Looking for some general newbie advice

Hi folks,

Now the weather/daylight has improved and I have a life again I can finally get out on my board regularly. Yaaaas! However, upon this evening's outing it dawned on me - I'm still a complete newb and it isn't as easy as it looks. I used to skateboard when I was younger, but it is of course a different type of skating and I probably never got good enough for it to help me much now.

I need some basic advice really. I love speed, so I know I can conquer this with a little help. First thing is...I just do not have faith in the Bamboo GT's brakes yet. I hate to say it, but I'm too scared to use them at the moment, so I feel I can't control my speed yet. My question - how much do people actually use their GT brakes? Is it viable at speed by just shifting your weight far back?

Also, my turning isn't feeling great yet. I tightened my tucks a bit from how they came which has made the board more stable and it feels better going straight, but now my balance doesn't feel solid when doing proper turns - ie 90degrees round a corner. Is this just a normal learning curve thing or have I maybe stiffened it up a bit too much?

Last one, I've got AT wheels coming soon - will these certainly need balanced or is it just a preference for some?

On the plus side, getting used to the remote on eco at least haha.

Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

Thank you

 

Glad you're getting to enjoy it! If you put your weight on the back to brake it should get a lot easier. But you should learn how to brake/stop manually without it in case it ever cuts out. The trigger is very sensitive, and if you're going too fast you can ease into the brakes if you barely press it, but you have to be very gentle. Tightening up the trucks should help but you do lose some carving/cornering with that. It's a trade-off. What a lot of people do is get aftermarket bushings and tighten/balance to taste. Once you find your sweet spot of getting it tight enough that you're stable but loose enough to turn you'll be golden. You can try toying around with tightening the upper more or less than the lower one until you find the sweet spot that works for you.

 

Thanks Electricboardlex. Yeah, still figuring out speed control all round I guess. I take it that slamming on the brakes if you suddenly detect danger is just out of the question then? It's just so far when I've tried the brakes, easing into it takes me about 5 seconds! My only other speed control option has been a good ol'fasioned bailout.

I've been reading about tightening the top and bottom busing differently and tried it. I'll defo be looking into other bushings over the coming weeks. Should I just go for one of the packs that have lots to test out d'you think?

 

I'm pretty new to this also, so I'm no pro yet. I'm still figuring out what I like. I ended up getting the Venom 93a bushing set as a lot of people recommended that. It's a lot stiffer than the stock Evolve bushings so between the two I should be able to find a good balance. Some people use a mix of both. Also for about $50 you can get a set with a good range of different durometers if you want to try out different ones. There are probably more experienced riders out there that could tell you more specifics but my suggestion would be try some different stuff and see what works best for you. The general rule in longboarding is to do what is most comfortable to you even if it's not what others do. You'll be a lot safer that way and have more fun

 

The brakes on the GT are similar to a road motorbike.. Be firm/consistent but gentle on the brake trigger. You can come to a quick stop, but don't 'slam' them on otherwise it will lock up.

I've got a gen2 and the brakes are quite weak (but gentle to stop), the criticism of the gen2 was that the brakes didn't come to a stop. So they've made them stronger on the GT but a lot more powerful / responsive on the remote.

Get some wrist guards and a skid lid and you'll be A-ok

 

Thanks bud, I've just had a really good ride today getting used to the brakes - finally! The park was busy so it was very necessary to learn. I think I actually started picking up the knack of braking you described quite quickly - just needed to hear it from more experienced people I guess.

I've been wearing a lid, elbow pads and tough shooting gloves that will at least protect from road rash. I just look at the wrist guards and think surely they must make it hard to use the remote.

Anyways, really appreciate your advice. It's beginning to come together!

 

Ah yes, I think I've seen those venom ones on a YT video, green ones. I eased off the truck bolts a tad before today's ride and think I might be tuning it in a little more. I'll find out soon enough how the setup handles me going a bit faster over the next week or so. Cheers again.

 

The wrist guards don't make it easy to use the remote but they don't make it hard either. I can definitely use the trigger while wearing them. I've heard a lot of stories of scaphoid fractures that have scared me into using them. Plus they will help you slide out a fall instead of taking the impact. I have some JBM guards that aren't super obtrusive. A lot of people use 187 too.

Regarding the Venom bushings. I did find out the hard way that the barrels do fit, but the caps don't. The caps I found were large, and evolve needs a small cap I believe. So I wasted $10 on those. But the barrels are great to add some stiffness to the lower joint and I left the stock evolves on the upper joint.

 

Okay, I'll heed your warning and get a pair. I guess it would be daft not top considering I have every other piece of protective gear, bar a full-face which I'll get when I start going faster perhaps. Looking at an entry level fox one, but just need to get somewhere where I can hopefully try one on first (I have a big napper haha). And thank you for probably saving me UK equivalent of $10 on bushings!

 

My input as another newbie:

Brakes - I use them all the time. I am a newbie and frankly I do not know how to foot brake yet. I try to do that occasionally and so far I either (a) stopped completely instead of steadily slowing down when riding less than 10-15 km/h or (b) ended up bailing from the board at higher speeds.
Emergency braking - I had a few of those, for example when coming to an intersection and seeing a car coming, or stopping before you hit people on sidewalks. These are usually low speed so even they made me jump off my board it was at almost walking speed, really not a problem and much better than traveling at 10km/h (2.8 meters per second by the way) for a couple of seconds.
Once I encountered an unexpected curb in a sort of parking zone and made a panic full-throttle brake. I think I was riding at about 20km/h and went flying forward, but I still managed to run it off without falling. Probably by the time I actually left the board my speed was already reduced significantly.

Trucks - I also read that you should tighten your trucks in the beginning, but my trucks came out of the box much too tight for me when I started riding. It was almost impossible to turn. Once I loosened them I felt much more in control of the board. I am not heavy (75kg) so it might be related. It also gets easier when you get used to it, but still I like the trucks loose for more control. I'm actually considering loosing it a bit more
As I am new to this I don't see a reason to change my bushings. I don't think that I would feel the difference...

Protective gear - I highly recommend 187 killer derby wrist pads. They have a few models but the "derby" ones have a low-cut and doesn't cover too much of the fingers, which means it doesn't really affect using the remote (or reaching your phone in your pocket, etc).
I also like my bliss minimalist knee pads. I already took about three serious falls and my knees didn't get hit at all (my ass is a different story, sadly). I tried different pads (bliss classic) but they were too bulky. These I can wear under my jeans and keep them on all day at work with no problem.

 

Cheers for all that mate! Yeah, I've had a few bailouts for sure - things like rapidly approaching, unseen anti-speed bumps, rogue dogs/kids/pedestrians. My reflex in those cases was to jump off almost without even thinking then immediately grab my board haha. As I'm slowly getting into using the actual brakes I can use a combo of the two if really needed in emergencies - as you say, because it will cut your speed before the bail in the worst case scenario.

I haven't actually tried foot braking, I'm just waiting till I get out to my local park when it's quieter to maybe practice that stuff (also less people to laugh at me fail ^^). I kind of want to try non-electric longboarding as well so I'll have to learn!

I'm quiet a light person as well so I had to ease off my trucks after I tightened them the first time. Maybe my weight wasn't enough for cornering. I'm just para about the speed wobbles coming back, though I think that could also be lack-of-confidence related, so maybe I can loosen them further down the road a bit.

Good recommendations for protective gear as well, thanks. My knee pads are a bit **** so will be looking into new ones eventually. I totally get the message that I should have wrist guards and not just gloves - I'll be ordering some next week

 

Nice to see a few people recommended wrist guards

My mate rides a new bamboo GT and I've got the Gen 2. I've started thinking more of these as go-karts/motorbikes to be honest, if you hit the top speeds regularly you can mess yourself up just as much as a motorbike if you have a fall

With that in mind, when getting your bike license they make you practice emergency braking. On the evolve, find a nice bit of uninterrupted rode, get up to speed (pads and helmet on), bend your knees & get a bit low, lean back and quickly but smoothly hit the brake. May aswell practice hitting the skids at top speed controlled, then when you're up against a car or cyclists etc you'll know what to expect.

(Lol, or just get a gen2, the brakes don't do anything!)

 

Sound advice - I'm thinking of dragging myself outa bed at 6:00am to get a cheeky hour before work - daylight is just about permitting now. I'm hoping the park is quiet then, though I have this suspicion there will be joggers and dog walkers regardless. Dogs are my number one enemy so far! It hurts to have them hate me on the board. I should probably look for quiet back streets as well. Haha, I feel like I'd want moral support for practicing the emergency brake though, I've yet to flat out hit the deck yet

 

I think you sould go for hoverboard. Just tried it once. You love to ride it.
It is easy to ride and control.

Its a great invention and kids loving it.
The new models of hoverboard in the market are with new features and security.
Hoverboard price is less than the skateboard.

 

Nah, they look p1sh by comparison, I laugh in the face of your hoverboard!

 

Yeah...get a hoverboard...so much fun!

 

Whichever one has the best affiliate link I imagine!

 

Got my AT wheels! I've just fitted these bad-boys and wish badly it wasn't night time. Before I go out early tomorrow, anyone got any advice? The front wheels look like they spin a little crooked, they don't jiggle on the truck hub thing though and spin freely. The back two come to a stop pretty much at the same time. I think I've set it up okay.

I've got the tire pressure at about 35psi as I was told to have them at 30 or 40 but I forgot which...I'm a forgetful person...

I plan to try grass-surfing first. You can feel so penned in on the path. I look at the reasonably short cut grass of Greenwich park, which should be dry tomorrow unless it...(not going to say it to temp any fate - haven't checked the weather)....and just think to myself - the open space!!!! Freedom at last!

 

Something I've noticed after spinning the wheels on GT for about 30 seconds, the belts don't seem equally aligned. Is this fairly normal or can anyone think of something I might have done incorrectly? Not sure if this will cause problems or not. I tried slipping them back into straight alignment, but after a short spin they are back to this. One slips outwards from the big gear slightly, and on the other side, it slips out from the small gear slightly. It really is just by a little bit.