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Hi. My 9 year old girl has brought herself a cheap longboard and wants me (almost 40) to get one to learn with her. What do i need to know apart from I am going to get hurt and take an age to recover? Any tips for a (cheap) beginner board?
Cheers
Knee pads. Gloves. Ibuprofen.
And one of these...
https://www.skatehut.co.uk/longboards/complete-longboards/mindless-sanke-iii-complete-longboard-39-green.htm
I'm 53, 14 yo daughter wants me to get inline skates so we can go skating, what could possibly go wrong (I've no idea how to skate) 🙂
I went snowboarding 22 years ago. That is probably the only board based thing I have ever done. Was OK at it though. At least till I fell off.
A guy who works for me who’s in his early 40s got a longboard whent lockdown measures started to ease so he could roll up and down the seafront with his daughter.
He’s now only about another 2-3 weeks away from starting work again after tearing his hamstring.
Spend more time than you think is reasonable learning how to stop by footbraking. The slightest incline is quickly going to bring you up to speeds that WILL cause you to fall if you try to jump off and run it out.
My advice would be to start with the wheels chocked and just get used to moving your weight to your front foot and then lifting your back foot off the board, touch the ground in a completely controlled manner, and then putting your foot back on the board.
Once your comfortable with that you can start doing the same thing with some forward movement and very gradually build up the speed.
Being confident in stopping will make everything else you learn so much easier.
Also, maybe consider a cruiser rather than a longboard for your first board. I can use my cruiser to go the shops and clip it to backpack when I'm actually in the shop. It helps to spend as much time as possible on the board so anything that encourages you to use it for short trips is a good thing.
Also, maybe consider a cruiser rather than a longboard for your first board
Can you elaborate on this please? Is it just a more comfortable shape for lugging about or are cruisers easier in some way?
Purely for carrying around. Like I said, I can skate to the shops and then strap it to my backpack while I'm in the shop.
You can still use 60 - 70mm softer wheels to give it the comfortable ride but it will be way more practical for day to day use, imo.
If it's just for keeping up with her, how about an adult sized 'micro' scooter as an alternative? I've seen a local dad using one to follow his kids along while they're on various modes of transport.
It could be a longboard this week and in-line skates next week for your daughter. That said, during lockdown I have seen a lot of young girls on skateboards. Is there a wider trend for this?
If it’s just for keeping up with her, how about an adult sized ‘micro’ scooter as an alternative?
I know society has basically given up on the idea of dignity and self respect but can we please try to refrain from encouraging more grown men to ride scooters 😉
If it’s just for keeping up with her, how about an adult sized ‘micro’ scooter as an alternative?
No. Just no. Next you will be suggesting a Segway.
please try to refrain from encouraging more grown men to ride scooters
No. Just no. Next you will be suggesting a Segway.
....but the original suggestion is a skateboard?? And a longboard at that! 🤣
But going for a scooter is doubling up!
I'll have you know that I am definitely not having a mid-life crisis. If I was I would be looking for something more expensive to go off the rails with! That said, I have ordered a cruiser so watch out for a "how do you wipe your arse with two broken wrists?" thread coming soon.
@feed re: rollerblading.
Plenty of you tubers who make it look easy. Shoptask, Ricardo Lino, WhittySkater to name a few.
Trust me...it’s not. 🙂
There’s a healthy scene though, regular street skates, a big one in London on Friday nights & Sunday mornings in Summer.
Don’t be lured into Tri-Skates too quickly though.
110mm+ wheels are very tall & your quite a way off the ground. Go with a 4 x 80mm set-up till you’ve progressed. Take it easy, staying upright is one thing, strengthening older foot muscles is another.
Get some wrist guards.sports direct should do them.longboards are brilliant.
Skateboards are the millennial's mid-life crisis weapon of choice.
I'm 40 and can't afford a sports car but this will do for me 🙂
Just be careful. After cycling, skateboarding almost feels like a free hobby. I bought a board. Then I bought four more. Then I bought more bits to make the boards work the way I wanted. I don't think I'm done yet.
Hate to be a pedant but:
Skateboards are the millennial’s mid-life crisis weapon of choice.
I’m 40
Embrace your gen-x-ness!
Nice looking cruiser though 🙂 . What else have you got?
I dont do long boards, but skating with the kids is great fun. I'm 43 and have skated on and off since I was a young lad.
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That said, during lockdown I have seen a lot of young girls on skateboards
Yes, my two girls are penny boarding and the boy has a regular skateboard.
I also considered getting on, used to skate years ago and I'm also back on a snowboard. After much thought I then decided I'd just follow along on the bike.
I'll admit I've been trying to persuade my 11 Year old that we should both get either skateboards or longboards, we now live at the bottom of a reasonable sized hill with some 'interesting' corners and not too much traffic.
In my youth I got to the point where I could do some pretty epic (by my estimation) Slides/scrubs on a regular board. It can't be that hard to re-learn... Right?
(Also 40)
I made a "short longboard" with my daughter. I'm 6'1 and ride a 47" board, so as she is 4'2 we made a proportionally sized deck at 33". She doesn't ride it much, prefers her bike, scooter or roller blades, but is very proud that we made it together.
Enjoy your longboard, they're great! Mine only really gets skated to the corner shop and back, to the park with the kids or running errands locally, but it's a great way of cruising about.
This is what I went with in the end (along with some wrist guards) :
No idea if it's any good. Was the golden combination of reasonably cheap and in stock. Thinking was that decathlon are usually pretty solid so hopefully this will follow that trend.
My Mindless longboard, the same as I posted above.
Have to admit, haven’t really done much with it, the trucks need tightening up a bit, my left knee is very weak, and leaves me feeling very wobbly and off balance, I think I need proper knee-pads with extra support, I’m feeling very wobbly.
Bend your legs and try transferring force through your legs and feet. Relax the rest of your body and learn to carve.my sure you look ahead and get used to having a good changeable stance. If its wobbly you may need stiffer rubbers.try tightening up yours first.most importantly just have fun.