A longboard is quite popular among the youth as it is an exciting sport. Some of the popular riding styles are downhill, carving or cruising, free ride, and freestyle.
Longboard gives a rider diversity of skating styles, hence getting the chance to experience different styles and adapt to specific styles that fit them the most.
Longboards come in different sizes and shapes making them unique. The most important thing to consider when purchasing a longboard is the deck.
This is because it will be responsible for the overall performance and help you to be accustomed to the longboard.
Besides, the deck tells you if it is for a specific riding style. Therefore, the shape of the longboard deck is what helps in categorizing different types of a longboard.
The section below outlines the different types of longboards:
Cruising Longboard
This longboard is designed to give you a comfortable ride around your community without any difficulty especially if it is a crowded area.
It has a wide deck and truck that ensure comfortable and stable riding. With this longboard, you can choose big wheels for a balanced suspension feel.
Drop Through Longboard
Those who want to ride with relaxation should consider this longboard. It is a type which you can cruise and relax. It has a perfectly designed stylish look which makes it one of the most popular longboards.
It is renowned for giving a shallow platform for improving stability while cruising fast making it compatible with low-speed carving.
However, the disadvantages of this longboard are its poor gripping power, inability to have sharp turns, low strengths in case of heavyweight, not great for skating, and it is prone to drifting.
Downhill/ Bombing Longboard
As the name suggests; this board is designed for riding downhill. Downhill or bombing longboard need to go through hazardous situations, therefore, they are made with high-quality material to eliminate every problem that they could have while moving down the hill.
One advantage that this longboard has is turning easily according to the need and the speed controlling system.
They have a perfect back and front that guarantee the rider’s stability. Its wheels are durable and designed for moving down in a smooth and effective direction.
Carving Longboards
It is a type of longboard which many newbies start their training and carving. Like the drop through and the downhill longboard, it can be used as a fun feature in many places with high performance.
It has a speed control feature that can be analyzed easily by beginners and enables a learner to move to other models. Carving longboards have wheels designed for a high level of comfort and performance.
Pintail Longboards
Pintail longboard offers deep carving with minimal risk of wheel bite. It has a teardrop shape and suitable for cruising and carving on hilltops and flat surfaces. Its design focuses on the balance of the longboarder's stability and weight.
It is one of the best longboards for riding directional because it assists in improving balance. It has a sharper taper which provides the turning radius, hence the possibility of making sharp turns. It is best for directional and drifting riding.
Bamboo Longboard
This type of longboard is famous for its flexibility and lightweight feature. It is accepted widely by all longboarders because it is easy to carry.
A lot of people prefer it because of its efficiency and environmental reasons. They are inexpensive. One disadvantage of the bamboo longboard is changing of its wheels.
Fishtail Longboards
This longboard gained the name fishtail because of its recognizable trademark cleft in the tail. Fishtail is like pintail and can be differed from just the tail of the fishtail longboards.
The tail gives an impressive look while allowing one to enjoy the classic surf style. The split tail of the fishtail longboard allows a longboarder to make a sharp turn with ease.
Blunt Longboards
This is best for starters. It has a wide round nose and tail that allow it to be stable. It is the best choice for mastering skills.
However, it may not be better for professional longboarders because it has poor turning ability.
Mini Cruiser Short Longboard
This is the smallest version of a longboard. It has less stability; hence, it can only be used by experienced ones.
If you are looking for an adventurous ride, this longboard is for you. It is attractive because it is lightweight.
Cut Out Longboards
This longboard is a smart pick for anyone willing to go freestyle, freeriding, and downhill because the large wheels can make deep turning without skidding. Its wheels are bidirectional therefore the rider can easily change the direction.
It comes with a drop-through truck which makes the board lower to give better stability at high speeds.
Drop Down Longboards
From the name, this is a longboard that is dropped down. It is accepted by beginners and intermediate riders for an easy ride.
It offers stability and enables you to ride low to the ground. It has its trucks mounted on top and has no flex.
Twin Longboards
Twin Longboard has a traditional design for multidirectional street skating. Its design is like a tail and a curved nose structure.
It offers better stability and is a good option for downhill riding as it allows for sharp cuts and turns.
Electric Longboards
This is a longboard that has a battery in it, and you can control them electronically while moving. Riding an electric longboard is easy because it does not need any pushing. They are made of bamboo and have a Bluetooth remote control.
During the purchase of an electric longboard, consider factors like the battery, motor, strong decks, and good trucks.
It can take two to five hours to fully charge and ride twelve to twenty hours depending on factors like; rider’s weight, average speed, motor power, wind, downhill and uphill, and the wheel size.
Final Thoughts
Identifying a longboard for your preference is like choosing the best backpack. Each one can carry things while each has its design to carry different items as well as made for different purposes.
Therefore, the moment you figure out how you want to use the longboard, it will be easy to figure out the right one because no all-in-one longboard fits every style of every skater.
Having the right tool for carving makes skating much more fun. Hopefully, this article has helped you in narrowing down your selection of longboards.
My name is Jasper and I’ve been doing all kinds of water and winter sports since I was a little kid. It all started with snowboarding and skiing and transitioned into downhill biking, paddle boarding, and longboarding.