Tutorial on Longboard wheels for beginners in Freeride, DH, Luge, and LDP

Tutorial on longboard wheels ranging from what size to use and choosing a wheel durometer for a specific longboard discipline including Down Hill Freeride LDP Long Distance Pushing and Luge with some Skate Park suggestions from 59 year old skater who has been progressing for last 7 years,

[@roadfugitive1752]

Like 50 bro. Love the discussion!. I'm 56 and just started longboarding 8 months ago when I was 55. And originally I didn't think I would just going to be able to handle the speed of my board.but I took the minimal two years of partial slalom techniques I used too use,.when I was a youngster,..and put that to use as a long border. Now 8 months into it I can go down any steep Hill I want. Within reason of course if there's a t-bone it has to have a wide elbowr Or I can't mess with it.but it's interesting that when I was riding in 79 and 81,...I could not go fast enough. And when I did the wheel would get so hot the bearing casings would melt right out of the tires and I would crash. Now everything's awesome!. Tech-wise.I'm looking for any kind of sponsorship I can get cuz I'd be probably the only 56 year-old that can go down super steep hills,... I would suggest that you get your knees replaced if you can get the insurance to cover it. I have 2 artificial knee's. And because of those I have to wear pads. But I can also skate now because of it. Thanks again!!. . Currently I'm looking for a ride car to fill me. Lol.

[@michellandegent5957]

Fessup MC_truder Impressive! Good luck/ God bless with your continued progression! I clicked into the scene in San Diego DH by searching social media and visiting multiple shops. I’m thinking it would be the same in your location... After you roll with the boys/ shredder girls as well you’ll find like minded rollers who will gladly video you, especially if you record them first. As for sponsorships that’s on hold for now, as the industry tanked, and in my opinion it was due to them not setting up long boards for the entry level skater, which is where I found my niche. I recently moved to the mountains and many have liked my set ups of slalom set up with stability to bust out slides!

[@michellandegent5957]

Fessup MC_truder Since it’s been a few years since I’ve made clips on the channel, and with so much progression that I’ve learned on set ups, I’m hoping to make some new videos when I get caught up with my move to the mountains. So stay tuned... Also want to say thanks for the encouragement on fixing my knees, however I addressed that by getting aRoger Bro’s luge so I could rip with all the DH crowd! I have a phobia on doctors and do everything I can to not visit the office. Cross training with Multiple sports helps them to keep working besides the therapy I continue to apply with massage. Skiing last year really strengthened them , and I’m out riding a dual sport motorcycle every chance I get, since I’m 5 minutes from hundreds of miles of fire roads and trails. Lastly I just want to say thanks for sharing, and just continue to have fun, then your progression will come naturally and maybe even one day the industry will pick up again and you’ll get goods for free!

[@roadfugitive1752]

@@michellandegent5957 Very cool,. Thx. Hope you do start doing videos again!. Can't help but to love the extra info!. Peace brother,.☝️🤙💯

[@stevenrosello4948]

thanks for posting this stuff. helps lots of kids

[@michellandegent5957]

Cebu Wellness Blog Thanks... Your words are appreciated! And we all need to Keep on rolling for Good Times!

[@roadfugitive1752]

@@michellandegent5957 I plan on dying on my board.

[@kalvinfrasier9322]

Great vid.im Just startn out . I got 76mm 87a fireball wheels. Going so fast compared to a regular sk8 wheel.

[@michellandegent5957]

It’s a journey testing all the wheels, and I grew found of metal mutha (some on eBay) 70mm with 78a duro, because I could anticipate when the wheels were going to break loose, and when sliding there was a grip onto the street from the wheels that made the slide feel very controllable to me. I would say a slide with some resistance that’s Not to Icy…

[@JeanYvesP]

Thanks man!

[@DillonJThomas]

Thanks for your video it's cool to see a skater who is into Jesus. I'm in the beginning and quite painful stage of learning how to slide so I can stop when bombing hills. I recently made the switch from a s9 race formula 70mm 82a downhill wheel to an Orangatang stimulus 70mm 83a freeride wheel, to help me learn these slides. I was wondering what you thought of the otang wheel? I'm still struggling to break traction, maybe I'm not going fast enough, not kicking out hard enough? I have these on an s9 DHD bomber with charger II trucks. Thanks man.

[@michellandegent5957]

Dillon Thomas What’s up Dillon! Appreciate the comment and to answer your questions I’ll say that orangatang wheels can work well on most set ups. The stimulus wheel has the happy thane formula and should slide fairly easy, however the the sector-9 race formula wheels work ok after their broken in some (gloss worn off). But without seeing your slide its hard to pinpoint the reason of your difficulty in laying it down. The Down Hill Division Bomber deck is fairly legit so its hard to say what I could recommend. Post a video on facebook and message me again so i can see what your doing. You really don’t need to go fast to slide and definitely wait on bombing hills until you learn how to stop quickly. Start practicing heel side carves first since their easier and master the brake check before attempting longer slides. Practice and you’ll get it! I also have some other videos that might help you...

[@DillonJThomas]

Thank ya'll for the advice it's much appreciated. Looks like carving is where it is so I'm going to spend more time there. And Michel after I recover for a few days I'll def. make a video. Thanks again.

[@michellandegent5957]

Dillon Thomas Right on Dillon! Definitely get your Carving game on, then slowly add a little more speed! Be sure to have some sliding gloves with plastic pucks since their a definite confidence booster. Have your head in the game (chin down) and think about position of your feet (you need to have some of your heels hanging over deck edge) Like I said earlier try to master heel side brake checks before you do anything else! Don’t be tight with your legs or arms, stay loose. Bend your knees, lead your carves with your arm extended forward (as if you were surfing) and back arm is also great fo balance but for me the arm is sometimes bent at the elbow with fingers pointing to the sky (when I’m stand up sliding (full 4 wheel slide) I’ll sometimes have both hands extended some pointing to the sky)and after you start carving well, you’ll weight the front foot a bit more and initiate brake check by pushing deck out with back foot. You don’t need lots of speed, just practice until you feel it.

[@DillonJThomas]

Thanks again for all of the advice. I'm now able to shut it down with a push up slide and I can do a one handed toeside. Anything heelside is still sketch, I think it's mostly fear at this point. Your DH downhill tutorial with the other guy and your beginner footplacement tutorial is helping , so hopefully I'll have my first coleman down soon. I've been practicing carving as you said and that's definitely helping me on feeling when to initiate the slides. Thanks again man.

[@michellandegent5957]

Dillon Thomas Awesome to hear your progress! Stay on it and you’ll continue to improve and most importantly feel the vibe while your enjoying the energy of it all! Having fun is the center of all my sessions, so even if I’m a little rusty (after spending time off from the hills by being at the skate park) I’ll still find my groove if I’m not anxious about it and loving the energy. Just to get down the hill in one piece without blowing up on the road always makes for a Great day!

[@manickmike7777]

You got my sub

[@michellandegent5957]

ManickMike 777 Thanks man, and I hope the upcoming video clips will be of some value to you. Personally I step out my front door everyday on multiple longboards; set up for giant slalom/ mainly Pump action with just a couple of kicks/ carving the street up sorta like snowboarding or surfing. Doing this on the road in front of my house on a daily basis which also fuels my need for Adrenalin living good times...

[@eBoard3R]

🤙🏼⚡⚡🤙🏼

[@christopherwilliams2954]

Hey Mike! Thanks for all your videos! I learned alot from you about LDP long boarding…I wanted to make a board for my brother…do you still have a supply?

[@michellandegent5957]

Thanks for asking, but I’ve been liquidating what I don’t roll with. If your in Big Bear Lake CA, I have some personal inventory I could spare, however shipping anything isn’t something I am willing to do.

[@NodakSavage]

You talked about using riptide bushings on all your longboards. Would be cool if you could do a vid on bushings. Im pretty much still using what came stock on my Landyauchts switchblade 40 Bear 852's

[@michellandegent5957]

NoDak Savage Thanks for your comment and I’ll try and get something up about why I use Riptide bushings and the benefits of their performance. Timeline like within 30 days and it’ll be up.... Its on the calendar on my get it done list now! Thanks for the motivation!

[@avimukta1]

That is a good board and bears are great trucks. You downhilling?

[@NodakSavage]

@@avimukta1I don't currently but I'd like to. I live in North Dakota, we only get about 6 good months to do stuff like this outside due to winter and I've only been riding for going on my 3rd year now. Just finally got out for 2019 last week. I really want and need to learn how to slide. That's my goal this summer. I really think I need to try a different wheels. I ordered my set up with Adam yates Dawg Hawgs and I don't think they are meant for learning. Though I do plan on moving to Mesa, AZ sometime in the next 18 months which will be a huge change in my life.

[@michellandegent5957]

NoDak Savage Saw your response and thought I’d chime in... If your snowed in then find some hills and practice snowboarding which will help you a lot. I just came back from Brian Head ski resort and spent some time out of bounds and on the slopes and when I returned to the streets my game was way aggressive! If you go to Arizona ya might be super hot, but the parking garages are a great place to learn and they also have some ditches that long boarders roll in. As for wheels to learn sliding, Seismic makes Hot Spots which brake into slides pretty easy, but I would recommend the 78a since having a Duro with light resistance will help control in the slide. The harder Duro’s can super icy. I also like Orangatang wheels, but in weather over 75 degrees they can be significantly more loose and less controllable. The Duro on O-tang at 80a is similar to 78a. Happy thane will be best, like the 4president wheels or if you cruise flats a lot then get the Durian wheels. Stone scrub out of the box will make things much easier, since you don’t have to break them in.

[@NodakSavage]

michel Landegent nice, thanks for the info man. Hey another question. How tight do you tighten the nuts that hold the wheels on?? I’ve read so many mixed answer to this from “hardly tight” to “as tight as it’ll go on”

[@alexmc69]

What deck is that, please? I need a long wheelbase popsicle deck...

[@michellandegent5957]

Alex McGregor Sorry to say... But most everything You’ll see with decks on my videos are left over stock from orders of companies that have since sold out years ago. Bummer on that, but time waits for no one! Good luck.

[@manickmike7777]

...and I thought I had a lot of product..lol I'm definitely gonna be there one day for sure the way I collect... But then again I'm always giving away to kidz who either don't have..or are riding cheap crap setups that are dangerous to be riding.

[@michellandegent5957]

ManickMike 777 Heh Bro... compared to most people you probably do have some goods, but I’ve been on this journey to learn a skill set and product knowledge for about 8 years now, and have finally connected the dots to start my clinics for kids. Props to you as well for your support of kids in need! My obstacle was to present longboarding in parking lots with a format that was fun and open for all to excel. Plan on doing some slalom racing and time trials on creative courses. Long story short I have longboards that Pump excellent/ low kick height/ stable/ carry speed/ carve like a speedboat/ and also very stable on mild grades but still rideable down most hills. I will be making videos shortly on the DIY tutorials on how to convert, and also clips to show the set ups in action which I think should come first. Thanks for the contact and keep up the good work!

[@poulpinator972]

Fook ! I am the 666th subscribed...

[@michellandegent5957]

Poulpi nator No worries Bro! Thanks for taking interest in the channel, and if you can receive it, let me say that God can use all things for good as it is written, so if you were given the number 666, then today your being chosen for some extra prayer directed to your life! Blessings to you friend, thru the mighty Kings name I serve of Christ Jesus! Word. Let the good times keep rolling!

[@jacobvanhalteren7452]

You know that all the wheels are goo to use till the core

[@michellandegent5957]

jacob van halteren Well it’s been my experience with other DH guys that rolling wheels to close to the core can result in designagration and I personally know people who have had to go to the doctor because of those wheels blowing up when run down to far. In my opinion it’s not worth it, so I would use some common sense and discard wheels when you get past half the urethane as the the wheels disintegrate while coring. I will mention center set makes flipping the wheels easier as they cone, but my favorite wheel is side set, and I don’t feel much difference when flipping wheels, but you need to make sure the clearance is there to prevent wheel bite ( when wheel locks into deck). Thanks for your comment.

[@jacobvanhalteren7452]

@@michellandegent5957 I've never heard about blow outs from going close to the core before, but I will be careful then, thanks

[@michellandegent5957]

jacob van halteren Yeah Bro, I’m just being real with you... And glad you can receive what I shared.. Keep on rolling into more good times!