Imagine, you are riding out on your skateboard at the speed of light. You start to feel like a speed god. Suddenly you sensed something wrong. It is those wheels at the bottom of your skateboard; they’re trembling. You can’t help but let out a fearful “mama!” cry. The “deathly” wobble has turned you into a terrified boy from a speed god. Read this article to know how to avoid these kinds of situations.
The Curious Case of Speed Wobble
The speed wobble is an often-seen incident while riding a skateboard. It mostly happens when the wheels start to vibrate in their place within a particular frequency range. That being the most elaborate definition of it out there, you can also just identify them from the sudden trembling of your wheel.
One very interesting fact about speed wobble is that it starts even before you identify it. The wheels start to vibrate more and more. The rider eventually notices but then it becomes too late to act upon.
The Speed Wobble Effect
The speed wobble is a serious cause to have concern about one’s safety. The experienced riders are not unaffected by it. That only leaves us to wonder about the horror the new riders feel.
Specifically, this is very dangerous for off-road skaters. The terrain is not easy to traverse. Sometimes wobbles due to high and low areas are hard to separate from speed wobble. So, they are at more risk.
The speed wobble is often seen in electric skateboards. Those boards can go at a very high speed. The higher the speed is, the more is the possibility of speed wobble’s happening.
I Know Why It Wobbled Last Summer
There are many reasons behind speed wobbles. It might be you, your posture. It is hard to tell if the wobble is caused by the board.
Sometimes the rider unknowingly becomes the cause of speed wobble. Beginner speedsters often find it hard to shift the weight on the board. So, eventually the weight shift affects the wheels.
When riders put more pressure on front of the board, that causes acceleration. The wheels at the front are directly under pressure, so they start wobbling.
Foot placement also, in the similar way, affects the probability of speed wobble. Placing the foot on the wrong part of the board means that the wheels are affected by that too. The magnitude of the wobble that can be caused by this simple thing is unimaginable.
Most of the time, wobble is caused because there is something wrong with the board. For example, it wobbles when your trucks are not tightened enough. Sure, loose trucks can help them go even faster. But this one is a balancing act. The things to balance between is not something that should cause some dilemma. If you leave them loose for gaining higher speed, they might cause you serious accidents. If you tighten them up just enough, the speed mightn’t reach the highest possible value but it will be safe.
Dr. Speedlove or: How I Learned to Stop The Wobble and Love the Ride
The speed wobble is better prevented than only knowing about it after something happened.
The effort in fighting against speed wobble starts with you. Don’t try to do risky posture on top of your board. Though you can try that if you are experienced enough. But I wouldn’t recommend you to do any weight shifting movement onboard if you are just starting out.
Ride off-road or rough terrain only after you have covered the basics. Knowing where to put the foot on is necessary if you want to keep riding on your beloved skateboard.
Take care of your electric board. Always check trucks and wheels before you ride on it. As I have said before, tightening the truck has almost no negative impacts. It’ll make your ride more comfortable eventually.
You should also check the tightness of the front and back trucks. Sometimes one of those pairs of wheels are tightened to a higher degree than the other pair. This causes the speed to either bump up or fall down. Both situations are extreme and can cause a serious degree of wobble in your wheel.
The length of the base sometimes can prevent the effect of speed wobble. The base itself can’t affect the wheels and hence can’t directly stop the wobble. But with a larger base comes more chances to stand steadily on the board. This helps you to sometimes escape from the death trap of speed wobble. But I would suggest not to depend on this.
Conclusion
Speed wobble can be very fatal. Because of that, it is essential to know what causes them and how to prevent them. Never ignore any signs that suggest speed wobble of your board. Take care of your board, polish your basics and only in that way, you can escape from the clutch of speed wobble.
