Forget pushing, cruising, carving and riding downhill. How about ‘Pumping’?
‘Pumping’ is a little-used Longboarding method where the rider generates momentum by swaying their body continuously while keeping his/her feet planted firmly to the deck.
The controlled swaying motion generates momentum and keeps the Longboard moving. As a result, it’s possible to travel great distances using the pumping method.
Pumping takes time to learn to start.
It’s very tiring, and it’s going to take a few sessions to get into the rhythm, strengthen the correct muscles and increase your cardiovascular capacity.
Once you have the technique down, you’ll be able to transverse distances in a highly energy-efficient and satisfying manner.
You can also incorporate Pumping into your other favourite Longboarding styles.
To get Pumping, you need a suitable Longboard that returns a lot of energy with the correct trucks and wheels to provide the maximum propulsion per ‘pump.’
Pumping Longboard Characteristics
Longboard decks for Pumping require a fair amount of flex, too stiff, and you’ll have to work hard to get enough pump too flexy, though, and the deck won’t return all the energy.
Pumping decks can be short or long shorter decks are easier to get moving, but larger decks generate more speed once they’re moving. Pumping decks can be traditional pintail or modern symmetrical patterns.
Dropdown and drop throughs don’t lend themselves well for Pumping. Top-mounted decks provide more flex. Looser narrower Trucks such as 155-160mm are best for Pumping.
As with a flexible deck, the loose trucks return energy which helps with momentum. Softish wheels such as 80A’s with sharp edges provide good grip and bounce, which aids in Pumping.
Larger diameters such as 75mm are ideal as with each pump. They will carry you further and faster than smaller wheels. Ideally, use the largest wheels you can get away with while preventing wheel bite.
Use risers if need be. Two good decks for Pumping include the Poke and Fattail from Loaded.
Loaded Poke
The Loaded Poke is a shorter deck at 34″ constructed from Fibreglass and Bamboo ultra-lightweight and built for Pumping and carving, providing fast edge to edge transition.
The deck includes double keep tails, which help keep the feet in place and wheel flares to prevent wheel bite.
The Poke’s fitted with Paris V2 150mm, 50-degree trucks, Mindless 70mm Maji Wheels with Revolver bearings.
Loaded Fattail
The Fattail is a more extended deck at 38″, a modern take on the classic Pintail shape.
The Fattail is constructed from vertically laminated bamboo and fibreglass, which return a high energy flex ideal for Pumping.
The wheelbase is adjustable, so you can start or narrow at 26.5″ and work out to 27.4″ when you have your technique down.
There are three flexes to choose from.