How fast can you go on a longboard
- Ken Miller
- November 24, 2022
Plying on a longboard is much more exciting than on a skateboard. Skaters know how smooth it feels to glide through the autumn breeze in a rusty skatepark on a fall afternoon. And if you can level up your longboard speed then it’s a cherry on the icing!
The average longboard speed is much faster anyway than that of a skateboard, due to the breadth between the trucks and the bigger wheels covering a longer distance too! In addition, to become a pro skater, what you can do to raise your longboarding speed and how fast you can go on a longboard is what all about our article today is.
How Fast Do Longboards Go? (longboard speed range)
On an average of boarding skaters, longboards have a broader range of speed serving. Cruisers can speed up to 6 miles per hour on a longboard.That is longboarding top speed. Again, if downriding, the speed reaches up to 50 to 65 miles per hour.
However, the riding manner of a skater fluctuates the speed range based on various variables such as the skater’s weight, the geography of the skating park/ramp, pushing & pumping strength, board quality, deck resistance, riding style, braking capability etc.
How Fast Can A Longboard Go On The Flat Ground
Longboards may look very easy to gain speed on flat ground. But the reality varies due to the skater’s pushing & pumping skill. Average longboards can go faster on flat ground if the rider is a master in both of the skills.
The average speeding range of longboards on the flat ground lies between the interval of 5 miles per hour to 14 miles per hour. This range may rise as skaters turn professional the more they practice. However, 6 mph is the exact value of the average speed of a longboard on the flat ground.
How Fast Can A Longboard Go Downhill?
Downhill riding involves the steepness of the ramp or the topography of the ground to measure terrain. The steeper the ground, the higher the longboard downhill speed range for longboarders.
Regular downhill skaters may speed up to 50 to 65miles per hour while riding generally or even racing. In extreme cases, this range may rise to 80 to 90 miles per hour as well. For riding downhill, the rider must have a great sense of grip and brake on the deck, otherwise accidents will happen often.
How Fast Do Electric Longboards Go?
Electronic longboards are the ones which are driven by a motor attached to them. Due to the skater’s weight, wheel-size & the ground’s terrain, the speed of an electric longboard varies.
Electric longboards own different ranges of speeds as well. Most of them serve about 18 to 35 miles per hour whilst the topmost ones serve up to 40 miles per hour.
What is The Best Longboard For High Speed
Often skaters who want to ride at a high speed, get their longboards designed accordingly. Keeping the two most important characteristics in mind; smooth turns & stability, long boards can be designed for speed.
There has always been a tradeoff between Stability & speed. Beginner-level riders want a more stable ride. They prefer a drop platform or a drop through the board. Both types help them ride lower, with the center of gravity closer to the ground, making it safer.These boards are also bigger and heavier. The footing becomes secured and comfortable as the deck is drop board. The bigger wheels also serve more breadth as you ride.
On the contrary, bigger and heavier boards are harder to turn, let alone sliding. So speed boarders sometimes prefer smaller boards with highly supportive decks where the trucks are attached under the deck. Those are usually higher off the ground. As a result, they serve less stability but are easier to turn.
Skaters also choose bigger wheels for faster speed. Wheels choice is as important as other aspects. A pair of bigger wheels such as 85mm ones go faster undoubtedly. Though it does elevate the deck off the ground, which causes instability, installing sharper wheels brings more grip to the rider.
What Is the Fastest Someone Has Gone on a Longboard?
A British Longboarder Pete Connolly holds the world record for the fastest speed on a longboard. He rode the board at a speed of 146.72 km per hour during the L’Ultime Descente Top Speed Challenge.
This awesome showcase took place in Canada. Ever since, Connolly bears the Guinness World Record for the fastest man on a longboard & no one has yet beat him or break his record.
How Brake on a longboard While At Speed
Braking involves most of your speed range while on the longboard. As much as you should practice riding, you need to learn to brake the fastest and reliably too!
Here are a few ways to break at speed while longboarding:
Foot Braking:
Foot braking is known as the easiest and quickest way to press brakes. Dragging your foot against the ground is called foot braking. It causes friction which wears off speed but not when going downhill. Speeds above 18-20mph such as downhill riding don’t stop by foot braking. It in fact ruins the shoes very fast.
Sliding to Brake:
Sliding reduces speed and even stops the board at speed. Effectively sliding helps to get comfortable faster with riding on your longboard.
Sliding is an advanced skill & can be quite technical too. You push your longboard sideways on the slope if you are riding downhill. This way the wheels start to lose speed & start to skid. The friction caused between wheels & the ground in such moments reduces speed faster and causes the board to brake.
Sit Braking:
Another way to brake at speed is sit braking. Simply, sitting on the deck of the board whilst at speed and slowly putting your feet on the ground stops the board. The more swiftly you can brake at your ride, the confident rider you will become.
Longboarding Tuck position
If you are speeding fast on your longboard, the only resistance that might hinder your speed from going up is your body’s air resistance. The more space in the air your body confronts, the more it gets resisted by the air.
American longboarders came up with a solution to this problem as well. They introduced to us positions that reduce air confrontation for skateboards. These positions are called the Tucking or Longboarding Tuck. All you have to do is be in those positions while you are on the board.
- Position your back knee behind your front knee.
- Lean into your front thigh and bend it a little.
- Tuck your both arms behind to avoid air fronts
- Rest in this position for long periods in long rides
- Change footing if your legs are tired.
There are a variety of positions too such as back knee behind your front ankle, back knee behind your front thigh etc. Those might be high in air resistance but low in restfulness. Eventually it tires the longboarder.
How To Deal With Speed Wobbles on Longboard
Reviews say that all sorts of longboards fall in speed wobbles after they reach a certain speed. However, Topmount, drop-through, or drop deck boards are highly responsive to speed wobbles as they are fast turning and higher off the ground.
Generally, the wobbling starts when the longboarder reaches a high speed by overcorrecting the riding style. As a reflex action, they are tempted to turn harder in the opposite direction but this is only temporary.
The front trucks are what initiates any turning, causing the board to wobble. This becomes frequent at higher speeds. The problem starts when it keeps kicking back in and swiveling doesn’t help.
To deal with wobbling, you must put your weight on the frontal truck on the deck and lean forward enough to gain control over turnings and thus reduce wobbling.
How fast Is Longboarding Vs Walking?
Longboarders often take their boards along to save the hassle of walking even short distances. It’s is because they know the impact of longboarding over walking.
Even at an average gliding speed of 6 miles per hour, a longboard is 2 to 4 times faster than walking. Bigger wheels breadth can take you to your destination faster than your legs & muscles can.
FAQ
Most frequent questions and answers
Is 30 mph fast on a longboard?
Even professional longboarders don’t try skidding on 30 mph of speed on a longboard. It is equivalent to 50 kph. This speed can be achieved at downhill riding with an expert longboard tuck and undoubtedly it is a commendable speed.
Are longboards faster than bikes?
Longboards may be really good cruising vehicles downhill but sadly, it fails to beat the engined vehicles such a scooter or bike. For uphill riding, bikes have gears to save you the muscle fuel whereas longboards are much more difficult.
Is 20 mph fast on a longboard?
20 mph is a moderate speed for longboarding. Professionals are able to easily catch up this mark on the speed board and downhill riding is often more speedy than 20 mph.
Wrap Up
Speeding up on your longboard is fun and fantasy as long as you have a good grip over all the technicalities. With the shared info above, we hope that your cruising experience glides through more easily.
