Long Distance Longboards

Pumping is an alternative to pushing. This involves moving forward not by pushing with your feet, but by applying pressure to the board with your feet. Sounds complicated? It is if you've never done it before. It gets even more challenging if you want to pump over a long distance. In this case, we talk about long distance pumping, or LDP for short. You can find a selection of long distance pumping longboards here. ###

Long distance pumping - what is it?

Pumping works with almost any longboard. Only very stiff and lowered downhill boards are not suitable. A bit of practice is required to get around without pumping. Find out exactly how it works now.

The alternative to pushing

Pumping involves exerting targeted pressure on the deck with your feet, especially your back foot. The resulting snaking curve that you ride ultimately causes your longboard to move.

Pumping works on both flat and slightly uphill trails and is particularly popular because you can keep both feet on the deck. Pumping is often used on downhill sections to pick up even more speed. Of course, it's also about the fun factor.

Long-distance pumping

Long distance pumping is a special form of pumping. The name already gives away what this is all about: instead of just pumping short sections of your route, the aim is to cover the longest possible distances. There are special longboards for long distance pumping to ensure that this works and is as comfortable as possible. The key features are as follows:

• Above all, an LDP longboard should not be too flexy. If the deck is too soft, this means a large loss of energy. This makes long distance pumping too strenuous and you won't be able to keep up the movement for long. It is therefore better to choose a hard deck.
• Soft bushings and small trucks will also help you to perfect your riding style and cover long distances with pumping. In principle, an LDP board should also be short rather than long.
• To prevent your front foot from slipping after a while, you can also equip your deck with a footstop. The perfect position for the footstop is at the height of the screws on the front axle (which, by the way, some long distance pumpers like to set a little harder).

The features of the Long Distance Pumping Longboard at a glance

• Relatively low flex
• Soft bushings
• Small trucks
• Short deck shape
• Grip wheels
• Optional: front footstop
• Optional: harder adjusted front axle

By the way: Whether you have to take very small or slightly larger turns to move forward depends on the distance between your trucks. The closer together they are, the faster and smaller the turns are when pumping. However, this can be quite strenuous on a longer route. In this case, it is advisable to mount the axles a little further apart.

Once you get the hang of it, you can cover really long distances with your LDP board. Many longboard pros have specialized in this style and continue to attract attention with spectacular rides. With a long distance pumping board, you can (with a little practice and feeling) manage to cover 20 kilometers or more.

Think big! It's possible with an LDP longboard. Thanks to the special properties of these boards, you can even cover long distances with ease. Once you've perfected your technique, you'll soon feel ambitious. Then it's just a case of: further, further - and further still!