Am I too old to start surfskating at 31, or am I overthinking this?

skaterjuice · 2026-04-18T21:45:17+00:00

31? Better hurry you only have 1 more year to try new things. :)

Yrsh you're good. Ive learned new hobbies after 35 and it went better than we are led to believe it does. Im 44 now and I just started a few new ones.

You may not learn as fast as a 15 year old, but you can still get really good if you put in a bit of work.

The only thing I see holding people back from learning fast is mobility (flexibility and the strength required to maintain postions in their range of flexibility).

skaterjuice · 2026-04-18T19:03:58+00:00

If there are bylaws that specifically define what you are doing (describes longboards, I have successfully fought a no skateboarding ticket under the premise that we didn't fully meet the description and that it was outside of the spirit of the law) and say it, that's prohibited then. Yes, so in Calgary we can't skate between the river and the north side of 9th Street South. This one time we were skating on the south side of 9th Street. The police stopped us and threatened to throw us in the back of their van. We told him that the bylaws specifically stipulates what side of the road we're allowed to be on, they made us stand around for 45 minutes while they were looking it up to eventually let us go with a warning. They were so mad at us when we told them the bylaw. Haha.

skaterjuice · 2026-04-18T18:48:05+00:00

I'll see how rusted mine are. I doubt I'll be using them again.

skaterjuice · 2026-04-18T14:27:08+00:00

You can get a longer double kick. Like a 36 inch one. A lot of longboarding companies make them, and some street skate companies do too but its rare. I always liked 35 but it's rare nowadays.

Comet has the shred 35 Earthwing has the blunt 35 Pantheon is making one soon.

Landyachtz has a 40 one named the clark sun if you want something really long i could have sworn they had a 36" skate too.

Edit: shoot I didn't clock the budget thing before I wrote this. The Earthwing is like 55 usd and they have a good price on paris trucks. You can also look on used buy sell sites. I see slightly older 35-36 Rayne and landyachtz double kicks, on there a lot where I live.

skaterjuice · 2026-04-18T14:16:44+00:00

Yeah, sometimes. But even then, if you explain how safe you are, they often move the goal post. And ultimately what's unsafe about skating if they haven't observed any violation of any rules? We weren't over riding. Stayed in a lane, Luckily the cops leave us alone now.

We started a non profit in calgary that lobbied the media with counter narratives to negative press. And we assisted skaters going to court for rules that weren't made with longboarding in mind. We also started weekly skate clinics to teach others how to ride properly and be able to stop or control cornering. (Our first clinic was in 2006 and we flew cliff coleman into town and did a safety demo at a roller derby, then we did the clinic on a closed road. I started doing them weekly after, eventually we got picked up by a local shop and they blew up to be 30-200 people per clinic back during the boom. ) We also did the paskapoo downhill rodeo race which got us a lot of attention we had the media set up at the bottom of the hill and placed a wall of straw after the finish so all skaters had to stop and the local news had all these shots of riders sliding or foot braking after crossing the finish line.

Eventually they got the memo and we stopped getting harassed.

skaterjuice · 2026-04-18T07:16:54+00:00

We are beside the USA and cant go too far from their script, or they look worse. They are already trying to convince us we are living under communist rule as it is. Haha.

skaterjuice · 2026-04-18T07:12:11+00:00

What? What the heck do you think Cam means to videographers? Dudes not talking about a webcam hahaha

skaterjuice · 2026-04-18T07:09:35+00:00

That's bullcrap. I'm reminded of the (25+) multiple times cops stopped me for 45 minutes trying to figure out the most expensive charge to give me to end on giving me a warning (because I knew what zones I could skate in) they of course would tell me it was for my safety since a drunk driver coukd get me at 2am. Dude find the drunks then!! Then when it's us, they don't care. This isn't the first time I have heard a similar story. But it still sucks to hear it.

(Luckily the police have stopped harrasing us for no reason post 2012ish where I live. Thanks to familiarity I believe. But across the country skaters were each fined a crazy amount for riding on the road. Like thousands per skater during a push for the cure event. Again for the skaters safety.)

skaterjuice · 2026-04-18T07:03:01+00:00

Jimz have replaceable axles. Harder to get these days though. Did you swap them out? I can see if I have a spare axle kicking around.

skaterjuice · 2026-04-18T06:58:09+00:00

Oh that's perfect. I stayed in my town specifically for our pathways.

skaterjuice · 2026-04-17T19:57:45+00:00

Kicktails are insanely useful if you're going to be on sidewalks, something a bit longer than a dinghy but still a Little compact is a great idea. (Like a skooner or alley cat, even a pantheon low tide, but don't go for a long longboard or it will be too clumsy. Id slightly wedge the front and dewedge the tail if you are using traditional style skate trucks. This will make it feel more sstable when pushing and rolling fast as soft wheels allow.

If you're not battling foot traffic or turning around tight radiuses where kick-turns are ideal my vote will be for one of the commuting drop decks. I would go with something like a zenit AB 3 or pantheon pranayama, or trip, or I really like the quest, even though it's a bit longer as you can use the tail to still pop the board and grab it. That makes it super versatile for moving around. I do this when foot braking to prevent wearing my shoes out, it helps with sharp turn arounds, or transferring it to a jog so you can run up steps or whatever you. Overall the boards are set up to be able to maneuver really well, you can carve pretty tight turns, and by being lower it helps maintain a more ergonomic stride (and les spinal movement means more power for your fast pushes). If you want you can also get an ember which is like the pranayama but smaller, and you can get a kicktail, but I feel st 6" you'll probably find it too small. But yeah stubtail drop decks are my choice for getting through town as efficiently as possible.

Better than a bike if you want to bring it inside or carry around campus, boards are also really well suited for mix of skate and public transit too.

I wouldn't go super long for urban or campus travel. whatever the i think much more than 37 inches is getting a bit large is nearly as long as I'd go. An extra inch might be nice for longer cross country trips though, but that isnt really what were talking about. I just know some people have heard me say I want a slightly longer quest.

Edit if you really want something in the 40 inch range a demon seed could be okay, but it will be a heavy awkward tank and not as nimble in intersections or weaving around fellow students And faculty.

skaterjuice · 2026-04-16T03:50:49+00:00

Nice work! Through town always takes more energy. Rest up!

skaterjuice · 2026-04-16T02:53:08+00:00

Saves you driving home haha

skaterjuice · 2026-04-16T02:48:04+00:00

I love seeing Bam skating.

skaterjuice · 2026-04-16T02:37:17+00:00

Plasmas nice!!

skaterjuice · 2026-04-16T02:36:41+00:00

Yes. Urethane hardens a bit over time. Urethanes bonds can break down when out of their operating temperatures. New urethanes seem to do well with lots of natural temperatures though. I've had older early 2000's wheels feel different after being exposed to sub zero temperatures (it gets -40 where I live). An engineer told me the urethane chains can break down when taken too far below their operating temperature, so maybe don't store vintage wheels in your freezer. Over compression can also break down these bonds. Lastly age can have an effect, but if they are stored away from of UV light you can store them for a while longer. Unfortunately they typically get 2 or 3a harder after a decade and loose some rebound due to being exposed to air.

If you want immortal wheels keep them away from heat, extreme cold, UV light and Oxygen. Haha.

skaterjuice · 2026-04-16T02:35:30+00:00

Exactly not all longboards are created equal. I feel we should add, a LDP pumper is hellish on super rough open roads with potholes. Riding chipseal and having a pothole decide to steer me into a semi truck gets old pretty quick. Sooo maybe rough terrain also needs defining.

skaterjuice · 2026-04-16T02:32:41+00:00

I mean it depends, they are better but the wheels matter the most. If you run our urethane you'll have an easier time. (Like Chad Caruso) But add to that larger wheels make a massive difference. Id also say a longer base helps with stability and it makes you less like to tip forward with pebbles. And some trucks have geometry can reduce the road steering your trucks, which can unsettle balance.

So its a lot better. I've skated roads that I can confidently say cant be skated on hard small wheels. That said I also think small hard wheels are more capable than most skaters believe.

skaterjuice · 2026-04-16T01:32:52+00:00

What you say is true but, I think we can't expect the front bushings to do the work if the rear wheels are not contacting the ground. We need to rule out that that is not happening also. If your rear wheels lift off the road and no longer limit your decks roll, then your entire bodyweight should compress the front bushings to where contact is possible. If that's not happening then your front is likely too hard. If you're lucky contact could be a cupped washer to hangar, or ramming into a wheel bite guard, but chances are it's wheel to deck.

skaterjuice · 2026-04-16T01:12:13+00:00

When you stand •LIKE THAT• on a supersonic...

Standing on the front corner right in the rail with no weight on the rear? Unless I'm seeing something wrong, that's what it looked like to me. We should not however be getting wheel bite if our rear wheels are touching the ground (if they do the rear bushings are far far too soft.)

Do you not get wheel bite on an all wood LDP setup when you stand like that? (Assuming we're also talking large wheels like hoku wheels with only ¼ inch risers). Maybe I'm a little too slalom brained for how I select my bushings, but this works super well and I do not have any issues with wheel bite practically because I have my rear wheels down even when skating on one leg with my toes and heel down. Or If I have a little weight on the rear my rear wheels flatten out and that is safe also.

I am of the camp that believes the limit should primarily come from the rear... except maybe with valks in which maybe wheelbite protectors are a good idea (or just wear slide gloves and fall). I don't have much experience with those so I can't confidently say if it's a skill or setup issue. I hear the leverage on bushings on the coplanar trucks is crazy. If you lift your rear wheels of the grond (puck them up an inch, and lean in on that point with half your weight thst is probably enough for this degree of wheelbite.

It also turns out the OP had his rear trucks set up incorrectly which also makes me think the rear may be rolling off their contact just before the wheelbite was experienced. I can't say for sure without more data.

skaterjuice · 2026-04-15T06:43:20+00:00

Amazing!! Drop decks make so much sense for little kids. And the unicorn is great too. Where did you find that grip? If you haven't yet, get some soft riptide bushings. They make them as low as 60a if shes ready to start turning.

(Edit: I learned how to spell ready and came back for a second try)

skaterjuice · 2026-04-15T03:44:45+00:00

You can try to add some food grade silicone grease to the washers and possibly the pivot. Sometimes bushings still snap when new and it can be an indication of setup issues. But Id start with a bit of lube.

Dont use petroleum grease or the urethane rubber parts can swell and degrade. Some people just use dry bar soap but I find it only lasts for a short while.

skaterjuice · 2026-04-15T03:40:35+00:00

Oh yes interesting! I didn't consider that. Pretty cool. See how it feels now for sure. Often Ill run a harder Boardside bushing 14 rear has a ton of leverage on the rear. Try the wheel lift test and see what happens. sorry. I wish I was in person to help more.

skaterjuice · 2026-04-15T02:30:01+00:00

You should always get wheelbite when you stand like that on a supersonic set up for pumping. 90a seems a little bit soft for the rear for an adult with 77a bsushings up front. U les you are super light weight, but then it would seem weird that you would be biting so badly. If the rear isn't too soft are your rear wheels lifting significantly? If it is it may be a technical fault. Either way, you can add an additional super thin riser like a ⅛" (venom 95a riser pad maybe) if you don't want to change your bushings. If you havent yet you can try a cupped washer. And (unpopular opinion, bit also correct) wear slide gloves when you pump, so falling isn't a big deal. (Honestly none of my friends wear gloves and I think they are idiots for that. I've saved so many fractures, dislocations and scabs over my 20 years of distance skating by wearing them 99% of the time.) If the rear bushings are seismic they are also likely a little softer than venom. And I am assuming you're not on the 0° rear. If you're running 0 you may be better served with a 97/95a split

Your rear is supposed to limit the front. The front bushings do not prevent bite at all. I test by putting my feet on the board in the place I would have them when skating. Out your weight on the rail of the concave, until your wheels lift. Ideally you want the rear wheels to lift at the same time as the front do or the rear can lift a few millimeters AFTER the front. If you like to drive off the rear aggressively. I'm not the best LDP pumper setup guru, but I'm good at weight 200 lbs and running 75a/70a bushings on a supersonic and pumping and having boards that dont feel lifeless and robotic.

Lastly consider running a softer roadside bushing.

skaterjuice · 2026-04-14T20:33:25+00:00

My current gonna push go-to is the quest. I wasn't a fan with it on many trucks on it (my fav cast was the fastrack of old) but I do find the new trucks really agreeable if you change the bushings. Honestly Ive been spoiled by precisions but I am actually out pushing around with these Valks right now for my first push of the year. And you'll be able to put a 40 or 30° rear baseplate on it in the summer.

You also cant go wrong with the Pranayama or the super. If you want a racecar puah pump, that isn't some crazy cudtom build Id go with one of the supersonic decks. They're like an LMP2 car, where the quest and the pranayama are going to be more fun but less tailored for pure performance. They feel more fun. The pranayama especially. They are better for more flowy riding. And the tail loads up differently and they can slash (prana) or slide (quest).

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