Most wipeouts I've had on my longboard are when the board stops suddenly from debris and you continue moving forward, usually with your feet trailing slightly behind. Its a recipe for injury, and its why this mode of transport is only for those capable of taking a good tumble every now and then. The solution is to not travel faster than you can run, and to always be vigilant for small rocks, twigs, sand, and especially things that will jam under a wheel but continue to slide forward like pinecones.
The length of the longboard mostly prevents speed wobble which is an uncontrollable side to side swaying which tends to increase in amplitude once it starts.
A few addendums, from someone who spends too much time and money on longboards built for going fast. You generally only encounter the issue of the board stopping suddenly on small debris (referred to by street skaters as 'chalking') when you are traveling close to walking speed on small wheels. I personally skate around 3x walking speed, and these boosted boards would make that even higher.
Secondly, speed wobbles are caused by riders primarily, with gear only impacting it slightly. Put a new rider on a fantastic downhill setup, and they'll probably get speed wobbles, whereas experienced riders can have no trouble riding short, turny board at highspeed. (Look up Maryhill for more info, it's a race where slalom boards are commonly used).
It's partially about weight distribution, and partially about confidence. For the most part, biasing your weight distribution towards your front foot, and making sure you lead your steering with your front foot, and you'll be fine. The rest comes with experience. Does your commute contain any downhill sections?
Absolutely correct. On a longboard at speed, you have to keep your weight forward. This is partly to keep the front truck under control, and partly because flex in the board means that the end of the board with most of the weight steers more.
If you panic and lean back, you're effectively only steering with the rear truck, which is not a dynamically-stable situation. Things go wrong very quickly at that point.
Ah, I tend to keep my weight fairly centered at speed so I'm stable if I have to break tuck. Also, I don't ride a deck with any flex, and I ride split angle trucks so I inherently have more turn in the front. But yeah, for beginners, weight on the front.
Good point. A centered stance might be ideal, and may just seem 'forward' in comparison to the typical shortboard stance.
And now I think about it, it might not be board flex that limits front-truck turning when leaning back - rather, the lack of weight on the front truck might allow the outside wheel to lift. Either way, it's a bad situation.
There is a slight downhill for the first 300meters or so, then it's basically dead flat. I don't expect to ever be going super-fast or anything on the commute, more like only when I actually go a seek out a steeper hill.
Right, okay. When you do start hitting hills, make sure you have a helmet, slide gloves and optionally pads. Your first priority should be learning a shutdown slide. Search "coleman slide" on Youtube, safest way to stop a longboard.
This is why it is important to keep your weight closer to the tail and never stand directly over the trucks at high speeds. This will help to be less rigid as the wheels pass over the debria.
The length of the longboard mostly prevents speed wobble which is an uncontrollable side to side swaying which tends to increase in amplitude once it starts.