After you learned Longboarding basics, such as balancing, turning and breaking, you mastered carving, cruising, and maybe even some freestyle and dancing.
Now it’s time to tackle some hills. For this, you need a downhill Longboard.
Downhill Riding Styles
Freeriding is downhill Longboarding utilizes carving, drifting, slides, turns, spins and other creative moves.
Freeriding is an intermediate, advanced style of riding. Become fully proficient in Freeriding before attempting Downhill Bombing.
Bombing is the most exciting (and most dangerous) discipline of Longboarding. Nothing gets the heart pumping and the adrenaline flowing more than racing downhill at high speeds.
Downhill Bombing is for highly experienced Longboarders only. Do not attempt until you have fully mastered all other styles, have the experience and confidence to tackle hills at speed, and always wear the correct safety gear.
Downhill Board Types
The type of Downhill/Freeride type you should choose will depend on your skill level and where you want to progress too.
Drop-Down
Drop-down decks are ideal for those getting into freeriding/downhill Longboarding.
The Deck is shaped so it ‘drops down’ sitting lower than the trucks. This ensures the best stability and easier sliding.
Drop-Though
Drop-Through decks have the trucks mounted through the board, which also brings the Deck closer to the ground.
The Deck itself is more uniform than a Drop-Down deck, with a concave and rocker.
Drop-Throughs are stable at speed. They are, however, more demanding than a Drop-Down to perform manoeuvres such as slides.
Top-Mounted
The trucks are mounted directly to the base of the Deck, which sits higher than drop-down or drop-through Longboards.
Top-mounted Longboards provide the best possible truck and wheel leverage.
They are also better for ‘pumping’. However top mounted decks are more unstable at speed, so better suited for the experts with advanced control skills.
What Downhill Longboard Type Should I Choose?
As a general rule of thumb…
Beginner
If you’re a beginner, go with a drop-down deck which is the easiest of all to control and learn on.
Intermediate
If you’re past the beginner downhill/freeride phase and in the intermediate stages, you may find a drop-through less daunting than a top-mounted one.
Drop-Throughs have another advantage the trucks can be top-mounted, so once your skills have improved, you can change the trucks and develop them further before progressing onto a top-mounted downhill Longboard.
Advanced
If you’re an advanced rider you’ll get the best possible speeds out of a top-mounted Downhill Longboard.
Downhill Longboards For Beginners
Osprey Rainbow
The Rainbow is a twin-tipped drop-down decked Longboard that’s very stable when riding downhill at speed and responsive when sliding, perfect for learning and progressing in freeriding and downhill skating.
- 41″ 7-ply maple deck
- 83mm SHR 78A wheels
Whome Drop Down
A stiff and sturdy 8-ply maple cut out drop-down Deck combined with soft wheels ensure stability when turning and sliding at speed—an excellent choice to learn downhill and freeride.
- 41″ 8-ply maple deck
- 70mm 80A Wheels
- A356 aluminium alloy trucks
Atom Drop Deck
The Atom Drop Deck is a shorter and stiff 39″ 9-ply maple drop deck Longboard with an aggressive concave foot pocket and coarse grit surface.
- 39″ 9-ply maple deck
- 50-degree reverse kingpin trucks
- 70mm 78A wheels
Down Hill Longboards For Intermediate Riders
Atom Drop Through
The Atom Drop Through Deck is concave, sits low to the ground, and is covered in silicon carbide grip. A stable intermediate downhill and freestyle longboard.
- 41″ 9-ply maple deck
- Reverse kingpin trucks
- 70mm 78A wheels
Paradise Neo
A Drop-Through Freeriding Longboard that’s perfect for improving your skills in both freeriding and downhill.
- 40″ 10-ply maple deck
- 180mm Downhill Black Trucks
- 70mm 80A Bigfoot Wheels
Globe Geminion Microdrop
A symmetrical cutaway drop-down shape with drop through mounted trucks and footwells for increased stability.
Solid but light walnut and maple construction.
- 37.5″ walnut & maple deck
- 180mm Slant reverse kingpin trucks
- 70mm 83a Conical Cruiser wheels
Downhill Longboards For Advanced Longboarders & Racers
Atom Deville Coyote
The Deville Coyote is for advanced riders. A short and stiff top-mounted speed shape Longboard with a variable wheelbase that includes CNC wheel wells to avoid the bite. The Deck coated with 40 grit aluminium oxide grip.
- 36″ x 10″ 9-ply maple laminate deck
- 180mm cast Navigator Drone trucks
- 72mm 79A, SHR Deville Drifter wheel
Yocaher Lowrider
The Yocaher Lowrider has a drop-down Deck with drop through trucks creating an exceptionally low centre of gravity that remains stable at the fastest of speeds, excellent for sliding and other freeride moves also.
- 40.75″ Stiff 9-ply maple deck
- 70mm 78A wheels
- HD7 Heavy Duty Trucks
Landyachtz Freedive
The Landyachtz Freedive is an advanced high-performance downhill Bombing board.
It’s exceptionally stiff, constructed from 7-ply maple and 2-ply fibreglass.
Includes kicktail, wheel flares and flush-mounted trucks and micro drops to keep feet firmly planted.
- 36.8″ Deck
- Bear Gen 6 155mm 40 degree black trucks
- 70mm 78a wheels
Loaded Truncated Tesseract
The shortest of all the Downhill Longboards in this selection, measuring in at 33″.
The Deck includes rocker, concave, wheel flares and two wheelbase options.
Excellent for high speeds and slides.
- 33″ stiff bamboo and fibreglass deck
- Paris 180mm 43 degree gunmetal Savant trucks
- Orangatang 80mm, 80a Kegel wheels
Magneto Carbon Fibre Downhill
The Magneto is a stiff advanced downhill riding deck with a maple construction, carbon fibre underside and medium grip tape surface.
- 37″ x 10″ Length
- 7-inch Gravity cast aluminium trucks
- 70mm 78A High rebound urethane wheels
Paradise Downhill Race
The Paradise Downhill Race is a concave deck shaped for speed with an extra coarse grippy surface, keeping you on the Deck at the highest of speeds.
- 37.63″ Stiff 10-ply Deck
- 180mm Downhill Trucks
- 75mm 81A Bigfoot Wheels