What is the difference in the sizes of all your longboards that you sell on your site?
The length of your longboard has a great impact on performance. For downhill longboard skateboarding you typically want a board that is 40" to 46" in length. This size longboard will provide greater stability and control at high speed than a shorter style board. Many of the boards in this size range feature a nice flex that will emulate the feeling of making a turn on your surfboard or snowboard.
Longboard skateboards that are 40" and shorter tend to perform better on flatland and mild downhill scenarios. The shorter length allows the longboard skateboard to carve a sharper turning radius, giving the rider greater maneuverability. If you are looking for campus transportation or a board that is easy to stow in the car for a lunch break cruise, choosing a longboard in the 40" length or less will be a good choice.
Occasionally you will see longboards that are up to 57" in length. These boards are great for longboard surf maneuvers such as cross stepping and hanging-ten. Due to their very long wheel base they require a large turning radius and cannot whip around corners like their shorter counterparts.
There are many different style longboard skateboards available and some models will cross the spectrum. Use the above information as a general reference in choosing your longboard skateboard length.
What longboard skateboard wheel should I choose?
This really depends of what you want to do with your longboard skateboard as well as the ability of the rider. In general, starting out with a 65mm-70mm size wheel will be the best choice. The second thing to think about is the hardness or durometer of your longboard skateboard wheel. Durometer works on number scale 101a being really hard and generally used for street skating or longboard sliding applications.
A longboard wheel with a 78a durometer is the standard. On most of our longboard completes we use 70mm 78a wheels. This is great wheel for beginners and intermediate level longboard skateboarders. 70mm is big enough to roll over small cracks and debris in the road and 78a durometer gives a nice glide with positive traction when carving at speed.
What type of skateboard truck should I use on my longboard skateboard?
We recommend Randal longboard trucks for your first longboard. For general longboarding, Randal's are available in two sizes: 150mm and 180mm. Randal 180's offer greater stability for beginning longboarders learning to ride downhill. Randal 150mm trucks carve more quickly, making them suitable for shorter longboards and for advanced longboarders looking for a highly maneuverable skateboard truck. There are numerous other brands of longboard specific trucks made to meet every longboarder's needs such as Revenge, Seismic, Landyachzt and more.