honestly, this is just my opinion, many of you may not like this, but i think that longboards are not meant to be on the road, this does not mean they are not supposed to be on the road, but the intention isnt necessarily to skate in traffic, its about doing our things on their roads. This is where i think the sport has to go, because some people use it for transportation, others for sport, and i think its fair to say that those of us who do it for sport wish nothing more than to have private areas to practice, where we dont have to worry about anything but our riding. imho its like skiing on a snowy road, from the traffics perspective its just plain stupid. but from an athletic pov where there are no ski hills, its the only option. but you dont see norwegians making ski brakes so they can stop for traffic do we? might sound straight up fucking stoopid but it made sense in my head.
my conclusion is, learn to stop by yourself, it feels way cooler.
this post isnt really part of the conversation, but its just my opinion on the electric longboard trend im seeing...
I disagree with what you said, "Not meant to be on the road". So would you like to explain why Toronto's city has spent millions of dollars and wasted space to put bicycle lanes on our roads? Think of it, if we use the sidewalk, it will cause dangers. Heck, bicyclers have brakes we all know and we dont, riding on a longboard on a sidewalk is very difficult going downhill and trying to footbrake. if you still dont understand, imagine a family with a baby cart coming your way and you dont have an option other than to hit the parked car on the side or bail on the grass with hopes of not getting hurt. Or people with dogs for instance... weve all had our experiences with dogs...
As for the people who "Practice" on the roads, Who the hell does that on a busy road? Who practices drifting or kickflipping in the middle of a mainstreet such as yonge street? This goes for skateboarders too (having so many skateboarder friends), we all "Practice" on our home roads, its common sense.
Riding on the street is a ton safer, just try to use hand signals or know where youre going such as a new hill, dont go down it, walk it first. You never know when a random curve or crack on the road will screw you over. I board everyday, recently found out i put 13kms on my boards everytime i go out. Stupid people here dont like to stop behind the white line where stop signs says to and the fact that they dont use signal lights royally screws us over.
if anything i swear on a 2 lane road id say the middle of the road is the safest in case the car is turning right and you smash into the side...... I dont know just be careful.
Regarding the stopping situations... we need a design like a kicktail that allows us to stop or a braking system in the bearings of some sort. but then again this might create friction in the bearings... neither wheels can be of help because theyll start wearing down. I think that pedal method is great but not all of us have a random hole in our boards to fit it.
Maybe combine it with the drop-through holes?
