ABEC: ABEC is a rating system that establishes dimensions, tolerances and noise standards in bearings. The ABEC rating system includes grades 1,3,5,7 and 9. The higher the ABEC rating the tighter the tolerance making the bearing more precise. For longboards, ABEC 3 and 5 are the most common. ABEC is also a brand name of longboard wheels that produce soft wheels. An example would be the bright green Gumball wheels you see downhill riders using.

Bearing: The part of a longboard that makes the wheel spin. Bearings are installed in both sides of a longboard wheel and are often sold separately. Bearings are often classified by the ABEC system.

Board Length: A measurment from the nose to the tail of the board.

Bushings: A component of trucks made from urethane. This is the donut shaped rubbery plastic found within a truck which allows it to pivot resulting in the longboard turning. Softer bushings allow for more manuverability. Trucks geared for downhill riding usually have harder bushings to stabilize the board at high speeds. The harder the bushing, the harder it is to turn. Urethane bushings are also rated on the durometer scale.

Camber: A deck characteristic where it bulges slightly near the centre of the board and does not sag down as far as a flat board. Cambered boards tend to have more springback and flex than a flat board.

Carving: Moving a longboard so it goes down a slope in a 'S' shape or to one side. This aids in minimizing speed that is picked up going down a steepened gradient and moving into a turn.

Concave: Sometimes referred to as rocker.  A deck characteristic where the edge of the board is slightly curled up if you are looking at it from head on from the front at street level. A very subtle 'U' shape can be seen in decks with a concave. The concave provides a better grip to help lock a rider's feet while the carve as the curled up walls prevent the feet from slipping off the deck. This also allows for quicker turns when carving because more weight is transferred to the outer edges of the board when a rider leans into a turn. The only draw back is it may be a bit harder to move your feet but some say the ridge allows you to determine you are at the edge of the board without having to look down.

Cruising: To go about the streets at random with no specific destination but to enjoy longboarding. A laid back style of longboarding as oppose to downhilling or sliding.

Deck: The surface of a longboard where the rider stands on. Decks can be made from a variety of material from bamboo and wood to carbon fibre.

Drafting: A technique used by speed boarders where a motor vehicle drives in front of the riders going downhill to minimize wind resistance and increase the overall speed of the longboarder resulting in the clocking of a higher speed.

Drifting: A drift occurs when the longboard loses traction around a turn. Drifting is a controlled movement designed to reduce speed and commonly used in downhill racing. Drifting may also occur unintentionally when carving.

Dropthru: A style of longboard where there are truck cutouts in the deck and the board itself is dropped through so the trucks become reverse mounted with the base of the truck mounted on the longboard deck as oppose to under it. The reason for this is so the boards are closer to the ground which gives the rider a lower centre of gravity. These are found on speedboards that are used for downhill racing.

Durometer: A term associated with the measurement of hardness in longboard wheels. Often you will come across it on a longboard wheel as 70A or 90A. The higher the number, the harder the wheel. A longboard wheel that is 68A is fairly soft and grippy while 90A and up would be in the hardness range of skateboard wheels.

Flex: Short for flexibility. This measures the amount a board gives when weight is put on it. Stiff boards don't flex at all and cambered boards tend to allow a bounce when you jump on it. Flex allows for a softer ride as it can absorb some of the inconsistencies in sidewalks when you ride. Stiffer boards are more suitable for higher speeds due to stability as your knees to absorb the bumps and not your board bouncing when you are clocking over 80km per hour.

Griptape: Adhesive tape with grit on top that is applied to the top of a longboard to produce traction for riders. Griptape can be replaced or artistically carved to produce custom grip jobs to make a longboard unique. Example of a griptape brand: Jessup .

Hardware: The nuts and bolts used in screwing in the trucks to the deck

Hill bombing: Proceeding down a hill in high speeds on a longboard for an adrenalin rush or race. Hill bombers have clocked over 100km per hour and often utilize techniques like drafting.

Longboard: In this definition of longboard, we will only be dealing with longboard-skateboards as some surfboards also share the same term.  It is often debated what is considered a long board but generally most consider boards that are longer than a skateboard a longboard. There other elements that factor into boards being considered longboards including. Longboards generally have larger and softer wheels ranging from 60mm up to 150mm in size which makes for a smoother and faster ride. Longboards tend to have much wider trucks that are more responsive. Wider trucks generally provide more stability at higher speeds.

Longboard Hockey : An activity that incorporates street hockey with players moving around on longboards. Something invented by Canadians and started in Vancouver, British Columbia 5 years ago.

Pedaling: Kicking off the ground with your foot to gain more speed.

Pintail: A classic longboard shape that has the deck elongated and pointy at both the nose and the tail. Example: Orion Longboard 's Koi or Sector 9 Bamboo Pin.

Ply: Layers of laminated wood that is laid on top of one another to construct a longboard. 8 ply would indicate a longboard has eight layers of laiminated wood in its construct.

Risers: An insertion piece placed between the deck and the trucks to increase the distance between the wheels and the deck to prevent wheel bite. Often made of plastic.

Risers: Another word for Concave. See Concave in definition.

Sliding: A method used to stop on a longboard but has also become a subset activity of longboarding. Sliding is when a rider going dowhill spins their longboard so it is facing sideways as oppose to pointing downhill and moves in this position. Longboards setup for sliding often have harder wheels higher in durometer so they glide easily as oppose to gripping to the road.

Sliding Gloves : Used to protect your hands when sliding. You will often find boarders with cut up chopping boards from the dollar store glued to garden gloves in home made versions of sliding gloves. Companies that make sliding gloves include Lush Longboards and Gravity Skateboards.

Shortboard: A short board is a longboard that is 34 inches or less. A shorter board is more convient to store and carry but the convience is a sacrifice for comfort and stance. Shortboards are great for slaloms and tight turns but not as stable as longer boards.

Trucks: The metal part of the longboard where the wheels are attached to. Longboard trucks are generally wider than skateboard trucks.

Wheel Base : The measurement between where the trucks are mounted on the board. This determines how tight your board will turn. The longer the wheel base, the larger the turning radius you will have which means the wider you will turn. Boards with wheel bases that are longer than 50 inches are either used for serious downhill racing or for mellow cruising where you can move around a lot on the deck.

Wheel Bite : When the wheel of a longboard touches the deck usually during tight turns. There are several ways to mimize wheel bites: longer trucks, smaller wheels, wheel wells or wheel cut outs, risers.

Wheel Well: A recessed cutout on the underside of a deck near the wheels to prevent wheel bite from occuring when making tight turns.

Wobble: The unsteady side to side motion that occurs when you reach high speeds on a longboard. Board wobble is a major cause for wipe outs in longboarders This is very common in longboards especially if you have your trucks and wheels loose and a reason why safety gear is a must when boarding. Some riders loosen their trucks to allow for tighter turns to avoid urban obstacles and carve down a hill to reduce speed much like snowboarders carve S shape patterns in the snow. The drawback to this is looser trucks cause longboards to become unstable at high speeds which produces the wobble effect. Trucks and wheels do become loose with use and should be checked regularly before each ride to prevent this.

Express Disclaimer of Liability
Longboarding is a dangerous sport. Riders assume ALL risks associated with the sport and products sold by Coastal Longboards Custom Longboard Griptaping or shown on these pages. Always wear appropriate safety gear at all times and check your ride before each use for loose hardware. Click 'Disclaimer' for further details.

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