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| LongwoodSk8er |
 Posted: Mon Aug 23, 2004 8:03 pm |
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Joined: 06 Feb 2004
Posts: 161
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| I need some opinions. I recently entered a series of longboard contests and I found myself competing against skaters riding 36" boards. I personally consider boards between 34"-39" as hybrids. I feel longboards begin at 40". Some of my longboard friends say that a longboard must have at least an 18" wheelbase, length can vary. My reason for asking this question is to define what a longboard is, for the sake of fair competition. |
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| Stubbs |
| Posted: Mon Aug 23, 2004 8:59 pm |
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Joined: 09 Jun 2003
Posts: 12556
Location: Dallas, TX
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36" = LONGBOARD
This has been the standard since I can remember. |
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| Slim |
| Posted: Mon Aug 23, 2004 9:37 pm |
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Joined: 06 Sep 2003
Posts: 2954
Location: pedro point, nor cal
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Stubbs is right, but that's always been when talking pool/park set ups or the basic skateboard we've all been familiar with since the 70s. But now that longboarding is its own niche, it is often the wheelbase, not the board length that defines a longboard. I know some longboard racing series have a wheelbase requirement in the 18" and over range, some longer (heck, my 30" turner slalom board has a 20" wheelbase).
Oddly, here is a statement from the International Longboard Skateboarding Association:
""Skateboarding will no longer be one dimensional as it has been for the last decade; real skaters are pushing the envelope and becoming more radical and innovative as the whole skateboard industry and park construction/design progresses and evolves with them. We are witnessing a re-birth of skateboarding where skaters no longer become stagnate, and are finally coming full circle and re-discovering the soul, stoke and style that made skateboarding radical and rebellious in the first place. Any skateboard that is not a typical mass produced mini 31" kick-flip board is now considered and labeled a "longboard" by the public and media, so get prepared to witness the new blood and fury of the new generation of "longboard" skateboarders who are kickin' it in the pools, the parks, and any terrain that challenges their identity and potential. Skateboarding has no more limits now because Longboarding is the freedom of choice...it is the future." - Tasos/ President of the ILSA"
That sounds a little wild to me. Sounds more like a definition of "old school".
I think I could go with either the 36" and over, or a wheelbase of like 20" and over. |
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| msk |
| Posted: Thu Aug 26, 2004 12:45 pm |
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Joined: 26 Aug 2004
Posts: 606
Location: 1/2 way between Dogtown and the Badlands
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A few years ago at the King of Kona they defined a longboard as (IIRC) minimum 38" length, AND minimum 22" wheelbase. I've heard of people redrilling boards for contests that only specified deck length, so that their 36"+ boards still only had like 15" wheelbases. Hell, at one of the WLAC slalom races I used one of my 38" pool boards for the longboard GS (minimum 36"), which was OK even though it actually had a shorter wheelbase than the 31" board I used for the short board GS.
Using only wheelbase or deck length, the lines can get really blurred. I have a 31" G&S slalom deck with a 21"/22" wheelbase, a 32" BDS Shogo with an 18.25" wheelbase, a Gravity 36" with a 17" wheelbase, and a 38" Sector 9 with a 17.5" wheelbase. So which ones are actually longboards, or are they all (or maybe none of them are?)
I like the idea of having a minimum deck length and wheelbase to establish a "true" longboard, but it would be hard to get everyone to agree on that. I like the old Kona standard, because to me, most of the shorter (36"-38") modern longboards ride just like my old shortboards, since most have 17"-18" wheelbases, which is what many 30"-32" boards had in the late 70s. I had to redrill my 36" Gravity just to bring the wheelbase up to what the 32" BDS I was previously riding had... |
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| ghostcavalry |
| Posted: Sat Sep 04, 2004 4:49 pm |
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Joined: 20 Feb 2003
Posts: 5556
Location: Charlotte, NC
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| At least 36" long and I'll call it a longboard, but an 80's Thrasher article says 34" and up... |
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| WEDGE |
| Posted: Sat Sep 04, 2004 8:08 pm |
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Joined: 14 Dec 2001
Posts: 2176
Location: Hebron , Connecticut
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I think wheelbase defines "long" more than deck length. 18 in is about where a longboard starts. But then most of these new decks have a 7 inch nose....waste of wood for me. Give me 3 or 4 inches and kick it up to grab my front foot and all is cool. I cant nollie....hell I cant ollie either 
Ghost...cool to see you back on here |
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| letsgoskatepool |
| Posted: Sat Sep 04, 2004 10:59 pm |
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Joined: 26 Jun 2003
Posts: 6104
Location: The wrong place
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| for larger parks i ride 36 as a shortboard... but the slalom standard in dc is done by wheelbase (i think its 20). my long boards start at 38. |
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| fiend4life456 |
| Posted: Tue Nov 16, 2004 8:28 pm |
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Joined: 03 Nov 2004
Posts: 35
Location: Arlington Va
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| i ride a 36 i like but 38-40 is like street longboards and cruisers are longer |
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| sniffleless |
| Posted: Wed Nov 17, 2004 10:04 am |
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Joined: 16 Nov 2004
Posts: 8
Location: Huntsville, AL
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| I generally think of longboards starting at 36". However many boards between 36"-39" don't skate like longboards at all. Even the Yardstick back in the day skated more like a big board than a longboard. The "new school" influence and shapes have helped to muddy the water abit when judging long from short. And who needs a 7" kicktail on a 44" board anyway? |
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Skate more. Sniffle less. |
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| Queue |
| Posted: Wed Nov 17, 2004 11:11 am |
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Joined: 28 Nov 2003
Posts: 784
Location: MD, USA
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I think wheelbase is more important in defining what a longboard is.
The DC rule is 30" AXLE to AXLE minimum. They haven't been enforcing it as of late.
Q |
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