UCSD Longboard Transportation

<p>Hey CC members!</p>

<p>So I'm currently a senior in High School expecting to go to UCSD during Fall of 2010. I've never been a big fan of skateboarding or whatever, but recently, I was talking to one of my friends who attends Merced, and he said that many people ride longboards now. At first, I thought, "meh, it's a longboard. It can't be that long of a walk." Then I talked to my teacher who is a UCSD alumni; he said that UCSD is kind of too long to walk the whole time yet too short to be riding bikes. </p>

<p>I have decent hand eye coordination, so I will catch on fast. If someone makes a valid point about these longboards, I will probably order one off the internet sometime soon and chill with it during the meantime. I mean, I might as well make its value!</p>

<p>So should I get a longboard?</p>

<p>Thanks :)</p>

<p>Lots of people wipe out on skateboards/longboards due to the multitude of steep hills on campus. It’s hilarious. (no offense)</p>

<p>This is coming from a person who doesn’t know how to skateboard, but I don’t think the campus is too small for a bike if you were really considering it. I bike everywhere.</p>

<p>campus is huge. bike, board, fruitboot, whatever. i just wouldnt recommend walking all the time, its huge</p>

<p>I walk everywhere and I love it! It makes me feel healthier. It does take longer than other modes of transportation though so you do have to factor that in.</p>

<p>Ahhh, I have a lot to think about. I’ve visited, but that was back in sophomore (HS) year. Sighh, I guess I’ll buy something like that after I visit them again in spring break.</p>

<p>Do you guys remember when SD sends out their letters?</p>

<p>Late March</p>

<p>honestly you will have no problem walking. campus is not THAT big. most classes are central, the exception is york to warren but thats just one situation. campus is big if you consider SPANOS to Revelle to the Med School to Warren, but classes are usually not in the extremities. 10 minutes is more than enough time, just walk fast and dont stop and chat if your classes are far.</p>

<p>^That’s definitely true. You can get between class in 10 minutes so that’s not a problem. I personally though am glad I have a bike. It’s just quicker and easier.</p>

<p>I learned how to longboard after coming to UCSD and I absolutely fell in love. I HIGHLY recommend getting one. If you find you really like it, check out FLOW, the school’s official longboarding club. My best friend is the vice president and they have tons of neat stuff planned out</p>

<p>

You don’t need hand-eye coordination to ride a longboard…
UCSD isn’t too small to ride a bike. Walking is more convenient than biking/longboarding sometimes because of the hills.</p>

<p>If I have never skateboarded/longboarded before, (the closest I’ve gotten to that is a razr) then do you think it will be hard to learn how to longboard? Or should I just stick with my trusty bike?</p>

<p>Longboarding isn’t that hard. I didn’t know how to skateboard or longboard prior to coming to UCSD, but one of my roommates is really into longboarding so he got me to buy one as well, and I did. At first I was hesitant because I’m not really good at balancing on boards, but it isn’t that hard to learn. The only steep hills that are hard to go down is when you are coming from one of the colleges on the West side of campus and coming down to Library Walk. Other than that, the hills aren’t that steep and you should be able to go down most of them. I definitely suggest getting one. It’s an investment that I feel was well worth my money.</p>

<p>Well, I’ve ridden my friend’s board before. It’s really not that hard. Not into that many tricks, but I want a pretty board. Should I stick to a small board or a large board and anyone have any good suggestions for <$150?</p>

<p>Thanks :]</p>

<p>my board is 33 inches and i really like this size. i’m not an expert, but from my experiences, the smaller the board = the more fun it is to cruise around, while the longer the board = the more stable and better it is for cruising. you’ll have more fun with the small boards, but its a bit harder to go down hills with them (this is just my experiences from riding my friend’s boards, i’m definitely not an expert)</p>

<p>in order to get it under 150, you should prolly look at the gravity boards, which is what i got for 150.</p>

<p>I’m going to suggest that you stay the **** away from short boards. My best friend bought one last year and ended up almost cracking his skull open. I tried riding that thing and it was no fun at all. It was a ***** to slide or dance on.</p>

<p>I started off with a pretty damn long board (60") and recently switched to a 40" Flexdex Rubbersoul. Love them both to death.</p>

<p>I could hook you with an awesome setup for about $150 right now but you won’t be here at SD for a while… If you still remember, PM me at the start of the school year and I’ll see what I can do for you. I can get discounts from Muir Skate and one of my friends at SD is opening up his own longboard company. We’ll see how that goes…</p>

<p>Here’s my current set-up:
<a href=“http://www.■■■■■■■■■■/photos/mister0h/4123988041/[/url]”>http://www.■■■■■■■■■■/photos/mister0h/4123988041/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Flexdex Rubbersoul (I got it for free but they retail for $90)
Orangatang Stimulus Freerides ($50ish)
Randall 180 Trucks ($40ish)
Khiro Bushings ($5ish)
Bones Reds Bearings ($15ish)</p>

<p>I ride my friend’s longboard which is 28 inches all the time and it is really really fun to ride, more fun than mine and the longer boards. If you plan on doing downhill racing and sliding and such, then no… obviously you wouldn’t get a short board. But if your only goal is to get from point A to point B at UCSD, a short board is definitely a good, fun option. Keep your options open. The one thing I like about short boards is that most of them have kick tails which allows you to do a lot of fun stuff. The longer boards are more stable, but its harder to maneuver through crowds, while with shorter boards you can weave around really easily.</p>