Skateboarding Through a LateLife Crisis (and hope The Times doesn't sue me...)

[boarderboy]

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/10/fa...er=rss&emc=rss

OK, so the New York Times does a piece on mid life crisis skateboarding. Cowabunga, methinks. And then I read it. Most of these "mid lifers", aging Gen X'ers really, could easily be my sons.

Anyhow, I think my skating began in 1964 - barely post 2 X 4 with metal wheels - history. I remember that year well. I was often very sore. I lost a lot of skin. Helmet, wrist guards, elbow & knee pads?? - you gotta be kidding.

So, though I do feel silly and get plenty of stares on the NCSU brickyard, I've just bought a Skupboard KingSting (a bargain at REI Outlet) and am now happily poling my way to Nirvana.

I hope the 'endless summer' truly is.

And, oh yeah, the Beach Boys are now touring - with a very savvy and very skillful and much younger backup band.

Roll on, Roll on, Roll on...

You're up, Softboot!

[snowboardworm]

I have joined the tribe!!! I turn 52 this year and I figured if i'm ever gonna try a skateboard its time. So I bought myself a Lost Scorcher. first time on a skate board since I tried it once when I was 16 and it unceremoniously dumped me on my butt. About 5 minutes in today and I was able to keep my balance. 10 minutes in and I was kicking myself and coasting. After 15 I was riding switch if thats possible. I dont know the terms so forgive the terminology. I figure after a few more short sessions i'll be ready for some slight grades. Knee pads, elbow pads, helmet and carbon fiber knuckled gloves were all in place. I felt like a geek dressed like this but it was so worth it. i look forward to our long hill here in the BC north.

greg

[softbootsailer]

Hey Borderboy!

Like you Skating was the key that kept the surf alive even when it was flat as a pancake... from 1959 with metal wheels to the Beautiful stick from Andrea last year...what a ride,

Not to much anymore though as the asphalt is hard! stoked you have a new SUP rig ! Enjoy my Friend
and yes We Are Old School...Real Old School

take care and much Aloha

[ExcelsiorTheFathead]

I just got a RoeRacing Mermaid LDP setup in the mail today. I haven't owned a skateboard in over 30 years, but with the 49th birthday coming up, I have to try something new and ill-advised. I go back as far as composite wheels and solid wood decks. This thing feels super flexy.

[www.oldsnowboards.com]

Nice Art!!! Go for it dude! I remember going to a slalom event in HR , Roe was huge. Like the Turner of today.

Gorgeous set up!

[ExcelsiorTheFathead]

I spent some time today trying to pump my new board on a flat trail. This is going to take some time. Getting the form and rhythm down will require much practice and experimentation, just as carving does. www.pavedwave.org

[www.oldsnowboards.com]

Great instructional video (once you get past the pink , music and somewhat funny motions) He really does a good job of demonstrating all the movements that can go into the pumping. Off hand I don't see allot of flexing in the board? Is it the vantage , too subtle, or not happening?

But of more interest is WHERE IS YOUR VIDEO!!! Come on, share the before and then the after??

The first skateboard I recall (in other words I may have had one prior in Minn) was the red Roller Derby #10 I road in
Bismark , ND. Hot , pavement melting summers. We had one block we could ride DOWN three sides. The other was very steep and beyond my abilities. I walked up it to reach the other three. Pretty cool though.

[crote123]

I just got a RoeRacing Mermaid LDP setup in the mail today. I haven't owned a skateboard in over 30 years, but with the 49th birthday coming up, I have to try something new and ill-advised. I go back as far as composite wheels and solid wood decks. This thing feels super flexy.

Welcome to the LDP family

Have you started wedging/dewedging (front/rear) and changing bushings? If not, I strongly suggest you do. Bennett bushings are crap for LDP. Same for Tracker RT/S bushings. Get Reflex or Riptides. (and maybe khiros for the rear).


cheers

[slopestar]

I just set up a second hand deck that was subsequently stolen after a week of fooling around on it. Lost half my work tools too but insurance is kicking in and I am starting from scratch

[slopestar]

I just got this complete/ with smaller wheels and wide reverse kingpin trucks. I had some old trucks that I slapped on and took it for a spin. A complete deck OTD $115 built to order. These are locally/US made and did I mention affordable!. Check them out. They just happened to pop up on my navigation on the iPhone. Not right for LDP yet, but was a blast just cruising around.

http://www.ehlerslongboards.com/

[BlueB]

Wooo-hooo! LDP rocks! Slalom even more, if you have buddies to do it together.
Nothing beats the Seismic as the reart truck for LDP. I ride it for slalom too, Splitfire only for very tight/steep courses or GS.
The best bushing I ever tried in the front Bennet is the Holy (Smokes). Exact height of the original Bennet bushing, but hourglass shape and soft with lots of rebound.

[ExcelsiorTheFathead]

I bought my Mermaid as a complete from Stoked Skateboards cuz I have no idea what I'm doing and wanted something that would get me in the ballpark quickly. The trucks are wedged/dewedged with Khiro pads, although I'm not sure of the angles. The board came with a complete set of Khiro risers/pads and bushings so that I can experiment. I just started messing with the bushings last night. After several days of pumping on the stock ones, I've put in a Khiro orange barrel over white cone boardside, and a blue barrel boardside, on the front Bennett. On the rear tracker I now have Khiro red cone over red barrel and will go give this a try. (I weigh around 136.) I was initially confused by the tall height of the Bennett boardside bushing and will look around locally for the Holy Smokes.

Getting intel on LDP setups is almost as tough as finding advice on alpine carving equipment. Most of the common information on the internet, and in board shops is all oriented at freestyle kid stuff or downhill longboarding. I've found some good info at Pavedwave, however. Right now the only thing I really fear is going too fast down a grade, and front wheelbite on my Mermaid. I get the feeling that an LDP optimized board could really be dangerous and unstable at speed.

LDP seems like an excellent workout for old guys who don't want to crash and burn. There seems to be excellent parallels with snowboard carving as well, especially the way abs and core are worked.

There won't be any videos of me pumping in the real near future. Getting this down requires the same determination and practice as does carving. But here's a vid of a guy LDPn at a place I can immediately recognize as the Burke-Gillman Trail in Kenmore, WA.



Just to be more weird, I ordered up a Land Paddle that should arrive any hour now.

[BlueB]

If you have even slightest wheel bite, you have to add more risers. Otherwise you'll do the "superman" sooner or later.
As for the LDP or SL setups for DH, it is completely doable. Deaden (dewedge) the rear truck to the point where it's just leaning (not turning). It would give you superb traction and no wobble from the rear. Learn to ride with "soft" front foot, so you can absorb the wobble before it even happens. However, it is not quite possible to dewedge the RTS to the "no turn". You'd need a small Randal, Splitfire (or similar), or Seismic.
Lots of top DH guys ride GS/SGS type of setups nowadays.
Also, LDP and SL boards can carve really tight, so that's another option for hill descents.

If you are mechanicaly inclined, add a spherical bearing into the bushing seat of the Bennett - huge improvement!

At 136lbs, you can easilly ride 2 cones in hourglass formation, boardside, front. Even 2 white Khiros or white and orange.
If you decided to try the Seismic back, go with yellow springs while learning and maye switch to red later.
And, hold your hat!

[slopestar]

Must be nice at 136...I need to order trucks, bushings, risers and hardware. I am in the 200lb club and cannot find a skate shop locally that has anything close. What specific Bennett front truck should I get and a seismic rear is a little costly

[BlueB]

Bennett 4.3 to be paired with Seismic 105, Bennett 5.0 with Seismic 130. The later is a "traditional" LDP setup, the former is more slalomish.
Seismic pricey?! Not at all, for the performance near precission trucks! You probably can find a used one at about $20, or $40-70 for a new pair.

[slopestar]

Thanks Blue B for the specific info. Now I can go shopping...

[BlueB]

You are welcome!
At 200lbs you'll need at least olive green springs in Seismics. Prinably purple or dark blue later on.

[slopestar]

I can find bennett's all day long however, seismic trucks are completely unavailable. Why is that?

[crote123]

Seismic is coming with a new model in the Fall and I believe they stopped making the current model a while back.

I did find this in Toronto but shipping isn't free.
Seismic 130mm (5") 30*
http://www.a51.ca/skateshop/shop/pro...0-stable-turn/

I did find this in the States
http://www.extremeoutdoorsupply.com/...ic-trucks.html

not sure if they are in stock but they seem to only have 105 and 155mm trucks, no 130mm.

And note that the trucks may not come with the correct springs for you.

Otherwise, you can always use a Tracker RT/S.

Otherwise I checked in Canada @Switchback, FFA, Underworld, Vie Sportive, Speed Dealer & Royal Boardshop to no avail.

[BlueB]

What he said.
Keep an eye on fleabay, they do come along time to time.
Yeah 30* stable turn is what you want for the rear.

Randal 125 on 35* base works very well too.

[WEBSIGHT360]

Has anyone here used a Seismic 155 Stable with a Bennett 6.0? I have found this to be my favourite combination on my gBomb. You have to get it going faster, but the carving and pumping out of every turn is awesome. It makes it easier to do downhill speeds too.

[ExcelsiorTheFathead]

If you have even slightest wheel bite, you have to add more risers. Otherwise you'll do the "superman" sooner or later.

I got bit hard today on a deep heelside. I tell you I flew 50 feet if I flew 5. There was enough hang time to consider "Why is this happening to me?" I was just carving hard down a very slight grade whipping slalom turns as fast as I could. People said that even my cartwheel, roll-out and landing on my feet looked good, but I do have a bruised butt and the armor on my elbow pads looks like it saved me from some kind of abrasion. More risers are going in.

Does the amount of risers have to be front/back symmetrical? If I raise the front more do I have to raise the rear by the same amount? Even though rear bite is possible, it seems really unlikely.

[BlueB]

I'm glad you are ok.

Does the amount of risers have to be front/back symmetrical? If I raise the front more do I have to raise the rear by the same amount? Even though rear bite is possible, it seems really unlikely.

Some people like nose up, some down, some level... I like the nose up on slalom board. Experiment...
However, if the rear bite looked "possible" you'd need more risers. Cheap insurance.

[BlueB]

Has anyone here used a Seismic 155 Stable with a Bennett 6.0? I have found this to be my favourite combination on my gBomb. You have to get it going faster, but the carving and pumping out of every turn is awesome. It makes it easier to do downhill speeds too.

I tried Seismic 155 with a front truck simiar to Bennett 6.0. It's more effort to pump. While it is fun for DH carving with very soft bushongs, the narrower trucks actually offer more grip.
I mostly ride the 105/4.3 combo nowadays.

[slopestar]

New set of bennett 5.0 black trucks and a tracker rts 106 on the way...Could not find the seismic to save my life. any tuning advice would be appreciated (bushings/risers) Went for a cruise yesterday in Huntington on the strand and saw a guy all geared up for LDP. I was barefoot and in boardshorts... I'm looking forward to tinkering!

[WEBSIGHT360]

Seismics are hard to find at the moment, because they are about to release a new version. Keep looking though, because they are an amazing rear truck for LDP. If you do find them, make sure you get a set of the dark green (medium), and a set of Purple (heavy) springs if you are in the 200lb range for body weight. I use those two on various pumping setups I have. I found the dark blue (Extra heavy) ones to be too stiff, and the red ones(Light) to be too soft. They usually come with a set of the red ones as standard.

[WEBSIGHT360]

I tried Seismic 155 with a front truck simiar to Bennett 6.0. It's more effort to pump. While it is fun for DH carving with very soft bushongs, the narrower trucks actually offer more grip.
I mostly ride the 105/4.3 combo nowadays.

Well Boris, after this reply of yours, I decided to revisit the shorter 5.0 Bennett/130 Seismic stable rear on my gBomb Dark Matter setup. While you do get better grip with the narrower trucks, the 5.0's are better suited to slower pumping and pushing speeds. I like to pump/push at a faster rate, and the 5.0's have a much tighter pump radius, and are not as stable at higher speeds on longer boards that are 38-40" long. By higher speeds, I mean 30-40 km/h on short downhill sections of trail, and a sustained 18km/hr pushing and pumping on the flat sections. At those speeds, the Bennett 6.0, and the Seismic 155 stable rear are really sweet.

[slopestar]

My local hardware store carries all the springs I just need the trucks

[WEBSIGHT360]

Your hardware store stocks longboard parts? The springs are not generic. They are a spring within a spring, with plastic end caps that fit the recesses of the Seismic truck. You will need to search online for retailers that still have stock.

http://stokedskateboards.com/trucks/seismic.html Not sure if these guys have them in stock. I would search online, then call the shops to see if they have any stock left.

Good luck!!!

[slopestar]

They stock the outer springs only. If I could actually get my hands on a set of trucks, I might know what I'm talking about...