How to Slow Down On a Longboard?

The joy of longboarding comes from gaining speed and feeling the wind rushing through your hair as you drift with the current. However, what goes up must come down; sooner or later, one must slow down. It can seem daunting for those new to longboarding or who have never learned how to slow down. Nevertheless, with the proper technique and practice, you can master hills and reach top speeds. In this article, we aim to explain how to slow down on a longboard safely.

The Art of Longboard Slow Down: A Guide to Success

Although longboarding provides excitement, unlike any other sport, learning how to slow down on a longboard is equally important as gaining speed. Here are a few reasons why:

Slowing Down For Effective Stopping

To begin with, slowing down is the first step to stopping your longboard effectively. Without doing so, you run the risk of an accident or injury. Furthermore, slowing down can help you reach a safe and smooth stop.

Slowing Down In Crowds

If riding your longboard in crowded areas, like busy intersections or pedestrian crossings, you should slow down to avoid causing an accident. By reducing your speed, you can avoid collisions with pedestrians or other riders. In addition, this will help to ensure that everyone remains safe.

Simple Sliding Maneuvers

More importantly, slowing down can benefit you more than just preventing accidents. Firstly, you can break traction on your wheels and slide your board confidently by mastering the art of slowing down. It is essential for performing advanced sliding maneuvers.

Longboard Stunts: How to Prevent Falls

When you try other exciting longboard stunts, slowing down will help you maintain control of your board and reduce your risk of falling. Further, if you want to slide, do tricks, or cruise around on your longboard, you must master the skill of slowing down. In fact, slowing down is an absolute necessity for any longboarder who wants to optimize performance and stay safe.

5 Best Methods to Slow Down a Longboard

Ideally, to avoid crashes, you should know how to slow down on a longboard. Here are the 5 most effective ways to slow down a longboard:

Stopping a Longboard Expertly: Hopping Off With Style

A longboarder knows how thrilling it is to cruise at supersonic speeds. However, eventually, you’ll have to slow down and stop. Unlike a beginner or an experienced rider, you can’t stop your longboard. Therefore, we’ll show you how to hop off your longboard so you can stop with confidence and style.

Flat Surface Cruising

The simplest way to stop while riding on a flat surface at a low speed is to stop pushing and ride it out. As long as you have sufficient space ahead, friction from the ground will naturally slow you down. However, if you wish to look cool while stopping, you can kick down on the tail to tip your board up, grasp it with your hand, and walk away like a professional.

Taking Off At a Walking Pace

You can step off and catch your board when cruising at walking speed. Additionally, this stopping style is convenient and stylish, allowing you to quickly and safely stop. But, before stepping off, kick down on the tail to tip your board up to avoid rolling.

Bailing Off at Running Speed

Trying to bail off and run out faster, like a running pace, is a good idea if you can run as fast as your board. However, if you don’t, you might fall when you step off, which’s embarrassing and dangerous. To prevent this, you can kick your board to ensure it doesn’t slide when you bail off.

Pendulum Technique: Slow Down Your Longboard

The pendulum slide is a cool technique for slowing down your longboard, but it’s essential to know how to do it correctly to be safe. To make your pendulum slide a safe and smooth one, we’ll walk you through it.

What is the Pendulum Slide?

The pendulum slide is a skill that involves sliding on one hand while shifting your weight to the opposite side of your body. In addition, this technique requires special gloves, making it crucial to have the right equipment before attempting it. Furthermore, experienced riders should only attempt the pendulum slide due to its difficulty level. So, to perform the pendulum slide, follow these steps:

• Wear Protective Gear

Wear protective gear like helmets, gloves, kneepads, and elbow pads. Protective gear will prevent injuries during a fall during the pendulum slide.

• Backfoot Kick

You will create a slide by kicking out with your back foot and placing your weight on your front foot, allowing you to slow down.

• Ground Your Gloved Hand

In order to create a pivot point, place your gloved hand on the ground. Be careful not to place your hand too close to or far from the board, or you will lose your balance.

• Slow Down With Body Weight

Maintain your balance by keeping your body low and close to the ground. You can slow down if you shift your weight to the opposite side.

Longboard Speed Control: Foot Brakes

When it comes to longboarding, one of the most important things to know is how to slow down. Longboarders know the importance of controlling speed. Therefore, foot braking is one of the best ways to slow down and stop.

Although it may take a little time to master, mastering foot braking is well worth it. Indeed, in five simple steps, you can master this valuable stopping skill. Moreover, by learning how to slow down on a longboard using foot braking, you can confidently enjoy the thrill of riding while staying safe on the road.

Step 1: Position Your Front Foot

The first step in improving your balance is to position your front foot slightly over the board’s center line, close to or over the front wheels of the board. You can experiment with different positions to see what feels most comfortable.

Step 2: Parallel Your Back Foot

When you are deweighting your rear foot, bring it parallel to your front foot and hover it to the side of it.

Step 3: Bend Board Legs

Bringing your hovering foot closer to the ground involves slowly bending your board leg. It may be the most challenging step, so practicing daily off the board is imperative to develop strength and balance on both legs.

Step 4: Put Your Heel Down

Make minor adjustments to avoid throwing yourself off balance, as you first lower your other foot to the ground heel. Apply more pressure to get more braking force.

Step 5: Set Your Back Foot

Then slowly lift your foot off the ground (heel last), place it gently back onto the board, and shift your front foot back into a position where you are comfortable standing.

How to Stop Your Longboard?: Use Rough Surfaces

If you’re wondering how to slow down on a longboard, using rough surfaces can be easy and quick. These surfaces can range from patches of grass to gravel along the highway. In fact, using rough surfaces to slow down is a popular technique among longboarders. Although this may seem common sense, it is still worth mentioning, as many beginners may not consider it an option.

Knowing the Limits

You can slow down by rolling over rough surfaces, but understanding their limitations is important. You can slow down gradually on short grass with enough surface area, even at high speeds. However, if you roll over thick grass at high speeds, your board may come to a halt, causing you to fall off. For this reason, you should start slow and use your common sense.

Slowing Down on a Longboard by Gliding Over It

A longboard glide technique makes it easier to slow down, even if it requires skill and practice. Longboard masters consider it the best way to slow down on a longboard. Even so, it has some negative effects on your board, and you should understand why and when to use it.

Glide Technique: Who Should Use It?

Riders not exceeding 20 mph typically prefer other methods, like foot brakes. But if you like riding your longboard fast, you must master the glide technique. It has the advantage of allowing you to slow down your board regardless of your speed.

Conclusion

Longboard riders, especially those who love to ride at high speeds, should master the art of slowing down. Foot braking, carving, and gliding are some of the techniques you can use to slow down your longboards. Mastering these techniques is essential if you’re curious about how to slow down on a longboard. With practice, anyone can slow down their longboard safely and efficiently. Regardless of your skill level, wearing protective gear and following safety guidelines will keep you safe.

REF: https://riders.co/en/longboard/basics/foot-brake

REF: https://www.ridingboards.com/how-to-stop-on-a-longboard/