Am I lame?
 

If I want to buy a RipStik?:D

My kids like riding their Razor scooters and I want something to ride along side of them. The problem is I don't know how to skateboard and not sure I can start now. I suppose I could give a longboard a try as I seem to have more hope there than with a traditional skateboard.

But I've ridden my nephew's RipStik and I confess it's fun and doable for an old guy. So a 30 something year old on a RipStik or a longboard (or possibly a scooter)? Which looks the worst and that's what I will do. haha

Wait, you're saying you can ride a board with two wheels but you can't ride one with four? Thats like saying you can ride a motorcycle but can't drive a car. Not to be a downer or anything, but as someone who skateboards a lot I tend to chuckle at the dudes who show up at the park with a Ripstick or roller blades. Don't get me wrong, its fun as heck to carve around on a Ripstick every once in a while, but for me its the equivalent of riding a kneeboard instead of a wakeboard.

Haha...yes, that's exactly what I'm saying. A RipStik is so much easier to ride than a traditional skateboard. I think it's the thickened base that keeps you for getting banana peeled.

Love my Sector 9. I'm squat lugeing the hills at 48 years old on my morning dog runs.
Trying like hell not become creepy old guy, cant look at younger ladies in swim wear without feeling creepy but Ill be damned if Im giving up my skateboard.

Good for you Baitkiller! Keep the dream alive

Nicely done Bait! That's where I am...trying not to be the creepy old guy, but that's difficult to do even on a skateboard. haha

So school me on longboards. What's the difference in the shapes and would you have a recommendation for a newbie?

Yeah buddy, longboard all the way. I’m 30 and I go for a cruse at least 2-3 a week (just went last night). It's great exercise and awesome practice for any board sport. Like BK I've got a Sector 9 too, if you get one start out with an off the shelf cruiser, they have all sorts of crazy racing decks now a days that can get a little pricey. So If you looking for a chill ride I'd recommend getting a Bamboo pintail they're bomb proof, I bought mine 6 years ago when i was living in Cali and it was my main mode of transport. the thing has been ran over by a car, ran though beach sand, puddles, smashed in to curbs and still in great (riding) shape, love it.

http://www.amazon.com/Sector-Ireland...words=sector+9

http://www.amazon.com/Sector-9-75x44...words=sector+9


I'll probably go for a cruise again today!

I've been taking my 2 year old out on my longboard. He sits in front of me and I put my legs around him. He loves it. There are skate style longboards, cruising style longboards, and bombing hill styles. I have a sector 9 that is more of a skate style which essentially has the same shape as a regular skateboard. My landyachtz board is my favorite. It's really soft and flexy. If you jump on the center it would almost hit the ground. It's pretty old now but is similar to this style. http://www.landyachtz.com/D25.cfm?PID=355#.U0WOeKhdVyI or this: http://store.sector9.com/Product.asp...845&cat1=DECKS . I'm 35 next month here so I guess I'm getting up there too but I'm not giving up. I can't wait to be the dad that goes with my son....If he'll have me. Or, I'll be the dad that drives them to the top of the hill and follow them down in the chase vehicle. I always find it funny as my buddy's and I longboarded back in the late 90's early 2000's and nobody else up here really did. Now I see more kids longboarding than on a regular skateboard. We used to do some pretty big hills that are just too busy to try and do nowadays.

So dumb question...not many hills here and just looking for something to cruise around on. I assume a longboard is still acceptable? My main goal with a skateboard would be to get something that is easy (or easier) to learn than a traditional smaller skateboard.

I would think you would still want something like the two that I linked. They typically have softer trucks and can turn sharper. A longboard is still better for pushing around as they glide a heck of a lot better than a short board. Bigger wheels, smoother, and easier to ride given the length.

I'm 37 and bought my first longboard last summer. I hadn't skated since I was a kid, but since I was wakeboarding I was getting the urge to be on a board whenever I could. My kids are working on their ollies, and I'm just cruising. It seems other dad's in the neighborhood are inspired as well. Many have asked me about it, and shared that they were thinking about getting one too.

I went with a Sector 9 bamboo as well, on the advice of the shop I bought it at. I couldn't be happier.

Once you get one, you will wonder why you hesitated.

Good luck!

Bait- No worries man.. a longboard, Ray-Bans and a dog will never go out of style!

Hah! Representing'66! I can still ride wheelies and bunny hop on a BMX bike too.

I do love me a longboard… when I can't be on the water or snowboarding, some loose trucks and sidewalk surfing will hold me over for a bit.

Yes!!!!!! Now go wake board

And you will like longboarding, it's mellow and stable

Go with the longboard for sure. You are never too old to ride a skateboard. It is good for crossover training and riding switch when you aren't on the water.

Sector 9's are good, I think the longer the better. I'd go with something around 44".

http://shaggo.com/ These boards are good too. I have a few which I ride and my kids love riding them too. The kids can ride them on their hands and knees without ripping them up on the grip tape.

Once you get one, you will ask yourself why you didn't buy one years ago.

Now this thread has me starting to think of getting another skateboard or getting a longboard. I used to skate as a teenager before, could olly, pop up and down curbs, and occasionally land a kickflip. I'm not sure why I quit, I think it was when I started getting into cars. A classic Mustang gets you around a lot quicker than a skateboard and is better with the ladies too :)
Anyways, now I'm a dad of 2 and can't be out on the water as much, but still might be able to get a ride in here and there on a skateboard. I actually live on the same block as a park with a skatepark in it. I just feel like I'd be that old dude since it's mainly the younger crowd. About 1 out of every 4 pedestrians around here are on a skateboard or longboard though. I don't think I'd be too out of place.

What's everyone's opinions on "being too old for this s***"?

You're 29 right? You are a looooong way away from the creep factor Dude.

Oh I'm not worried about the creepy part. I'm more worried about the "Lame Old Dude" part. It's mainly young teens around here. Actually forget what they think, I'm awesome. I probably won't be going to the skatepark much anyway. It's good cross training. I think I'm going to go visit my parents later to see if I still have an old deck kicking around their house somewhere. If not, it might be a good time to look for a longboard with summer and all. Sidewalk surf the days I can't wakesurf.

who cares what a bunch of dumb a$$ kids think?!! just do what you want to do. as long as youre spending time with your kids, I dont give a rats butt if youre rollerblading (lame, but at least youre with your kids). My neighbors think Im crazy because Im out riding my skate while my kids are riding their bikes around the nieghborhood. I wear a helmet now, but other than that, I see no problem with interacting with your kids on their level from time to time. most of the parents in my hood just sit in the house while their kids play outside. they are inside dying, while I am outside living. do what makes you and your kids happy. and I proudly look at the twenty something hotties! I am content with my old man creepy status!

Haha I'm a creepy old guy also on my Sector 9! I ride mine to the gym and back most days over lunch hr! People do give some weird looks but who cares!

My wide kids do prefer that I don't ride it around the neighborhood though! Anyway if you've never ridden one take your time and do wear a helmet as you can end up on your butt pretty quick.
I have to say I really think it helped my switch riding because I am right foot forward on the long board. Not sure if that is normal for righties but works well for me.

I would agree with the switch riding!! I've got two different Arbors, a drop through for really ripping around and a longer Pintail arbor with super loose trucks for sandal cruising and riding and pushing switch has helped me snowboard and wakeboard switch better. Fun AND training.

dude get a longboard!!! Original makes some cool stuff, I like the trucks they came up with.... keeps the board real low, lots of fun.

My advice is do whatever is fun and enjoy the heck out of it without any thought to whether other people think you're not cool.

Relatedly, why is rollerblading lame? I find it hilarious that rollerblading has been branded lame by skateboarders. Aren't skateboarders supposed to be the "who cares what other people think about us" people? Yet the hate for rollerblading seems to show that they care more about "looking cool" than anyone else.

Probably the same reason snowlerblading is on the slopes.

hahaha

I prefer to call them fruit booters.lol.

On the other hand I don't care if you roller blade or not and I used too when I was younger too.....but I'm still gonna call you a fruit booter....fruit booter.

If your wanting a good stable good rolling longboard that's great for beginners but will still work well for advanced skaters then here are the requirements:
Get a dropthru deck anywhere from 38 to 42 inches
Get a set of Randall style trucks, brand doesn't matter
Go with at least a 76mm wheel so pebbles and cracks aren't a problem.
You can also use a land paddle at first until you've learned a solid kick push.

I used to skateboard as a kid in the early 90's but got so sick of hitting rocks, eating it, and breaking wrists that I was over it. Then discovered big soft wheels, Randall trucks and 41" boards and I'm having more fun skating now than ever b4!!!

Oh and slide gloves are the ****!!!!


Most importantly, Get your kids off the scooters and onto boards!!!

A long way away in age, but if you've ever seen him, Phathom IS creepy as F***! So it really don't matter if he's on a longboard or in the board room, he's just creepy! (it's a wonder I even let him on my boat in the summer!) :p



That said, this thread has me likewise thinking about longboarding... And getting one for my 8 year old too.

http://www.daddiesboardshop.com/load...board-complete

http://www.daddiesboardshop.com/orig...board-complete


those would be my go to for cruisers.

This post had me laughing so hard. I'd say I looked the creepiest when I actually shaved everything off except my stache. Totally looked like I should be driving around in a white van with blacked out windows :shifty

I don't look too creepy most of the time, check my profile pic for proof.
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vM8JksuzM8...edrobear-l.png

No, seriously, here's my real pic
http://www.wakeworld.com/uploads_use..._5081_zoom.jpg

Good link for Daddies Board shop, like that it's local. I haven't been in there for years. Looks like intro price for some of the boards mentioned, like the Sector 9s and Arbors is around $135-150. Not too bad. I remember getting complete decks for like $120 back in the day, glad the economy hasn't gone crazy on these too.

Well, here she is! So far so good and surprising easy to ride and carve. The hardest part has been stopping without just jumping off. So fun on the hills though!

So I was looking through some of my skate stuff today. I don't have a deck, but I do still have some trucks, wheels, and miss hardware.

I have a set of Venture trucks with about 50-60mm soft wheels on them.
I also have a Set of Independent trucks with some big 112mm offroad wheels on them and the risers to make them not hit the board when turning.
Bearings on both of them were rarely used before I put them away in storage, both still feel like new.

What does everyone think about using one of those configurations on a blank like this to save some cash and use what I have.
http://www.daddiesboardshop.com/moos...kateboard-deck

cheap deck like that will work, itll likely delam pretty quick... but if its gonna get beat up anyways, who cares? Ride it till ya can't :D

Definitely hop on any of the loaded boards if you see them around.... you'll want one....i do haha :)

Any thoughts on the wheel/truck options? Offroad longboard?

Try it out, im sure itll be fun to play with, but ultimately you want the board to be as low as possible. Makes kicking a whole lot easier (trust me, it matters if you are going far) and it keeps the center of gravity low.

Good advice, I'll probably give both a shot, see which works best. Thinking I'd probably just be using it on walks and to cruise around the park a little while watching son play on the playground.

Go for it, if it doesnt work it takes a few minutes to switch things back around. Ill say that if you plan on just goofing off, a shorter board will be more fun (with the right setup you can pump) tighter turns, way more playful.

So how do you guys stop? Take your back foot off and slide it on the ground? I can do this at slow speeds but VERY shaky doing this any faster. This board really leans side to side so it's hard for me to just keep it straight with only one foot on it facing forward. Suggestions?

And sidewalk riding is sketchy. We have some uneven surfaces that about sent me into a Pete Rose slide on the concrete. I'll stick to the street for now.

I haven't boarded in a long time, obviously still thinking of getting back into it, but I would just have to carve back and forth as perpendicular to the hill as possible to slow myself down, similar to how you would on a snowboard. At some points I used to be able to do a u-turn up hill and that will slow you down quickly. Obviously that was with a skateboard, probably about 36" or so, it might not apply to a longboard.

Haha fruit booter. That still cracks me up when I hear it. Skateboarders have branded rollerblading lame just like wakeboarders call air chairs "sea donkeys". It's all in good fun but it's still funny.

I really enjoyed this thread and I'm glad you ended up with a longboard. I'm 30 and I cruise mine to the grocery store a few times a week. Also all you dads out there don't worry about what your neighborhood parents think. Deep down they are all looking at you wishing they could get off their A$$es and have the balls to be out there living it up too

Well, I've been riding quite a bit and really enjoying it. I've been mostly on the street but went bombing down a sidewalk in the park tonight and narrowly avoided what could have been a face first slide down the pavement.

My wife wasn't as fortunate tonight.

Thats about how I stop. I'll center up my front foot (side to side) and have it parallel to the board before I do so, then when I drag my back foot I keep it really close to the board.... My suggestion would be to practice it repeatedly and be confident about putting your foot down.... if you just "kinda" plant your foot to slow you down it seems to go south.

I have to "get the hang of it" the first few times every year.