5 Simple Ways To Prevent Speed Wobbles

Here are some simple techniques that I've learned over the years to help prevent speed wobbles. What are some other techniques that have helped you?

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[Shventastic]

At 36 years old, I went longboarding with my son tonight. I got a little overconfident with how easy it was carving up and down the streets on my LY tugboat.

I decided to bomb the hill nearby and realized i had already picked up enough speed and passed the safe bail stage. I decided to just stick it out. Then as I surpassed what I can only assume is terminal velocity, the fucking wobs crept in.

There was actually enough time as I broke the sound barrier for me to try several corrections, but naw bro.

I finally tried to carve out if it wrecked my shit in front of a neighbor's ring camera. I'm not a thin man and that was my saving grace. I landed squarely on my left love handle then rolled somersault style to a stop sitting on my ass.

I think my hip is facing a different direction, but I casually walked it off like it was nothing. After all, I was with my kid and I don't want him to get the fear of hills in his head.

Send bruise concealer. I look like I need dialysis.

[SkaterDeeVlog]

I guess I was about 8 years old when I tried going down a hill on my plastic board, got the wobs and ate shit. I'd never encountered speed wobbles before because I'd never gone fast enough to experience them, but when the board started going crazy, it put the fear of god in me. After I picked myself up off the ground, I decided I would just simply avoid trying that again for a long, long time. It was a sensation that would stick with me for the rest of my life.

30 years later, I'm going down a hill, screaming, "STAY LOW, STAY FORWARD, STAY LOW, STAY FORWARD!" as the board started bucking. But this time, I got it under control, made it to the flat and coasted to a stop. I couldn't believe the advice I got worked, I was able to keep from wiping out. I was still pretty shaken up from the feeling, so I decided to take a victory lap by pushing back up the hill and trying again. This time, no wobble at all! I had finally conquered my biggest fear.

[crickbed]

i would LOVE an episode on speed checks/powerslides. its definitely the main thing holding me back and keeping from exploring steeper terrain and busy streets

[perempti]

Me my whole life: im pushing up the hill, im pushing up the hill, im pretty tired, but im pushing up the hill...

[tinutube]

It's good to know, that people tend to lean back and place weight on their back foot, when they get scared. Keep that in mind when going fast.

[ic]

I speed wobbed. Have to bail and twisted my knee. Was out for a month before I could get back on the board. Has affected my confidence big time as I’m 41 and don’t heal as well anymore.

[MOROGARAGE]

DO NOT TIGHTEN YOUR TRUCKS FOR WOBS. A tight truck acts like a spring, it may stop you from getting wobs briefly at a certain speed, then once you cross that speed they will wobble even harder because of the built up spring tension in the bushings, and buck you onto the concrete twice as hard. All it does is install false confidence, loose trucks save lives!

[flav]

I'm just getting into skateboarding, knowing this kind of things will be extremely useful. Thank you so much!!! You're a life/trauma saver

[theoriginalrabbithole]

2:30 Kudos for using Paris street trucks. Paris TKP trucks actually have the highest ride height at 57.15mm for accommodating larger wheels without risers, than an average TKP truck like Indy, which have ride heights of just 52mm. Big difference! This is a very informative and well presented video. Keep up the good work. 🤙

[devin]

started skating about a week ago and theres alot of hills where i am this helped alot

[lowtechleon]

Great explanations. In addition to plain carving It is great to "always be in a turn". What I mean is, even if you ride strait downhill always lean a little to one side. That way the center of gravity is lower and also the truck doesn't start to go left and right, because it already decided for ine side.

[gayactivity]

deck composition is also key. anything with some flex like a bamboo composite is going to facilitate speed wobbles.

[Kufunninapuh]

Hey. I hate to do this again because all the advice is so good and the production value is amazing! I'm so impressed/jealous! But the instability of the TKP trucks is not from "a higher baseplate angle". The baseplate angle that is advertised by most RKP brands happen to align with the pivot angle/axis which determines how much a truck turns per lean. I wish I had a pen and paper so I could draw this but that axis is a straight line from your pivot cup to the point on your kingpin that sits between your bushings. Look at almost any TKP truck and you will notice that this angle is much lower than most RKPs while the angle from pivot to axle, which does not affect the turn to lean ratio all else being equal, is real steep. I don't know what it is that does it though because TKPs are for sure less stable by design, in my experience. One day I might understand but here is my best guess on one of the contributing factors: I don't know if you ever went from a 50 degree RKP truck to like a 45 or whatever and figured you had your bushings perfectly dialed why not just move them over? You expect them to feel more stable at speed but they feel super soft and you get instant wheelbite and eat dirt. That's (partially) because the leverage over your bushings have increased as your kingpin is more vertical. Or in the reverse extreme, imagine a 90 degree Paris truck and how you would ever get that to turn at all. And for a real world example take the carver cx which is basically an RKP truck. It has a massive angle like 60 degrees or something but it also has the kingpin almost perpendicular to the road. Meaning you have both great leverage and great turn. And it is true for most TKP trucks that the kingpin is more perpendicular to the road which might mean you have that extra leverage so even if they don't turn as sharp the may be easier turn as they require less force. Ok I'm out. Sorry for the incoherent wall of text again.

[MattSmith]

This is very helpful, i used to just tighten my trucks until it wasnt able to turn anymore 😂😂

[goofyfootgreg]

Weight forward is so important but feels counterintuitive for the inexperienced ✌️

[eBoardR]

*I find myself really lookin forward to this style of video, * really goes to show, when creators do what they enjoy, we enjoy it too!
🤟🏽🤙🏽🤙🏽🤟🏽

Lovin the topic choices and edits!!

I love a split setup, lower angle with harder, chunkier bushing in the back, people in esk8 like Riptide but I love Blood Orange and Venom.

De-wedgin is a great option, I prefer the precision type ones as they add less height.

People should try a few different angle combos, to figure out what they enjoy/prefer.

Personally I tried 50/45, 45/45, 45/40... prefer 50/44, a lot of esk8 brands now use 45/45 but I love a standard 50deg front with the back 44 to 45deg. Try it all people! You might surprise yourself in what you end up enjoyin most.

[MASTER]

Today at 50 km/h a strong wobbling started, miraculously I held on

[scoon]

I need to get a damn longboard already

[jeffersongarrick]

Great tips! I've only had one really really bad speed wobble getting towed behind a quad with a water ski rope. I actually pulled out of it but learned a lesson. It's a feeling of absolute loss of control.

[Ekaterina_Hard_Worker]

Wow. This is the best video about wobbling. Hi from Moscow.