Here at Vandem we are all about having a fun time. What if I were to tell you that you could have an extra dose of fun ALL WEEK!?! Read on and prepare to be amazed.
- Commuting by board? Why not!
- Board Choice
- Planning Your Route
- Safety
- Achieving maximum Smiles Per Hour
- What to do with all your new spare change?
Not sure what board to use for the commute? Check out a couple of our favorites below.
Commuting by board? Why not!
How do you get to your place of work or school? Bus? Car? Train? Bike? Walk? There is another option. Yes I hear you, you have bags to carry, your city is busy, it’s too far to skate, the weather sucks…
While these are all legitimate concerns, they don’t need to stop you from spicing up your working day and maybe even learning to see your local area from a whole new light.
We’re here to answer some of your concerns, and hopefully inspire you to have some really awesome journeys with your four wheeled friend.
Board Choice
This depends a bit on the length of your journey and the terrain you’ve got to deal with, but we’d say one of our mini cruisers or old school shapes would be ideal for most short journeys.
Nippy maneuverable and fun, and small enough to stash under your desk or jump on the train with if needed.
If you fancy yourself as a bit of a fitness fanatic and want to go for a longer push, then we’d suggest going for something longer, lower, and more stable like the Loaded Pantheon or Lush Freebyrd. These are easier on the legs if you’re pushing for miles and miles.
Planning Your Route
Cities at rush hour can be really daunting places, but take a closer look and you’d be a amazed at the quiet little back streets and bike paths you can find to get yourself from A to B.
Use Google maps or Streetview to plan a route that takes some back streets, and check out your local cycle network, there could be some hidden gems! You might find some real fun little corners, or even go via your local pump track, Skate Park, or street spots.
It might take you a few weeks of tweaking your route to find the smoothest pavement and the optimum route, but that’s all part of the fun.
We spend so much of our time making journeys via the quickest possible route that it’s super refreshing to plan a route from the perspective of ‘which way is most fun!’.
Safety
Here comes the fine print… But seriously, we want you to have a great time, which also means not hurting yourself.
We’d strongly recommend wearing a helmet on your push to work even if you wouldn’t normally wear one cruising around.
It’s also worth making sure you’ve got your stopping skills dialed in. Footbraking, power slides, or even just learning which little sections of your route to grab the board and walk a few minutes if things get too hectic.
If you’ve got to carry a change of clothes and a lunch box then we’d suggest grabbing a decent little backpack with chest and waist straps to keep everything secure. You don’t want to be holding a carrier bag!
Achieving maximum Smiles Per Hour
SPH™ is our favourite metric here at Vandem, and we want you to achieve as many smiles per hour as possible. Here are just a few ways you can maximise your SPH™ while commuting on the board:
- Gaps
- Manual challenges
- Grass rides (Hell yeah!)
- People Slalom (way less boring and predictable than cones!)
- Corners! (And when you’ve got them dialled, ride them switch!)
- Race a bike (bonus points if they are wearing lycra and you can keep up)
What to do with all your new spare change?
If you currently get the Train, Bus, or Drive to work then I don’t need to tell you that this is costing you a fortune.
Using my own commute as an example, it would cost me £4.30 every day to get the bus. That’s around £1000 a year. £1000 you could be spending on teabags and biscuits, or a holiday, or all that skate gear you keep thinking about.
We hope you’ve found this insightful and realized that YES! You can skate to work or school, and it will be awesome. Your mind will swell with good vibes when you stroll into your office or classroom having had the best half hour of your day.
Meanwhile, Dave in sales has been sat in traffic listening to a radio station he hates. Don’t be like Dave.
Lush Nomad Cruiser Board - HighRoller
This HighRoller version of the Nomad is a real monster truck of a cruiser board! 70mm+ wheels on a cruiser is pretty crazy but with the right setup, truck width, bushings and risers, it works a treat for the varied sufaces you'll find commuting in the city.
The deck
At 30" long by 9.125" wide the Nomad is a great size for most adult skaters to cruise around in comfort. Cruisey concave keeps it comfortable under your feet for a day of rolling around, and a nose isn't really important for cruising. Without one, the comfy concave carries on all the way to the front of the board and you've got a roomier standing platform.
Wheels, Trucks, & Bearings
The massive wheels on the HighRoller are a far whack bigger than the standard 55-65mm wheels you'll find on most cruisers. They'll have a higher top speed, tons of grip and feel all round smooooooth. A great choice if your commute features some questionable road surfaces like ours here in Bristol.
How does it ride?
Fast, smooth, and comfy, the Nomad is Matts board of choice for crossing Bristol in style.
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One of our best selling shaped boards, the Winkowksi is a big fat radical shredder, great for getting you from A to B and having a real fun time along the way!
The deck
A throwback to the shapes of the mid 80's, the Winkoski uses Santa Cruz incredible Cruz Missile II Concave, at a comfy 10.34" wide. This deck might be made for big transition skating, but it makes one heck of a cruiser!
Wheels, Trucks, & Bearings
For a commuter we'd suggest picking the Elite build, with 65mm Cult Chronicles, Sabre trucks, and Sabre Labyrinth you'll be rolling fast and smooth!
How does it ride?
About as well as it looks! Great concave, a fat two stage tail, and that wide platform make the Winkie a real favourite here at the shop, and its Rob's board of choice for the skate to work.
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Lush Longboards Throttle Short Longboard
The Lush Throttle is a super versatile small longboard, or massive cruiser, or whatever you want to call it. Its compact enough to travel with but long enough to be a bit more stable than a cruiser board. if your commute has a few hills in, this could be the one!
The deck
at 34" x 9.125" The Throttle gives your plenty of standign room, add a functional 6" kicktail and you're ready for whatever the city can throw at you.
Wheels, Trucks, & Bearings
The Elite Throttle is your go-to for an all-round longboard that you can take to the hills for a carve, a slide and maybe more, but is equally comfortable to get you through the city.
How does it ride?
A great candidate for the quiver-killer title, if such a thing is really possible. Super functional, light and nippy, stable and slidey. Awesome.
| The Lush Longboards Throttle Short Longboard is good because... | A Lush Longboards Throttle Short Longboard might not be right for you because... |
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Pantheon Trip Drop-through Longboard
This one's for those who love to go the distance. The Loaded x Pantheon Trip Collab is the ultimate long distance pushing board.
The deck
The Trip Collab enhances Pantheon’s existing Trip model with elements of Loaded’s signature composite construction such as carbon fibre and cork. A 6-ply maple core is sandwiched between layers of triaxial fibreglass with biaxial carbon fibre bottom and cork top sheets. This layup results in a thin, stiff, and lightweight structure with snappy, responsive flex characteristics and improved vibration damping.
Wheels, Trucks, & Bearings
Paris V2 trucks, Sabre Labyrinth bearings and the insanely fast rolling Cult Cultron wheels make the Trip Collab a perfect distance pusher
How does it ride?
Fast! No other board we offer will get you from A to B as quickly and comfortably, especially is your commute involves longer stretches of open road.
| The Pantheon Trip Drop-through Longboard is good because... | A Pantheon Trip Drop-through Longboard might not be right for you because... |
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