The longboard community is growing worldwide thanks to its ability to offer riders a faster and more exciting ride than traditional skateboards. This has created an ever-growing demand for a larger variety of longboard styles, brands, and manufacturers.
In order to get the most out of your longboarding experience, you need to have an understanding of which brands have the best boards. As such, we have an overview of some of the leading brands in the longboard industry.
These active companies represent more than just a means for transportation – with them come distinct personalities, cultures, and specific features that separate each brand from the other.
Whether it be downhill racing or cruising around town for fun, there is something bound to fit you within our wide collection of true longboards from trusted manufacturers like Arbor Board Co., Landyachtz Skateboards, and Sector 9.
Each brand brings something unique to the table with its particular focus on construction materials, design, concave shapes, and other features resulting in boards made for comfort and agility – enabling riders at all levels to unlock their true potential while conquering different terrains.
By exploring the different offerings within each category you can find yourself equipped with an ideal board consisting of incredible precision of maneuver between tight streets or large landings; built-in flex technology or heavier plastics; forgiving rides over rough pavement or lightweight builds optimized for speed control across hillier routes.
No matter what type of terrain you choose to conquer – be it tricks around town or alpine descents – this guide provides you with detailed information about these leading brands so that no destination will remain unheard of when finding the right board made just for you!
Popular Longboard Brands
Sector 9 is another leading longboard brand known for its innovative designs and improved riding capabilities. Founded in 1993 by two visionary snowboarders, the company has come up with some of the finest boards that can take riders on smooth rides while providing the necessary stability when negotiating the toughest terrain.
From downhill speed boards to modern cruiser boards, Sector 9 has perfected every aspect of its products with complete dedication toward quality craftsmanship.
Santa Cruz is one of the industry’s leading producers of high-performance longboards made from lightweight materials such as bamboo and fiberglass composites for excellent flex characteristics and ease of control as you make your way through technical lines or bumpy terrains.
In addition to regular skateboards they also have cruisers, street models as well as slides designed to glide on any type of surface at ultra-high speeds without compromising your safety due to risk-mitigating features like shock pads which protect your joints from impacts during hard landings or falls.
Arbor Collective is famous for creating striking artwork inspired by nature on their premium quality decks crafted from select woods such as birch and bamboo for a classic blend of quality and performance built into every board under their label.
Whether it’s a casual ride through town or going through rigorous downhills or technical turns, Arbor Collective provides choices suitable for all types of riders from beginners or pros alike boosting one’s confidence on wheels as you cruise around in style!
Landyachtz brings great comfort into play when it comes to street cruising ensuring both durability and high performance on hard surfaces while providing unmatched grip so that you can focus more time enjoying life instead worrying about road preparations prior to rides!
With an array of vibrant colors mixed with strong adhesives that ensure less breakage along with extra padding added onto its decks giving it a soft feel yet adding extra stability while maximizing control while making each turn count come rain or sunshine!
Loaded Boards offers several longboard series including Freeride, freestyle, and downhill designs with a variety of shapes to choose from so riders can find exactly what they’re looking for whether it’s speed or maneuverability.
They pride themselves on pushing the boundaries in board design – Featuring innovative shapes, advanced materials, and new technologies such as flex bases that give riders more control while cruising and a smooth ride when going fast.
Their vast assortment includes super-secret precision longboards made from carbon fiber composites as well as unique customizations with creative graphics to make each deck unique to you.
So whether you’re hitting up tight turns through the city streets or bombing big hills loaded boards have something for everyone!
Board Options and Riding Styles
Skateboards are the most versatile boards, perfect for beginners and experienced riders alike. Skateboard decks come in a variety of sizes and styles to suit any rider’s tastes.
From a classic 7-ply board to pop-and-lock skater-style decks, you can find a board that matches your riding style. Whether you’re an old school cruiser or a technical trickster, there’s a deck out there for you.
Longboards are an excellent way to get around town or on campus. With larger wheels, greater stability, and smoother turning capacity compared to smaller skateboards, longboards provide a comfortable ride for riders of all skill levels.
Longboard decks also feature an array of different shapes and styles, from drop-throughs to pintails and everything in between.
Cruiser boards offer smooth rides full of personality thanks to their durable construction. Most have large soft wheels which offer a good grip with minimal handling – perfect for pumping through your neighborhood or cruising around town! Many cruiser boards will accommodate smaller riders while still providing great performance.
Cruisers are more than just stylish transportation; they open up many new ways of riding like carving through corners and kickflips in the park! Whether you love street skating or prefer a more laid-back approach, cruiser boards supply fun rides at an affordable price point.
Downhill Boards are designed as strong and sturdy machines that can take on any terrain with ease. With stiffer flex than regular skateboards, these downhill boards come with some serious speed potential but require high steering accuracy as downhill speeds can quickly go out of control if pushed too hard!
These types of boards aren’t suitable for beginners as mistakes can be costly at such high speeds–although learners will find them helpful in getting used to balancing their weight effectively over long periods at various speeds before getting into real downhill racing!
Pintail longboards are shaped like a teardrop and are designed for speed and stability. They are often used by skateboarders who want to go faster and further on their boards, as the shape gives them more control over their ride.
This makes them great for carving down hills or just cruising along city streets. However, the teardrop shape can make them harder to turn since they don’t have much flexibility in terms of maneuverability.
Freestyle boards are typically shorter and wider than pintails, and they provide better flexibility than pintails because of their low-profile shape. These boards usually come with mini-wheels that offer grip when making sharp turns at high speeds. They are easier to push around in parks or pedestrian areas – perfect for tricks and stunts!
Advanced board riders look for stable decks that provide plenty of power for downhill speeds but also allow for quick carving up steep hills or winding trails. Some also may prefer a curved deck, as this will increase the amount of pop you get when jumping or ollying off curbs and other obstacles.
When it comes to beginner boards, you’ll want something with softer wheels so you don’t feel out of control while going fast on your board; these soft wheels slow down quickly without skidding out upon impact with objects or terrain elements.
Deck length should be relatively shorter than most advanced setups; this helps keep it light enough so riders won’t strain themselves pushing the board around while getting accustomed to skateboarding techniques.
Complete longboards are ideal for those looking for a skateboard that feels like a surfboard on the road, with forward momentum, transportation, and sliding.
Electric Longboards have gained popularity in recent years due to their ease of use and smooth control when riding. This type of board usually has a higher speed capability while maintaining stability throughout its range. Some electric longboards come with accessories such as LED lights or color changing wheels adding further enjoyment during your ride.
Riding style options are what you make them – whether it’s bombing hills, cruising around town, or doing tricks at the skatepark – there’s no right or wrong way! Styles such as freestyle, dancing, carving, and freeride all fit into the category of skateboarding but each has its own specific characteristics when it comes to gear choice, terrain preference, and choreography.
Advanced riders may opt for more niche boards such as Drop Throughs (which have drops through both their trucks) allowing for greater stability at higher speeds making them great for downhill riding without sacrificing maneuverability.
Alternatively, if you’re an avid fan of tricks and technical maneuvers then look no further than concaves which are specifically designed to give extra support when performing tight flips or other serious moves such as slides, grabs & spins.
No matter what kind of rider you are there’s sure to be something that suits your individual style so explore today!
Mini-Cruisers and Compact Longboards
Mini-Cruisers and Compact Longboards are becoming increasingly popular in the skating world. Mini-cruisers are smaller size skateboards that are usually shorter than the standard size longboards, featuring a low height and small wheelbase. With its compact design, it’s great for tricks, commuting, or taking to the skatepark.
Meepo Mini 2 is one of the highest rated mini-cruisers in the market. It has a maple deck with trucks and wheels designed specifically for its lower center of gravity, making it easier to balance on while doing tricks. It also features extraordinary acceleration, perfect for those new to riding mini-cruisers.
Wowgo Mini is another highly praised mini-cruiser. Equipped with an upgraded battery system and faster speed electronic controllers, you can reach speeds of up to 25km/h while maintaining a smooth ride quality across various terrains.
Wowgo Mini 2 builds on this already successful formula by adding improved stability and portability while still fitting into your backpack easily enough. The extra power provided by this model helps novice riders to quickly adapt to their new board confidently.
Tyneeboard Mini is part of Tyneeboard’s lineup of amazing mini cruisers that feature great maneuverability thanks to its 36° angled trucks paired with 70 mm wheels for maximum grip and flexibility when riding over bumps or taking sharp turns without losing balance or momentum.
In addition, it also has an impressive range of up to 20 km on a single charge making it ideal for taking out on trips without worrying about running out of juice mid-way through your journey.
Finally, there’s the Tyneeboard Mini Belt which as its name implies is an upgraded version of Tyneeboard’s original offering but with a smoother electric commuter motor integrated into the board allowing you to glide past any obstacle whilst enjoying flat surfaces more comfortably than ever before!
Its beauty lies in its simple yet effective design allowing you full control over your maneuvering along those trickier paths filled with dents and dips all while keeping maintenance at minimum levels thanks to regular software updates that get sent whenever something new comes along that improve your experience even further!
Materials and Components
Materials play an important role in longboard construction and performance. There are several materials used for longboards that provide different benefits, from friendly materials to recycled materials. Quality components are also integral to a good longboard, adding more durability and performance to the ride.
Grip tape is the most commonly used material for grip safety, though rubber pads can also be used for traction. Wheel cut-outs are key when choosing a longboard, as this will affect how easily the wheels can move around corners.
Other essential components include skateboard trucks and high quality bearings for smoother rides. Aftermarket components such as riser pads or angle wedges can also customize the board’s setup to suit riders’ preferences and riding styles.
By choosing quality materials and components, longboarders can maximize their ride experience while ensuring the sustainability of resources and their own safety on the road or at skate parks. By creating a balanced combination of premium grade parts that are tailored to the rider’s needs, they will enjoy enhanced sturdiness and control over every ride.
Longboard Price Range and Options
Whether you are looking for an affordable longboard, a high-quality cruiser, or a perfect board for cruising, there is a range of longboard options available to suit various budgets.
Depending on your price segment, you can find low budget boards, cheap longboards, and quality longboards higher up in the price scale. Though it might seem that the most expensive boards are the best ones with quality parts and build construction, there are also affordable boards that don’t compromise on performance and customer satisfaction level.
Complete boards sporting everything required by riders such as bearings and wheels have become increasingly popular over time. If you want to customize your setup according to your preferences but still get a ready-to-ride setup out of the box that doesn’t break the bank then the affordable complete boards will give you the most bang for your buck.
For experienced riders who have already got an idea of what they look for in their riding style and setup, opting for separate parts like decks, trucks, wheels, and bearings so as to handpick each part accordingly is also an option.
While this might be expensive initially due to buying costlier quality parts it is worth mentioning since in the long run, these durable items will last longer if taken good care of compared to pre-assembled inexpensive sets.
In order to make sure no matter what budget category you fall into there will always be a perfect board waiting for you in terms of choice of builds that offer great value per money spent offering both aesthetic visual pleasure with crisp graphics and logo prints alongside high performance level suitable for every kind of rider from novice learner all way up till experienced drifter gurus!
Longboard Riding and Performance
Longboard Riding is an amazing experience combining agility and smoothness with carving abilities to provide the user with incredible rides over a variety of roads. A stable, smooth, and polished ride is the main promise of riding a longboard.
This can be achieved by using high-end downhill skateboards equipped with directional longboards, degree longboard trucks, and soft wheels which minimize wheel bites. The general trend nowadays is towards softer wheels that will guarantee long stability and an overall enjoyable riding experience.
Longboarding is an incredibly enjoyable sport, especially when doing downhill well. This requires getting certain parts right in order to ensure you not only stay safe but also get the most out of your ride; these include the setup components such as your decks, trucks, wheels, bearings, and bushings.
Paying attention to these components will enable you to have optimal levels of control while maintaining good speed throughout any downhill straights or sharp carves which gives you complete control for whatever style of technical skill you choose to perform be it freeform freeriding or more technical aggressive sliding maneuvers.
Longboarders also go further by customizing their decks with various foot stoppers/slides, drops platforms, and lips as well as customized features such as grip tape perforation for added grip for greater confidence on each ride.
Taking into account all those features we’ve mentioned it’s no wonder why even experts find themselves tweaking their boards from time to time to make sure their board continues producing notable performance every time they get on it.
The overall result? A better board setup that’s tailored to give riders improved results during their ride without compromising safety when trying new tricks on or off the hills!
Longboard Environmental Impact and Sustainability
Longboard skateboarding has a significant environmental impact and affects sustainability in one way or another. Epoxy resin is the most commonly used material for creating decks and a huge portion of longboarding’s carbon footprint comes from its manufacturing process.
Boards with longer wheelbases, made with innovative materials, can give you more stability during downhill rides while cruising downhill and provide a better carving experience.
Weav offer an unbeatable variety of different shaped longboards on their website that contains useful customer reviews. The company has been focused on giving its customers the best quality service since 1998 when Jason Salfi founded them in Los Angeles.
Their strong focus recently moved to Increase sustainability by replacing plastics with fewer chemicals and more certified eco-friendly materials, making it easy to reduce carbon footprints in the skating industry.
Designs based on raw materials that are not harmful to the environment make it possible to enjoy skating without worrying about its impact on nature and wildlife.
In addition, Weave’s rent-a-deck model helps make riding green since renting reduces consumerism by providing access to high-end skate products at a reasonable cost thus avoiding individual boards end up as landfill waste.
Thus, It allows everyone to reduce their impact on the planet while still enjoying this phenomenal sport!
Conclusion and Recommendations
Given the research into the many aspects of longboard skateboards, it is impossible to choose a single board as the “best” of them all.
Every individual has different wants and needs when it comes to skating, which means every person should take some time to evaluate what type of riding they would like, which materials will provide the best performance, and how much money they are willing to spend on order to get the ideal board.
The Sector 9 Pinnacle model, with its unique combination of exotic materials that provide a comfortable ride and a reasonable price tag, appears to be one of the most popular models among beginner riders and experienced professionals alike.
For those looking for something extra special, companies such as this parent company have a nice variety of cut-outs styles and boards made with more expensive materials that provide even higher performance levels. Longboard trucks come in all shapes and sizes for racing boards as well as for cruising around town.
Overall, no matter what style or size of longboard skateboard you choose, there are plenty of affordable options available from reliable companies that combine quality materials with creative design variations so everyone can find a board that suits their individual needs perfectly.
