Loaded Boards Inc is now recalling all Purple (83a) Orangatang 75mm In Heat longboard wheels purchased between 2/27/09 and 4/29/09 as well as all Orange (80a) Orangatang 75mm In Heat wheels purchased between 3/14/09 and 4/29/09.

Loaded has recently determined that a small percentage of the cores (produced by a third party vendor) used in these batches are not up to our rigorous quality control standards and may run the risk of shearing the bearing seat (blowing out the core and possibly causing the wheel to separate from the truck while in motion), creating a safety hazard to the user. This is a voluntary recall: Consumers should stop riding these wheels immediately and return the wheels (along with date of purchase so we can ascertain that it’s from this batch) to an authorized Loaded Boards/Orangatang dealer or to Loaded Boards, Inc. for a FREE replacement set. Loaded and all Dealers will gladly exchange the wheels for any wheel of choice, including the new Freeride wheels, provided the wheels are in stock or accessible.

The silver lining is that, while these cores have worked well up until this batch, we will be switching over to a new 3rd generation core for future In Heats that provides better wear and slide characteristics. We encourage the performance use of these wheels and do our utmost to ensure that they will hold up to the rigorous use and abuse that they are designed for. We are fully committed to every product we build and we hope you will love them as much as we do.

RETURNING YOUR WHEELS

Remember you can return your wheels to any Orangatang Dealer. The EASIEST and quickest would be to exchange the wheels at any skate shop that carries Orangatang. It does not matter if you bought the wheels from them, you still can exchange there. If you don’t have a shop near you that carries O’tangs, you can return them to the online stores on the web you bought them from or Loaded Boards.

Good call on Loaded for stepping up and admitting their wheels had a problem before someone got injured.

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Stopping on a longboard is one of the most crucial steps to becoming a better longboarder. It may take awhile to learn some of these techniques but it’s well worth it for your safety. Besides who actually likes getting road rash?

1. Air Braking – Standing straight up with your arms out to increase wind resistance and lower your overall speed.

Wind braking is a very effective technique to decrease your speed (to about 25-30mph if done properly) and is extremely useful when doing downhill. It’s nice to be able to shave some speed off so you can take a turn easier or avoid a potential obstacle.

2. Footbraking – Taking one foot off the skateboard and dragging it along the pavement to increase friction and decrease your speed.

Footbraking is one of the most effective ways to stop and is fairly easy to learn. You simply take your back foot off the board and press it down lightly increasing the weight slowly on your dragging foot so you don’t eat asphalt. I recommend learning footbraking as soon as you start longboarding, it’s extremely useful and can save you a lot of skin.

3. Carving – Turning across the road back and forth.

Carving is probably one of the first things you’ll learn when first starting to longboard. It is one of the best ways to reduce speeds but is pretty hard to come to a complete stop when going fast. The more aggressive and wider the carves the more your going to slow down.

4. Running it off - Jumping off your longboard and trying to run off the speed.

This is probably one of the worst and most dangerous ways to try and stop when going fast. For a new longboarder this is the first thing you think of doing when you start going beyond your limits. It’s very easy to underestimate how fast your going so be sure to know you can actually run the speed off. I certainly don’t recommend this method and your sure to eat some pavement if you make a habit out of it.

5. Sliding – Breaking the skateboard’s wheels out in a controlled movement.

Sliding is hands down the most effective way to stop when longboarding and learning how to do it will make you a much better rider. It is the hardest method to learn but it is well worth it if your going to be going fast. The most popular kinds of slides are the Coleman, Bert and Standup.

6.Rolling off the road - Rolling from the road to another surface to cause friction.

This method involves rolling off the road onto some other surface such as grass or dirt to try and kill off any speed. It certainly is better than running off the board but it can be a bit risky and should only be used as a last resort.

7. Ride it out – Staying on your longboard till the road flattens and coming to a stop naturally.

The best and usually easiest method of stopping. When doing any downhill runs always make sure to scope out the bottom and make sure you have ample room to ride it out and slow down.

So get out there and start practicing these ways of stopping.

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The Landyachtz Evo is a 11 ply drop board that is super stable yet very responsive at the same time.

Taking the Evo on the first hill of the day felt great as I busted some hard carves and felt just how fast she could go. This thing just begs to be taken fast with such a stable platform. Dodging obstacles like potholes and rocks were no problem on the Evo and I was actually very surprised at how nimble it felt for such a heavy board. Did I mention this thing is super low? Pushing is a breeze on the Evo thanks to how low it sits.

Flex on the board is pretty much non-existent since it is designed to be a downhill board. The Evo sports aggressive concave to help keep your feet locked in and it certainly felt good for me. Tucking on the Evo and taking some tight turns was no problem and felt smooth as butter the whole time.  I did get to take it for a parking garage sesh and it handled it really well, just had to loosen the trucks up a tad.

The setup I was riding had Bear Grizzly (10mm axle) trucks, Abec11 Flywheels 83mm (78a) and Venom bushings. Keep in mind that using Flywheels on the Evo made it super drifty, so be warned if your looking for a really grippy ride. Since the board sits so low sliding the Evo is a dream with its concave keeping your feet locked in the whole time.

The Landyachtz Evo has won more downhill skateboarding races than any other speedboard out there and for good reason. This longboard isn’t exactly the best commuter thanks to its heavines. Sure it is possible to commute with the Evo but it is heavy and does lack a kicktail for going over curbs. This board really craves going fast on some steep grade hills so don’t dissapoint.

Whether your slashing your way through allies or bombing  that monster hill, the Landyachtz Evo is sure to fit the bill.

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I thought I’d give my take on the ever popular Dervish by Loaded Longboards. The dervish is a drop-thru style, desgined to accomodate the Randall R-II, Paris, Holey, Bear, Gullwing Charger and Tracker Fastrack Trucks. The dervish is also available in two flexes depending on your weight. The guys over at Loaded Longboards really wanted to create a great all around, fun board when they created the Dervish and they certainly did a good job.

The first thoughts on riding the dervish was how similar it felt to riding a snowboard. I think that’s really what the design was going for and it feels extremely lively. The dervish can take on lots of stuff you throw at it, whether it be carving and cruising or sliding and a little downhill action. Keep in mind it is not a downhill board and the flex on it makes the Loaded Dervish very hairy at high speeds (45mph+). Sure there’s some people out there who have gone faster on one but there’s a reason all the best downhill boards are stiff. I personally took it to about a max of 35mph on one of my runs and although it felt fine, the Loaded Dervish definitely wouldn’t feel comfortable at a higher speed.

Anyway overall the board felt solid and was super easy to ride. The dervish sits nice and low thanks to its drop-through design, so pushing is a breeze. Speedchecking with 75mm Lime BigZigs was not a problem and coleman sliding was a blast. The board is definitely fun to just ride around and do some hard carving. Pumping around the neighborhood on the Dervish was really fun and the longboard just felt super lively under my feet. I did take it to a parking garage longboard session as well and it handled the 5-story garage no problem.

The setup I was on had Paris 180 trucks that were setup extremely loose with Venom bushings. I feel like the Paris trucks really make this board come alive with some aftermarket bushings. The Dervish is a bit on the expensive side with a complete running about $230 or so which is comparable to other high end longboarding manufacturers such as Rayne and Landyachtz. Also note that a drawback to the Dervish is it lacks a kicktail, so keep that in mind if your needing a board to ollie lots of curbs and ledges. I personally don’t own one but it would certainly be a nice addition to anyone’s quiver if your looking to carve, slide and just cruise around. The Loaded Dervish is a definite great choice for someones first board as long as their not looking to do serious downhill.

Check out this great video of the Adam’s brothers ripping it up and making it look easy on the Loaded Dervish.

Getting your first longboard is a big deal. Theres so many different kinds of boards it definitely can be overwhelming trying to choose one. This guide will go over all the basics to longboarding tech such as flex, concave and length to help you make a good decision when the time comes.

So a longboard is super long right?

Wrong. Longboards come in all shapes and sizes and some are even shorter than your regular short board. It’s more about a combination of things, especially the wheels which are soft and usually larger (60mm+). The larger size allows you to go faster and roll over cracks and rocks easier. The trucks are also important since there wide and can turn a lot better than a shortboard.

You have to figure out where your going to be riding and what size longboard will actually be practical. If your looking for a campus cruiser definitely look at something under 40 inches as the smaller size will be easier to carry and ride around pedestrians with. Longboards under 35 inches are going to be super responsive and twitchy which is great for thrashing about but can be a pain for a beginner to learn on.

Board Characteristics

Flex: Flex is basically how much the board gives underneath your weight. There are longboards that range from completely stiff (the Landyachtz Evo and the Sector 9 Bomb Hills) to super flexy (the Loaded Dervish and Vanguard). Flex is a personal prefrence and really depends on the type of longboarding your going to be doing. If your looking to do downhill then go for a stiff board and if your looking to pump around town then go for a board with some flex. I personally love a board with a nice snappy flex to it such as the Insect Mosquito or Rayne Hustler, which are great fun to carve and pump with.

Deck Design: The design of your deck greatly how it rides. Topmounts such as the Sector 9 Cosmic series are great for carving and getting around the city on since most have a kicktail making it ideal for riding the sidewalks. Also know that the wider the board is, the more leverage you’ll gain for turning making it easier to slide.

Concave: Most longboards are either flat or concave. A board with concave has a U shape to it when looking at it from eye level. This shape allows you to keep your feet locked in while doing hard carves and slides. It’s definitely a nice thing to have concave, I feel it really allows you ride more aggresively especially when carving and doing downhill. (Some boards with concave are the Landyachtz Evo, Sector 9 Kommi, and Rayne Nemesis).

Basically there are lots of great boards out there to choose from. It all depends on what discipline of riding your interested in and how comfortable you are on the board. Definitely go for a longer board starting out, it’ll make learning go that much easier to keep you stoked. Remember you get what you pay for so don’t skimp out on a cheap board. Also many local skate shops don’t carry a good selection of longboard gear, usually it’s the basic Sector 9 or Gravity longboards which are good but it’s nice to see what else is out there too. I recommend looking at online retailers such as Daddiesboardshop, Pipelinesurf or MileHighSkates to name a few.

Anyway heres a basic list of categories and the longboards I feel would excel for that situation.

Campus Cruisers: Loaded Ceviche, Ladera Purple Heart, Sector 9 Rasta N8V, Sector 9 Juel Tudor, Gravity Bruce Logan, Landyachtz Bamboo Dingy

Carving and Cruising: Loaded Dervish and Vanguard, Gravity Hypercarve, Landyachtz Urban Assault, Rayne Hustler, Rayne Timeline, Rayne Nemesis, Sector 9 Goddess of Speed, Earthwing Superglider, Earthwing Widerglider, Insect Mosquito

Downhill: Landyachtz Evo, Landyachtz DH Race, Rayne Nemesis, Rayne Hellcat, Rayne Demonseed, Rayne Avenger, Sector 9 Bomb Hills, Sector 9 Kommi, Insect Lightning Bug, Insect Firefly, Kebbek (all of them)

Sliding: Earthwing Bigfoot Drifter, Earthwing Corchia, Gravity Segio Yuppie

If your still having trouble picking the right longboard, give me a shout and I’ll see if I can help.