Longboard pumping may not be as famous as some other skateboard tricks such as ghost ride, free hill, and longboard dancing, yet, it is a talk of the skateboard sports town. Longboard pumpers are as passionate as anyone else, and the game is no less attractive than other forms of art.
Longboard pumping works as an alternative to kick pushing where a rider can move the skateboard forward without lifting his feet from the board. It allows the rider to speed up his movement or uphill technique for short and long distances.
Since it is gaining popularity rapidly, we are going to present you with an in-depth discussion on longboard pumping tutorial, its setup, how to choose the best configuration for pumping, and tutorial guide to help you master the art quickly.
Definition of A Longboard Pumping
Longboard pumping is considered as the latest sub-type of skating itself. Unlike skateboarding, where the rider needs to lift his feet, a longboard pumper uses her weight to propel the board forward or backward.
The rider balances his weight through shifting his body from left to right or vice-versa so that he may accelerate his speed and get momentum allowing the rider to pass zig-zag paths. As the board remains on the ground, it provides swiftness and better balancing.
How To Choose A Perfect Longboard Pumping Setup
The success of longboard pumpers largely depends on the quality of the pumping setup, along with their skills and effort. Therefore, every skateboard rider should be well-aware of the most convenient features of a longboard setup.
Selecting the Most Appropriate Pumping Deck
Trucks may be the most essential part of the longboard setup; however, the importance of an adequately chosen floor isn’t anything less at all. It enables the user to pump the board.
Flex, concave, the base of the wheel, and different types of the mount are some of the most critical characteristics to test for selecting the most suitable deck for you.
- Wheelbase: The size of the wheelbase determines the initial speed of your movement on the longboard. Usually, longer decks provide higher inertia and momentum, whereas smaller wheelbases are used for slow starts. Furthermore, short wheelbase allows riding more comfortably while larger ones are a bit tough to control for the beginners.
- Type of mount: There are two types of mounts- top mount and drop-throughs. Top mounts have got a slight edge over the drop-throughs, thanks to their greater leverage. On the contrary, drop-throughs come along with a low pivotal setup hindering the pump. So, top mounts are our suggestion with their useful pumping ability.
- Flex: Flex is used to generate power during the pumping session of a longboard. Higher flex might damage the deck bend that results in a loss of power. Therefore, many expert’s advice to go for a fiberglass or bamboo flex to get better control. These are ideal for producing the perfect flex necessary for your pumping.
Tip: Having a slight concave on your longboard deck will allow it to hold both feet with greater control and comfort.
Longboard Trucks
I have already mentioned that the longboard trucks are the most essential part of a setup. So, it would help if you consider these things for a truck-
- Trucks with higher front turning angle and slightly loose wiring are more convenient to handle. Whereas, trucks with solid connection will require more sweating.
- You should remember that unlike the traditional longboards, the pumping trucks are thin and TKP.
- It will help if you consider choosing a truck with soft bushing since it allows easy maneuverability. However, if you are a speed freak, we would recommend a hard bushings truck for you.
- A stable rear track has better pumping ability.
Wedging
A proper set of wedging creates a perfect combination of stability and turning angle to allow the rider to get better control. Wedging or inclined pads are often used with the base plate to increase the angle of the wheel turnability.
Longboards Pumping Wheels
More extended decks will need a bigger pumping wheel while the smaller decks require small wheels. Nonetheless, wheels with around 60+mm patches are considered ideal for pumping longboards. Yet, some people like to go with a wheel diameter of 75-85 mm for long-distance pumping.
A To the Point Tutorial On How To Master Longboard Pumping Technique
There’s no secret recipe to learn to pump on a longboard overnight. It will require weeks of practicing and building up your muscles. For the beginners, it gets tough after a few miles of pumping since they lack agility and strength. However, once they get used to the skills, there are no stoppings to them for miles after miles of pumping.
Here’s a quick overview of the steps to learn the pumping techniques at ease.
- You could quickly start with regular tic-tac steps on your standard skateboards. At first, slightly life the front wheel with a kicktail. Then, use your front leg to move the board right and left so that it gets some momentum. Tic-tac enables riders to learn torso twists and backward motion, which is necessary to gain speed during pumping.
- After familiarizing with the tic-tac, use a shortened longboard for learning the pumping skills. The board should be extremely loose, having greater turning and soft bushings. Don’t choose a board with less turn and hard bushings as it will hinder your progress.
- We recommend you practice on a soft (grassy) area to minimize the effect of falling. Firstly, create initial inertia with a little push on the board. Now use your front leg to make the first turn as you press the feet hard on the board. After that, push back the board with the back feet. In that way, keep taking turns on the right and left side while keeping the feet grounded.
- For the first few turns, you may not be able to create any momentum at all during the truck turns. It happens due to the lack of appropriate timing of your feet movement. In such cases, applying a minimum incline might do the trick for you.
- Practicing longboard pumping around a large circular area will help you to achieve faster momentum during the carves. However, it should be done in the same direction on a surface with higher tractions. The more the traction, the lesser the chance of accidental falls.
- Lastly, choose a longboard with a lot of flex as it helps you to bounce more comfortably at the expense of a little more energy.
Watch Video: How to pump your longboard
Conclusion
For beginners, mastering the art of longboard pumping opens up the world of immense pleasure, along with a higher degree of skateboarding skills to develop. With a proper setup, you can perform pumping and some other tricks such as freestyle, hill up, and many more with the same longboard.
So, we would like to wish you a big “Congratulations” for entering into the world of longboard pumpers where stunning and remarkable experience is ready to baffle you right from the word go.
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