Political economy3 Comments
COVER_for_Ultraskate_2021

Ultraskate 2021 amidst a pandemic

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In early 2021, while the covid-19 pandemic was still raging, and after many events had had to be canceled or postponed in the struggle against the spread of the disease, the IDSA decided to hold the Ultraskate event in Miami anyway. This decision can only be explained by weighing the interests involved against each other (of which public health interests are part). In this post I try to reappraise this conflict of interests to the best of my available resources. Continue reading Ultraskate 2021 amidst a pandemic

Math6 Comments

Skateboard physics: wheel lift

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In this post, I argue it’s essentially the difference in stiffness between the rear and front truck that causes wheel-lift. A shorter axle makes wheel lift more probable by placing the possible axis of rotation (of the wheel-lift) closer to the middle of the board (and therefore the rider’s weight further out from that axis). However, balanced front-rear truck stiffness would make wheel lift impossible, by placing that axis entirely out of reach for the rider’s weight. Continue reading Skateboard physics: wheel lift

Math2 Comments

Skateboard physics: moment of inertia

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Understanding which forces are at play when the axle rotates on the ground is a pesky problem of mine. The goal is to obtain a good understanding of the effect that different axle lengths have when turning (an effect that’s overstated, I feel, in the community). It turns out the problem is not so unattackable. In this post, I report what I’ve found so far. Continue reading Skateboard physics: moment of inertia

SociologyLeave a comment

Brain bugs II

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I stumbled upon the following tweet-storm the other day. It’s just too relevant to what I see in the longboard community not to post: “We lie to ourselves all the time. In fact, our thinking processes evolved to help us lie to ourselves about the facts around us. Why? Because being accurate about the world around you was often less important than agreeing with the people around you.” Continue reading Brain bugs II

Math4 Comments

Skateboard physics: squeezing bushings

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Occasionally, people assert that TKP trucks (i.e., trucks with significant forward rake) turn “progressively,” while RKP trucks (i.e., trucks with minimal rake) turn more “linearly”. That, at first glance, can only mean that the trucks resist turning in such ways. In this post, I check for patterns in the way trucks resist when a rider leans on a skateboard. Continue reading Skateboard physics: squeezing bushings