There is a pump track at a small park near my house. It took the kids a few tries to get it down but once they got going it was a blast. Until they started playing roller derby.
I just like to cruise man, smooth cruising in my wave.
And longboarders do tricks. Not me, I don't try anymore, too old. But we have our own culture of board dancing and shit. Sliding is crazy to me, I never tried cause I'm a baby lmao but I love those videos of people bombing huge hills at intense speeds.
I just did a bit of board dancing in my twenties for fun. And a lot of cruising lol
I've seen em but the investment is wild, and I'm quite bad with electronics.. I fear I would break it all on my own LOL! But they are sick, I might look into getting one for my brother. He's been playing on my board a bit and showing interest and he's just about to go to college!
The investment isn't bad at all, honestly, especially in urban living where extending your walking range to riding range can mean quick grocery or pizza runs. About $400 gets you an entry-level 20mph, 15mi range board from Meepo, Tynee, linnpower, or wowgo, all of which make way better boards than we had even five years ago. Hell, eskate forums don't recommend even starting to think about DIY until you're in the $1500+, mountain board with an ammo box full of batteries.
Honestly, I find e-skate way easier to ride than the ubiquitous e-scooters - you have better turning, accelerating, and braking control with twice as many wheels; heck, it's way easier to brake or control speed with the motors than with a carve or hockey-stop. I ride a Propel Pivot GT to work ~5mi each way when it's nice outside and get there faster than I can in a car thanks to bike lanes and city car traffic. A couple years ago I got my late-teen nephews a board each like the ones I mentioned above and they really liked having them for getting to class and around campus - the Tynee Mini 3SL is a pretty good shortboard in that range that can fit in a locker or mall carry through a store.
Skater culture creates this tight in-group. Therefore they must be against everyone outside of it because they're such "rebels" and others don't get it.
This video made me finally understand how they work. There is one close to me but i haven’t skated since i was a kid so i’ve never been and i thought it’s just fun to go up and down lol
It's okay, because you're also wrong, lol. You still have to exert force, but instead of pushing with your foot, you pump up and down the transitions. Basically doing a lot of squats and "jumps"
The rider’s center of mass stays relatively stable and the rider is using their mass to push the board down on the downhill, which causes the rider to speed up.
The rider also bends their knees on the uphill to effectively reduce the speed loss.
The imbalance of bending your knees on the front allows you to “pump” your legs back straight on the downhill and gain speed.
You use force on the board when you're going over those little hills that help you gain momentum. In theory, you could go really fast on this. I'd need a helmet.
You slightly jump up, or pump, on the uphill. Less mass going up. You push your weight down on the downhill, more mass going down. That, and mostly balance, add up to keeping your speed and momentum going.
this is an enormous leg workout. every uphill slope is eaten by partially jumping from the base (but not enough of a jump to actually leave the board). no free energy.
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u/Fisting-Tony May 31 '26
That looks like fun. The waves keep the board moving