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Skateboarding => Skate Questions => Topic started by: arnold schwarzenegger on April 02, 2012, 07:04:58 PM
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After looking up some vids on the interwebs, I tried it myself. Somehow it just ain't working. Anyone mind explaining it thoroughly?
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Approach at a sharp angle lift up your front truck, lean over your toes (for backside) and just smash into that shit.
Edit: Turns out I have been doing them wrong all these years - don't lift up your front truck. Now I know why I never had them consistent.
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There really is no explaining it thoroughly. Happenstance is right, just smash into that shit. Go fast, scrape it really loud, roll away feeling a little manlier.
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center of balance is key, U gotta stay on top or a little behind your board so you got that momentum working for ya, if all else fails you aren't going fast enough or find another curb ;D
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Slappy grinds are such a bitch to learn. Just do what the instructional vids say, but its definitely not going to come easily.
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Try em on parking blocks. I can do slappy front 5-0s on parking blocks but no way in hell could I do one on a curb.
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Backside just imagine doing a 50-50 on a ramp, or a little wallride. As for frontside this is all that can really be said.....
"Smash into that shit" is the key.
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slappies on curbs are really one of the few tricks im quite good at, and the key is that you don't lift your front truck at all. you smash the front truck into the curb and it will get on top of the curb automatically. put your front foot on the front bolts for that, maybe even further. the harder part is getting the back truck up the curb then, so you let your heel hang off a bit and really push it up the curb.
it's about slapping the board into the curb quite hard, it's not a smooth trick at all.
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I'm trying to get these down now, and the one thing that sucks is if I mess up, the curb is the perfect height to start grind my axle.
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I'm trying to get these down now, and the one thing that sucks is if I mess up, the curb is the perfect height to start grind my axle.
Extra washers on the axle so your nut is flush.
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I'm trying to get these down now, and the one thing that sucks is if I mess up, the curb is the perfect height to start grind my axle.
that's what she said
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find a little ass curb or get some big wheels is a good way to learn, i approach them pretty straight and then turn into about a meter or so away from the curb.
they're pretty easy, im sure you'll work it out soon enough
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think of it as an axle stall on a curb
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Big tires, big loose trucks, crunchy painted curb, preferably red or yellow. Approach the curb with some speed at a pretty straight angle, put pressure on your front foot's heel, let your front foot's front wheel get on top of the curb as you smash it in there, your back wheels are just gonna get on there with the pressure. Grind for as long as you can, curb dance, get off, and do it again. Watch the Grosso Loveletter to Curbs.
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just smash into that shit.
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Trick Tip | Mike Anderson (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NEsJsuLm5U#ws)
This helped me. It just takes some time to figure it out. Be patient and try and try again
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Trick Tip | Mike Anderson (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NEsJsuLm5U#ws)
This helped me. It just takes some time to figure it out. Be patient and try and try again
that's a pretty man sized slappy curb. kudos to him
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Go to your local DMV on a saturday or sunday (preferably sunday so you can #slappysunday on instagram and look cool as fuck) and just go for it. "Slappys are 10% skill and 90% attitude" -Eric Koston
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Grosso's Loveletters- Curbs (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJZ6ty5xyOM#ws)
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Approach at a sharp angle lift up your front truck, lean over your toes (for backside) and just smash into that shit.
Edit: Turns out I have been doing them wrong all these years - don't lift up your front truck. Now I know why I never had them consistent.
Lifting your front truck on frontside ones feels safer....start out doing it this was and inevitably instead of lifting you'll start smashing....
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Grosso's Loveletters- Curbs (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJZ6ty5xyOM#ws)
fuck thanks for posting this. pretty rad. never seen these "love letters" before.
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I STARTED DOIN THEM AFTER A SAW A LIGHTNING BOLT EXPLODE RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME. GAVE ME SUPER POWERS.NOW I CAN SEE HOW A SPOT WAS AND WILL BE.
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(http://www.centurygrp.com/Images/Interior/parking%20curbs-bumpers/img_0381-650.jpg)
You guys mean these kind of parking blocks? Thats pretty much all we have around here; all the street curbs are rounded and really gritty.
Is there a good way to get parking blocks to grind? The ones around here aren't made out of very smooth concrete. I have a rub brick and spray enamel, never really had the opportunity to use them though
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I was talking to this guy who works construction in the city and he mentioned something called a curb maker. It sounded preposterous to me for some reason, but I researched it just now.
http://www.lilbubba.com (http://www.lilbubba.com)
I just leafed through the "curbing gallery" and creamed my jeans.
I want this machine.
(http://www.lilbubba.com/shop/productImages/Standar%20Molds%202013%20L.jpg)
Miller Concrete Landscape Curbing Machine (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJneYPOHKCs#)
apparently you can rent them.
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GREAT FINDS !
TRY SOME MARBLE DOORSTEPS FIRST
WAX UR TRUX
BREATH BEND UR KNEES
FEEL THE CONCAVES
AIM THE CURB WITH YOUR HAND
LIGHTEN YOUR FEET UP, ONE AFTER THE OTHER AS YOU CARVE AND LOCK YOUR TRUCKS IN AND OUT
THATS ALL I WANT TO DO, I HAVE DREAMS ABOUT IT, THE FEELING IS UNDESCRIBEABLE :o GRRRRRRRRRRRR
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Don't forget to do the invisible unweight-ing thing. Nobody really talks about that when mentioning slappy trick tips.
It's so fast you don't even know you do it, but you know when you don't.
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I know this is an old thread, but I want to share what finally made this trick click for me. The key is to not so much “bash” your board into the curb, but to do more of a really hard carve at the last second. That may seem obvious, but thinking of the motion as a carve helped. Also, keeping your back foot closer to the bolts, not on the back of the tail helps a lot in getting your back truck on. Ten years in, just figured these out.
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They're like a really small wallride.
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go fast, bend your knees, approach the curb at an angle and before your front wheel hits the curb, turn the curb side of your deck upward by either pointing your heels down for frontside or toes down for backside and then, as your board starts riding up the side of the curb, straighten your deck and center your weight over the curb and lock into the grind, then come off however you want. if you’ve never done them before, the hardest part is letting go of the instinct to ollie onto the curb. you gotta ride up the side of it. in the beginning it might be easiest to go at a really sharp angle, carve and slash the curb to get used to the movement.
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Chuck has it down.
For the longest time I'd ollie into them,now I just go fast and wish for the best, frontside is a different approach though. Sometimes I imagine I'm going up a steep wall and have to powerslide into a 5050, feet on bolts, and being light footed for that split second you Slap
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Both feet over the bolts.
Sharp angle towards the curb.
Approaching the curb start turning towards the curb and then start carving in the opposite direction.
Lean back and try to be light footed.
Your curb side front wheel hitting the curb and pressure on your heels (fs) / toes (bs) will tilt the board and lift it on to the curb (front truck first).
Also you dont need to go fast if you have the right tecnique.
Have fun.
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I neer understood slappys I go fast smash the crub and go flying haha smashing the board in a crubs doesn't get the board on it stops it... is there anything that helps? waxing the side of the nose maybe?
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Rounded wheels help,along with some speed when learning
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I neer understood slappys I go fast smash the crub and go flying haha smashing the board in a crubs doesn't get the board on it stops it... is there anything that helps? waxing the side of the nose maybe?
I definitely looked like a fucking moron ramming my board into the curb and coming to a dead stop a couple thousand times when I was trying to figure them out.
I found that I had to lean back on my heels more than I thought I needed to (for frontside slappies).
Like Francis said, smaller, rounder wheels will get on there easier. Personally, I’ve found that they are easier on wider trucks as well.
This sounds really dumb, but what helped me is thinking that I have to make getting up on the curb the path of least resistance for the board. So you’re basically just using your weight and momentum to force it up there against its will.
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front slappies are the easiest trick in the world if you dont overthink it. feet on the bolts and just jam into it. no lifting up. sometimes your back wheels will slide on the ground a few inches before they bump up onto the curb
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I find backside slappies way easier, the frontside ones regularly send me flying over the curb. That's probably me overthinking it though.
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I find backside slappies way easier, the frontside ones regularly send me flying over the curb. That's probably me overthinking it though.
Might need to haunch down a little more and keep your weight on the back foot?
Cute dog avatar btw
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I know this is an old thread, but I want to share what finally made this trick click for me. The key is to not so much “bash” your board into the curb, but to do more of a really hard carve at the last second. That may seem obvious, but thinking of the motion as a carve helped. Also, keeping your back foot closer to the bolts, not on the back of the tail helps a lot in getting your back truck on. Ten years in, just figured these out.
I'm gonna try this advice today. I seem to ride away from slappys only 10% of the time because what happens when in this video he shows using his hands the first time: My board overshoots the curb and i grind only the back truck automatically making my shoulders turn. Sometimes it looks like I do it on purpose though like slappy to front board, but I know it isn't.
Trick Tip | Mike Anderson (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NEsJsuLm5U#ws)
This helped me. It just takes some time to figure it out. Be patient and try and try again
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try learning to just stall first
also try different curbs
i've been relearning them and can do the curb at my kids school but can do the one at house park yet
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Slanted California-type curbs are much easier to do them on than vertical curbs. If you have ever ridden a snowboard, it’s sort of the same feeling as doing a hard carve, where the edge of board really comes up, only with a curb in the way. If you’ve not ridden a snowboard, it’s still just like a hard carve into a curb (as said above). Also, I absolutely agree with what others have said; slappies make absolutely NO SENSE. They just shouldn’t be possible, and I also think they are one of THE hardest tricks to teach/explain.
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I learned how to slappy this week so my advice might do more harm than good but here goes. I think loose, surfy trucks definitely help because slappies were surprisingly easy to learn for me and I skate somewhat loose Indys. I approach the curb at a wide angle. When I get to the curb I do a slight frontside carve and lean back on my heels with my front foot on the bolts and back foot on the center of my tail to peel my wheels off the ground and onto the curb. This shit don't make no sense at all but somehow it works. Speed helps but it doesn't really matter. If you're doing it right you should be able to get up the curb with very little speed. This trick is all about leaning your weight and angle, If you're finding that you can't get fully on top of the curb then wait a little bit longer to shift your weight from your heels to back over your trucks when you're getting in.
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Rounded wheels help,along with some speed when learning
Does the duro of the wheel have anything to do with it? I ride 90a wheels, because the streets are super-crusty around these parts. I'm trying to learn slappies but I'm worried soft wheels might make them more difficult.
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Rounded wheels help,along with some speed when learning
Does the duro of the wheel have anything to do with it? I ride 90a wheels, because the streets are super-crusty around these parts. I'm trying to learn slappies but I'm worried soft wheels might make them more difficult.
Not in my experience, but depending on the curb you might have to squat that slap in,because I would bounce of some curbs. If you're going fast enough nothing matters really,you're going to grind the fuck out of whatever you're slappin' with speed invovled.
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Sloppy is like dribbling your bord into the curb
Slap that shit up there and step on it. It’ll go
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Rounded wheels help,along with some speed when learning
Does the duro of the wheel have anything to do with it? I ride 90a wheels, because the streets are super-crusty around these parts. I'm trying to learn slappies but I'm worried soft wheels might make them more difficult.
Good to know, thanks!
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Don’t you want to learn from Jef Hartsel?
http://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=_w73dENxudw
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I'm guessing that big and soft wheels could help at the beginning to get used no?
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I'm guessing that big and soft wheels could help at the beginning to get used no?
That's kind of what I was thinking, but I had heard that the harder the wheel, the better for getting up on curbs, which seems counterintuitive, honestly. Then again, the slappy itself is pretty counterintuitive.
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Don’t you want to learn from Jef Hartsel?
http://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=_w73dENxudw
I love that video so much. Hartsel is such a good dude.
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power in the front foot
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it's very hard to explain but its always fun to race around and slappy every red curb in sight because my friends who are LIGHTYEARS better than me cant do them. same with no-comply tricks.
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just noticed the link was already posted but this video is good.
http://youtu.be/_w73dENxudw
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Don’t you want to learn from Jef Hartsel?
http://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=_w73dENxudw
Holy shit, that was amazing.
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these slappy videos are also good:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZre2cBiRBc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vxICpzCCA8
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Was trying to relearn them today, and realized most skaters don’t even know what they are doing themselves (because the good ones are so natural they don’t break the movement down) and this are shit at explaining it.
90% of people say you just ‘smash that shit’ or some bullshit like that, the people who have a clue will say something about being ‘lightfooted’.
The approach angle and speed are all well explained. Same with the carving motion.
But when it comes to hitting the curb, you don’t force it on, it won’t work. Especially do not straighten your legs trying to increase the force of impact.
You have to ‘unweight’ your feet as you go on. Front foot first, then the back.
This is not ‘lifting up the front trucks’, it is merely taking most of the pressure off the front foot, allowing the front trucks to bump up, then the back foot, and get the rear ones on. Then you grip, get your weight to the rear, and enjoy the ride.
It’s a very quick and subtle movement, which is why you don’t catch it watching the videos (and why most people don’t notice themselves doing it) but it is the most important one.
A bit like then you unweight the board to nollie bump a crack that’s sticking up.
The next most important movement is turning the hips in the direction of the slappy, like you are carving a bowl, and lean into the turn a fair bit, like you are carving coping.
When you get these points right, it is effortless.
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That's a great rundown of it. I'm still struggling with them, but last session I had them working on a smaller curb. Once you're up it feels amazing but it's a frustrating battle as you need to learn to sharpen your instinct as it's such a fast thing.
I think half the battle is finding a curb they work on, especially while getting the hang of them. All the curbs I have access to are big, 90 degrees and not painted.
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yeah, that hartsel vid and cucktard's post are pretty much on point. There was some advice a few pages back from a poster that said it's almost like a power slide and I kind of agree with that, if you can push your back heel on frontside ones like you do on a power slide it helps get you up there. I wish I could skate one of those slanted curbs; my local is 90 degrees AND had a lip on it! I guess the benefit is that if I can get them down consistently on that then regular curbs won't be too much of a challenge for me...
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I got some round ass wheels (oj little doodies) and they make getting up there a lot easier for me. I've only done a handful because I broke my toe the other day, but since I can't pop anything I'm really pretty much limited to slappys and just cruising which is actually really nice in a way. But yeah, big round wheels definitely helps get up on them, the only thing I don't like about it is they're pretty soft and sometimes it feels like they sorta catch the curb and bounce the board back and I end up not having my weight centered over my trucks the way I want.
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I finally got them fully going at full speed on a slanted parking block. Nearly fucken blacked out I was so happy, felt amazing. I had been getting them up, but not properly, full pelt frontside. Cant wait to go back.
The advice of a deep carve like you're surfing and the curb is the lip is probably the best advice. Takes the weight off the outside wheels and they just pop up. Feet on bolts pretty much, speed and that carve and bringo.
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Awesome, glad to hear it. I just relearned fs as well.
I never was that keen on grinds, but slappies on a nice smooth curb is one of the best feelings when you get it right
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See what you really want to do is learn the ways of the axle'es beforehand
Bonus points for actually landing on the curb
https://youtu.be/68Fl7CmHUUY
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switch front side are the best just saying
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Any tips on doing slappy front crooks? I can power through them if I can get out at the end of the curb but they are more like nose grinds or Chinese nollies..
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For me it was really about the carve into the curb.
I go at it at very flat angle and just carve onto the curb (in Grind direction) last moment.
Like this it almost feels like pumping a wall and you ‘loose weight‘ going up the curb. And you get on easier than just smashing it, cause that doesn‘t work without technique.
Also keeping my front foot further back than I instinctively would and keeping a fair amount of weight on it (not leaning too far back) Helped me with getting the front truck not just to grind but up the curb and with enough weight on so the back truck also does up the curb and doesn‘t just smash in the side stopping you and the slappy.
Good luck
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Both feet on the bolts is what really got them to click for me. It felt so odd at first but then they just worked.
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Was messing around with switch bs slappies. The learning curve is a lot quicker, but I’m having trouble getting my weight back once I’m on
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https://youtu.be/xNsHmNPGkSg
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Another thing to keep in mind is that your weight has to get on top of the curb. Thinking about that helps everything else come together. In all these trick tip videos they talk about how you need to come at a 45 degree angle, but I think its less than that. At least it looks smoother if you can decrease the angle a bit.
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Square the shoulders with the curb. Make all the difference.
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Figured Id bump this thread. Lots of good info. Ive been working on relearning slappies. Got my backside slappies back but frontside has been kicking my ass. I spent a full session dedicated to them and made some progress and landed a few really good solid ones. Such a great feeling. Now my back foot is killing me.
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This is kind of implied in the previous posts talking about it being a sharp carve into the curb but I didn't fully get slappys until I started to focus on pinching both trucks on the side of your board opposite to the curb. This way you can do them at any speed with any amount of effort, you don't really even need to slam your board into it, you can just kinda ride up onto the curb. In that Love Letters episode I think Julien Stranger compares it to a powerslide, and while they do feel like that when you do them with speed and aggression I think that's kind of misleading if you're trying to learn them. Doing it like a powerslide when you're first trying to learn them will just end up grinding your axles down on the side so that the nuts strip when you try to take them off and put them back on
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I could dedicate my whole life to slappies as they feel that good. Loose trucks and smiles are the key.
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I don't know, I think it's mostly like a powerslide because both require you to throw your back truck forward and lean back a little, which is the whole mechanism for getting up the curb. You can also think of it like trying to carve so hard your back truck would loop out if it didn't run into the curb. Either way, something that really helps for me is setting up like a powerslide, with my back foot up on the tail right behind the pocket and front foot just behind the bolts in a normal ollie spot. Seems to make it easier to really swing the tail around into position in line with the curb so both trucks kind of click into place when you get your weight right.
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just smash/fuck your board up onto the curb. it wants to be there. let it
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It is like a powerslide in the sense that to get the board sideways, you have to momentarily ‘unweight’, ie: take your weight off the board so that it loses grip enough to push it around, and then in front of you.
Slappies work the same. It’s not a straight-legged push/smash into the curb, there is a tiny unweighting at the point of contact to allow the board to get up onto the curb and then you can push it in front of you.
It’s very subtle, and I don’t think some people who learn it realize this point.
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The key I needed to remember that helped me relearn is that you kinda need to jam it forward, kinda like you’re going to shoot your board out. Just a quick forward jab and you pop right up there. Oh, and mentally aim it down the length of the curb. I hit trouble when I was kind of trying to slash it like the top of a bank, you want to carve in, pop forward and sim down the curb. Before you know it, you’re on top grinding the length!
Hope that makes sense, best way I can describe it.
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Weight towards your toes for backside and weight on your heels for frontside, stay on bolts unless you're Jason Adams or some other slappy god
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For me I found a 4” curb and waxed er up. Once I got it down, I found a real curb. Film yourself and you’ll see whats wrong pretty quickly. Slap on!
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the way i learned was i point my feet slight outwards like \ / for frontside slappys, then i can press my toes on the nose kinda to roll up and get balanced
makes so much sense in my head but sounds so dum written down lol
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So after a year of only getting out once every week or two, I’m finally comfortable with frontside and backsides that they are in my pocket and I can try variations.
Was trying bs to rock-fakie out, what else is a good next trick?
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So after a year of only getting out once every week or two, I’m finally comfortable with frontside and backsides that they are in my pocket and I can try variations.
Was trying bs to rock-fakie out, what else is a good next trick?
180 out (both FS and BS) is a good one. No comply out. Slappy Smiths are really fun. It is almost like a combo of slappy and a powerlslide b/c your front wheels are on the ground. The ole' Slappy K is pretty easy and really satisfying. Take regular slappies to 5 O or Tailslides. Shuv out. Grab out. 180 power slide into a slappy. And switch slappies. Try them on higher curbs, unwaxed curbs... Its endless fun.
If you are on IG, check out Tiger Mountain Slappy. I've skated with that kid a few times and he's taken things to a next level.
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Learned how to BS slappy without lifting my front truck today. Had a buddy give me the tip to think of it like slappy crook but bring your back truck on. It was that easy the whole time.
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This has probably been mentioned, but I want to say, if it’s really not happening for you, try a different curb. I thought I found the perfect low curb to learn on, literally spent hours with barely ever getting my back truck on. Yesterday I tried a taller curb with a bit of a slant to it and I can slappy it no problem. Gonna perfect the art on that one and then go back to dominate the little one later, but I was really surprised by how much easier it was on the taller curb. Basically make sure your curb has a bit of an angle, at least while you’re learning how.
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This has probably been mentioned, but I want to say, if it’s really not happening for you, try a different curb. I thought I found the perfect low curb to learn on, literally spent hours with barely ever getting my back truck on. Yesterday I tried a taller curb with a bit of a slant to it and I can slappy it no problem. Gonna perfect the art on that one and then go back to dominate the little one later, but I was really surprised by how much easier it was on the taller curb. Basically make sure your curb has a bit of an angle, at least while you’re learning how.
Just a word of caution, trucks bend easier on less slanted or un-slanted curbs, in my experience. I've bent axles on two sets of Indys and a set of Ventures doing slappies on vertical or almost vertical curbs, so pick your curbs wisely. I believe there is such a thing as the perfect angle for a curb, but that probably varies by preference.
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I almost spent 2 months exclusively doing fs slappies on a vertical curb a couple of summers ago. My best advice for them is to ride at 45 degree angle, keep your front foot on the bolts and the back in the pocket. When youre approaching the curb pump like you would on tranny while leaning back. I feel like if you get this move down, you almost always lock in and sometimes cross-lock which looks and feels even sicker.
With the exact same mindset and move i also learned slappy front smiths by reducing the angle i was approaching the curb.
I hope i helped, and be ready to destroy your trucks in ways youve never imagined before
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This has probably been mentioned, but I want to say, if it’s really not happening for you, try a different curb. I thought I found the perfect low curb to learn on, literally spent hours with barely ever getting my back truck on. Yesterday I tried a taller curb with a bit of a slant to it and I can slappy it no problem. Gonna perfect the art on that one and then go back to dominate the little one later, but I was really surprised by how much easier it was on the taller curb. Basically make sure your curb has a bit of an angle, at least while you’re learning how.
Just a word of caution, trucks bend easier on less slanted or un-slanted curbs, in my experience. I've bent axles on two sets of Indys and a set of Ventures doing slappies on vertical or almost vertical curbs, so pick your curbs wisely. I believe there is such a thing as the perfect angle for a curb, but that probably varies by preference.
Good to know! I’ve been slamming hard into a vertical curb with tensor mag lights for a few months now because I’m a moron haha. Axles still looking good but I’ll be careful in the future. Thanks for the advice.
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Fear no curb. Continue as normal. Thank You.
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This has probably been mentioned, but I want to say, if it’s really not happening for you, try a different curb. I thought I found the perfect low curb to learn on, literally spent hours with barely ever getting my back truck on. Yesterday I tried a taller curb with a bit of a slant to it and I can slappy it no problem. Gonna perfect the art on that one and then go back to dominate the little one later, but I was really surprised by how much easier it was on the taller curb. Basically make sure your curb has a bit of an angle, at least while you’re learning how.
Just a word of caution, trucks bend easier on less slanted or un-slanted curbs, in my experience. I've bent axles on two sets of Indys and a set of Ventures doing slappies on vertical or almost vertical curbs, so pick your curbs wisely. I believe there is such a thing as the perfect angle for a curb, but that probably varies by preference.
Good to know! I’ve been slamming hard into a vertical curb with tensor mag lights for a few months now because I’m a moron haha. Axles still looking good but I’ll be careful in the future. Thanks for the advice.
Should probably have mentioned that I'm maybe a bit on the bigger side for a skateboarder at 6 foot and 175 lbs, so slighter dudes probably have a harder time with bending trucks. Maybe it's more of a "me" problem than a curb or trucks problem.
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This has probably been mentioned, but I want to say, if it’s really not happening for you, try a different curb. I thought I found the perfect low curb to learn on, literally spent hours with barely ever getting my back truck on. Yesterday I tried a taller curb with a bit of a slant to it and I can slappy it no problem. Gonna perfect the art on that one and then go back to dominate the little one later, but I was really surprised by how much easier it was on the taller curb. Basically make sure your curb has a bit of an angle, at least while you’re learning how.
Just a word of caution, trucks bend easier on less slanted or un-slanted curbs, in my experience. I've bent axles on two sets of Indys and a set of Ventures doing slappies on vertical or almost vertical curbs, so pick your curbs wisely. I believe there is such a thing as the perfect angle for a curb, but that probably varies by preference.
Good to know! I’ve been slamming hard into a vertical curb with tensor mag lights for a few months now because I’m a moron haha. Axles still looking good but I’ll be careful in the future. Thanks for the advice.
Should probably have mentioned that I'm maybe a bit on the bigger side for a skateboarder at 6 foot and 175 lbs, so slighter dudes probably have a harder time with bending trucks. Maybe it's more of a "me" problem than a curb or trucks problem.
No tea, no shade but I've never bent a truck and I'm 6'3", 200 lbs (220 at my heaviest), and slappies are about 90% percent of my skating. Mostly just straight-up right angle curbs, but a decent amount of slanted parking blocks in there too. I think it is just individual technique or whatever.
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This has probably been mentioned, but I want to say, if it’s really not happening for you, try a different curb. I thought I found the perfect low curb to learn on, literally spent hours with barely ever getting my back truck on. Yesterday I tried a taller curb with a bit of a slant to it and I can slappy it no problem. Gonna perfect the art on that one and then go back to dominate the little one later, but I was really surprised by how much easier it was on the taller curb. Basically make sure your curb has a bit of an angle, at least while you’re learning how.
Just a word of caution, trucks bend easier on less slanted or un-slanted curbs, in my experience. I've bent axles on two sets of Indys and a set of Ventures doing slappies on vertical or almost vertical curbs, so pick your curbs wisely. I believe there is such a thing as the perfect angle for a curb, but that probably varies by preference.
Good to know! I’ve been slamming hard into a vertical curb with tensor mag lights for a few months now because I’m a moron haha. Axles still looking good but I’ll be careful in the future. Thanks for the advice.
Should probably have mentioned that I'm maybe a bit on the bigger side for a skateboarder at 6 foot and 175 lbs, so slighter dudes probably have a harder time with bending trucks. Maybe it's more of a "me" problem than a curb or trucks problem.
No tea, no shade but I've never bent a truck and I'm 6'3", 200 lbs (220 at my heaviest), and slappies are about 90% percent of my skating. Mostly just straight-up right angle curbs, but a decent amount of slanted parking blocks in there too. I think it is just individual technique or whatever.
No shade taken, I guess I have no idea why I bend trucks doing slappies. I just know it's happened on vertical curbs but not on the ones with a nice little angle on them.
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This has probably been mentioned, but I want to say, if it’s really not happening for you, try a different curb. I thought I found the perfect low curb to learn on, literally spent hours with barely ever getting my back truck on. Yesterday I tried a taller curb with a bit of a slant to it and I can slappy it no problem. Gonna perfect the art on that one and then go back to dominate the little one later, but I was really surprised by how much easier it was on the taller curb. Basically make sure your curb has a bit of an angle, at least while you’re learning how.
Just a word of caution, trucks bend easier on less slanted or un-slanted curbs, in my experience. I've bent axles on two sets of Indys and a set of Ventures doing slappies on vertical or almost vertical curbs, so pick your curbs wisely. I believe there is such a thing as the perfect angle for a curb, but that probably varies by preference.
Good to know! I’ve been slamming hard into a vertical curb with tensor mag lights for a few months now because I’m a moron haha. Axles still looking good but I’ll be careful in the future. Thanks for the advice.
Should probably have mentioned that I'm maybe a bit on the bigger side for a skateboarder at 6 foot and 175 lbs, so slighter dudes probably have a harder time with bending trucks. Maybe it's more of a "me" problem than a curb or trucks problem.
No tea, no shade but I've never bent a truck and I'm 6'3", 200 lbs (220 at my heaviest), and slappies are about 90% percent of my skating. Mostly just straight-up right angle curbs, but a decent amount of slanted parking blocks in there too. I think it is just individual technique or whatever.
No shade taken, I guess I have no idea why I bend trucks doing slappies. I just know it's happened on vertical curbs but not on the ones with a nice little angle on them.
That's wild. I always feel a little crazy because I never break gear and it kind makes me feel like I'm not going hard enough or doing something wrong.
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I just learned how to slappy. As hard as I try to bash into the curb, I inevitably do a slight lift on my front truck when I’m going into it.
My best advice (coming from someone who’s known how to poorly do these for two days) is to treat it like you’re pumping into the curb. I learned them at a ~45 degree angle but find it way easier to hit the curb head on.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CM0x3oDl4pp/?igshid=ntd8ecbtdnqz
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You don’t need to lift, just lighten your front foot as the front truck hits. And maybe loosen your trucks a touch.
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slight angle doesnt work for me. Around 60 degrees at least and very wide stance how I do it, also bs, and crook is easiest. FS is more of a struggle.
Bs slappy is all how you swing your hips.
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wax your front truck beforehand and haul ass, where your feet should be is in bolts position also lean with your heels for backside and toes for frontside.
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wax your front truck beforehand and haul ass, where your feet should be is in bolts position also lean with your heels for backside and toes for frontside.
I’d take it a step further and hang toes off for bs grinds and hang heels off for fs.
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wax your front truck beforehand and haul ass, where your feet should be is in bolts position also lean with your heels for backside and toes for frontside.
I’d take it a step further and hang toes off for bs grinds and hang heels off for fs.
I'm really just starting to get them for longer than a slash and that toe hang for BS is definitely where it's at. I'm gonna have to try the heel hang tmrw.
Anyways, it's real cool once I learned to literally smash my front wheels into the curb while simultaneously carving like a pool. Blows my mind that I just ride right up onto the curb. The same logic has come into wallies. Shits hecka fun
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There were a couple of small things that helped them click for me.
Angling your front foot at nearly 45 degrees with toes just in front of the bolts.
Thinking about pushing the board slightly ahead of me and unweighting ( like a nollie off a crack ) at the split second the front wheels hit the curb.
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Had just posted a new thread for this but I can toss these questions in here. Just moved to Philly and my local spot (rizzo) has one of these parking blocks: https://www.tssco.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Concrete_Parking_Block.jpg
I tried slappy back 50s for like 90 minutes last night and was able to grind the side part of the curb but never actually stood on top of it and grinded the flat top part. I've got a litany of questions and there weren't any local slappy gods so I figured I'd turn to the internet. Feel free to answer any of these questions or just tell me to go faster and figure it out.
1. Is this shape of parking block harder to do proper slappys? When I see people slappy a regular curb they seem to lean away from the curb a bit and smash into it but it feels like you can't do that and actually get on top of this thing.
2. I'm sure this is just a personal preference thing but are front 50s easier for anyone? I'm debating whether I should switch it up.
3. Any advice on getting the back truck on? I had plenty of tries where I smashed the front truck into it and got on but just did a willy grind.
4. Any general slappy advice specific to the angled parking blocks would be great.
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1. Is this shape of parking block harder to do proper slappys? When I see people slappy a regular curb they seem to lean away from the curb a bit and smash into it but it feels like you can't do that and actually get on top of this thing.
It depends on how steep the curb is. You will have to lean a bit away for anything but a ride-on curb, but less so for smaller or angled curbs. It’s also about how you control your momentum after the board gets in.
2. I'm sure this is just a personal preference thing but are front 50s easier for anyone? I'm debating whether I should switch it up.
You can try. I have a friend who finds fs easier. In a way fs can be easier to get the back trucks on when you are beginning, because we are used to shifting our hips in line with the curb that way. Which leads to the next question
3. Any advice on getting the back truck on? I had plenty of tries where I smashed the front truck into it and got on but just did a willy grind.
A lot of it has to do with how you turn your hips (and subsequently the back foot) into the grind. You have to carve on to it like it’s the peak, (or just past the peak) of a bs carve grind). It’s a sharp turn on, and after you get the front truck on, you have to simultaneously lighten the back truck a touch as you actively ‘twist’ it in with your hips and feet.
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Some great advice here.
I don't have much else to add but:
-Frontsides are easier to learn on parking blocks.
-The tight pool shallow end, corner pocket carve grind analogy is right on.
-Longer isn't always better. Look at Julien Stranger. Its a quick smash and kiss and on to the next thing.
-The thing with slappies, you can dissect them too much.
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This sounds kind of weird, but when I did bs slappies more frequently I would literally think ‘get on top’ right before throwing my hip/my front truck hitting and it helped me.
I wouldn’t worry too much about the specific angle of approach, just know that you have to do a hard carve almost straight into the curb and cutback to square your hips and shoulders above it. It’s like doing back and forth carves going fast on flat but you run into the curb when you transition from frontside to backside.
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Had just posted a new thread for this but I can toss these questions in here. Just moved to Philly and my local spot (rizzo) has one of these parking blocks: https://www.tssco.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Concrete_Parking_Block.jpg
I tried slappy back 50s for like 90 minutes last night and was able to grind the side part of the curb but never actually stood on top of it and grinded the flat top part. I've got a litany of questions and there weren't any local slappy gods so I figured I'd turn to the internet. Feel free to answer any of these questions or just tell me to go faster and figure it out.
1. Is this shape of parking block harder to do proper slappys? When I see people slappy a regular curb they seem to lean away from the curb a bit and smash into it but it feels like you can't do that and actually get on top of this thing.
2. I'm sure this is just a personal preference thing but are front 50s easier for anyone? I'm debating whether I should switch it up.
3. Any advice on getting the back truck on? I had plenty of tries where I smashed the front truck into it and got on but just did a willy grind.
4. Any general slappy advice specific to the angled parking blocks would be great.
Frontside 50s are way easier, i'm terrible at backside as I don't rotate my front shoulder around enough.
The tip that helps with all of your questions that helped me is to visualise your board ontop of the curb grinding and think of the path it needs to take to get there. Sounds dumb, but works for me. So I come in at a 45 degree angle then think of an arrow coming off the front of my board onto the top of the curb, then just as I hit the curb I kind of bump it forward towards the imaginary arrow. Like a tiny shove forward. Hard to explain, but it's changed the game for me now and I just pop on.
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Shouts to everyone with the tips, finally clicked for me yesterday. I applied basically every tip everyone said. Also before I was keeping my weight over my back foot, switched it up to be even on both feet and kind of just went weightless when I smashed into the curb. Looking forward to doing a million more of these, maybe try FS slappys or slappy crooks.
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Shouts to everyone with the tips, finally clicked for me yesterday. I applied basically every tip everyone said. Also before I was keeping my weight over my back foot, switched it up to be even on both feet and kind of just went weightless when I smashed into the curb. Looking forward to doing a million more of these, maybe try FS slappys or slappy crooks.
Slappy crooks is easiest slappy imo, if you can slappy and ollie to crooked grind you should pull one in first few tries.
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Shouts to everyone with the tips, finally clicked for me yesterday. I applied basically every tip everyone said. Also before I was keeping my weight over my back foot, switched it up to be even on both feet and kind of just went weightless when I smashed into the curb. Looking forward to doing a million more of these, maybe try FS slappys or slappy crooks.
I can't do a bs crooked grind, but always thought the slappy one would be easier. I can get into them very easy, but never commit to press my nose down, because I can't do them with an ollie before. Any tips pals?
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Shouts to everyone with the tips, finally clicked for me yesterday. I applied basically every tip everyone said. Also before I was keeping my weight over my back foot, switched it up to be even on both feet and kind of just went weightless when I smashed into the curb. Looking forward to doing a million more of these, maybe try FS slappys or slappy crooks.
I can't do a bs crooked grind, but always thought the slappy one would be easier. I can get into them very easy, but never commit to press my nose down, because I can't do them with an ollie before. Any tips pals?
I learned slappy crooks before learning how to ollie into them and it helped me get used to the way they feel. It's good to get that crook groove going on your trucks ahead of time as well.
I go at them like a normal backside slappy but with my front foot more on the nose. Do a slight backside carve into the curb and when it makes contact with the front of your board jump up a little bit to remove the weight on your board. The heelside wheel will pop up onto the top of the curb, and when that happens press into the curb with your front foot on the nose. With your back foot lifted up like the Captain Morgan label (a la Mike York), you should be in the proper crook position, and should be pinching as well assuming your trucks aren't super tight. It might feel weird at first so try getting into a stall and then when you're comfortable with that go faster at it.
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Shouts to everyone with the tips, finally clicked for me yesterday. I applied basically every tip everyone said. Also before I was keeping my weight over my back foot, switched it up to be even on both feet and kind of just went weightless when I smashed into the curb. Looking forward to doing a million more of these, maybe try FS slappys or slappy crooks.
I can't do a bs crooked grind, but always thought the slappy one would be easier. I can get into them very easy, but never commit to press my nose down, because I can't do them with an ollie before. Any tips pals?
Same. I can get Into crook easy but it never slides. To be fair I don’t do noseslides either which I should probably do first
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Shouts to everyone with the tips, finally clicked for me yesterday. I applied basically every tip everyone said. Also before I was keeping my weight over my back foot, switched it up to be even on both feet and kind of just went weightless when I smashed into the curb. Looking forward to doing a million more of these, maybe try FS slappys or slappy crooks.
I can't do a bs crooked grind, but always thought the slappy one would be easier. I can get into them very easy, but never commit to press my nose down, because I can't do them with an ollie before. Any tips pals?
Same. I can get Into crook easy but it never slides. To be fair I don’t do noseslides either which I should probably do first
You got it. Get familiar with sliding first, after that approach your curb in slight angle and when on top of grind keeps pushing your heel down, that’ll lock you on.
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i thought i learned back 50 slappies a while ago only to learn i'm not actually getting my back right wheel off the ground, it's kinda rolling on the ground while my trucks grind (i ride regular). the curbs are pretty small but i'm just getting past constant willy grinds. any advice on what i'm missing here?
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i thought i learned back 50 slappies a while ago only to learn i'm not actually getting my back right wheel off the ground, it's kinda rolling on the ground while my trucks grind (i ride regular). the curbs are pretty small but i'm just getting past constant willy grinds. any advice on what i'm missing here?
Sounds like you need to carve into the curb with a little extra oomph.
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Just moved to a new city and went to the neighbourhood curb spot yesterday to finally try and learn slappies. Left feeling defeated after 3 hours. Read through 3 pages of this thread today before going back out and got a few comfortable slappy fs5050's. Can definitely say everything you need to learn is in this thread. Thanks guys!
Being more conscious of swinging my hips into the slappy helps me with this same problem. Like really put some effort into it. Feels like I'm unwinding my shoulders and hips like I'm doing a 180 to push my back wheel up the curb. I think I time it right before my front trucks connects. Hope that makes sense.
Edit* Another thing that messes me up is if I take a week off skating or something to let my legs rest, when I come back I notice I sometimes carve into the curb too early which still lets my front truck get onto the curb but my back trucks gets left behind.
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Reposting this here for reference
CUCKTARD’S ALL-INCLUSIVE INSTRUCTIONS FOR FRONTSIDE AND BACKSIDE SLAPPIES
Take photos now, or copy-paste somewhere on your phone for reference when your at your preferred slutty and slick curb.
1- HANG YOUR FEET OFF.
You are going to turn hard and help those wheels up onto the curb, so if you are going backside, hang your toes off more than usual. If your going frontside, hang your heels off.
Also, for beginners, have your front foot over the front bolts, right up against the curve of the nose.
The back foot is on wherever, but maybe not on the end of the tail. You’re not going to lift the nose.
2- GO STRAIGHT AT THE CURB (or almost straight)
This is just for the beginners. After you get the hang of it and your confidence increases, you can go at a lower angle. But going head-on into the curb will help you get onto it, so have your bodily mass heading into it.
3- CARVE
About a meter/yard before you hit, carve hard into the direction you wanna get on. Your board should be between 70-45 degrees to the curb at time of impact. Your body weight should be well inside the turn, and you should be cranking down hard on those toes or heels.
3- DON’T SLAM THE BOARD
This is the most important point. And one that people make the most mistakes with. Slappies are actually kinda delicate, and a pretty smooth feeling trick once you understand this point.
As your front wheels hit the curb, you have to lighten your front foot, like when you nollie bump a crack in the pavement. You let the board bump up onto the curb, and then do the same with your back foot, as you push it into place. It’s a very quick and subtle unweighting of front foot-back foot.
You never straight-leg slam the board into the curb.
****if you don’t twist enough into the turn, your back wheels won’t bump up. You have to twist your body so that your shoulders and hips are in line with the curb. This is usually easier frontside (probably because fs grinds on as a mini are like this, but with bs you can stay open to the coping). On a slappy, you gotta fully turn your whole body so that the back wheel gets on****
4- GET IN THE BACKSEAT
With your front foot so far forward, you may find yourself weighting the front truck so much that it catches on the grind.
As you get that back truck on, scoot the whole board forward underneath you, get your weight back of center, and grind
5-ENJOY THE RIDE, DISMOUNT IN YOUR PREFERRED STYLE, AND UTTER “PRAISE BE TO LUCERO”