Cruising on a Longboard : Everything you Need to Know

When one thinks about longboarding, the first thing that come to mind is cruising.  If you’re considering getting into longboarding, chances are you plan to initially use your board to cruise around relaxed areas around your town.

What does it mean to cruise on a longboard? Cruising usually refers to riding a longboard in a relaxed and fluid way, slowly riding down a road or through city streets, roaming around for pleasure or to get from one place to another. 

Cruising is a very popular longboard discipline, accessible to many people all ages and fitness levels.

Longboard cruising sometimes also refers to any longboarding activity that is not specifically downhill/speed or freestyle/tricks focused.  However, learning how to cruise on a longboard involves different things for different people.

The following are 4 common cruising styles, listed in increasing order of required skills:

• Boardwalk cruising
• Long-distance cruising
• Urban cruising
• Flat ground carving

Let’s take a look at each of these styles and the main skills you’ll need to master when cruising on your longboard.

See also:
Top 5 longboards for cruising
What’s the best skateboard for cruising

Boardwalk cruising

By “boardwalk cruising” I’m refering to a leisure style of cruising typically done in a nice pleasant environment such as at the beach or park.  This kind of cruising is for relaxing and enjoying the day while doing some light exercise akin to light jogging or biking.

What kind of board

A pintail longboard is typically a good option for relaxed and chilled boardwalk cruising.

You may choose a 40″ or longer deck for stability.  A flat deck (no concave) with moderate flex is perfect for easy cruising – flex gives you a comfortable ride and less stress on your joints.   Choose big soft wheels for a nice suspension feel.

A bigger longboard will typically be heavier, but the ability to carry it around is not that important for this type of cruising.

Boardwalk cruising style

When cruising along the beach or on a park trail, you often use a laid back position since your longboard is typically large and stable enough not to worry about balance.

Many larger pintail longboards more lean than turn, meaning you can press on the rails without causing the board to turn a lot.  A board not too reactive or fast turning allows you to relax and look around as you ride.

Boardwalk cruising techniques

The main techniques you need to learn for this kind of cruising are mellow pushing and foot braking, and leaning for wide turns.

Pushing on a large pintail is easier than on smaller boards : you lean forward to balance your weight onto your front leg, dropping your rear foot to the ground for kicking.

Since you’re typically cruising at low speed, braking by dragging the sole of your foot on the ground also comes naturally.

If your cruising pintail is a slow turner, you’ll need to lean quite a bit to initiate turns.  That’s a good thing when your aim do some relaxed riding.

When cruising on your longboard, make sure to keep your spine braced (no spine bending), your rib cage high (not tucked into your hips), and your shoulders externally rotated, to avoid back issues over time.

Long-distance cruising

Another common good reason for cruising on a longboard is for long distance commuting – “long distance” may be across campus or all the way across town.

The board type and skills for commuting are focused on getting more speed and mileage with less effort in order to get further faster.

What kind of board

For a commuting cruiser, you would likely choose a board with a very long deck (say 42″+), but this time as low as possible to the ground so you can keep pushing over longer periods of time with less effort.

A drop platform – or a double drop (drop deck + drop-through) – with good stand-over length is the best choice.  A great example of a double drop longboard for distance cruising is the Loaded Trip Collab – see my in-depth review.

This type of cruising board is not only very push-friendly but also very stable as your center of gravity lies so close to the ground.

A dropped platform will often have more lean and less turn, than a classic pintail – pintails are usually topmount hence more turnable.  Stability, lean and slow turning is what you want for long distance cruising.

You’ll also want wheels with a large diameter (70-85mm) for speed, very soft (low durometer in relation to your weight) for absorbing shocks from bumps and holes, and squared edged for good grip.

You also want to get some good quality bearings (e.g. Bone Reds) to maximize distance from each of your pushes.

Long distance cruising style

When long distance cruising on a longboard, you may get into a slightly tucked position to minimize air resistance after each push so as to get the best mileage from each impulse.  However, you also want your position to be sustainable without too much strain over a potentially long time.

When riding on a long deck, you typically stand up front, closer to the nose, for better control and speed, with most of your weight lying forward.

Long distance cruising skills

The main skill you need to build up for long-distance cruising is power pushing.  You first need to master balancing on your front leg, with your front foot facing forward (or at a slight angle) and your front knee bent to lower your center of gravity and keep your body stable as your rear foot kicks the ground.

Then through practice, you will find your optimal pushing range – that is, how far back your foot should stay in contact with the ground – and frequency  – time lapse between successive pushes so as to not lose momentum.

You’ll also get a feel for how strong a push you need to strike a balance between effort / energy spent and speed.

In some cases, if your itinerary grants it, you may need to push upwill on mild slopes, which requires more effort and higher fitness level.

See also my post on long distance pushing/pumping (LDP)

Urban transportation cruising

If you use your longboard primarily for moving around the city, learning how to cruise involves both a different type of board and different skills.

What kind of board

City cruising requires a more agile and nimble board compared with beach or long distance cruising.  For this kind of cruising, a longboard with a shorter deck, anywhere from 28″ to 33″, and a tight turning radius is the best option for navigating people, cars and obstacles.

One of my favorite examples is the awesome Loaded Ballona mini-cruiser – see my full review here.

Besides a short length, you want the deck to be stiffer to give you more leverage in turns, that is, better power transmission, making it easier to cut street corners and ride along those narrow sidewalks.

Shorter longboards are often more lightweight.  Portability is important in city cruising as you constantly need to step in and out of traffic, turning into a pedestrian as needed.

You may also want a board with a kicktail to help you get over those small obstacles, and help you jump on and off of curbs.  Kicktails, however, often come at the expense of stability due to a shorter wheelbase.

See also: What is the best longboard for city cruising?

City cruising style

When riding a smaller longboard for city cruising, you keep your body in tension and your knees flexed, getting ready for quick turns and / or tail kicks.  Due to the board being reactive, you constantly need to readjust your balance and body weight.  You’re also always on the lookout for cars, pedestrians, dogs etc.

To avoid upsettting people, make sure to ride slower in crowded zones.  When riding on a sidewalk use your hands to signal where you are going.  Also, always give people room to walk, staying in your “lane”.

City cruising skills

Cruising around town requires continuous pushing, quick turning, small jumps, and instant foot braking.

You have to master light kicking your longboard tail with your rear foot to ease yourself over pebbles and bumps.  Kicking the tail also allows you to pick up your board quickly and walk among cars or people when needed.

This cruising style is closer to street skateboarding, and is a lot of fun.  There will still be moments when you’ll find yourself riding freely down the street, until the next obstacle comes up.

Carving style cruising

Carving is often described as a discipline of its own, separate from cruising.  Carving on flat ground, however, can be a great part of the cruising experience on a longboard, so I’ve included it here as a fourth cruising style.

Carving involves riding your longboard without foot pushing, by chaining successive turns and impulsing energy through powerful weight shifts.   More about carving here.

What kind of board

Carving can be done on any kind of longboard, though some boards are specifically designed for it.  Carver boards are not a completely distinct animal, some city cruisers and shorter pintails are well suited for carving as well.

Carving requires a board that turns faster than a regular cruiser, yet not necessarily as fast as a quick city mini cruiser.

When you carve, you want your turns to flow smoothly, pendulum-like, in response to your body’s rotations. You may prefer a smaller or midsize board, with loose RKP trucks for deeper turns, and a deck with concave to help secure your feet while you sway back and forth.

A topmount board is typically a good choice due to its responsiveness.  You need soft square wheels for grip in your deep turns.  To avoid wheel bite in such turns, your deck may be elevated with risers and/or have wheel wells to grant more space for the turned wheels.

The Icarus, though a drop-down, is specially designed for carving. See my complete review here.

Check out this post on choosing the best carving longboard

Carving riding style and skills

Performing turns that really generate speed require a wave-like body motion that takes practice to master.  Carving involves full body rotation and weight shifting originating from your head, and naturally propagating down to your shoulders, hips, knees, ankles and toes.  Your body transmits energy into the board’s edge while in the turn.

It’s also important to understand at which point during the turn to lower your center of gravity (compress), and when to release (decompress).

Cruising through carving is a subtle skill for which you need to become one with your longboard, getting a deep feel of the way the board reacts to, and accelerates, with your body’s rotations and leans.

Wrapping up

Cruising on your longboard can range from easy riding at the beach, to pushing over long distances, to fast kicking and turning along city sidewalks.  Whatever your style, choosing the right machine for the job will make your life easier and more enjoyable.

If you already own a longboard, you can probably tune it to some degree to match your preferred riding style following the recommendations in this post.

Ride on !