I don't want to go full longboard but...

[Frank and Fred]

So I needed to get out of town yesterday before starting an on-call week so I headed out to the Colombia River Gorge to check out some new pump tracks and this hill. It's completely closed to cars. I took my bike just to ride up and down and do a recon. 3 miles of beautiful switchbacks... Anyway, I got some Powell G slides 59mm 82a that are supposed to slide good. (I heard rumors Frank has bombed some hills on these). Now I can't get this hill out of my mind. I want to go back and slip and slide my way around those hairpins... please tell me I don't need reverse KP trucks and a 20" WB. How about some Thunder 161s and a Huffer... ?

[tzhangdox]

7.5 14in wb, venture lows, 50mm classics

[Dad Board]

7.5 14in wb, venture lows, 50mm classics

And a wu tang CD in the discman

[Richard Skidder]

Cardiel has an 8.62 with a 15” wheelbase. Paired with the added width of those Thunders should be nice and stable. Of course Ventures might keep the speed wobbles to a minimum.

[fs1/2cab]

Expand Quote

7.5 14in wb, venture lows, 50mm classics

[close]

And a wu tang CD in the discman

I only own 50mm classics and Wu-Tang on my phone. But I would join.

Please do a video how you conquer these hills.

[rawbertson.]

I like the blue meanie anti hero deck for a cruiser board to dip your feet in that’s not too massive without going full cruiser. Still pretty practical. Long wb 14.75 but not too wild.

[eviltgirl]

Funny that you'd say this, thats pretty much the most famous hill and racetrack in longboarding

[Frank and Fred]

That's exactly why I said it.

[GardenSkater77]

You never go full longboard.

[roba]

where's the METAL SKATEBOARDS METAL INDUCTION LONG BOY DECK when you need it

[gringo_viejo]

Hmm...
Dogtown big boy?
Black Label Lucero?
Pool king Pirate?
In my world everybody is looking for a reason to set up some Indy 215s

[backinaction]

Just need an early '80s Powell deck and some slide gloves.

[pinche gringo]

It looks like the same place Ben Krahn was casually cruising in this part. It’s hard to tell if he’s just riding whatever set up, but it being Ben Krahn I’d imagine so.

[Frank and Fred]

Yeah same hill as Krahn.

The Future Primitive clip is def inspo.

[Ray C. Usery]

What would Pedro do

[Frank and Fred]

Regretting not picking up one of those Metal Fred Gall Long boys...

[radcunt]

Get a Polarizer with 56mm rough riders and fang it

[GardenSkater77]

How bout…

https://www.chicostix.com/products/chico-stix-dawn-patrol-7-75inch

[m477]

I'll go out on a limb here but there is a pretty big difference between downhill skateboarders and your typical longboarder. Longboarders are mongo pushing, sandal wearing hippies/dweebs that walk or transport themselves from class to smoke shop etc. Downhill skateboarders on the other hand are gnarly and they bomb alpine roads up to 50-60mph and power slide on gummy soft wheels to slow down (meanwhile leaving 20ft+ shredded urethane marks in their wake). I don't understand the disrespect towards downhillers, inverted kingpin or not. They are A-OK in my book. I would absolutely love to make the mary hill journey one day.

Living in the east bay, I've always loved bombing hills and about ~ 7 years ago setup a dedicated downhill complete for mountain roads to bring on camping trips. Its a skaterbuilt slalom board, 9x33, multi drilled and i have it set to the shortest 17" wb with Indy 129's and blood orange 72mm/82A wheels with swiss bearings. Its fast as fuck. According to my old GPS app on my iPhone a few years back, I got up to 36mph in Lassen County on a family vacation on a mild grade road for about 5 minutes straight. Its exhilarating. Those wheels maintain the roll speed and Its like driving a cadillac. Smooth and silent. Pretty sure I've exceeded that speed on shorter/steeper hills but don't have the gps data to confirm.

In regards to slowing down from those speeds - On my normal street setup, I can powerslide and bluntslide/noseblunt slide ledges but definitely NOT on those soft downhill wheels, they're a totally different animal. At my age I have no interest in mastering downhill power sliding and dealing with the 20mph+ slams and road-rashes in the process (I like my skin intact). Instead, when the opportunity presents itself, I scope out the roads, drive up and down and find a section that naturally ends where I can progressively slow down to the flats. Ive tested a true downhill board with a ~20ish+ wheelbase but I just couldn't adapt and went back the skaterbuilt as its a nice compromise. If you made it this far in my wall of text, godspeed.

[cucktard]

I’ve dipped my toes in downhill, and I’m in agreement with the poster above.

The downhill scene where I was was tight, and like I’ve probably said before, felt a lot more like skating in the 80’s, the ostracism from the ‘acceptable’ types of skating makes the scene that much more self-reliant and a tighter community.

Plus, drifting turns around corners is a fucking rad feeling.

As for advice to the OP, I’m tempted to say borrow a DH board, but buy your own wheels, and get some pucks and a helmet and practice a bit learning how to slide and slow down with them before doing Maryhill.

Or not, I don’t know what kind of speeds you are aiming for. But the trucks are designed to be more stable at speed yet still turn, so there’s that.

[m477]

Yes, the puck gloves are definitely a good idea. I bought some as well, maybe around 2017/2018 with the intention of using them to learn how to slide/drift... but then reality set in... its difficult! I think I successfully did one good hands down frontside powerslide where I left a visible mark, but all the other attempts were just pathetic and resulted in a awkward falls and light road rash. Also, keep in mind I'm doing this by myself (in my late 30's) on a 2 lane highway in the middle of nowhere, with traffic driving by while my family is back at the campsite waiting for me lol. I basically felt like a moron and it was demoralizing. After that I just put the gloves on as a safety measure in case I fell and kept a close eye for nice runs that I could manage the windy roads at speed. I totally see your take of the community, that sounds rad bombing with your bros and pushing each other. Maybe in another life I'd be a downhiller

[Frank and Fred]

I’ve dipped my toes in downhill, and I’m in agreement with the poster above.

The downhill scene where I was was tight, and like I’ve probably said before, felt a lot more like skating in the 80’s, the ostracism from the ‘acceptable’ types of skating makes the scene that much more self-reliant and a tighter community.

Plus, drifting turns around corners is a fucking rad feeling.

As for advice to the OP, I’m tempted to say borrow a DH board, but buy your own wheels, and get some pucks and a helmet and practice a bit learning how to slide and slow down with them before doing Maryhill.

Or not, I don’t know what kind of speeds you are aiming for. But the trucks are designed to be more stable at speed yet still turn, so there’s that.

Appreciate the info. I've been skating a long time. Bombed many hills. Back in the day, my mate and I re-drilled an old wooden water ski and skated that down hills with a 20" wheelbase, with cranked Trackers and I forget what wheels. We regularly went over 45 KM/H on that piece of shit. I've borrowed longboards before and bombed midnight city hills. Loved it. Maryhill seems pretty damn safe compared to some city hills I have bombed but will certainly ease into it and wear I lid. I'll wear a helmet in a deep bowl so not afraid on a hill.

My goal is to indeed to get some Coleman slides going, so eventually I will get slide gloves. And... I suppose at some point I will get a proper downhill rig but for now this is just for fun and curiosity. That hill occupies my dreams right now. I want to go back before it turns yellow with the summer heat. You ever see a vista while hiking and just want to dive into and immerse yourself in it? Well, Maryhill in Spring seems like an amazing way to do just that.

For now, I think I have set up in mind. I'm not going full longboard but I will dabble dangerously close. I have the Powell 59mm 82a G Slides and I think I am going to pick up a JM Duran Powell flight deck after I feel one out on Friday. 17" fucking wheelbase but popsicle shaped with twin kicks... a bit spendy but what are credit cards for...? the wife won't know there's a strange long wheelbase board occupying the basement or will she? Trucks will likely be some cranked Thunder 151s or Ace Classic  55 b/c that's what I have. So not a true downhiller but I think it will be good for sliding around the local hill (I live a few blocks from Mt Tabor in SE Portland) and a Maryhill loop or two. It's either that if a Huffer with mega ramp trucks. only somewhat joking but would love to try Thunder 181s on a Huffer to toy with forbidden territory.

For those of you who haven't read this,



the fitst chapter is about Downhill and largely focusses on Cliff Coleman and sliding down the Berkley Hills. The rest of the book is also interesting, well-written and more about 'conventional;' skateboarding.

[Schinken]

Expand Quote

I’ve dipped my toes in downhill, and I’m in agreement with the poster above.

The downhill scene where I was was tight, and like I’ve probably said before, felt a lot more like skating in the 80’s, the ostracism from the ‘acceptable’ types of skating makes the scene that much more self-reliant and a tighter community.

Plus, drifting turns around corners is a fucking rad feeling.

As for advice to the OP, I’m tempted to say borrow a DH board, but buy your own wheels, and get some pucks and a helmet and practice a bit learning how to slide and slow down with them before doing Maryhill.

Or not, I don’t know what kind of speeds you are aiming for. But the trucks are designed to be more stable at speed yet still turn, so there’s that.

[close]

Appreciate the info. I've been skating a long time. Bombed many hills. Back in the day, my mate and I re-drilled an old wooden water ski and skated that down hills with a 20" wheelbase, with cranked Trackers and I forget what wheels. We regularly went over 45 KM/H on that piece of shit. I've borrowed longboards before and bombed midnight city hills. Loved it. Maryhill seems pretty damn safe compared to some city hills I have bombed but will certainly ease into it and wear I lid. I'll wear a helmet in a deep bowl so not afraid on a hill.

My goal is to indeed to get some Coleman slides going, so eventually I will get slide gloves. And... I suppose at some point I will get a proper downhill rig but for now this is just for fun and curiosity. That hill occupies my dreams right now. I want to go back before it turns yellow with the summer heat. You ever see a vista while hiking and just want to dive into and immerse yourself in it? Well, Maryhill in Spring seems like an amazing way to do just that.

For now, I think I have set up in mind. I'm not going full longboard but I will dabble dangerously close. I have the Powell 59mm 82a G Slides and I think I am going to pick up a JM Duran Powell flight deck after I feel one out on Friday. 17" fucking wheelbase but popsicle shaped with twin kicks... a bit spendy but what are credit cards for...? the wife won't know there's a strange long wheelbase board occupying the basement or will she? Trucks will likely be some cranked Thunder 151s or Ace Classic  55 b/c that's what I have. So not a true downhiller but I think it will be good for sliding around the local hill (I live a few blocks from Mt Tabor in SE Portland) and a Maryhill loop or two. It's either that if a Huffer with mega ramp trucks. only somewhat joking but would love to try Thunder 181s on a Huffer to toy with forbidden territory.

For those of you who haven't read this,



the fitst chapter is about Downhill and largely focusses on Cliff Coleman and sliding down the Berkley Hills. The rest of the book is also interesting, well-written and more about 'conventional;' skateboarding.

You don't need to go full longboard. I've had great results with a slightly bigger setup. I've tried setups from 8.25 with 14.25 up to 9 with 17 wheelbase. Everything worked. Especially with slide gloves. I've tried a full downhill setup but I couldn't handle the large wheelbase

My setup for anything with moderate speed:

8.75" Deck
15" Wheelbase
Independent or Venture in 8.75"
63 mm freeride wheels 78a

 

[munchbox]

steepest hill i bombed without cheese grating my ass
was on the anti hero orange eagle with mini juices
didnt speed check for shit, green light at the bottom

[Frank and Fred]

Just an update. I made it back to Maryhill with my 8.8 x 17" WB JM Duran WB twin tail Slidewinder Flight deck, Ace Classic 55s and rotating between 59mm 82a G Slides and 60mm Rat bones Dragons. Also been bombing my local hills (back side of Mt Tabor in SE PDX) Been getting some minor speed wobbles around 25mph (if Strava is accurate), might put some harder bushings in the trucks. But sliding has been great. No hands down shit yet but it's fun to get some serious sideways drift at speed but under some control.

I think I'll get a real downhill rig with RKP trucks at some point and do this shit properly but for now this has been a crapload of fun.

I can see how those longboard larrys get very nerdy about equipment.



Little Grimple/ Frank nod to keep me pure and safe.

[GardenSkater77]

Ace 55 over Indy 169?

You mad man.

[Frank and Fred]

Yeah, had them lying around and honestly I find Ace more comfortable at speed than Indy bc they are a bit lower. Been cranking them a little for hills and loosening for pump tracks. I'd try a Thunder 161 also but don't want to buy Thunders until the T2 is out.

[Xen]

Are you running ACE hard bushings?

man, get some slide gloves and get to it...

[Frank and Fred]

Stock Ace bushings at the moment but have some Hards on stand by. Going to try my Thunder 151s on this rig also.

Yep, plan to get slide gloves at some point.

[hiljentaa]

Very rad. Respect.

I've been doing some hike up, skate down on some high mountain roads here, but nothing technical. I need to get a helmet and gloves to feel more comfortable at speed.