Finally got a board. Now I need help

[TheGreenMachine]

So just the other day I got an MBS Comp 16 pro on eBay. F3 or F4 bindings, some kind of gray tires and Matrix trucks, but im brand new to this so I dont know how anything works.

1. How do I adjust my board to turn more or less? In longboarding you tighten or loosen your trucks or get new bushings, is there a mountainboarding equal to this?

2. I heard about flipping your trucks, how is this done and what does it do?

3. How much should I inflate my tires?

4. I saw people sliding mountainboards and dragging their hands. What gloves do you wear for this?

And finally, anyone know any good spots in Washington? I need more places to ride

[Mikael]

1. Yes there is, it's two screws per truck, they stick out on top of the board. Can't miss them.

2. This is about turning your trucks around, so that the flat part is at the bottom (it'll make sense once you look at your board). It makes your board sit higher, makes it shorter and stiffer. Lots of people like it.

3. It depends what you're riding and how good you are. The more you inflate them, the faster you'll go. If you're gonna start on a gentle dirt/grass hill, you probably want something like 30 psi. If you got rockstar hubs (5-spoked plastic hubs), don't go over 50.

4. Just about anything will do, but gardening gloves are cheap and work good.

5. No idea, sorry.

[Joker]

On those gloves, if you are planning on doing that on street, or mild concrete/ rocks, I have seen some people take thick plastic discs and glue them onto their gloves around the palm area so that they don't ruin the gloves when you slide. A lot of longboarders do it too fyi.

[TheGreenMachine]

My board got here today. Its pretty amazing, great condition and works great too. But I want to turn more, I think I might just be too light weight at 140 lbs. Even with the trucks screws all the way loosened and soft MBS yellow eggs, its not enough turn. What can I do?

Oh, and is wheel wobble normal? All of my wheels are wobbly, the front two more than the back.

[Tom's 180's]

Tighten your trucks. This will make it harder to turn but seeming as you are just starting, i think it's just a case of practicing turns.

Or, if it's speed wobbles, you'll learn to control these with time.

[ade_mcc]

Even with the trucks screws all the way loosened and soft MBS yellow eggs, its not enough turn. What can I do?

Try to shift your weight more toeside or heelside. If you can upload a short video of yourself riding there are plenty of instructors on here who can provide useful advice.

Oh, and is wheel wobble normal? All of my wheels are wobbly, the front two more than the back.

Do you mean that the wheels wobble side to side (could be knackered bearings or loose wheel nuts, or lack of bearing spacers) or that trucks wobble up and down (due to your loose trucks)?

[TheGreenMachine]

The wheels wobble side to side, like the tire is on weird, bearings and hubs look normal and not wobbly. The wheels do not move side to side on the axle, nuts are tight. When I get home im gonna clean my whole setup and check for spacers

What does the allen screw on the bearing on the truck do? Should it be adjusted?

[Mikael]

Loose trucks with yellow eggs are plenty turny,
If you feel like it's not turning enough, you're probably going too slow. You need to find a nice wide hill where you can pick up a little speed. There you'll see that your trucks might be a little too loose after all...

As for the wheel wobble, it could be that your hubs are damaged and bent (happens a lot on the plastick 5-spoke rockstars), or it could be just a matter of centering the tire better.

[ade_mcc]

The wheels wobble side to side, like the tire is on weird, bearings and hubs look normal and not wobbly. The wheels do not move side to side on the axle, nuts are tight. When I get home im gonna clean my whole setup and check for spacers

Several sets of my wheels on both MBS and noSno have wobbled slightly, most notably on a set of plastic Rockstars that appeared to shift by maybe couple of millimetres. You could see the wobble when spinning freely but never affected the ride at all. Are you talking about the same degree of wobble and is it affecting your riding If not, I'd say don't worry about it.

What does the allen screw on the bearing on the truck do? Should it be adjusted?

Do you mean the kingpin that goes through the middle providing a pivot point from Top Hangers to Axle? If so, on my Matrix's it can be fully tightened and still not cause resistance to the turning. As long as it's nice and tight it should be fine.

Going back to your previous question, given your weight and setup it sounds as if it may be your technique rather than your equipment that is preventing reasonable turning.

[Brandonimus]

What do you all use to inflate your tires? I've tried using a standard bike pump, but the valve doesn't stick out far enough from the hub to lock the pump in. Any suggestions?

[Ben]

What do you all use to inflate your tires? I've tried using a standard bike pump, but the valve doesn't stick out far enough from the hub to lock the pump in. Any suggestions?

might find some usefull info here:

http://www.surfingdirt.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7140

there and more threads about this. just type in the search box above.

generally there are two things to look for. small head that can fit inside the wheel (as it seems you have already noticed)
and a flexible hose is normally quite useful although you can manage without.

[DamoH]

I use a shock pump (a pump designed for mountain bike suspension) to pump up my tyres. It screws onto the valve and stops you from loosing any air when disconnecting it. The gauge on it is good too.

[Ben]

I use a shock pump (a pump designed for mountain bike suspension) to pump up my tyres. It screws onto the valve and stops you from loosing any air when disconnecting it. The gauge on it is good too.

same here. works great

[Mr_Wobble]

Shock pumps sound great. Most annoying problem I have when inflating the tyres on my boards is loosing so much pressure when disconnecting the hose. Sometimes so much that I have to reconnect and reinflate again.
Are they actually called "shock pumps", and will a search on a mountain bike spares/parts website bring them up?
How much are the too?

[Ben]

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/SearchResults.aspx?Search=shock+pump


if your not familiar with 'Chain Reaction' then you should, its one of the best uk sites for type of sport,

[DamoH]

I bought mine for £15 on eBay (new). It's made by a company called Beto.
It's this one....

https://www.google.co.uk/shopping/product/18313165937073336895?q=beto%20shock%20pump&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-gb&client=safari&sa=X&ei=DAUVUeWeDsyY1AXH9IHADQ&ved=0CC0Q8wIwAA#hsec:overview

[Mr_Wobble]

Thank you for the links. I've done some searching too, and found quite a few. I'll be adding one to my shopping list when I have a few spare pennies.

[indigo_wolf]

And finally, anyone know any good spots in Washington? I need more places to ride

Washington state or Washington, DC? Makes all the difference in the world

ATB,
Sam