Wheels...one of the most important elements to a longboard. When searching for a pair of wheels for your board you first need to figure out your personal style of riding. Before we even begin choosing the best wheels to match your style of riding, lets look at the characteristics and get familiar with a longboard wheel. Compared to a skateboard wheel a longboard wheel is much larger, allowing the board to be able to coast over rocks, sticks, and other hazards. They're also a lot softer than a skateboard making it a quieter smoother ride with less vibration. Certain wheels are made to grip the surface of the road and other kinds allow you to slide freely across pavement. Being able to slide allows down hill riders to easily stop when coasting at high speeds.
The certain brand of wheels that i will be reviewing and analyzing are called Orangatangs. Orangantang wheels make various types of wheels allowing the rider to do different things. These wheels have an offset design with hard sharp edges and grip. Slalom, speedboarding, carving, and commuting are the main purposes of this particular style of wheel. They also have a thick lip for maintaining a fast speed and rippled inner walls for energy return when carving and pumping. Pumping is a technique used in slalom boarding, which is a carving and weaving style. It is a technique used to maintain speed, without having to take your feet off the board. These wheels are designed to maintain grip, but can be used to slide very predictably and easy when need be. The three different color of wheels also have their own unique style. The orange colored wheels are soft and grippy, whereas the purple wheels are harder, faster, and slidier. The yellow wheels are even harder, slidier, and faster than the purple. I personally have always wanted Orangatang wheels. I definitley want to test out these wheels and get a feel for them myself in the near future. From the reviews i have read and the videos i have watched these wheels seem to be very reliable and dependable. They allow you to do many different things while riding. The average cost of the wheels are $54.00, which compared to other wheels is a very reasonable price for what you get. While watching certain videos on the internet about these wheels i have come to the conclusions that they are one of the best kinds in the longboarding scene. They allow you to do many different things, which most wheels don't allow you to do. All four purposes of the wheels are captured in this youtube video. It first focuses on sliding and carving, as well as the pumping technique. It shows the wheels being used in speedboarding allowing viewers to see the different uses of the wheels. It shows the slalom technique when the border is weaving and carving. It shows the rider weave onto the sidewalk then off. The video also displays commuting. It shows that the rider can easily get from one place to the next.
Cabrini is a very small catholic college that is right next to Eastern University. When i say right next to Eastern i LITERALLY mean they're basically in the same place. Two days ago my friend Casey and I decided to mosey on over to check out some of the hills they have on campus. Another reason why i love blogging about longboarding is to get people interested in trying it, which is exactly what happened with Casey. Casey has never longboarded before so i decided to bring back one of my old boards to school so that she could try it. We had an awesome time and she also was a natural at it. Cabrini does have a lot of nice winding steep hills, but it's not really worth getting hit by car. The roads at Cabrini constantly have cars zooming by. So if i'm going to recommend that you go out and try these hills, just let me say shred at your own risk. Some of the hills were also very narrow leaving little space to carve. If you just like going straight down hills with no carving these hills are definitely for you. A lot of the hills on campus also have a winding shape to them making them very fun and unique to cruise on. Their parking lots also have a nice straight down hills that are smooth and perfect, just watch out for the speed bumps.
Casey Barker
To wrap it all up i would have to give Cabrini college a 7 out of 10 on their hills, a 6 out of 10 for the quality of roads, a 4 out of 10 for automobiles and other hazards, and a 7 out of 10 overall. I wouldn't really recommend Cabrini for beginner longboarders just because of how steep and narrow some of the hills are. If you were to board Cabrini as a beginner i would recommend cruising the parking lots there. Cabrini is awesome to Shred go ChEcK it OUT!!
Hey!! and Welcome! to "Kick, Push, Coast", a blog all about longboarding. My name is Emmy Fisher and i am a freshman at Eastern University. I have never done any type of blogging in my past, but i am really excited about starting my very first blog! I can't wait to start boarding around the campus, finding and writing about some sweet and smooth spots to cruise. I will also be checking out and reviewing some of the best brands in longboarding such as Sector Nine, Arbor, Gullwing, Dreggs etc. I have been longboarding for about a year and a half and i have to say it has to be the most chillest and relaxing thing to do in your free time. Not only can it get you places it also is a rush going down hills. I haven't had a chance to board since i have been at school, but i'm definitely looking forward to it. Make sure to check back soon!!!
