For those who aren't familiar with longboarding, I suppose here is a good opportunity to learn. =D Longboarding is a board sport variation of skateboarding. At first glance, a longboard may appear extremely similar if not identical to the stereotypical idea of a skateboard, but in reality are quite different. Longboarding typically gets confused with longboard surfboards, so don't mix them up! Longboarding (skateboard) are used for hard terrains such as pavement, concrete, tile, wood, etc. Although some longboards may seem very much like mountain boards, typically longboards are not designed for offroading. Unlike new school skateboards, longboard are not typically used for vert ramp or street skating tricks. In my opinion, longboarding most resembles snowboarding or surfing on pavement, with an emphasis on speed, maneuverability, and stability. Although, tricks can be performed on longboards such as the increasingly popular sliding and walking/dancing.

In my opinion, the most common use of longboards is simply for transportation. Just like biking or rollerblading, you can longboard as another means of getting around, since some boards are designed to move swiftly while providing good old exercise and fun. Not to mention, longboards with their various shapes and sizes do usually attract lots of attention such as the Jam Silverback which stands at a whopping 80" (6 foot 8inches) in length. The convenience of longboards are that you aren't physically attached to the board like you are in snowboarding or wake-boarding. Plus, some longboards are small and light enough for you to carry with you into buildings unlike most bicycles. For most boards, you don't need a special rack for your car to transport them around since more than likely it will fit in your back seat or trunk.

Longboarding is certainly a fun and exciting board sport and in my personal opinion, fairly easy to get into. Because most boards are designed with stability in mind, it doesn't take long to get used to simply riding one. If you ever have the chance give one a spin, I'm sure you'll love it just like I do.

I'll get into more of the components that make up a longboard and describe them in detail. Until then, take care and ride safe! xD

Longboard wheels are an integral component to any setup that really sets longboarding apart from other board sports. If you have an interest in longboarding are just getting into the sport, it's important that you choose the right wheels for your discipline to achieve not only the best performance, but also to ensure a safe ride.

Longboard wheels are characteristically larger than their new school skateboard counterparts. A higher diameter helps achieve higher top speeds and also helps the board roll over bumps and dips in the terrain. In terms of composition, longboard wheels are typically softer with lower durometers indicating wheel hardness. Softer wheels have improved traction and absorb turns reducing the chance of breaking into slides. Granted, some longboarding wheels are designed to break traction at a certain point to pull off sliding maneuvers. The front profile of the wheel is also an important characteristic, since edge geometry effects traction. The contact patch is the length of wheel that comes in contact with the ground, with larger contact patches providing more traction. Hub offset can affect stability performance by reducing or increasing the overall width of the wheel base which in turn affects the amount of pressure applied on the wheels during turns.

These are just a few factors to consider when choosing longboard wheels but of course, I'll try to make your decision a little easier. Later I'll post more information about various longboard wheels that have been proven for their quality and performance such as those developed by Abec 11 and Orangatang.

Come again soon! xD

Longboard trucks act as the legs of complete longboard setup. Depending on what the trucks were designed for, they can either make a longboard stable or extremely agile. The main components that make up a truck are the baseplate, the hangar, and kingpin, and the bushings. The baseplate is the part of the truck that mounts directly onto the deck of the board. The trucks can be mounted on the bottom of a deck, or for some decks dropped through. For drop through decks, a cavity is carved into the deck that matches the shape of various baseplates and the baseplate is mounted from the top of the board giving the board a lower stance. The kingpin is typically attached or mounted onto the baseplate and holds the bushings and hangar together. The angle of the kingpin can affect how the board will perform, with lower angles being more stable while higher angles allow for the board to carve harder. The hangar is mounted onto the kingpin between a set of bushings. The bushings are typically a rubber composite that come in various shapes and durometers which can affect how easily the hangar can turn. Harder durometer bushings are thus harder to compress making the hangar loose. The hangar houses the axle onto which the wheel assembly is mounted on. Hangars come in various widths allowing for a narrow or wide setup. Typically, the truck assembly is developed and sold all together so you don't have to buy the individual components. Although most riders change out bushings to suit their riding style, and baseplates to change kingpin angle.

That is some general information about trucks, however longboard trucks differ from new school skateboard trucks in a lot of ways. Component wise they are similar, however longboard trucks typically have wider hangars. Wider wheelbase helps maintain stability and allows the rider to take deeper carves. Some boards are designed with cutouts or wheel wells to allow the board to carve even harder and avoid wheelbite. Also, the baseplate angle for longboards is commonly 45 degrees. This allows the hangar to twist enough to steer the board. 30 degrees is also used for downhill racing when you want to avoid big turning motions that could create speed wobble which is very unstable. Also, some longboard trucks such as Seismics don't even use bushings. Instead, they use springs of various stiffness similar to the suspension of a car. The Seismic trucks are developed specifically for springs and differ greatly in design from most trucks.

Hope this enlightened you a little about what skateboard trucks are and how longboard trucks differ. Please leave a common if you think I left anything out and I'll surely add it.