THE BEST LONGBOARDS FOR BEGINNERS - 6 EASY SUGGESTIONS
There's a whole load of choice on our longboard racks these days - it can be confusing deciding which one you want, especially if you're a beginner!
We've put together a quickfire list of easy suggestions to help you choose.
If you want to know more, here's a list of the questions we get asked the most by skaters like you!
Lush Freebyrd Lo-Pro
The most popular board in our shop right now, with good reason... the Lush Freebyrd represents seriously good value for money!
The deck
The Freebyrd is a rockered-drop-through - which makes it very low to the ground (more stable, easier to push), and very beginner-friendly. Pressed from Canadian maple, this is a quality board and no mistake. Comes with die-cut griptape, natual wood veneer finish and an understanted graphic.
Wheels, Trucks, & Bearings
Lush do not much about when it comes to components, and the Freebyrd features a choice of two builds - the "Pro" and "Elite" completes. Both are fully stacked out with aftermarket components from Sabre Trucks and Cult Wheels.
Both the Elite and the Pro builds come with Sabre Standard trucks, which are some of the strongest, best turning trucks available right now. Super-strong gravity cast construction, Sabre's aftermarket pivot cups and bushings as standard - longboard trucks don't really get any nicer than this.
The Elite setup is rolling on Cult Road Warrior Race wheels - race proven, super grippy and super fast - a real step up compared to most completes at this price point. Rolling on Sabre's new Bulit In Labyrinth bearings, this is a premium complete and no mistake.
The Pro setup is rolling on cheaper ABEC5 metal shielded bearings with Cult Emperor freeride wheels - not quite a grippy or fast, but still on a par with other drop-throughs in the £170-£200 price point, making this very competative for the money.
This is a fully specced complete, loaded with aftermarket components - perfect for all levels of skater.
How does it ride?
Ideally suited to total beginners, the low ride height of the Freebyrd is a great board to get started with. It's easy to master the basics of longboarding on: pushing, footbraking and sliding. Awesome value, the Freebyrd is a great board to start your longboard journey!
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Loaded Icarus
Top-notch carver and cruising longboard from Loaded, this is about as sweet as longboards get!
The deck
Made in California, the Loaded Icarus is pressed from Bamboo and fibreglass into a refined 3-dimensional concave. You can choose your flex to suit your riding style, too!
Wheels, Trucks, & Bearings
We build these up into custom completes using Paris trucks, Cult Wheels and Sabre bearings - the finest components we can find in the shop. You can also buy the Icarus deck only if you want to put your own hardware on there.
How does it ride?
The Icarus is a premium longboard - it's built to carve and pump with ease. The diffreneces between this and a cheaper board are immediately obvious - it's light, flexy, repsonsive and comfortable. It is quite high off the gound thanks to the cambered profile, but if you're a pumper rather than a pusher that's not a problem.
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Lush Legend X-Flex
Lush's dancing board is a great entry into dancing and freestyle longboarding.
The Deck
Pressed from Canadian Maple and Fibreglass, the Lush Legend features rocker, a mellow concave and some decent kicks. A symmetrical shape is perfect for flips and shuvits, and there is plenty of room for dancing footwork.
Wheels, Trucks, & Bearings
You can choose your build spec to suit your budget. These boards are built up with premium Sabre trucks and bearings, and rolling on Cult Wheels. Quality aftermarket gear whichever spec you go for!
How does it ride?
As a dancer, the Legend is quite a bit longer than the other boards on this list - but that extra space makes dancing tricks a lot easier. It makes a good cruiser, too - if you are ok with the length!
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Arbor Fish
A shorter pintail shape from Arbor, the Fish 37" is a great board if you are a smaller rider or are put off by the length of other longboards.
The Deck
Arbor decks are very nicely finished, and the Fish 37" is no exception to this. With a Koa topsheet and simple woodstain bottom finish, the Fish is a real looker. The narrower deck width is especially suited to smaller feet.
Wheels, Trucks, & Bearings
Built up with Arbor's own wheels and bearings, and Paris V2 150mm trucks, this is a great spec for the price. Aftermarket Paris trucks are well known for their great response and nice turn.
How does it ride?
Being a bit shorter than other longboards, especially pintails, the Fish is nice and responsive with a quick turn. It turns noticably better than a drop-through, and looks great doing it.
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Arbor Drop Cruiser
Need to get low? The Arbor Drop Cruiser is a primo drop-down, dropped-through cruising longboard. A lowered deck works in conjunction with the drop-through trucks to create a super low ride height, perfect for pushing longer distances.
The Deck
The Arbor Drop Cruiser deck is longer than a lot of other longboards out there, which gives plenty of room for your feet. It's fairly stiff, making this a good choice for bigger skaters, or those who don't want a lot of flex.
Wheels, Trucks, & Bearings
The most important part of any longboard is the trucks, and the Drop Cruiser cuts no corners in this department with aftermarket Paris Trucks. Arbor's own ABEC7 bearings are well shielded and roll well, and Arbor spec their own 69mm "Easyrider" wheels. Poured from a decent urethane, at 69mm this is a good compromise between rollover and keeping the whole setup nice and low.
How does it ride?
The Drop Cruiser feels very planted and comfortable. It's a great choice for longer distance journeys, or for bigger skaters. Lots of space for your feet and a low ride height means that it's also really well suited to beginners.
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Lush Mako Pintail
The Lush Mako is the best selling pintail on our shop racks right now, with good reason - you get a lot of board for not a lot of money!
The Deck
The Mako is a little fatter and more rounded than other pintails out there, which creates a lot more footspace. This is great if you are just setting out, and even creates the possibility of leanring a few dancing tricks. Not many pintails can do that!
Wheels, Trucks, & Bearings
Like other Lush boards, you can specify your setup to meet you budget. The "Pro" is probably the best value - killer Cult urethane, strong and turny Sabre Trucks, and fast-rolling Sabre built-in bearings. To see bearings with built-in spacers at this pricepoint is unique.
How does it ride?
The Mako is pretty much spot on as a cruiser for beginners. At 44", it's not too long, but long enough. There's a nice flex to the deck, not too much concave and the setups are responsive - all the ingredients you need for a great cruising longboard.
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How do I choose the right longboard?
The term "Longboarding" covers a huge range of different kinds of skateboarding. As such, there are a lot of different kinds of longboards out there, all optimised for different things, with a lot of features to choose from.
This can make it quite difficult to choose which board to get, so as well as the six quickfire suggestions above, we've distilled the basics of longboarding for beginners to digest and understand.
The more you understand about longboarding, the better suited your board will be to you when you buy it - and the more fun you'll have.
And that's what longboarding is about - fun!
What different kinds of longboards are there?
Longboards come in all shapes and sizes. The most common are pintails, drop-throughs, drop-downs and dancing longboards. Beyond this there are many other more specialised varieties, like downhill and freeride longboards, pumping/long-distance boards, oversized skateboards and more. These are more optimised for certain types of longboarding.
Want to understand different sizes of board? Check our guide on choosing the right size longboard deck.
Which longboard should I get?
If you're just starting out, then the simple choice is between a pintail or a drop-through. If you have skated before, then a longboard with a kicktail is worth a look. If you are getting into a certain style of longboarding, then get the most suitable - eg for dancing, get a dancer, for downhill, get a downhill deck.
What is a pintail longboard good for?
Pintails are timeless, surfy shaped longboards that are great for all kinds of cruising. Whilst perhaps not as functional as drop-throughs and drop-downs, they have that classic look that is synonymous with sidewalk surfing. Pintails are great for cruising around the streets in style!
Pintails are "top-mounted," in other words the trucks are mounted on the underside of the deck like a regular skateboard. As long as a pintail has a quality pair of trucks, it'll give a mellow, cruisy turn that feels much nicer than a drop through.
Pintails also have more deck space than a drop-through, which makes them a bit easier to stand on for total beginners.
The downside of a pintail is that it's higher than a drop-through - so less stable, and harder to push, brake and slide.
Is a drop-through longboard good for beginners?
Drop-through boards are functionally the best for beginners. They are super-low to the ground, which makes them easy to push, footbrake and slide. Drop-through longboards are a great place to start longboarding, as they make it easy to learn all the basics of longboarding.
Compared to a pintail, a drop-through will not turn as nicely - although this is a very subjective thing and can be largely remedied with a quality pair of trucks.
Drop-throughs can have less deck space than pintails, which makes them less suitable for dancing and tricks.
What is the best longboard for dancing?
Dancing longboards are longer than other boards to allow room for footwork and dancing steps. They are often symmetrical, and have kicks at the nose and tail to make flips, manuals and shuvits easier. Dancing longboards sometimes have composite construction to make them lighter, tougher and stronger.
Should I get a cruiser board or a longboard?
If you are skating shorter distances and value portability, we'd recommend you look at cruiser boards rather than longboards. They are harder to skate, but the ability to ollie up and down kerbs and carry around a bit more easily makes them very suited to inner-city environments. For longer distances and a mellow, cruisier ride, a longboard is the way to go!
Check out our cruiser board buyer's guide for more, or view all our cruisers in one place right here!
