A lot of people have noticed that our Summit boards lack a tale. This is because Summit boards are meant to reach high speeds and ride like a longboard. The reason we don’t have a tale on our board is because we want you to have more space for your feet, allowing you to better turn and slide on your board. However, with our small decks, it’s easy to understand why some would want to perform skateboard tricks on our boards. In this tutorial, we’re going to cover bomb dropping.

Some of you may remember the days of Mike Vallely, Danny Way, Jason Ellis, Kris Markovich, and MTV star Bam Margera. Twenty years ago, these skaters stunned crowds with their death-defying bomb drops. Before guys like Andy McDonald, Danny Way, and Bob Burnquist created Big Air skateboarding, bomb dropping was one of the best ways to gain speed. This trick is not only awesome, but possible to do on a Summit board.

Wear Gear!

Chances are, if you watched guys like Vallely and Margera skate, you saw some brutal bails. It could take several attempts before you successfully land a bomb drop, so it’s recommended that you not only wear your helmet, but elbow and knee pads. Remember, padding looks cooler than body casts.

The Bomb Drop

To perform this trick, we must first understand what it is. Bomb dropping (or acid dropping) is a technique that allows skaters to drop into banks and quarter pipes. Skaters climb onto the top of an object, jump off of it, and place their board under their feet. This allows skaters to drop from high objects, and ride away from ramps with higher speeds.  These surfaces could be railings, dumpsters, or walls. Advanced skaters can bomb drop for amazing places, so it’s important for skilled skaters to be creative when bomb dropping. 

Practice

There’s two steps to successfully landing a bomb drop: gaining control and committing. To help gain control, try mastering the caveman. To perform a caveman, stand on the ground and hold your board. Next, jump and try to put your board under your feet. This will help you put your board under your feet quickly. Also, try to caveman on slopes and ramps. This will help you become comfortable with bomb dropping.

It’s crucial for skaters to commit to landing their tricks. Even the best skateboarders get scared when attempting something dangerous. One way to practice is to try bomb dropping onto the grass. Use a wall or a picnic table to jump off of. This will help cushion your fall. When you move to concrete, start small. You don’t need to try anything extreme at first. 

Performing a Bomb Drop

Once you’ve gotten down the basics of bomb dropping, it’s time to put your skills to good use. Most skateparks and skate spots are filled with cool bomb dropping opportunities. Make sure that what you’re dropping off of and what you’re dropping onto are lined up. Also, make sure that your landing zone is clear. It’s cool to successfully bomb drop, but not as impressive to crash into the six-year old riding their scooter.

Almost every child needs a Mini-longboard or cruiser skateboard. Getting our kids to love the skateboarding isn’t always the problem; choosing the right one for them can be. Skateboards come in varying sizes and choosing the right one can save you the cost and save your kid from accidents.

The smallest kids may not always make good riders. Be sure they have good balance and physical control. However, if you have a kid that is old enough to ride, then you need this guide.

1. Start with safety now.
   Don't make them get into the habit later. Teach your kids how to ride safely, and use the right safety equipment from day one. 
    
2. Do you want a complete skateboard or can you assemble one yourself?Parents who know how to assemble skateboards don’t bother buying the complete one. They go to the store and get the parts and assemble because they know that the cost of getting the elements is not much compared to the cost of getting a complete one.
   
   Stick with quality components. Afterall, you want this to be a positive experience for the young rider.
   
   
3. Check the parts before buying
   If you want to assemble the skateboard yourself, check the components to ensure they are okay together. Ensure the wheel fit the trucks well, and truck matches the width of the deck of the skateboard. Check for deck rubbing from the wheels on tight turns.
   
   It is also vital for you to determine the hardness of the wheels. If the wheels are harder, they will fit the smooth flat surfaces like the skate park, which has a concrete floor. The softer wheels suit the street and roads made of asphalt better.
   
   
4. Compare the size of the board and age of the kid
   It is essential to select the right skating board for your kid. A child of 5 and 6 years will not use the same size of skateboard with a child of 8, 9, or even 12. When choosing a skateboard, ensure their foot is large enough to pivot the board in either direction. If a board is too wide, they wont be able to make turns efficiently.
   
   
5. Avoid buying your kid’s skateboard from a big box store
   Ok, we are a bit biased here. But the fact is, skateboards in most big box stores are toys, not sporting equipment. The wheels can be very hard and unforgiving, coming to a dead stop when encountering the smallest pebble or crack on the sidewalk. The trucks are generally very rigid, making the board hard to control. 
   
   The bearings are usually quite inexpensive as well, which will require more force to ride. 

If you are successful, this will be just the first of many boards your kid will ride over the years. Take your time and find the skateboard that rides well, looks good, and gets your kid excited about embarking on this new sport.

Summit Board Co short longboards are ideal for adults and kids alike. The small size makes them manageable to control, yet responsive to every rider. The soft, wide wheels ensure a smooth ride on any terrain. Check out our complete line of short longboards. 

Picture this, you just got a new pair of trucks for your skateboard. Excited, you immediately throw off your old pair and put your new ones on. After, you go outside and start skating. However, there’s a major problem: your board isn’t turning well. That’s when you realize that you put your trucks on wrong. On a skateboard, your trucks face each other, with the kingpin toward the center of the board. This helps your board to ride comfortably, and it helps you pop more on your ollies. 

Over the past decade, longboarding has become a popular sport and means of transportation. With their large wheels, longboards are able to travel at high speeds. However, you may wonder why some longboards have inverted trucks. Although this may prevent your board from performing sharp turns, inverted trucks give your board stability. For one thing, longboard decks are spacious, so having less of a distance between your wheels stops your board from snapping in half. Even for flexible decks, it’s important to invert your wheels. This stops your board from riding too low to the ground, causing your board to touch concrete whenever you turn.

Also, inverting your trucks can help prevent speed wobbles. Longboards have huge trucks that are extremely sensitive. These trucks give your board speed and control. However, if you’ve ever ridden a longboard at high speeds (and lived to tell the tale) you may have noticed your board wobbling uncontrollably. This is a problem that doesn’t go away, but inverting your trucks can give you more control over your board and prevent wobbling. Although not having your trucks inverted allows your board to take sharper turns, it’s better to widen your turns than to eat concrete because of speed wobbles.

Like longboards, Summit Board trucks have large wheels and trucks. Although the deck is tiny, these boards are meant to go fast. Also, these boards take much sharper turns than longboards do. To give you more control over your board, we invert our trucks. This provides the smooth and stable ride you expect, in a short longboard board package. 

Skateboards come with trucks that may need to be adjusted for the size and weight of the rider. These trucks are essential for a clean and smooth ride; they are the key to balance of any cruiser skateboard . Your trucks should be as tight as you want them; there is no standard for how tight a truck should be. If it is too tight, it will make it difficult to turn, and if it is too loose, it will make you feel unstable and make you unable to control your turns. The right amount of tightness will depend on your size, preference and style.

The following steps will guide you on how to adjust your truck or those on your kids longboard:

1. Test their tightness by tilting them

Start by standing on the skateboard, and lean back and forth. If you can't tilt the deck at all, they are too tight. 

2. Tighten the truck with a skate tool

There is a bolt at the middle of your truck. This bolt is responsible for the tightness of the truck. You will find it between the wheels; just look for the pin that points to the ground directly when you are skating. To tighten it, turn it clockwise; you should also go the reverse direction if you want to loosen it. We include a skate adjustment tool with every order to make this easier.

3. Test the truck to be sure they are the way you want them

You can only know your wheels are comfortable riding the skateboard. Don’t hit the park just yet; ride around the house till you achieve the tightness that is suitable for you. After this adjustment, remember to carry your adjustment tools with you during the first few rides. This will help you make adjustments when necessary. A short distant ride is not the same as a farther one.

If your trucks still need to be adjusted

1. Adjust the bushings

If your bushings are loosely packed, it will increase your turning, but when tightly packed, your turning will decrease. These bushings get compressed when you tighten your trucks; you can also get the same result if you completely change the bushings. If you are not so convinced of doing this correctly, get help from a local skate shop.

2. Attach risers to reduce vibrations and make your board higher

You can attach risers to your board and trucks to help you gain the lift or tricks you need. They will also reduce the vibrations on landings. These risers can be helpful for your Mini Longboard though will need some practice before you become used to them.

Skateboards started as just a wooden deck with trucks. As long as it rolls with a person on it, it was called a skateboard. Now there are skateboards of many shapes and sizes, each with an individual purpose.  Street boards, Cruiser skateboards, longboards and Mini Longboards are suited for a certain kind of skating. It is relatively common to mistake one for the other. This article is centered on helping you differentiate between the cruiser and longboard skateboards.

Cruisers

Cruisers are built mainly for short commutes. They just get you rolling but can’t go for the long distances. This skateboard is perfect for a trip to school. They are not so long to be called a longboard, and they are not designed for tricks like a traditional board. They have a somewhat portable size. There are some cruiser boards which have short decks, known as mini-cruiser boards. Cruiser boards have soft cruiser wheels and short decks. 

Longboards

Longboard is the longer version of cruiser boards. The deck is extended and can go for long-distance skating like freeriding and downhill. Though it initially has soft wheels, some skaters may install hard wheels on them. These are ideal for control

Cruiser vs longboard

• Wheels

Cruiser boards are mainly for rolling. They can run on a hard surface and do the basics. They are suitable for short commuters, but this is not so for the longboard. The longboard is more extended and has wider trucks and well angled wheeled. The wheels of a longboard make it more suitable for long-distance relationships like downhill.

• Deck

There are differences between the cruiser and longboard. The floor of the cruiser boards are not as long as that of the longboard. The sizes of cruisers do not go longer than 32”, while 32” is just a starting point for a longboard.

The cruiser deck is pretty comfortable for the beginner to stand. They are of different shapes, so one has to be careful when choosing. There are also many deck styles for a longboard, but the most comfortable one for a beginner skater is the drop deck.

• Trucks

The cruiser and longboard all have the bushings, hangars, baseplates and kingpins but their differences step in their manner of construction.

The cruiser board has the components of its truck arranged the normal way while the truck of the longboard is inverted. This arrangement is what allows the longboard to be easy to ride.

Also, unlike the cruiser boards, the longboard usually has wider trucks to fit the size of the board.

When to go for a cruiser

The cruiser is always a great idea when the distance is limited, and the ground is hard and plain. It is not so suitable for hilly areas. When the speed of a cruiser is high, it will begin to wobble and become unstable. Cruisers are best for safety since it will help you avoid vehicles and other obstacles.

When to go for the longboard

The longboard will be great for you if you have the mind for speed and tricks. It can crawl through the hilly areas, and it runs well downhill. However, this is not as great in a crowded environment as it will not be so easy to control the speed.

The Best of Both Worlds

The mini longboard combines the size of a cruiser with the agility of a longboard. Using longboard inverted trucks, the mini longboard excels at short distances and longer rides. See all of our mini longboards today.

We love our skateboards, but in as much as we love them, we sometimes fail to treat them by how we feel. Consciously or unconsciously, we have made the veranda the resting place of our cruiser skateboard (that’s if not somewhere outside the garden). This carelessness of ours has permitted the dew and sun to fall directly on our lovely skateboard, thereby causing its decks to be warped and the woods softened.

There is so much gain in taking care of your mini longboard. The most important part of this is that it will serve us well and last its expected lifespan. Isn’t that great?

To know how to show your skateboard the love you have for it, it’s simple. Just do these:

1. Never leave your skateboard outside

This will not be a big deal if you live in an area where things get stolen almost immediately after being left out. Well, if you are not, you have to learn. Keeping your skateboard indoors does not only keep it safe from thieves; it preserves it from the endangering effects of morning dew.

The wooden part of your skateboard absorbs moisture even when it is not exposed directly to rain. This moisture can be damaging to your deck, weakening the wood and causing warping. And if this moisture by any reason whatsoever reaches your bearings, then you will go through a horrible experience.

Your bearings can still be at risk if your skateboard stays in a dusty environment. Bearings just don’t work well with dust. You will not also get any good by leaving it under the sun. Since metals can expand with heat, the black grip tape and other metal parts of your skateboard will expand and contract when cooled. If this occurrence continues, the skateboard will begin to wear put.

2. Always keep an eye on the bearings

You can never have a smooth ride with faulty bearings. Always ensure dust and moisture does not have access to your bearings. Take your time to clean your bearings regularly.

3. Give more attention to the chips in the deck

It may be challenging to avoid a chip in the deck of your skateboard. This is because the board can accidentally runoff against a wall or pole, and the tail and nose will continue to wear out just as you ride.

Take your time to address the chipped part of the deck. If the chipped sections of the deck of your skateboard become rough, use sandpaper to smooth them. 

Also, if you notice tears or rips on you grip-tape, clip them so that the damage does not enlarge and become more significant.

4. If a part is faulty, change it

Skateboards will wear out as long as they hit the ground and roll with you on them. This is inevitable. But to maintain your skateboard for as long as you would love to enjoy it, you will have to monitor the parts. If your wheels need a change, give it what it deserves. As long as that mini Longboard serves you, never deprive it of care.

Conclusion

If you love using your skateboard to skate, then adopt a habit of regular maintenance. Do ensure you stick to the rules above and you will be on your way to having a long-lasting skateboard.