A challenge with myself
After about 3 years I was not doin any kind of workout (the born of my son have killed both my sleep and my back…) in Genuary I thought it was time to start again and get back to a little better and healthier lifestyle. But I soon discovered that in the meantime I have developed some kind of problems with my knees… shit! I have been visited by 3 different orthopedists that gave me 3 different responses: before having injections or being cutted and opened ecc ecc, I choose to follow the one who told me I needed some specific physiotherapy.
Necessary but boring… really boring! I started it, but I also needed to start a challenge with myself: learning longboard skating before my 40 years birthday was just perfect to make my friends laugh. I have been fascinated by longboards since a few years but I really never thought to ride them. But hey, it’s never too late. So I took it – and I take it – very softly cause I dont want to hurt my knees… but this thing is getting me addicted. Milano doesn’t have any hills (except the “Montagnetta”, the only spot for DH) so I’m mainly using the board to move around the city and from my home to my studio. You need to push and push and push and that’s fun and a great workout, but also very tiring if youre not that fitted (like me!)… until I discovered it’s possible to pump the board. What?!? It’s called LDP, long distance pumping. In my case, just pumping ah ah ah. If you’re interested to know what this is, check it out here.
I started hacking my longboard a little bit: I own a cruising Madrid longboard, I love it but the board and it’s standard set-up it’s not the best one to pump. After just a little fixes here and there, I discovered that riding the board was a really different experience: people will tell you that it’s just all about the rider not the board – that’s true – but hey, if you spend money in the proper way… it changes it all! A wack rider like me really can have much more fun. It’s like painting: if you’re an experienced writer you can burn a piece with any crap cheap cans… but using the right spraycans it’s much more easier.
So after the first modifications I decided to keep the board but to change completely my set-up: it took a lot of studing and money and learing “how-to”. I’ve been really helped by the wise advises of people at Longboard Italia Forum and offcourse I studied Pavedwave.org like I was going to have some university exam.
Finally, yesterday I went back home with the “new” board and it’s been one of the most exciting feels in a while! The longboard’s ride is totally changed, it’s like surfing in the street with just half the effort I needed before. The board is so responsive to any small movement I do, that at a first ride I couldn’t believe it and I was almost scared! Yes, it’s less stable but… who cares! If you want to experience the same, this is what you need.
Here’s my set-up, and I know it’s far away to be the best one… but it works great. And if you know how… let me know how I could improve it!
Rear truck:
Randal R-II 125mm 42°
Front truck:
Bennett 5.0
Wheels:
ABEC 11 Retro Big Zigs 75mm 80a Wheel
Bearings:
Amphetamine Abec 7
Bushings:
Khiro 73a Tall Cone Bushings (white) + Khiro Double Barrel – 79a (orange): front truck
Khiro Double Barrel – 95a (black): rear truck
Risers:
Khiro angled wedge risers (10° front truck + 5° rear truck)
12mm shockpad riser (rear truck)
Screws and bolts: 50mm + 60mm
Nice. I have started on LDP this year and I have found that it is addictive as hell! It is difficult to me to skate on my city, but on sundays the streets are closed exclusively for runners, bikes, skating, etc. so is the only day that I skate. the long wait is boring and I cannot stop thinking about it all day! I even have thought that maybe I should quit my job and find another one in a place where I can skate all days. Keep it up. Peace.
Hey Lev, LDP is addictive, you’re right! You could call it “groove boarding” as it’s not just a simple way of moving your board. I’ll update soon the LDP topic on my website with RoeRacing’s Triton review, so stay tuned!