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| *****Longboards take skateboarding back to
it's original essence ... Born from surfing, the first
"sidewalk surfers" of the late fifties, early
sixties and into the 70's bit their style completely from
surfers. Unlike contemporary skateboarding in which the
emphasis is on the technical difficulty of tricks,
longboarding leans heavily towards flowing style and
speed. *****Officially longboards have always generally started at 36 inch sizes and moved up from there. Recently, a larger variety of sizes have become available with many makers settling at around the 46 inch mark which turns out to be a very functional size for all around performance. *****You'll notice when stepping on a big board for the first time the quiet speed and smoothness of the ride. This can be attributed to the larger, softer wheels and the extended wheel base. These characteristics make the longboard a perfect tool for all city action. *****Utility functions aside, the advanced longboarder strives to master maneuvers such as stepovers, walk arounds, nose wheelies, tail wheelies, toe spins, bottom turns, cut backs and g-turns in addition to most of the standard issue skateboard moves.
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*****Lots of skateboard companies are feeling
the stoke of longboards. At last check Skull Skates,
Powell, Acme, Element, New Deal, Foundation, Makaha,
Z-Products, Think, Buddha Boards, Sector 9, Madrid,
Gravity, Santa Cruz, World Industries, Invisible and many
other companies have longboards in their line ups. *****Longboard enthusiasts range from crusty old shred dogs reminiscing, to flip technicians looking for something different. Whether it's blistering downhill runs that pull the tears from your eyes and streak them across your skull, or casual cruising to Sevvy to get some sugar and processed cheese, longboards are da' shit. *****For connoisseurs of the couch, you should try to get your hairy meat hooks on a copy of the classic mid 70's video "Freewheelin" to check out some mind meltin' longboarding. Catch a young Tom Sims and teenaged Stacy Peralta careening barefoot down seemingly endless hills. Sims' longboard style serves as a great reference for anyone wanting a refresher course in the many forgotten 70's surf-inspired maneuvers (headband and tube socks mandatory for viewing). More recently, Sector 9 released a short video entitled "Rollin" which features crazed longboarders hittin' hand rails, stairs and bowls in a successful attempt to get the masses to see the longboard light. Viewers are also treated to some rare sixties-era Super-8 footage of clay-wheeled daredevils hittin' the asphalt. |
