Holiday Time

Merry Christmas, happy holidays, or whatever you want to say, have a damn good day guys! Also happy new years as well! 2012 will be a year to remember for longboarding. Shred it up.

Custom S9 Nineball
Rain Wheels

Guys down here in Houston, and probably most every place in Texas, you all know it is raining. You know what that means? Bust out them rain wheels and go skate! No excuses. I just set up my Fullbag Elise on some custom made rain wheels so Im ready to hit up the town.

Houston riders: skate sesh on the 25th. Christmas skate. Gotta test out your new gear, it will happen. If you need a set of rain wheels, hit me up with $20 and a set of wheels and I will get that back to you in a day or so with cuts just like mine. Otherwise just go do it yourself.

Shred kids!

Upcoming Whatever

Session of Glory was awesome. Thats all I will say.

Moving on...

The Dam DH.
This is the Carve Pro Skate Shop series #4 race. Gonna be a super gnar race so you best be ready for a super tight pavement and super sketchy run. If you're a rabbit or a noob, just dont try to race, you will get hurt. Leathers or FULL pads required to race. Wipeouts will happen and they will hit hard.

$5 per person entry fee.
January 1st, meet at Carve ATX at 11am.

Basic course is a sweeper right at the start to a 180 degree sweeper left, then you drop into a 35mph straight, and finally into a 90 degree right at the end to finish it off. Its a tight path and it will be fun.

Be there. Or else.

Session of Glory

Here are the basics for Session of Glory.

Friday November 17, at 7:00pm.
Lazy R&R Cove
3660 Tanglewood Trail
Spring Branch, TX 78070-5394
(830) 885-4297

Bring cash. Its for camping. If no one is at the front just drive through but be sure to pay them later. Bring tents unless you wanna camp in your car. Be ready to chill.

Here is the jist, we camp, wake up in the morning to go to San Antonio to skate, come back to skate/swim in Canyon Lake, drink, repeat the next day. Easy stuff, right? 3 day event so skate and be just badasses. Got it?
Bring your GoPro and leave sand at home. Texas skate is what its all about. Lets go skate!

This Weekends Events!

I dont post enough anymore! Ive been to caught up with skating lately and other personal things but I think I should be good now! Last Sunday we had a push race that was 13.4 miles total. I got first! Not sure how, because half the way we had 20mph head wind. Horrible! But it was all for Breast Cancer so it was super gnar. Amazing event, and I cant wait till it happens again next year!

This weekend there are two events!
SAN ANTONIO BROADWAY BOMB LDP

First LDP race in San Antonio. This event is already coming together Fast! Sponsors are already in the works, legal sanction by the city is in the works making this the FIRST ever sanction longboard race in san antonio! (more news on that later) HELMETS ARE REQUIRED!!! GLOVES ARE HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!! If you want to take your chances and not wear gloves we won't stop you but don't come crying to us if you get hurt. The distance will be 13.1 miles. SO TRAIN UP PEOPLE THIS AINT GANNA BE NO WALK IN THE PARK! Okay so the place as been decided on. We will meet somewhere near 410 and N New Braunfels. We will go all the way to The Alamo and back. Total is 13 miles. First one there and back with the "Mile Marker" wins. We will be skating next to cars so please bring your HELMET and gloves. Oh and no stupid shit, I don't want to have to scrape anyone off the road becasue they thought they were faster than a car.

RULZ!
NO cutting corners, you ,must follow the set course
NO pushing, shoving, or houston style racing HA!
NO electric boards, obviously
NO hoping into your buddys car and crusing to the next mile marker to get the card! you must skate the whole distance. DUHHH!

Distance: 13 Miles. Marathon style
Entry Fee: $6.
Raffle Tickets: $3 (final)
Raffle Prizes: to be determined
1st 2nd and 3rd Winners will get prizes for sure.
We will try and get everyone a prize.
Water will be provided.

The way this race will work is there is going to be a point A and a point B, how you get there isnt up to you! There will be a set course, you are going to have to push your way half the distance and get a "mile marker" card from the designated volunteer. YOU NEED THE CARD in order to win, if you get the the end of the race even if you have the best time you won't win.

This is going to be a long race, so be prepared to bring lots of water and snacks if you so choose. Im working on getting watter for the racers and bbq (Maybe!) at the very end. We'll see.

so far our sponsors are...

SPONSORS:
Bustin Board (http://www.bustinboards.com/ )
HOLESOM longboards ( http://holesom.com/one/ )
Gravity Longboard (http://www.gravityboard.com/)
Honey Longboard (http://www.honeyskateboards.com/)
Randal Trucks (http://www.randal.com/)
Gullwing Trucks (http://www.gullwingtruckco.com/)
Loaded Longboards (http://loadedboards.com/)
Surf Rodz (http://www.surf-rodz.com/)
SLAB City SKATES (http://www.slabcityskates.com/)

If you have any questions or need help with directions the day of the race you can call me or Ehren at

(918) 804-8031 Adam
or
(210) 274-5694 Ehren

HOUSTON HOCKLEY SLALOM SESSION

Go to Hockley at 11am on Sunnday! Be there.

October Events

Texas Water Tower 2011 Series 3 was badass. Hot. Fast. And good carnage.

1st Brian Cortright - on Agent Orange

2nd Tommy Watson - on new BS dropped top mount proto

3rd Brian Belcher - on Agent Orange

Congrats to Bombsquad for dominating this event.

As for the rest of October, we only have one thing planned around HGR.

Time	Monday, October 31 at 9:00pm - November 1 at 4:00am
Location	The Haunted Streets of Downtown
Created By	Bryanne Danger Harris
More Info	Meet at Carve at 9 to party it up before the sesh! BYO party supplies! You MUST wear a costume!! We will hit as many garages as we can in our costumes, bring go pros, cameras, etc. There will be a costume contest so bring your gameface!! (I have no idea what the prize will be but we'll figure it out)

Suck it bitches!!

Texas Watertower Race (carve series # 3)

Time	Sunday, October 16 · 10:00am - 1:00pm
Location	Carve skate shop ATX
Created By	Carve Skate Shop
More Info	TIME FOR A WATERTOWER RACE. The stoke from Utah is coming back down to Texas so lets race!

Texas Long Haul 2012

Longboard session that will be a distance skate trip from Austin, TX to Houston, TX.

This will be a 3 day event where riders from across Texas can haul ass from Austin to Houston. Whether you want to do it for a cause or just because longboarding is fun, all are welcome to join.

THE PLAN:
Sunday night we get a nice skate sesh in Austin for fun and just enjoy the city.
Monday morning we head out. I will be planning the route over the next month or so and see how yall like it.
My goal is to his Houston in 3 days and end up at Tully Stadium at I10 and Dairy Ashford so we can all roll over and die slowly.

DATE:
March 12-15, 2012. This is Monday-Wednesday of U of H spring break. Be there.

Lets show everyone what Texas Longboarding is about.


http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=263298360364619

Longboarding

Dear July,

I apologize about my lack of any posts. This needs to change, Ive just been busy painting and customizing a few longboards and personally getting better every day.

Longboarding is ENDLESS.

Ride on.

HGR Garage Race

It's a little late to be posting this but I thought, better late than never. HGR is hosting a garage race this Saturday and everything below is a direct copy off the Facebook even post.


Time: Saturday at 10:00pm - Sunday at 4:00am
Location: Carve Skate Shop, 1307 Yale, Houston TX, 77008


Right now we have no one to run this and all our garages are busts but we'll work that out between now and race day.

Race day happens to fall on Maryhill fest of speed this year. Unfortunately this means some of the best racers will be absent. We are going to keep our chins up and try to have the best race we can without them.

Look for all sorts of extra races if security permits: butt race, out of towner race, switch race, women's race, and whatever else we can think of. 

As always strict IGSA rules, if someone is behind you you have to move over to let them pass. No pushing, touching, or dirty looks. If there is suspicion of rule violations we will promptly call your parents.

Come by Carve during the day to hangout and enjoy some hamburgers, hot dogs, and other goodies


HELMETS ARE REQUIRED, NO EXCEPTIONS, NO HELMET NO RACE.
Pads are highly recommended :)


Note to any Non-HGR skaters, if you win, you will also win $1150 in cold hard cash so bring your A game.

Pick Your Friends

As I write this at 2:45am on a wonderful, now Tuesday morning I want to just give a little shout out to all those shitty friends out there. Fuck you. Why do I say this? Well first off I would like to remind you that this is yet only but a personal blog so I can have a wee bit of unprofessionalism in this and keep it somewhat personal as well. My second point is that I want everyone to know they have good friends and rid themselves of the evils that bad friends are.

Anger comes with this post but I don't type this with hate, I type this with nothing more than simple words of expression in order to describe the life and events that I have to hold with me so dearly and close.

Endless Longboards was named for the account that I never want to stop longboarding and how I want this sport to live on forever. Tonight it has a whole new meaning to me: 20 miles in 2.5 hours = 8mph. Beast mode was accomplished. So to sum these random numbers up, my car was stuck out in Katy and I was at my house. My perfect friends bailed on me (they drove me around today so I just left my car at their place) so I was stuck without a car in Spring Valley Village (Echo Lane and I-10). Lucky me I had my nifty Arbor Axis Bamboo with me so I rode on. Mind you that I started this journey at 11:30pm.. a few hours before this post. Worst shit of my life but I have my car back and my bearings I think are dead. I hit dirt, water, gravel, water, dirt, water, water, gravel, water... and so on. Horrible night might I say, but I did it. I need sleep and I want everyone to know, pick your friends because that ride sucked. I would have used my Landyachtz Switch but I don't have it with my at the moment sadly so the Arbor had to do.

If you want details hit me up on Facebook.

Otherwise, you know the motto.
R^3. Endless Longboards.

Landyachtz Hawgs

Hawgs, a name that many people know around the longboarding community. Whether its for grippy and fasty or loosey and slidey, Hawgs have them all.

Your basic breakdown of Landyachtz Hawgs are as of follows: Monster Hawgs will give you high speed capabilities with plenty of traction to hold you in place. Zombie Hawgs will slide you left and right without you giving much effort; in other words amazing sliding wheels.

I have not yet tried Monsters on my setups yet so todays is mainly about Zombies. My Arbor Axis Bamboo is currently running the Zombie Hawgs and I can't say enough good about them. Compaired to my Otang Durian Yellows, these guys blow them away without trouble. They are smooth, quiet, slippery, and just do the job without complaints. Not only that, but they do this fresh outta the wrapping so theres no need to break them as quickly.

Zombies span in a variety of colors and duro's from white, black, yellow, blue and more. Each with it's own respective duro. Carve Skate Shop only carries them in 80A White and 84A Black.

Need I say more? If you want to slide or are trying to learn to slide, get these wheels. Nuff said.

They are:
76mm Tall
42mm Core
33mm Contact Patch

Ride On. Ride Strong. Ride Long. Endless Longboards.

Carve Skate Shop

Today I thought it appropriate to shout out to Carve Skate Shop.

For all those in Houston who don't know about Carve, you will learn to love it and worship it as your new god in all things skate related. if you don't, well I can shout out to another shop later (those whom are of lesser importance.. I kid. We love all those who represent skating and all of its glory).

http://www.carvelongboards.com/shop/

They have anything and everything you will need for longboarding and skateboarding for a damn good price. Say goodbye to Zumiez and Sector 9 and say hello to what a real longboard is. With brands like Loaded, Landyatchz, Earthwing, Apec 11, Paris, and much more you have the ability to create a board from the group up. Everything you put on your deck is only that which you choose; thus giving you the ultimate creation for whatever style of riding you so desire.

Houston:

1307-f Yale
Houston, TX 77008

Monday – Saturday: 11am – 9pm
Sunday: 11am – 6pm

carveskateshop@yahoo.com
713-868-0028

Austin:

3204-B Guadalupe
Austin, TX 78705

Monday – Saturday: 10am – 8pm
Sunday: 10am – 6pm

carveskateshopatx@yahoo.com
512-524-1459 ‎

Taken from their About Us:

The idea for Carve Skate Shop was first hatched by a group of devoted longboarders tired of dealing with skate shops that had no expertise, no interest, and no selection in longboards. The idea began to fester in my head as I saw more and more longboarders in the parking garages and on the streets of Houston. What was the worst that could happen? I end up with a bunch of sweet longboards? So after much thought and consultation I took the plunge. Carve Skate Shop opened its doors in June 2008.

The budget was extremely tight. I found a little hole in the wall, fixed it up as nice as I could and spent all my money on boards, trucks, wheels, and hardware. No sunglasses, no shoes, no wallets. I could not even afford street and pool decks. But what I did have was what all my buddies from the garages, and the hills of Austin, and the trails of Katy, and all of the other longboard spots wanted: sweet gear.

I sold out of a lot of good stuff quick. I reordered and picked up 2 of the hot sellers and maybe another set of wheels I didn’t have. Slowly I inched towards the skate shop I wanted Carve to be. New products would come in and everyone would test them. I had the heads up on what was going to sell because I skated! Just a matter of either trying it out myself or listening to another skater who had tried it out. The court of public opinion can be brutal in a tight knit community. Good products boomed and bad products just sat. Soon everyone who longboarded was on the good stuff.

Now my shop is like a club house. The newest bushing, sliding puck, or whatever gets the heaviest scrutiny imaginable by the locals coming into to “see the latest”. New longboarders are getting turned on to the sport and old longboarders are getting refered to us by friends. Skate sessions at the garages, skate parks, ditches, trails and everything imaginable are coordinated at the shop.

Along the way, my buddies and I started skating more than just longboards. So I started buying decks for the pools and the ditches, popsicle decks for the street skaters I met, and pumping boards for the trail riders. Every month I tried to expand into another aspect of skating. One month it was pool wheels, the next month street trucks, the month after that aluminum downhill decks.

Now I’m pretty dang proud of my shop. We keep up with the newest trends and maintain the stock of the tried and true. Still no clothing, shoes, sunglasses, or whatever. But we have a ton of sweet sticks and we play on them most every day!

-Scotty Sheridan

Slab Fest 2011

Success to the SLAB guys for putting on one hell of a race this past weekend. Props all the way. In case you missed it, tons of riders came out and had one hell of a time. We had wipe outs, cops, chicks, money, and a hill that I want to go back to very very bad.

Alot of picture are posted at Silverfish. I'd pop a link out right now but I am in a bit of a rush so I will just edit this post later with that.

Ride of guys. Get ready for more races this summer. We have the Deluxe Duel and 245 Garathon coming up. Lets ride.

Landyatchz Switch

Setup:

Deck: Landyatchz Switch
Trucks: Gullwing Chargers
Wheels: ABEC 11 Strikers
Bearings: BONES Labyrinth

A few things I can say about this board: It. Is. Amazing.
I haven't been on a board so nice in a while. Even after a few of the Loaded boards, a few Arbor, and a Earthwing or two, this particular deck as been my absolute favorite. With it's main drop in the middle of the deck to let you sit below the trucks, it gives cruising a wonderful feel and lets the lower center of gravity let to cruise longer before you actually wear out.

Slides. A whole other topic. My first impression was eh on sliding, but once I hit a few actual good slides and a couple colemans, my impression was that the board slid too well! This guy, on the right wheels (or even crappy ones) it will just hit a slide and do pretty much anything you tell it too. I'm out of words otherwise so I'll close this post up and get to work! Otherwise tonight I will be on my Switch again. It's too amazing.

Ride On. Ride Strong. Ride Long. Endless Longboards.

Long time no talk.

Dear Endless Longboards fans,

Sorry about the lack of posting for almost a month now, things have just been busy and I haven't had to time to really get any of the information needed for any posts yet. Don't worry, I promise I haven't run off yet!

Summer is finally here! At least it pretty much is here in the great city of Houston, TX. Things have been great and I, along with everything else I hope, have been longboarding a ton and enjoying this way too much.

I need to give a shout out to Carve Skate Shop and some of the guys at HGR for some awesome longboarding sessions. It was a blast and we got many more to go. I know some of the guys went to San Antonio for a session this past weekend and I can say I am very jealous about that because I had to work all weekend, but I still got to hit up a few garages so I can't really complain.

Hope everyone is out there riding and getting more people into this amazing sport! I don't know what I would do with out it. Maybe have a blog about underwater basket weaving? Who knows. Peace.

Ride On. Ride Strong. Ride Long. Endless Longboards.

Bone Swiss Labyrinth Bearings

So I hit up Carve Skate Shop for the first time in a while because I was finishing a few things on my Arbor Axis Bamboo. Bearings were the last thing on the list and when I went to Carve, they were out of the Super Swiss 6 that I had intended on getting so instead I went with their suggestion and got the Bone Swiss Labyrinth.

Bone Swiss Labyrinth

Boarding on these guys for a couple of weeks now I have gotten a feel for how they are straight out of the box. One thing that I noticed first off was the longevity of my rolling after a kick. These bearings will let you roll for a long time straight out of the box, and only continue to get better as they get broken in. This was a huge plus with me. Acceleration was about on par with the Bone REDS however.

A perk they added onto these bearings was the double sided dirt shields. This enables speed cream to stay within the bearing and dirt to continue to stay out. A downside to this however is the cleaning process of the bearings. Remember that you need to be careful when taking off the dirt shields and never bend them; with shields on both sides, this can become a real trick.

Overall, I am satisfied with these bearings. They put out the speed and durability on slides and hard turns when needed. Were they worth the $60 I paid for them? Probably not, they should be closer to $40, but what can you do, right? Would I recommend these bearings to people? Yes.

Ride On. Ride Strong. Ride Long. Endless Longboards

Endless Longboards Exclusive

Deck: Arbor Axis Bamboo
Trucks: Bears Grizzly (new style)
Bearings: Bones RED at time of picture, Bones Swiss current.
Wheels: Orangatang Durians Yellow (86A)

Art on the bottom of the Deck courtesy of Dalton.

Endless Longboards exclusive deck that was redone and will be coming with us to San Antonio for Slab Fest 2011. I hope to see everyone there. You know the motto.

Too Long

It has been way too long without a post. I feel like I has displeased my readers and left them with nothing but rereads of old posts! I am very sorry and I swear to Skatan I will not do this again!

It looks to be that time of year guys! Things are finally warming and up and its more and more of the perfect day to just get outside and go skate. I don't know about yall but I love skating all day, every day; and with a few good days like it has been, I will definitely be outside too much for my own good.

It's a little on the late side but here is a preview for March Endless Longboards:

With the weather finally up to boarding season, we need to get ready for everyone to stay safe. Some time this month I will be sure to touch on subjects like what do look for when buying a new board, helmets, and gloves. Safety first and always. Be sure to ride a few for me, bomb a hill, and impress the ladies!

Ride On. Ride Strong. Ride Long. Endless Longboards.

Slab Fest 2011 pt.2

Hey guys, update on Slab Fest 2011! This will be the updated notice for now. I will have a revised and reminder post on April 1st to make sure everyone can make it!

Taken from the Slab Fest event on Facebook
Oh yeah it's that time again. DH racing fun for everyone.
Entry fees 10$, Noob, Regular and Female classes
Format will be heats with points awarded based on finishing place.
Camping details coming soon!
HELMET AND GLOVES REQUIRED!¡!i!¡!

Location

Meet at HEB parking lot

24165 West Ih 10 # 300

San Antonio, TX

Girls Can Longboard

So I've always seen the bunch of dudes running around riding their wood, but why don't girls do it? I've shown many girls the art of longboarding and I have yet to have anyone hate it. In fact, they all love it once they get the hang of it! Today I want to share some videos that I hope help the longboard community grow, with females though. Trust me, it's a blast.

The girl in the first video rides kinda awkwardly, but shes still got some tricks I like. The second video is a fav because those girls are hot. And ride longboards. Win-Win. Credit to them all the way.


Girls Ride On. Girls Ride Strong. Girls Ride Long. Endless Longboards.

Go Longboard

It's 2011, but I do believe that we need a refresh back in to 2010. Go Longboard 2010.

The Basics: Sliding

Winter is slowly (I hope) going away here in Houston and a lot of longboarders should be ready for summer. This summer will be one to remember for sure. However there may also be quite a few new people to the longboarding scene so I thought I would spend today to find the best 'basics' post across the internet and share it with you. Today's lesson is on sliding.

Why not start with longboarddirectory.com? It's all longboarding, so here is their post (which I actually used when I started boarding myself).

A Slide is when a rider pulls his board out and gets it so the wheels are not gripping the pavement and can be moved freely. There are severl ways it can be done.

1. Toeside: When you put your hand(s) on the pavement in the direction your toes are headed and spin the board in a clockwise motion (It goes clockwise because with the friction in front of you you are forced in that direction.

2. Heelside: When you put your arm(s) out behind you spinnign in a counter clockwise motion.

Slides can be used for many reasons.

1. To stop very quickly: Often you will be bombing a hill when a kid walks out into the road or a car pulls out and you dont have enough room to footbrake. When you slide your speed will decrease rapidly depending on the hills grade.

2. For tricks: Sliding is also very fun to do. There are many different slides like there are different tricks on a shortboard. Some include Pendulum, Boneless, Colemen etc.

3. To show off: As your flying down a road you see some chick walking her dog. Figure the extreme speeds and sense of uncontrole will make her totaly dig you? Well it will. Just dont hit her.

To do a slide you should start with a 180 degree coleman. To do slides you must be VERY committed.

*First get a moderate speed.

*Next bend down and get ready to grab the side of the board that is infront of you.

*You will want too lean as far back as you can without flipping over and put your other hand on the pavement (You will have gloves. I will explain later) and put most of your weight on your hand. You will be whipped around.

*As soon as you do the 180 pull your hand off and stand back up.

* YOU DID A SLIDE DOOD!!!

This will take lots of practice to get perfectly but once you get it, it will stick.

About the Gloves: Gloves are there to decrease friction as well and protect your hand. A glove is basicly a durable working glove with plastic attached to the palm. These can be homemade or bought.

*WHEELS* To do a slide you will want to use a higher duro wheels (85-99). Duro stands for Durometer which is the wheels hardness. To start off if you have a complete shortboard that would work perfect. Gravity often makes well made sliding wheels.

Also a decks wheel-base comes into play. The longer the wheelbase the harder it is to break loose the wheels but it will be a more predictable and controlled slide.

Vocabulary:

Flatspot: (n)(V) A worn away area in the area that rotates on the ground in a wheel. It will be flat patch that will bump as you ride. V: To flatspot a wheel.

Author: Tuskan L3m0n

Slab Fest 2011 pt.1

Dear Texas Longboarders,

Looking to have some fun? Wanna meet other Texan longboarders? Wanna race? Brag? I dont know what else? Slab Fest 2011 is the place for you! Why? Well.. it's Slab Fest....

But on a more serious note, Slab Fest 2011 is an all day event that is for pretty much every longboarder out there, as long as you want to have a good time and go downhill! It will be on April 30 from 11:00am to 6:00pm.
Meet at HEB parking lot

24165 West Ih 10 # 300

San Antonio, TX

Boy, girl, dog, fish, whatever you are, get to Slab Fest 2011 and you're gonna have the time of your life.

Entry fees, times, camping, classes and format details coming soon!

Rainwheels Update

There has been an update on the rainwheels that Endless is working on. The picture below shows the first set we have made and are going to test out and yet make better. Endless strives for the best, and can't stop till that has been achieved. Endless Rain Wheels.

Endless Rain Wheels
Made from a Sector 9 wheel

Go Longboard

Wrapping up January I thought I might do something a little different and post a few of my favorite longboarding videos. They are awesome videos and you're gonna want to go longboard after watching them. Enjoy!

PS: February is going to be nothing but trick how-to's so if your stuck on a trick, be ready!

Define: Longboarding

Longboard: A longboard is a skateboard with a longer and sometimes wider shape used for longboarding. They are most commonly used for cruising, downhill racing, slalom racing, or transportation. Longboards can be shaped in various different ways, depending on the type of riding intended.
Longboarding: Longboarding is the act of riding on or performing tricks with a longboard.

Endless Longboards is all about telling you the wonders of longboards, how to get the most out of your experience, and how to maintain not only your board, but safety and persona along your journey; however the term longboard has never really been explained. The term has never been broken down and shown for what it really is.

Michael Kosmoski:
Endless Longboards founder.

What is a longboard? What are they good for? Why? These questions are simple. A longboard is a skateboard, however typically longer [as stated in its name] and can be used for casual riding, downhill, tricks, and much more. Invented somewhere in the 1950's from surfers looking for something to do when the oceans were flat, skateboarding started from roller blade wheels attacked to 2x4's for primarily carving (like a surf board). From there became the sport we now see today, especially known for being revolutionized by the Z-Boys under the Dogtown label in the 1970's. From there, all kinds of skateboards and longboards boomed into what we see today. Longboards and downhill racing is a booming industry however. Due to its lack of publicity and advertising, downhill racing has remained, in a sense, a secret to the general public due to the sole fact that no one really pushes it in the current market.

Longboarding: sport, casual, hobby, lifestyle. All things longboarding is, but it's also much more. To myself, it is all of these. A career in the longboard industry to bring it to the public is a dream. Just a dream. Until the day I can help the industry out more than a blog, I will do that. Until then, ride on. Endless longboarding forever. Endless.

Your Wheels and You

A lot of people wonder what they are doing wrong when it comes to longboarding. Whether they are trying to slide, bomb hills, slalom, or whatever they do with their board, most people make the same mistake. It's not always a small tip or adjustment to help you preform better, it's all in the wheels you have. The basic parts of a wheel are simple to understand and will be broken down for you: Wheel diameter, contact surface, and hardness.

Wheel Diameter
Longboard wheels are most traditionally meant for cruising with a basic range of 60-100 millimeters. This range is much greater than those of a skateboard and allow for a smoother ride. Typically, the larger the wheel diameter, the smoother a ride you will have. The slalom scene usually have a larger wheel because of their smoothness in riding and also makes it easier on he bearings in the long run. Smaller wheels rotate more to get the same distance but accelerate typically quicker than larger ones. For slalom go larger, for hills go smaller.

Contact Surface
When riding, you need to know if you will be wanting to stick your wheels to the ground more of have more ability to let the longboard slide freely. The wider a wheel you have, the more contact surface to the ground it has, and typically will hold the ground better which can become very useful in a slalom type setting. The narrower a wheel, the less contact surface it will have, and typically let go of the ground easier. More contact surface also means more friction and can let the board slow down faster and accelerate less. Exceptions to these rules can be determined on the wheel hardness.

Wheel Hardness
Your style will be either sliding or not sliding, it's that easy. The hardness is determined by the durometer A scale [which is how dense the wheel is]. Softer wheels are seen around the 75A range, but can differ up and down from that. Harder wheels can be seen anywhere from 86A up to 99A. The softer a wheel, the more traction it will have in holding the concrete, and opposite for hard wheels (they let go and slide on concrete fairly easy}. The hardness can affect your riding a lot because on slalom you will normally want a softer wheel, downhill might want a medium wheel (depending if you want to slide or not), and other sliding will want a hard wheel.

Additionally!
Those three factors are just the basics. Wheels also come with a few different shapes as well. The shape of a wheel is typically either with rounded edges or squared off edges. Casual riding and slalom take a squared edge because when turning that edge will catch concrete and hold traction very nicely. Rounded edges on wheels are great for sliding because they have no extra edge to catch concrete and just let go to start the slide.

Burn Longboards

Dregs Skateboards has something out that I ran across while on the Skates on Haight website. This is something I have never heard of or even thought of doing on a skateboard or longboard. Designs so intricate, detailed, and so perfect that you honestly cant ride the board just because they are too valuable or just look too damn clean.

Who came up with this idea? If it was a guy then I want to be his best friend, and if it was a girl, marry me? Burning a design on to wood with a etching laser is unheard of unless you have a master artistic mind or your just a little but crazy. Either way, these boards are some of the sickest boards you will ever see and you don't want to pass them up.

Limited on Skates on Haight you can get these amazing boards with perfected burnt designs, and you can get them either deck or complete board! I would get them before they run out because they are advertised as a limited edition item. Personally, I just started work back up and I will be looking to buy one of these bad boys as soon as that pay check rolls in and in no time will I love it.

Get them while they last, because I might steal them all. Check out this website by clicking HERE to see some more of these perfection boards with laser etched work. B-e-a-u-tiful.

Ride On. Ride Strong. Ride Long. Endless Longboards. Except.. don't ride those, you don't want to mess up the wood work.

Rain Wheels

Today, inventing things takes an honest crazy person because most everything has been made that we would ever need. So what next? Why not take what we already have and make it better? Endless Longboards has been playing around with some spare wheels that have been laying around for a while, and put them up to the test: what will be the next and best rain wheel?

Endless Longboards Rainwheels Concept

People think that rain wheels can only use those few straight lines down the middle as good water placement, well if that were true then car tires wouldn't look so crazy. With inspiration from car tires, the side cuts were put on to the wheel to ultimately push excess water away from the wheel and let it ride as if it were dry outside. This design could revolutionize the way we longboard after a nice rainfall. Sacrificing too small amounts of wear and speed to be noticed the wheels will let a riding roll over water as if it were never there.

However there is one small flaw to the design: there will have to be seperate patters for both left and right sides of the board. The diagonal cuts must land middle-side-in in order to push water out. If they were to be placed the on the other side of the board, they would in fact push water under the wheel and cause unwanted (or maybe wanted if your crazy) slides. A more universal fit is being worked on however, but for now these will be tested and worked with until further notice.

Ride On. Ride Strong. Ride Long. Endless Longboards.

Longboarding Protection

Recently on a long ride I took, and many slides later I come home to a lot of pain. This pain was from the falls I took doing different tricks and slides that I have yet to perfect, and some others were burns from sliding down a grass hill. The pain was almost unbearable that night but many baths and much pain gel later, I was better and inspired to write about how not to get hurt.

Many longboarders can hop on their boards, give a good kick and just roll, making is look easy. This however is not the case. There is more than just pushing off and maintaining your balance that goes into riding that many people don't fully understand at first and can lead to a few wipe outs early on. It takes practice and acquired skill to learn to ride and do tricks that you see others do. How quickly you learn however depends on you and how willing you are to take a few chances and try things out.

To start, there is only one thing between you and the pavement when you are on your longboard - your protective gear. Without this you will have many more injuries that you normally would even with your gear on. Note that your gear will not protect you from everything, but it will help you out a lot (and protect the important parts of your body) when you absolutely need it to. You can start out with a helmet, elbow and knee pads, sliding gloves, and some wear shin guards. Many of these will feel really awkward on you at first but they all serve a very important role when it comes to protecting your body from harm in the long run.

For beginners, many might notice that they will fall more than they will ride, and this is expected a lot of times too, but with the said protective gear above, they will lose fear of the ground and it will help them to being a better rider in the long run. Trust of your self and of your gear is a huge part of longboarding and getting better faster. Many people will want to take off their gear because it feels awkward or they are falling less and that is ok, however it is recommended that all riders leave their helmet on at all times because the head is the most important part of the body.

Longboard more and get comfortable on your board and with your gear, it's the best way to get better, especially in the beginning. Knowing your board is how you can ultimately start really riding faster. Knowing also the longboarding terms/lingo will help a lot too. There are many different styles of riding and different kinds of boards, and they are all made for a different reason. Your longboard IQ will make your experiance a lot greater in the long run. Remember, there is a lot more to it than riding a flat piece of wood, and there will always be more to learn.

Ride On. Ride Strong. Ride Long. Endless Longboards.

Happy New Years

Happy New Years from Endless Longboards.

What will 2011 bring us? I see more longboarding, sick new products, the latest in reviews for the top boards to help you get the very best, and just sick and fun times together. Lets make 2011 better than 2010 and get boarding right away.