

And Im 5'8 and 130 pounds. What is a good size for me?

loaded will be more expensive than sector 9. sector 9 is kind of like the burton of longboarding, they have most of the market share. for just cruising and bombing hills, a sector 9 will do fine. i would look at things like the flex of the deck. a flexier deck will be easier to carve, but not as stable at speed. wider trucks will be more stable, but not as easy to turn. also, i know sector 9 makes some of these, go look up what a drop through is. basically it has a hole in the board where the trucks go and you put the baseplate of the truck on top of the board, lowering the board to the ground, making it easier to push and more stable at speed. i have one, and love it. try looking it up online.

If you want a lot of turning/ carving you could look at the sidewinder series
it is basically two trucks stacked on each other for tighter turns.

Thanks everyone. The info is helping!!!

Anyone have any recommendations of a good Sector 9 that will last me a long time? That I can just cruise around town and boom hills.

Also for sector 9 I have the kommi which is a drop through so it's great for cruising around. Since it's lowered to the ground it takes a lot less effort.

I got a Barfoot roundtail with revenge trucks and retro zig zag wheels. NOT a hill bomber (revenge trucks are best ridden loose) but I couldn't have more fun cruising the bike trails in my area. In my opinion, go for soft wheels and quality bearings if you want a snowboarding feel.

Originally posted by IceCoast bones swiss- awesome bearing, there are expensive, but ive had the same pair in my wheels on my skateboard for 5 YEARS, and they are still running fast as hell

Blast em with some triflow spray lube every now and then to keep them clean. The difference is amazing!

ya spenser i hear ya, bones reds are still some kick ass bearings considering they are $15, they just wont last as long as swiss.

Never Summer or Arbor longboards FTW!!!

Do not go for sector 9 . S9's are kinda crappy. Check out silverfish longboarding for a ton of info. For trucks i would go for either paris 180s or randal 180s both are about $40 for a set. For bearings almost anything is good...dont think that the higher abec rateing the better. Speedy lunatics are some good cheap bearings for about $9. For wheels just dont buy ebay knock off wheels. I make longboarding decks so pm me if you are interested.

i dont really get longboards, freebords look way more fun on hills, and also somewhat safer since you can stop them at speed reasonably easy (it seems), and skateboards look more fun on flats. Whats the appeal of a longboard?

Sorry I don't know how to embed videos

Its a legit company with a good background, Loaded is like the Burton of longboarding to me, everyone has one and everyone is hyped on them, they are expensive and there is nothing special about them. Sector 9 seems more like Rossignol, or Lamar IMO.

Ive had nothing but good experience with Gravity, they make decks that fill every niche of the market, from freestyle longboarding, to cruising and downhill and their art is incredible.

I have an Original Apex 37 right now which Im in love with, If I could afford more than one setup Id get a Gravity, then a Fullbag w/ Holey's, then a Landyatchz

I have a NeverSummer Concept and love it. I don't get to use it a whole lot but when I do it's a good time. Just lookout for cars when your bombing hills.

I have not yet ridden a Kalai, but the style is right up my alley. I know its not a stiff board, because its designed to compete with boards like the dervish (twin tip freestyle dropthrough deck). I think the Kalai is the most beautiful deck in its class and the Gravity's I have ridden have been nothing but great decks

From reading the site it has bamboo and cross ply maple to add torsional flex (plagued my sector 9 surf camp, freakin noodle) and make it a snappier deck, like all quality decks though it comes in a variety of flexes

Nother sexy deck:

Originally posted by ippollite i dont really get longboards, freebords look way more fun on hills, and also somewhat safer since you can stop them at speed reasonably easy (it seems)

I've got a three Sector 9s: 2 longboard and a mini. I love cruising with them... especially the mini. I like pumping and sliding with it (kind of like surfing.. not sliding with gloves). I also have a Loaded Dervish and Ceviche. I use them both for sliding with gloves. I love the Dervish. They are great for sliding. Ceviche is easier to cruise with because it's smaller, but it can't kill the hill as well as the Dervish. Up to you though, just get a mid length board with fat wheels for a smooth ride. You can bomb anything with it and cruise around like a BAMF.

Originally posted by taiguy +1 on the silverfish forum. you can read up on anything and everything longboarding related here. i ride a cracked skulls. talk about core, it's a single dude who retired from his engineering job to build decks. i'm a happy camper. a complete deck is $124 with randal II 180s and 70mm abec flashbacks. i changed out to a harder durometer wheel for better sliding.

Ya definatly go with the KS.

to be honest i dont know a lot but my mate has a sector 9 board and now wants to get an original board when he can afford it. i have ridden his sector 9 board and it rocks, not sure what model it is though. probably not a lot of help but anyway

Originally posted by IceCoast http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mhfq2FPKKm4&feature=player_embedded check this out guys. its a new board from loaded, its a slightly smaller dervish, ment for more trick riding, smaller wheelbase, and has curved up tips. im getting it

crap, i wanted the dervish, this complicates things...

where did you find one? or did you yet?

Man that looks like a killer longboard. It reminds me a lot of the apex 37 from original. Such a cool video too.

man how do they slide like that?