PREREQUISITE SKILLS AND MINDSET FOR BEGINNERS IN DOWNHILL SKATEBOARDING

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nelsonmurazik
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PREREQUISITE SKILLS AND MINDSET FOR BEGINNERS IN DOWNHILL SKATEBOARDING

Post by nelsonmurazik » Fri Feb 05, 2021 4:10 pm

Every time longboarding is brought to the conversation among skaters, downhill skating is always the center of attention since the majority of longboarders are into speed. With proper skills and experience, a rider can reach the typical speed of 50 to 65 mph and occasionally 80 mph.

If you think learning to know normal skating is hard, downhill skateboarding is even harder as well as requires more commitment. Therefore, this skating style is not very beginner-friendly but by preparing the following aspects carefully, I bet every newbie can still get the hang of it.

If you want to read more quality articles on skateboarding, you can check out the author Robert Parker. Many great skateboarding articles are carefully compiled by this author.

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THE UNIQUENESS OF DOWNHILL RIDING

Downhill longboarding appears to be addictive to anyone who truly loves insane speed and in some cases, they consider downhill more like a lifestyle than a normal sport. What makes downhill skateboarding stand apart from the rest is the insane speed skaters can accelerate by bombing down steep hills.

Unfortunately, owning the top longboards for beginners doesn’t mean you have prepared well for learning. This unique style requires more advanced skills than just a decent set of apparatuses.

PREREQUISITE QUALIFICATIONS

Of course, when it comes to high-speed riding, mastering the fundamental control skills is compulsory. In other words, skateboarders have to be proficient at the following skills and techniques:

Foot braking: though this method is widely used for slowing down at moderate speed, it is still usable in learning to take advantage of friction to brake.
Turning: handling corners on the way down hills is inevitable; therefore, riders must find no difficulty in steering the board to the left or right.
Carving: this skill refers to making deep turns and reducing the speed at the same time. While going down hills, you can unintentionally go faster and faster so carving is necessary to control speeds and avoid getting to hazardous speeds.

Sliding: beginners are usually not able to perform this skill smoothly and it would be extremely dangerous to practice on real hills. Hence, newbies can begin by learning to skateboard on flat areas until they can sharpen their skills.

DOWNHILL LONGBOARD GEAR

Like any other kind of skateboarding, longboarding also has specific requirements for the necessary apparatuses. In the process of finding the best longboards for downhill, I think you may want to start with the deck.

Skaters can choose either a drop-through or top-mount model as long as they find comfort when skating on those boards. In my opinion, getting a drop-through deck is a much safer option for beginners; however, pro riders are more interested in the agility and responsiveness of top-mount products.

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Next is choosing trucks that provide the best traction and the turning ratio. By testing and experience, many skaters go for a reverse kingpin model since they find that their performances are much more steady on these responsive and stable trucks. In case you aren't interested in any types of skateboard trucks, go for a hybrid model which has different turning capabilities in your front and back trucks.

With suggestions about the author Robert Parker, you will refer to many good skateboarding articles by this author, see more about Robert Parker on facebook.

Finally, the selection of wheels and bearings are critical as well. The two main factors that affect the traction and durability of your skateboard wheels are the diameter and durometer. My advice for beginners is to pick softer wheels engineered with larger contact patches so that they can experience the incredible grip.

CORE TECHNIQUES

We have been discussing the required skills and equipment for a proper downhill session so now is the time for the core techniques. If you are confused by the variety of techniques and skills needed for this skating style, you just need to be proficient at the following techniques:

High-speed cornering
Downhill carving
Skateboard tucking
Drafting
High-speed sliding

RISKS OF BOMBING HILLS FAST

Skateboarding is well-known as an extreme sport and with downhill skating, the risk of injuring yourself or getting severe accidents is pretty high. Normally, without any severe accident, the common injuries may be scratches, bruises, and cuts; however, there are some cases where skaters have to suffer from traumatic brain injuries from colliding with moving vehicles.

In general, skaters have to deal with a number of hazards such as traffic situations and obstacles. However, with proper safety gear and the right techniques, they can significantly reduce the worst chance. If you don’t want to share the road with other vehicles, try to find somewhere empty and do the observation carefully before beginning.

Last but not least, you can get into big trouble if you don’t pay attention to maintaining the equipment after each ride. Just imagine how bad it would be if you are riding at insane speeds and a bolt gets off. Fortunately, this problem can be easily prevented by frequent checks and updating the conditions of your skateboard after each ride.

CONCLUSION

Good skate gear is recommended but not a must; however, commitment and open-mindedness are the most crucial things in order to get the perfect results in getting the hang of downhill skateboarding. I know there must be so many difficulties during the process of getting familiar; therefore, I would recommend riders to visit SkateAdvisors to get valuable advice from pro skaters.
Last edited by nelsonmurazik on Tue Jul 19, 2022 6:42 am, edited 3 times in total.

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stevo55
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Re: Not loving the Lotus Elise

Post by stevo55 » Fri Feb 05, 2021 4:40 pm

I wouldn’t beat yourself up too much about it, some cars you think will live up to the hype but it’s down to the individual-you’re the only one driving it after all.
I’ve driven and owned some cars that had rave reviews but were just gash. My A45 AMG was a perfect example and that was easily the worst car I ever owned.
Depends what you want realty, Lotus’ are all about driving feel but having a thundering V8 is a very nice place to be let’s face it.


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2018 B9 RS5 coupe. Milltek Non-Res Exhaust. now gone
2017 BMW M3 Comp Pack.
2015 A45 AMG.Overrated POS.
2016 C7 RS6 Panther black.
2009 C6 RS6 phantom black saloon. Milltek
2012 BMW M135i 3 door. MP brakes and AC Schnitzer springs. JB4 tuning box
2006 BMW Z4M Roadster.
2004 Alpina Roadster.
2001 BMW 330 ci convertible.
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IchBautAuto
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Re: Not loving the Lotus Elise

Post by IchBautAuto » Sat Feb 06, 2021 1:37 am

If you go back far enough all cars were like the lotus, except slow, didn't handle, unreliable etc etc. The lotus is an old car that has been refined to go like stink, be reliable etc but still feels like the cars of old. Some get a nostalgic buzz, some don't. I've had cars that are currently selling for around 500,000 pounds but they are absolutely rubbish. Super big in the day, everyones wet dream, and todays saving grace is they are too rare and valuable to drive much so you don't get to hate them.

Life is too short to drive it IF you don't get a buzz. Just move on or park it and leave it. No one says it is mandatory to like every car, no matter what badge it wears.
C5 RS6, Milltek and Wagners: B5 RS4 450 + HP: A4 1.8 GP TQS original: 1963 UNIMOG 404:

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stevo55
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Re: Not loving the Lotus Elise

Post by stevo55 » Sat Feb 06, 2021 10:40 am

I think one of the problems is that forums (not this one I’m thinking more of the, let’s say, ‘gassing’ type) are filled with opinions and every car gets derided because some tw5t is gobbing off about ‘too heavy’ blah blah blah.
I’m sure that you have them a chassis, a shell and a hugely powerful engine that weighs as much as a crisp packet they’ll still find fault.
Too many people nowadays can pick a fight in a phone box, demand everyone agrees with them and want everyone to know about it.
Drive the car that makes you feel alive, makes you feel great and that you (and you’re the most important one as it’s yours not what everyone else thinks) love for whatever reason.
A recent bucket list buy for me has been a 2012 Land Rover Defender. You either ‘get’ Defenders or you don’t. They are pretty crap to drive and refinement, speed etc are for other cars. Yet I love it to bits and it’s my favourite over the RS5 all day long. It’s a Sense of occasion that puts a smile on my face and one of the coolest cars on the planet. You bounce along with lots of noise and life is good.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
2015 C7 RS6 Misano Red Performance Plus and unicorn miles
2012 Land Rover Defender XS Utility Full Tweaked Spectre conversion
2018 B9 RS5 coupe. Milltek Non-Res Exhaust. now gone
2017 BMW M3 Comp Pack.
2015 A45 AMG.Overrated POS.
2016 C7 RS6 Panther black.
2009 C6 RS6 phantom black saloon. Milltek
2012 BMW M135i 3 door. MP brakes and AC Schnitzer springs. JB4 tuning box
2006 BMW Z4M Roadster.
2004 Alpina Roadster.
2001 BMW 330 ci convertible.
1994 E34 M5 Saloon

miatang
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Re: Not loving the Lotus Elise

Post by miatang » Tue Feb 16, 2021 4:33 pm

After reading all the hype I decided to test drive the current Exige and found it wasnt for me. Mightly fast and agile but just too harsh and skittish on the roads for my liking.

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