Couldn't master a skateboard when younger, now getting the urge at 60. Is riding a street SUP as easy as riding my water SUP (9ft)? In other words is it as slow and as controllable when you're learning? Any advice would be appreciated.

I could never skateboard as a kid would fall off could not stand up etc

tried Street SUPing the other day and am hocked. So easy to pick up and just like stand up paddling (even easier).

One thing try to get a long board (40 inches plus) to start as they are that much easier to learn on.

love it

Never to old. Your only as old as who your feeling I meen as you are feeling. I had a lay of from skating for about 15 years. My kids (with a bit of help from the lovely wife) got me a sector nine for chrissy last year and ive never looked back. I go for a surf then break out the skatey and cruise around the carparks for a while. I started of a bit slow and easy now im cruising again. you'll love it.

Give it a go., and yes you will be hooked. It is so much fun and with the stick it helps as you don't have to balance on one leg while you try and scoot across the pavement. It's great that you even want to try it.. now just go for it..

yeah mate give it a go it's all fun ! (until you stack and break some bones). Spent most of the weekend on my Pohaku Surfrider..









To answer your question, yes the Big Stick does allow you to some degree to control your speed and let you lean back/forward on for sharper turns. It's also a good balancing tool.

Nice shots Lou. Barefoot is the way to go. Bardon Ridge California. My new board arrives Saturday. Based on a Sector 9 carver, a mate of mine is a cabinet maker and had some nice Canadian Maple left over from a job he was doing, so now I have a custom. Just have to sort out some big soft wheels and I'll be cruising. And I'm an old bugger. See you at Sutherland A & E...........

yep definitely looking forward to seeing that maple custom when you pick it up !

Two boards now. One handcrafted and one from ebay. Had three last week, but passed one on to a mate to share the stoke. It's addictive, and there's a lot of fun (and pain) to be had.

Hi Jasson Prosser,

I have made a board as well out or Marine Ply. With Randall 180's and 75mm wheels, it feels really high of the ground. I've tried taking the riser riser pads out but still feels not as nice as my son's Dervish. Admittedly that is a drop thru deck.

Hi Daneli, good to see that homemade customs are on the rise. That's where skating started in the early days. I've learnt a lot by building my own board up, and have found that small changes make huge differences to the way a board feels. My custom is solid maple, so has no flex, my sector 9 is also maple, but laminated, so has a lot of flex. I'm guessing that your ply has a bit of flex too.
Both my boards have the same wheelbase and truck / riser height, but feel completely different. It depends what you are after, but changing wheels risers and bushings can have a dramatic effect on the feel of your board.
I run 61mm (blue) and 70mm (yellow) wheels on my boards. Both are the same hardness (durometer) 78A, but the smaller wheels give a lower ride height, and the smaller contact area = less rolling resistance = more speed and acceleration. My bigger 70mm wheels are more cruisey and laid back. Both handle rough tracks, so 78A or softer would be a good option for your question on your other post. Bushings really make a difference to the way a board handles. Harder = more stability, softer = more turning. More stable is good at speed, more turning is good for carving. I'm now going to fit some harder bushings to my faster board, as I got it up to quite a speed yesterday, and had speed wobbles with the medium bushings I have fitted now. Over or under tightening the kingpin is no substitute for having the correct bushings fitted.
You can mess around with thinner or angled risers for different ride feelings, but as a minimum I would always run a thin riser as it offers a smoother ride than none at all.
One final thing on wheels, the loaded wheels that come as standard on your sons board are usually larger, harder, with sharp / square edge profiles. I run wheels with a rounded edge profile. These carve turns easier and are more predictable. The square profile wheels don't roll over into a turn so easily, so are more stable in a straight line, however are much easier to slide or drift more predictably.
Hope this helps someone, as it has helped me to customise the feel of my boards to what I want. Find yourself a helpful, friendly longboard skate shop. In Sydney we have Hopkin Skate, I'm sure there are shops like this all over, as longboarders seem to be real board tweakers.
Good luck and enjoy. Skating brings out the child in all men, and skating with your kid's is awesome. ( I skated with my three sons yesterday and am still smiling)

Thanks for that JP. I didn't think about the wheel profile and yes they do have hard edges on the loaded and these are what I have been using as well. Makes sense, he is into sliding but all I want to to is cruise and carve and try some land paddling.

When you say bushings, I'm assuming you are referring to what I know as bearings.

Thanks again

Hi Daneli, bushings and bearings are different.
Bushings are the rubber inserts on the truck kingpin that allow the trucks to turn. Changing them for harder or softer good quality bushings make the way the board turns feel completely different. The Dervish most likely runs harder bushes, the standard ones on your trucks may be softer. Try and swop them for a session and see how they feel.




Also check out hopkin.com.au/pages/buyers-guide for some more info.

Thanks Good website !!

DEfinitely not too old.
I'm 47 in a few weeks, and gettting right into it.
I push though, don't worry about a stick, but it's all longboarding.
I got a Loaded Bhangra for Xmas and I love it.
I have about 5 boards now, as they really are very cheap compared to pretty much everything, and I like the variety and the different sizes depending on the surface and my mood.
Ther eis lots of cool board art too, whihc is a nice aspect for us old farts who grew up on extravagantly painted surfboards.

Never too old!

Local go-getter Rosemary gave it a go with Cory when he was up here in Noosa with us. Went home with a new board and stick, and a huge smile on her face. She is 59 and already rides a SUP, so 60 and SUPing can't be too much of a stretch

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KenHo said...


I push though, don't worry about a stick, but it's all longboarding.

Give the stick a go sometime, its great fun. To be honest I wasn't all that keen on it when I first saw it, as I already did a lot of downhill longboarding and figured the stick was a little lame. I was wrong. Its like going downhill all the time I never realised how much I loathed pushing along all the flats we have here in Noosa

^^
Maybe some time. I already have too much junk, and I'm focussing on tricks and dancing so I need lots of agility. I find with water SUP that the paddle gets in the way of my natural balance, especially the independence between my upper and lower body.
I have a Loaded Tan Tien on lay-by I need to finish paying for first, and I have a line on a Loaded Dancer deck I really want as well, so the whole big stick thing will have to wait a bit.
It's true, I am a total Loaded slut and I have a man-crush on Adam Squared !!

never to old lads. i just recieved my stick two days ago and i love it. only bought it to keep paddling cause everything has been crap water wise. did think the price is ricockulous,but my luck then found them for $8o on the net? i paddle both sides and dont find it hard at all,in fact i can push myself into even harder carves. didnt realise how puffed out you can get on it though. if anyone longboards around charis for a cruise say hi and and hav a push. love to be stoked. danelli from another post, i broke my leg ,cracked my pelvis and smashed my back. lived on cortizone injections for three years. sup is rapidly get me my powers back. to be told no water for you agin, to i cant believe im out here f...... priceless