When you talk about a long-distance riding, the most favorite and widely accepted approaches are longboard pumping. To many longboarding fans, longboard pumping is the most favorite longboarding approach.
Besides, lots of the rider claims about getting tired while riding with their longboard. Longboard pumping offers you to get away from this hassle. So, Going for the longboard pumping method will be a great thing for your riding, especially for long-distance riding.
This guide is all about longboard pumping. So, if you are looking for the longboard pumping approaches, then this guide will be highly beneficial to you. So, Let's dive into the core section.
Before moving on the depth, it is important to know the basics of longboard pumping. So, at first, I will discuss what is longboard pumping? Then I will talk about setting up your longboard for longboard pumping and later the techniques for a longboard pumping.
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What is Longboarding Pumping:
Longboard pumping can be explained as the latest sub-type of skating itself. On the traditional longboarding, the rider had to lift his feet. But, on a longboard pumping uses the weight to propel the longboard onwards or backwords.
The rider needs to keep balance using his weight through shifting his body from left to right. This way, one will be able to accelerate his speed and will be able to keep the momentum allowing the rider to pass zig-zag paths. The longboard pumping will offer a balance and swiftness as the board will remain on the ground.
Board Setup for Longboarding Pumping
Well, before getting started with longboard pumping, you need to make your longboard prepared well. For this purpose, some points are needed to take into considerations. They are-
Deck
While setting up your longboard, select a flexible deck. It will help let you dig in hard for every carve. Without it, a flexible deck will bounce you back and up and out of it. By this, you will be able to change your direction quickly.
Image credit to longboardbrand.com
Besides, a flexible deck will bump you up so that you can get a good amount of force for getting down and for driving each pump. And obviously, you will have a comfortable ride for cruising also. I have also reviewed some good quality cruising longboard. Check this if you ever plan to purchase a new board.
However, the top mount skateboards are the best options. Because they will provide you the maximum benefits over the trucks and you will be able to have a full turn with swinging to the right or the left.
Trucks
Well, no doubt that longboarding trucks are one of the most important parts. So, considering some key factors will be really helpful to you. These are-
The trucks that have a higher front turning angle and a bit loose wiring are suitable for handling. On the other hand, the trucks that have solid connection will demand more sweating.
Like the traditional longboards, the pumping longboard trucks are tenuous and TKP.
For easy maneuverability, soft bushings are really helpful. But, if you are fond of speed, then hard bushings will be a smart pick. We will talk about bushings later though.
The rear track with good stability has better pumping ability.
You can also read my guide on longboard truck placement.
Bearings
For longboard pumping, you don't need a bearing that is super fast or expensive. The bearings can spin for a few minutes on end, you can go for it. You just need to take care of your bearings.
Credit to nordboards.mex.tl
As you know that the friction is the biggest enemy of longboard pumping, fewer things will make you slow down than the dirty bearings. As long as your wheels will spin will be able to spin freely, you will be able to have a better ride with these bearings.
Flex
Well, flex is used for generating power at the time of the pumping session of a longboard. On a longboard pumping, higher flex can damage the deck bend and may be the cause of power loss. So, it is recommended going for a bamboo flex or fiberglass for having good control. These things are ideal in order to produce the accurate flex that is necessary for your pumping.
Wheels
While choosing the wheels for longboard pumping, go for the wheels that have more gripping power. The softer wheels offer maximum grip than the harder wheels. The grippiness ensures the peace of mind that the wheel won't slide out from underneath you as you dig into the curves while pumping.
Credit to lushlongboards.com
Besides, the wheels that are too soft are not the best choice. These wheels are supposed to have more friction than the harder wheels. That's why the softer wheels will make you slow as well as you won't be able to keep momentum. Therefore, better go for the harder wheels instead of going for the softer wheels.
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Bushings
Having soft bushings are an advantage. Because the soft bushings allow your truck to full lean and having a turn. You will be able to change the direction easily. However, the super high rebound bushings will help you to conserve energy and also to bounce out of turns.
Credit to longboardenvy.com
Lastly, it is better to have a softer bushing set up in the front truck. It will assist keep the turning focused on the front truck.
A to Z longboard Pumping steps:
Here’s a complete step by step longboard pumping technique is given:
Step-0:
Firstly, you can get started with the traditional tic-tac steps. Using a kicktail, slightly life the onward wheel. After that, you need to move your longboard right to left using your front leg in order to achieve a few momenta.
The traditional tic-tac allows the riders to learn the backward motion and torso twists which are needed for gaining speed while pumping.
Step-1:
Well, as you have already learned or just learned the traditional tic-tac, you can use a shortened board in order to learn the pumping skills. For this purpose, you need a board that is loose extremely and designed with soft bushings for better turning.
As you are going to learn longboard pumping, don't go for the board which has hard bushings as having turn won't be easier with hard bushings.
Step-2:
However, if you are a newbie, I will recommend you have a practice session on a soft area for minimizing the effect of falling. In order to do this, you need to create initial inertia using a little push on the board.
After that, you have to use your front leg for making the first turn as you press the feet hard on the board. Then, you need to push back the board using your back feet. Now, you just need to follow these steps and keep taking turns on the right and left side keeping the feet grounded.
Step-3:
You may feel a bit uneasy and you may not be able to create any momentum while the truck turns. This may happen for inappropriate timing or wrong foot movement. In this kind of case, you can go for the minimum incline trick.
Step-4:
After completing the above steps, now you can go for longboard pumping in a circular large area. This will help you to have a faster momentum during curves. These things should be done in the same direction on a surface along with higher traction. As you will have more traction, the chance of accidental falls will be lessened.
Step-5:
Finally, go for the longboard that offers more flex as it will help you bounce more comfortably with demanding little more energy.
