Longboarding on Rough Surfaces: Tips and Tricks
Riding with your longboard on the smooth surface will be full of amusement. This amusement will be turned into miserable and woeful when you are longboarding on bumpy and rough roads. Sometimes longboarding on an uneven surface can cause it to fall off the board, which can lead to serious injury. Besides, this may have a significant impact on your longboard.
This is because rough roads are loaded with gravel, sharp objects, and possible obstacles. Longboarding on such a kind of surface, you will need special tricks. For your help, through this article, we will let you know different tips and tricks for riding a longboard on rough surfaces. These tricks will help you longboarding even though the surface is uneven or bumpy. So, stay tuned by reading this context.
Is it Possible to Longboarding on a Rough Surface?
Usually, longboarding is practiced on an extremely smooth surface that helps to carry out movements using wheels instead of toes. Unfortunately, not all roads are smooth and favorable to ride a longboard. For that, you may ride with your longboard across slopes or bad and rough roads.
Compared to skateboards, longboards contain softer and bigger wheels. In making longboards suitable for riding all surfaces, wheels play a crucial role. For that, you will need the best longboard wheels for rough surfaces to ensure your riding, even if the surface is uneven.
Tricks for Longboarding on Rough Surfaces Tricks
Here we have demonstrated some effective tricks that will help longboarding on uneven and bumpy surfaces. So, follow the tricks for longboarding effectively on rough surfaces.
Find Your Stance
Every rider has a natural riding stance on the longboard. Standing on a board with left foot forward and right foot back is the regular style. On the other hand, you’re goofy if you put your right foot forward and left foot back on the board. You can know which foot you naturally put forward in a classical way. For that, you just have to be pushed from behind when your feet are together on the ground. This way you find out what foot you can take to prevent yourself from stumbling.
Find Your Balance in Static Mode
If you are a newbie to longboarding, you may have to struggle to get comfortable balancing. In that case, keeping practice is one of the ideal solutions. Practicing on the grass or a thick carpet will help keep the board from rolling. To practice, you need to get on your board with your normal position and keep your legs shoulder-width apart or slightly wider. Additionally, your back foot should be perpendicular to the deck, while your front panel remains slightly angular
Practice Your Turing Stance
You will need to stand on your board to practice turning stance when the wheel is not rotating. But the deck should be tilted to the side. Now roll back and forth with your ankles to keep your deck leaning on each edge. After that, fasten your ankles and keep the deck lean by turning your body weight onward (toes) and rearward (heels).
Practice Your Push and Brake Stance
If you want to master any longboarding style, you have to balance the board on one leg. Your other leg will be worked as pushes or brakes in this position. For that, you need to stand on your longboard on the carpet or grass. After that, place your front foot so that your toes point towards the nose. And also, rotate your hips and shoulders to face ahead.
Once you do this, lift your hind legs off the deck to balance your front legs. Exchange your weight on your front legs, turn your front knees and lower your hind legs to the ground without moving your buttocks. Now touch the surface with your hind legs for a few seconds while squatting with your front legs.
Get Comfortable Rolling
Once you have learned the basic stance, find a parking lot or driving way with a straight incline. Turn your front foot and shoulders forward, do a slight push dropping your back foot to the ground to provide your longboard some momentum. Avoid putting too much stress on your front leg if your riding surface is rough. Once you get comfortable pushing, kick the ground a little harder to gain more speed.
Learn to Brake Effectively
Knowing how to brake effectively, especially foot braking is essential if you wish to master longboarding. The steps of brake your board are similar to those of pushing. You just have to brush the ground with your shoe’s sole to make friction slow you down instead of pushing. Ensure you approach the surface with your foot flat, even your toes slightly lifted. When scrubbing the floor to break, do not try to hold your toes in any bump or crack.
Start Riding on a Mild Hill
After learning to foot brake on flat, ride on a very slight hill, and push back up after riding down. If your riding hill is too steep, try to ride at the bottom and walk for a long time until you feel confident. This is because losing control on a big slope will lead to severe injuries.
Carve to Slow Down
Carving means turning on your board in an S shape pattern. In order to control your speed when riding down a slope, you must carve as sharply as possible. Besides, turning forward and back will make your board slow down. To curve properly, you have to bend your knees to lessen your center of gravity. You should push your knees forward to engrave the toes and pull your buttocks back to engrave the ankles.
Learn to Fall
Although it sounds scary and weird, knowing how to fall properly from a longboard is essential. Falling on a board the wrong way may lead to severe injuries. In that case, properly falling will help to prevent breaking your arm or wrist. For that, when you fall, pull your arm across your torso instead of pulling your arms out. Also, try landing on your arm and rolling your shoulders to the side.
Tips for Longboarding on Rough Surfaces
Here we have demonstrated some tips that will help you ride your longboard on rough and bumpy surfaces.
Get the Right Wheels
Wheels are the most crucial factor in longboarding, especially when riding on bumpy ground. The longboard will require softer and larger wheels for riding on uneven surfaces. Softer wheels offer more grip and require less effort to push, which helps maintain speed. On the other hand, harder wheels tend to go against the surface object, making them unsuitable for rough roads. So you should go for larger and softer wheels on your longboard.
Choose the Right Board
Longboards come in different sizes and styles. You have to choose the best one based on your size, skill, age, riding, goals, etc. For example, if you are a newbie in off-park riding, you should choose a flat board for good balance on rough roads. These boards offer more room for foot change, stability, and big wheels. Besides, with this board, you can maneuver easily against obstacles.
Wear Protective Gear
Longboarding is a safe game like any other sport. But sometimes, this sport causes severe injuries. In addition, rough surfaces are more likely to cause accidents. So, you should prepare to prevent upcoming unexpected accidents. For that, you have to wear knee helmets, pads, and elbow protection, no matter your experience level.
Wear Appropriate Longboarding Shoes
Wearing the right shoes is essential for any sport. In that case, you have to choose a good pair of shoes that are most comfortable, light, and offer stability and protection for your feet. Besides, your footwear should be equipped with good soles to absorb sufficient fractions. You will find numerous footwear that is specially designed for longboarding.
Abide by the Unwritten Rules
When riding, you should adopt longboarding etiquette, common-sense safety, and courtesy behavior. This is because riding among cars on open roads ensures you keep your lane and follow traffic signs. So, longboarding conservatively, getting ready to deal with worst-case scenarios (e.g. unannounced turning).
Conclusion
Longboarding is one of the most popular ways of transportation over short distances. Riding with a longboard is faster than walking, bringing a lot of fun. But longboarding on rough surfaces can be challenging without following tricks and tips.
Although everyone has their own riding styles, you have to learn a few tricks and tips for riding on rough surfaces. For that, in this context, we have tried to present some effective tricks and tips. Following the tips and tricks demonstrated above, you can ride efficiently on your longboard on rough roads as well as prevent unexpected injuries.
