Longboarding is already a fun sport but just imagine if you or your kids want to longboard in the rain on wet pavement. To keep it simple and short for you, yes you can longboard on wet pavement and even in the rain.
But how can you longboard on wet pavement? Actually, there are certain instructions to follow for longboarding on wet pavements.
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Can You Longboard On Wet Pavement?
Longboarding on the wet pavement adds to your fun experience because you feel a bit difficult to do it. Those who want to have a thrilling experience in their life are welcome to longboard on the wet pavements.
As a byproduct, your skills in longboarding also improve more than you can think of.
So let’s see what beneficial outcomes you get by longboarding on the wet pavements.
Mind-Blowing Experience
Wet pavements are not the ideal condition for longboarding for a skater of any skill level. But even having said that, we would say that it is always a mind-blowing experience. This is because when you don’t have the favoring conditions for longboarding but you still do it, it becomes an exceptional experience on a whole other level.
You get a lot to talk about by doing this and there’s always an improvement coming your way by facing such challenging situations.
But beware that everyone is not so skilled in the beginning. So there’s a very good chance that you lose control over your board and fall. But if you are wearing complete safety gear and skating at a safe speed, then it is ok even if you fall multiple times.
Lesser Traction Lets You Learn A Lot
Actually, this is a benefit of longboarding on wet pavements or any wet surfaces. This is because sometimes beginners find it very hard to slide. It is because the traction on dry surfaces is a lot more than the wet surfaces.
So, wet pavements make it easy for you to learn to slide.
The most important thing you should know before trying sliding on wet pavements is that you should have full control over your board. It is important that you maintain your balance and speed during sliding on wet surfaces.
It is because when there’s less traction on the surface because of it being wet, your speed may increase suddenly and you fall. So learn to maintain your balance on the board before going for sliding.
Improvement In Your Skills To The Level Of Perfection
For someone who has never ridden a longboard on any wet surface, it is a good chance of doing the undone. You can do much more with your longboarding skill rather than just skating on the roads. It is definite that you’d fall multiple times and may hurt yourself.
But wearing the complete gear will rectify your risk of hurting yourself. Now only falling is left and that’s a good thing if you fall during your ride. It is because every time you fall during the ride, it teaches you something and you get to improve a lot during this whole process.
Why Should Someone Not Longboard On Wet Pavements?
Although we have already told you about some benefits of longboarding on wet pavements, there’re some risks that you should count as well. And those negatives about longboarding on wet pavements are given below.
1. Dangerous
Although riding a longboard on the wet pavements is fun, as we told you there are good chances of you falling off. And it doesn’t matter if you are a skilled skater with all the expertise or you are a beginner, you are going to fall multiple times.
Wearing the safety gear will rectify most of the risks of any injuries but still, it can be dangerous in the most indefinite way you can imagine.
2. Board May Get Damaged
Riding your longboard on the wet pavements is fun if you just ignore all the other facts and go for it. But there’s one thing that’s going to run after you no matter if you fall or not fall even once during the ride.
The wet pavements will get your board to catch dust or mud from the surface. If your board is made of wood or steel material, either way, it will get damaged. The wooden longboard deck gets waterlogged and the metal board deck gets rusty because of water.
If you take good care of it, then it is all ok. But if you don’t care for these risks, the board or at least its parts will get damaged eventually.
3. It May Drain Your Energy
Longboarding requires your full focus on the board and that’s why when you keep riding it for long periods, you will feel tired at the end of the day. It gets so exhausting for beginners or those who don’t have much practice or stamina to ride it in such conditions.
People take longboarding for granted and get into this sport without proper preparations. But if you do this without having enough energy in your body, it will have a big toll on your health.
How Does Water Affect Your Longboard?
You must be wondering if this is so much fun to longboard on wet pavements then why don’t all the experts go for it? Well, the experts are experts for a reason, and they know what it takes to ride a longboard on a wet surface.
The reasons are given below.
1. Deck
Water is not a very good friend of a longboard. It’s because if your longboard is made of metal then it will start rusting because of that. And if the longboard is made of wooden material, still the wood will get waterlogged and start twisting if you don’t dry it immediately after the ride.
Also, the rider should not ride a longboard in too much water and don’t keep it wet for too long.
Also, the grip tape on the deck starts losing its grip on the board. That makes it hard for you to stand on the board and eventually accidents will happen the next time you ride the board. Similarly, either the material your longboard deck is made of, will not be able to hold your weight if you keep doing it.
2. Bearings
So whatever the type of material used in making your longboard, its bearings are always made of metal. And metal is what gets affected by getting wet mostly so bearings are never safe when in contact with water.
Also, if the bearings of a longboard get rusted, they will make it harder for you to ride the board, and eventually, your board will lose its speed.
3. Wheels
Wheels are mostly made of some type of plastic material. Mostly wheels don’t get affected by getting in contact directly with water but still there’s a problem that occurs only during the ride. Water makes the wheels get less traction on the road and that’s why the wheels slide on the pavement.
The layer of water makes it difficult to maintain a certain safe speed on the surface. So wearing proper safety gear which most importantly includes your helmet and the pads is very important.
4. Axles & Spacers
Axles and spacers are also prone to getting damaged but these parts don’t get affected by water right away. Therefore, if you want to not clean them immediately after every ride, you can skip this part.
But the practice always is a little different than being lazy to do something. And for best practice, you should clean it because mud and dirt make these parts rusty. Although rust still doesn’t affect your longboard’s speed you may find it hard to unscrew the board if it gets rusty.
Is Skating In The Rain Acceptable And Safe?
Skateboarding should not be done in the rain or when the weather is damp. The deck may lose its pop and get soggy or delaminate. The grip tape may peel off and cause you to lose grip. The bearings will degrade inside.
Can You Longboard In Wet?
Yes, you can longboard on wet surfaces. But the part of the longboard that mostly gets affected by water is its bearings. Bearings are made of metal and they get rusty if you don’t take care of them.
So it is a good idea to at least dry and cleans them after every use.
Is It Bad To Skateboard On Wet Ground?
Actually, it depends on how well you take care of your longboard after the ride. If you dry and clean the longboard entirely right after the ride, then it is ok to ride on wet ground.
But if you are a little lazy and don’t want to do that, then make sure that you either adopt the above-mentioned protip, or you don’t ride it on wet surfaces.
Can I Skate When It’s Wet Outside?
Longboarding on wet ground is not bad but it is advisable if you can avoid it. It is because your longboard parts will get rusty those that are made of metal. And those parts like the deck which is made of wood will get water clogged and it will start expanding.
Your balance on the board and the amount of weight it can carry will get affected in the long term. So make sure to take precautionary measures if you want to ride the longboard on wet ground.
Pro Tip: Experienced longboard riders always know what comes after this amazing experience. Therefore, they keep cheap bearings for such moments extra than their original expensive ones. That’s how they don’t let their original ones get ruined that easily because they change them with cheaper ones before their ride on the wet pavements.
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