Whether new to the sport of LDP (Long Distance Pushing/Pumping) longboarding, or a well seasoned veteran, there will come a time when you’re looking to buy some new equipment, whether looking for an ‘upgrade’, replacement, or looking for your first board.
In this article, we are going to do a shallow dive into some of the equipment you might want to check out in 2024 for LDP.
Longboarding, a sport cherished for its blend of exhilaration and endurance, is deeply influenced by the synergy of its components. Each part of a longboard plays a pivotal role in its overall performance, especially when riding long distances.
Over the past two decades we have seen a huge amount of innovation within LDP, but innovation had seemingly plateaued until last year. 2023 brought about a number of new innovative designs, and 2024 is looking likely to bring some more exciting products.
Over the next few weeks we are going to explore some of the new products of 2023/24, and how these components come together to shape the long-distance longboarding experience.
This week we will be looking at decks & trucks.
Decks:
The foundation of the longboard, providing the platform on which the rider stands. For long-distance riding, the deck’s length, flex, and shape are crucial. A longer deck can offer great stability but less manoeuvrability, while a moderate amount of flex can absorb road vibrations, reducing rider fatigue, but too greater flex when pumping can result in inefficiency. Top Mount, Bracket setup or double drop? Top mounts offer fantastic leverage for pumping, but pushing and breaking can be a challenge, and in turn the latter seem like a good middle ground. But certainly, what is true is that a deck is no simple ‘plank of wood’, but a critical element of any setup that can substantially affect your overall ride experience.
Brands for 2024:
Whilst there haven’t been any particularly major or notable releases, nor anticipated release of decks for 2024, the following brands are highly notable, and probably most relevant for this year:
Brand | Product | Cost |
RollsRolls | Examples include: Woody and The Sportster | £255+ |
Notes |
RollsRolls are pioneers within the longboard world for their unique double drop deck designs. Both the Woody and Sportster are iconic LDP decks that offer a beautiful solution. Whilst no new releases are due for 2024, their boards are excellent and highly sought after within the community. Push only - (Germany) |
Brand | Product | Cost |
Bossa | Examples include: 28 Rio, 28 Nova, Urbano 31, Platform 29 CF, LDP 37, and 38. | £95+ |
Notes |
Bossa offers well constructed bamboo (and carbon fibre laminated) top-mount and bracket decks at a decent price point. Again, whilst no new releases are due for 2024, their boards are excellent and highly praised (particularly their top-mounts) within the longboarding community for their roar material aesthetic, ride quality, good range of flex, and price. Overall, an excellent choice for a first setup. Push & Pump - (Brazil) |
Brand | Product | Cost |
Antidote | Examples include: Hurricane and Cyclone. | £140+ |
Notes |
Well constructed vert lam core, fibreglass and carbon top-mount and bracket decks. No new releases anticipated for 2024, but these decks are aesthetically clean, precise and minimalist, and offer a decent ride quality. Price is mid-range. Push & Pump - (Poland) |
Brand | Product | Cost |
Rocket | Examples include: Exodus, Moray, and Rambler. | £245+ |
Notes |
Fibreglass and carbon top-mount and bracket decks, with a beautiful build quality. No new releases anticipated for 2024, but these decks, seemingly like everything Swiss, are precise, made to a high quality finish, and aesthetically clean. Overall, the high build quality, light-weight construction, and modern minimalist designs offer a good ride quality, and sleek solution. The price is however high. Push & Pump - (Switzerland) |
Brand | Product | Cost |
Pantheon | Examples include: Wiggler, Bandito, Pranayama and Subsonic. | $170+ |
Notes |
Well constructed maple & fibreglass bracket, drop-throughs, and double drop decks, with a great reputation within the community. Push & Pump - (USA) |
Brand | Product | Cost |
Zenit | Examples include: BB, BB+, AB 3.0, and AZ. | £150+ |
Notes |
Well constructed maple, fibreglass and carbon drop-throughs, double drop, and bracket setup decks. Zenits releases the past year have been fantastic, and well worth checking out. Push & Pump - (Canada) |
Custom production:
Brand | Product | Cost |
Melonen Kacke Longboards | - | £400+ |
Notes |
Melonen Kacke offers some of the best custom LDP decks on the market. Individually hand-made, these decks are considered by many aficionados as the ‘bees-knees’. But of course with these decks being made to order (design, flex, art) production and availability are very limited, and a waiting list is inevitable. Moreover, as these are handmade & hand painted, they don’t have such a precise machine finish as boards produced by larger businesses that might subsequently not be to everybody's aesthetic taste. Nonetheless, well worth checking out if you’re in the market. Push & Pump - (Netherlands) |
Brand | Product | Cost |
1166 Longboards | - | £300+ |
Notes |
1166 Longboards offer some stunning looking hand crafted custom decks. - Very limited production and availability. A waiting list will be inevitable. - (Germany) |
Brand | Product | Cost |
Mutton Chop | - | £300+ |
Notes |
Mutton Chop Longboards equally offer some stunning looking hand crafted custom decks. However, production may have now completely stopped. - (France) |
Other:
Brand | Product | Cost |
Seven Suns Longboards | - | - |
Notes |
A new entrant on the block. No major reviews as of yet, but these boards are graphically enticing, and the cut-out handles are something a bit different. - (France) |
Brand | Product | Cost |
LEPSK8 | Carbon fibre composite LDP longboard deck | $122+ |
Notes |
A new entrant on the block for 2024. No major reviews as of yet, but these boards boast a carbon fibre, Canadian maple, bamboo and fibreglass construction. |
Trucks:
Steering the Course… Trucks, which attach the wheels to the deck, are vital for manoeuvrability and stability. In long-distance longboarding, reverse kingpin (RKP) trucks are often preferred for their responsive turning capabilities and stability at speed, but some will swear by TKP (traditional kingpin) trucks. But certainly, unlike conventional longboards which typically use cast RKP set at the same angle front and rear (e.g. 45-50 degree RKPs), LDP setups often utilise precision trucks set at highly varied truck angles (e.g. 60 degree front, and 10 degrees rear), and are often used in conjunction with brackets, forks, and zero-degree tails, to improve ‘pumpability’ and efficiency, and lower the ride for easy and efficient pushing.
Now you will probably be thinking, ‘but what's the difference between all these trucks?’ The simple answer is geometry and design obviously. But different designs will bring about different characteristics from greater turning ease, ‘pumpability’, stability, ride height, or even longer KP lifespan.
Brands for 2024:
Brand | Product | Cost |
Stubby | MK1 Truck (& Claw - Optional integrated bracket) | £255 (Single) - (ex. Shipping) |
Notes |
The Stubby MK1 released in 2022, is probably the most adjustable truck on the market specifically designed for LDP. 2023 brought about ‘The Claw’, making it the first adjustable truck of its kind that allowed a direct interfacing of the truck to a bracket, as such making it an integrated RKP truck bracket. The design's inherent multitude of adjustments makes it ideal for the aficionado seeking to calibrate their trucks to their specification and needs, or someone simply looking to save money having a ‘swiss army knife’ truck that offers an abundance of options for experimentation. |
Brand | Product | Cost |
SSS (Super Steady Skates) | Strafe TKP, and Smoove RKP | S$280-290 (Single) (ex. Shipping) |
Notes |
SSS (Super Steady Skates) are a new entrant into LDP from Singapore. 2023 brought about the release of an exciting line-up of products from brackets to trucks, and 2024 is likely to bring some new releases from SSS. The Strafe and Smoove RKP haven’t had a lot of attention, but they appear well designed and manufactured, and their brackets have certainly been well received by the community minus a few reported breakages on extreme loads. I did personally see my good friend Kenton C. break a bracket in Bruges last year, but don’t let this put you off checking out their gear! Kenton has a tendency of breaking things.. Bro if you're reading this, I love you, but it's true! |
Brand | Product | Cost |
Zealous | Downhill Slalom Truck | $315+ (Pair) (ex. Shipping) |
Notes |
Zealous Downhill Slalom Truck released in 2023, whilst DH trucks, people have been using this for LDP. |
Brand | Product | Cost |
LEPSK8 | 55 & 35 Degree RKP truck (with integrated bracket) | $150 (Single) (ex. Shipping) |
Notes |
LEPSK8 made its debut into LDP between 2023/24, and has spirred a lot of chatter throughout the community in the past several months. Designs overall are interesting and price points are appealing, but components have received mixed reviews, from being excellent, to very prone to breakage. Update: Some users have suggested the breakages related not to LEPSK8 products, but to a 'replica' product. I guess ultimately only time will tell. Moreover, since the initial release of their integrated RKP truck last year, LEPSK8 have now released a revised 'collab' version with ThaneLife for 2024. |
Brand | Product | Cost |
Rojas | Rojas 2020 Truck | $1600 (Pair) (ex. Shipping) |
Notes |
Rojas have a well established reputation within the DH community, and so whilst DH trucks, people have been using this for LDP. Moreover, there has been chatter of a new release prospectively for 2024 (the ‘Bullet’ I believe). But of course these are not specifically intended for LDP, and may in turn not offer the best option for your next LDP setup, especially at the price point. |
Brand | Product | Cost |
Pantheon | Stylus 149mm TKP | $55 (Pair) (ex. Shipping) |
Notes |
Pantheon are well established within the world of LDP for their decks, and in March 2024 released their first TKP truck. |
Brand | Product | Cost |
Melonen Kacke | Front truck coming out in 2024. | €399 (Single) (Pre-order) Currently reduced to €350. (ex. Shipping) |
Notes |
Melonen Kacke, known by the few aficionados of LDP have diversified and ventured into the world of LDP trucks for 2024. Their truck boasts extended KP lifespan. |
Brand | Product | Cost | Notes |
GBomb | Truck - Zero degree - In the works | - | There have been suggestions of a prospective zero degree truck release for 2024. |
Brand | Product | Cost |
Dont Trip | Poppy XL | $185 (Single) (ex. Shipping) |
Notes |
DT have a long standing reputation with the DH & LDP community, with the Poppy & Bhanger often being considered as the go to trucks when upgrading your first setup from say a Vector. Whilst it has been a little while since we’ve seen any new releases from DT, 2023 brought about the altered Poppy XL, which features a larger than industry standard KP (king pin) - 1/2" KP instead of 3/8", in a attempt to address a common KP breakage issue. (Just as a heads up for those new to LDP, KP’s have a tendency of breaking on many truck designs around the 250 mile mark. So it is highly recommended to monitor mileage done on a KP, and to routinely replace your KP every 200-250 miles. But of course this can vary depending on weight, ride style (predominantly - pump or push), KP material (steel or titanium + rating / grade), equipment maintenance, and whether you’re using the correct bushings (using too lower duro will lead to excess stress being transferred from the hanger to the KP which will lead to faster breakages).) But overall, reviews on the XL have been mixed, with many suggesting the ride experience isn’t as good as the ‘OG’ Poppy, and the benefits of a ‘XL’ KP being questionable. |
Additional notes: In response to the common KP breakage issues of the DT Poppy, Stubby Precision Trucks released in 2023 reinforcement brackets for the Poppy 45-55 Degree baseplates that supports the KP to reduce stresses and enable an extended lifespan of your kingpin.
   For more information, check out Stubby Precision Trucks - https://www.stubbytrucks.com/truck-accessory |
Brand | Product | Cost |
Valkyrie | Mk3.5 Slalom Front Truck | $300 (Single) (ex. Shipping) |
Notes |
Valkyrie’s Mk3.5 Slalom truck, is of course intended for slalom & DH, but there has been growing talk within the community since last year of riders using these for LDP, suggesting this could be an interesting front truck to look into for 2024. |
Brand | Product | Cost | Notes |
Surf-Rodz | The Waves | $119.99 (Single) (ex. Shipping) | Surf-Rodz have released for 2024, The Waves. The design appears to be an altered ‘Hex’ TKP truck. - No reviews. |
Brand | Product | Cost | Notes |
Calibre Truck Co. | Calibre III Precision Series | $150 | Whilst these new 2024 DH trucks aren’t really your regular choice for an LDP setup, these could be fun to test. |
Brand | Product | Cost | Notes |
Rool Skateboards | P&S Diamond (Pump & Surf) | - | Not a new release, and may no longer be on the market, but the P&S released in 2022 offered a promising budget friendly TKP truck intended for LDP. |
Whilst no new releases are anticipated from the following brands, they are still certainly noteworthy:
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Conclusion:
My conclusion for this week is simple. There are some amazing decks & trucks out there for 2024, but as always do your research, and try things out where possible.
Thanks for tuning into this week's UK Ultraskate Food for thought Thursdays! Catch you next week.
(And always, if anybody has some suggestions, or if you feel I have missed something, please feel free to post in the comment on our FB group).
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