How to keep balance and ensure I don't wipe out going 20 MPH

General Discussion
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Hello awesome people of this forum!

I got my Acton Blink S2 like a week ago and have put like 10 to 20 miles (16 to 32 km) on it since I received it. The fastest I’ve gone on it is about 10 MPH which feels very fast but I’m looking forward to going a consistent 20 MPH, so that I can go to college and back in a timely manner. I think going fast isn’t as big of a concern of mine as it is maintaining a proper stance / posture and not falling off.

I stand exactly like this (I have a goofy stance): img_8608web

My first issue is that my front foot & ankle get super fatigued and feel tired after a few minutes of riding. Is this normal? Since I’m a beginner and have never ridden a board before, will it just go away after riding the board for a bit or am I standing on the board / using it incorrectly?

The other, more important, concern of mine is not falling off when I eventually start going 20 MPH. I haven’t gone that fast yet, but over the next few days my goal is to reach that speed (which is the max speed on the Blink S2). Here’s the thing though. Sometimes while going at 10 MPH, my board can sway side-to-side slightly so that makes me feel uneasy. How do you guys make sure to not fall off while going 20+ MPH?

Also, the way to my college is a straight road but since the sidewalks are really messed up, I’m thinking about going on the bike lane the whole way there. I just feel like going 20 MPH right next to cars is super dangerous, even with protective gear. Is it really that bad or am I just overthinking it? Once I get used to 20 MPH, will it be that bad travelling on city streets next to cars?

Please help me stop being a wuss.

Thanks!

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Your stance is regular as per the pic. You are going to find all kinds of new muscles that need to be developed so you’ll be sore for a while. Take your time and get used to the board. Try to learn how to stop without power.

Congrats on the purchase.

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Agreed, you stance seems fine. You are gonna have to develop a different set of muscles than you have before.

Have you ever skated before? It helps a little bit but im still finding sore muscles from esk8

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(Goofy?) Every ones stance is a bit different but, and will change a bit depending on deck shape…

1. You need a weight bias to your front foot (you look like you have lots of weight on your back foot, and have no leverage over the deck with your front control foot). Personally my front foot points diagonally across the board near/on the front truck, with a angle just past 45 degrees.

Bit more angle on the front foot and it will fatigue less as it will have more leverage and not have to work so hard.

My rear foot tends to pivot/ move around and can be any where from almost pointing down the board to almost pointing across it.

Personally I often have my front heel just on the deck edge and my rear toe, I like the grip and the control/leverage it gives me over my heel/toe side rails.

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First thing is get knee and elbow pads, wrist guards and a helmet. Always plan to fall, because you will fall.

Listen to @cobber, dude knows his shit. I would suggest getting a little more straight on the board, as in your feet pointed to the side if the deck, then turn your front foot 5 or 10 degrees towards the front. See if you can get more comfortable that way. Also shoes will help a lot. Get some Vans and decent insoles.

The sway your feeling is likely wobble. You can get rid if some that by tuning your bushings. Ask @Alphamail for advice as I have no idea what bushings are in those trucks.

The deck seems really small, I’ve never ridden one so I’m not sure, but most people feel.most comfortable on a 36 to 40in deck. Maybe you can do a swap to a different deck? Look at the Landyachtz Top Speed and Arbor Vugenhausen, both great decks.

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Adjust the truck tensions to suit your needs. More you tighten, the less it wobbles but harder to turn.

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First you need to keep your weight over your front foot while going straight, shift your weight to the rear when making turns. I would also move your rear foot forward a couple inches, just to help keep your weight forward a little more.

I recommend rotating that front foot a bit to keep it more perpendicular to the board. What you’ve got is a good stance to have when you’re alternating between riding and pushing, but you’re not going to be doing any pushing so you don’t need to keep your toe so forward.

You need to be able to bend your knees, thats an important thing for a good stance, and having your toes too perpendicular from each other is going to prevent you from being able to get low, react, and recover.

For your arms, keep them at your side at or slightly below your hips held away from your body with bent elbows. Imaging like you’re holding two basket balls against your legs. When carving and turning you direct the board with your shoulders, and your hands and arms follow your shoulders and do what they do. Same with your hips, they follow your shoulders as well.

The biggest thing though is you need to practice carving. You need to build up muscles and board feel, but you need to develop it for the whole range of motion that your board is capable of.

There is a saying, loose trucks save lives.

So especially when learning and you’re not going fast keep those trucks just a little more loose than you’re entirely comfortable with. You want to learn to carve edge to edge, which is to say going from the farthest you can lean toe side, to the farthest you can lean heel side, and back.

Carving also keeps your legs moving and blood flowing, so moderate to mild carving is actually less fatiguing than holding a straight line.

When practicing carving also practice bending your knees. You need to get down low, and you are never benind your knees as much as it seems, it should feel like you are sitting on a toilet. You don’t need to ride like that all the time, especially when you’re actually commuting, but you’ll end up dipping down low for things like going over bumps, or braking/accelerating.

Last tip, keep your eyes where you want to go. If your board starts swaying underneath you, do not look down, keep looking forward, keep pointing where you want to go. When that happens you want to get low, put your weight on your front foot, and if you want you can put a hand on your thigh to kinda help you feel the board a little better. But don’t grab your board

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I would definitely suggest a longer deck, larger wheels, and maybe medical insurance, just in case😁

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My advice would be watch longboard/Skateboard safety videos, Knee pads and elbow pads wont stop you from braking your arm, also Gloves are a good idea!

These guys use there hands a lot maybe not the best idea for 20mph but You get the picture.

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Well, for balance just angle your front foot more bend you knees more give 60% of your weight on the front relax and see what works it’s that simple, Just don’t rush anything.

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Thanks for all the helpful tips guys! I learned quite a bit and will definitely put this info into practice like putting more weight towards the front, bending my knees more, and keeping the front foot more perpendicular to the board than I’ve been having it.

I think the wobble is my main concern so I should just tighten the trucks and practice going higher speeds in empty lots before riding on public roads.

Thanks again guys!

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Isn’t this more specific DH posture so you can tuck?

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I don’t mean completely sideways, but definitely not so forward facing to be square with the direction you are heading. Maybe between 12-20 degrees forward.

Not a whole lot of forward facing going on in this video, besides tucks, partial tucks, and heelside drifts.

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Or put another way the only guys not forward facing are doing 180/360’s looping in/out of switch? :thinking:

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Agree with @Cobber . Esk8 is more akin to DH than it is Freeride/Freestyle. Directional, no switch, stability with a purpose in direction. Not so much a dance of de-weighting like Freeride. More so a centered walk on a slackline. Emotionally and physically. Freeride is like a dance with your inner self. Downhill and Esk8 open the doors of understanding your inner self and being at one with it. Free ride more of the present. Downhill being a combination of past and future.

That probably makes no sense. But go down some hills, you might see what I mean @CHAINMAILLEKID

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That speed stance… :ok_hand:

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I’ve been down a hill or two before.

I didn’t post that video because I thought it was similar to Eskate, it was just my favorite and go-to video and just the first thing I pulled up when looking for an example.

So, yeah.

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This one? :slight_smile:

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I went for an awesome ride today and was mindful of my stance after reading this thread. I noticed for myself, i have a way more carvy stance. Almost more like snowboarding but with more forward lean. I adjusted my stance to be more like yours. It makes a lot of sense for stable fast lines. Keeps your center of gravity low and directly above your front axle. Buuuuuttttt… at 10s rolling around 25 mph in flats, I’ll stick with the carvy stance. Thanks for the write up. Very informative.

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Helmet Gloves.

Tightening the rear truck slight more than the front truck can help with high speed stability. Likewise harder rear bushings.

Upgrading the bushings to some high quality after market ones can make a HUGE difference to how stable and controlled the trucks feel. Start here

If you feel a speed wobble starting to come on gently lift off the throttle and try to carve left and right, this will stop the wobble. Speed wobbles can’t really happen while in a turn.

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