Longboards are improved versions of traditional skateboards that provide more stability and endurance. Many sports lovers love them because of their benefits, but few know how to improve their own.
An often asked question is: “how to make your longboard faster?” In this post, I’ll attempt to offer you some pointers on doing it.
This post is a quick rundown of several changes you may make to help you move quicker. After reading this post, you’ll finally have a few helpful ideas.
Let’s get it started!
How To Make Your Longboard Faster?
The following are some of the most frequent ways to speed up your longboard.
Remove The Axle Nut
A tighter axle nut than necessary will undoubtedly slow you down. This issue has a straightforward remedy.
Loosen up your axle bolts to obtain more spinning from your wheels. You may adjust the bolts slightly, but not so much that the axle comes loose.
Tighten your trucks if the wheels are spinning well, but you’re having problems getting your longboard to go faster due to speed wobbles. It should help them turn less and delay the wobbling until the board hits more incredible speeds.
Clean and Lubricate Your Bearings
The bearings are probably one of the reasons you can’t move faster on your longboard.
If you often bike, your bearings may acquire mud, leaves, dirt, and other debris, particularly on unpaved, muddy sidewalks. They might get stuck in your bearings and slow down your longboard.
Cleaning and lubricating them will suffice. To remove the debris from the bearings’ surface, use a clean piece of cloth.
After that, please place them in a jar and fill them with bearing solvent to get the best results. If you swirl the fluid for one minute, additional debris will emerge from the bearings.
After completing this process, remove the bearings and let them dry naturally.
You may directly spray or pour the oil on the bearings. Whatever oil you choose, you need to use a few drops.
Replace Your Bearings
If cleaning and lubing your longboard didn’t help, it could be time to replace your bearings. If you hear a squeaking sound while riding your longboard even after cleaning and lubricating it, you may need to replace the bearings.
When purchasing new bearings, consider the following recommendations:
- The most crucial bearing features are curvature, plastic cage, and detachable rubber seals.
- Bearings produced in Switzerland and Germany are of the highest quality.
- High-quality bearings often include spaces.
- Bearings made of ceramic are the greatest in helping your longboard run quicker. They are, however, more costly and brittle than steel bearings.
Secure Your Trucks
Try tightening the trucks if you still can’t obtain much speed after following the recommendations above. It will assist in preventing your board from swaying as you attempt to accelerate.
Get New And High-Quality Wheels
The wheels are another essential aspect in determining the speed of your longboard. When your wheels do not fulfill specific size and quality criteria, they may negatively influence your experience.
Here are a few things you can do to improve the speed of your skateboard:
- Smaller wheels are simpler to maneuver and accelerate rapidly, while larger wheels are generally quicker and have a more incredible peak speed.
- Larger wheels also have greater dynamics and roll for longer periods of time. So even though they’re harder to roll, they’ll last longer.
- Low-cost wheels are frequently made of urethane of poor quality, have a poor rebound, move slowly, and have a poor core.
- Superior urethane with a strong core and high rebound is used to make higher-quality wheels.
Improve Your Riding
You may have the nicest longboard and the best riding spot, but your riding ability may be failing you. Learning and practicing to ride faster and more efficiently with more control will benefit.
If you would like to move faster, you must conquer your fear. Lower your center of gravity to improve your foot braking, short kicks, air braking, and push braking the next time you ride. These brakes will assist you in slowing down and stopping on fast-paced rides.
Are you ready to take your riding talents to the next level now that you know how to make your longboard move faster?
Improve Your Aerodynamics
Aerodynamics will significantly impact how quickly you can ride your board. As a result, you must devise a method of making yourselves more aerodynamic so that the air does not slow you down as much.
Do you notice how longboarders lean over funnily? That decreases the surface area very effectively, making it more straightforward for them to slice through the air.
The ‘tuck’ is the name for this posture. You will bring your chest near your knee and attempt to seal up any air spaces. If done correctly, you can often boost your speed from 30 to 50 mph on a particular slope.
Most skaters will find this stance difficult and uncomfortable to execute on a regular skateboard.
However, merely bending at the hips or crouching can lower your contact area and enable you to move considerably more quickly.
You may also stand tall and spread your arms to enhance air resistance if you need to slow down. However, be cautious since you may lose your equilibrium and tumble.
Move On The Even Road
The road condition is the last but the minor aspect determining your speed.
Of course, the smoother the ride, the better, but you may increase your speed by selecting the appropriate tire durometer for the routes you ride on.
Above durometer wheels should be used on smooth pavement or asphalt, while lesser ones absorb energy and slow you down. Even if the road is completely flat, you’ll have enough grip.
FAQs
Do longer longboards go faster?
Longer longboards feature larger wheels, which accelerate and maintain speed.
What is the fastest speed on a longboard?
Peter Connolly established the land speed record on a longboard in 2017 at a speed of 146.73 km/h (91.17 mph).
Do bigger skateboard wheels go faster?
The diameter of your wheels determines how tight your turns are and how quickly your board accelerates.
Smaller wheels will slow you down, whereas larger wheels will accelerate you. On the other hand, smaller wheels are ideal for street skating since they are lower to the ground and more straightforward.
What makes a skateboard go faster?
Skateboards go faster thanks to ball bearings, which minimize friction between the wheels and axles.
Why is my new skateboard slow?
Overtightened axle nuts are one of the most common causes of a sluggish skateboard. What is the perfect tightness for skateboard wheels?
Overtightening axle nuts puts strain on bearings, preventing wheels from spinning. Sometimes, we all make this error, which results in a distinct squeaky rubbing noise.
The video below will guide you on how to fix a slow skateboard:
Final Thoughts
We hope that by reading this detailed guide, you will get helpful insight into how to make your longboard faster.
Which strategy do you believe is the most effective for you? If you’re still unsure, choosing the appropriate wheels will, in my opinion, make the most enormous, most visible improvement in speed.
I strongly advise you to replace your wheels. Aside from that, being more aerodynamic can help you go quicker, and you’ll also need more practice.
Finally, confidence plays a significant part in accelerating your progress.
