Longboard vs cruiser : what’s the difference ? All Information

So you are in the market for a longboard. You reject all the possibilities of street skateboarding, because you need something more versatile and comfortable to ride and you are not into pure trick skating.

Usually you want something you can drive and commute, every day, such as at a train station, or just for a ride to a store or park. But if you explore the options available online or in skateboard stores, you’re embarrassed if you have to take a “longboard” or “cruiser”.

So what’s the difference between a longboard and a cruiser? The Cruiser is a shorter and lighter board that is sensitive and agile enough to ride in tight areas of the city. A full-size longboard bends over a wider radius, but will be stronger at high speeds. Longboards are great for long-distance travel, commuting on open roads and riding in larger hills.

The above definition alone is not enough to help you decide what types of boards you need. Let’s take a closer look at what it means to choose a “cruiser” versus a “longboard”. So in this article we discussed all difference between Longboard vs cruiser.

Longboard vs cruiser : a confusing terminology?

Longboard vs cruiser:

Let’s clarify one thing first: the term “longboard” refers to any 4-wheel board that is not a traditional street skateboard (aka “trick”). “Skateboard” usually means symmetrical popsicle-shaped tires with 2 rear kicks attached to a traditional truck with small fixed wheels, very suitable for ollies, flips and rail grinds.

Longboards are usually bigger than skateboards – bigger decks, bigger trucks, bigger wheels. This is what distinguishes these two. Because the longboards are larger, they are more comfortable and stable to ride. Okay, what about the cruisers? Cruiser is any longboard whose configuration is optimized for cruising, ie. push and go places. However, this definition is less useful because it applies to a very wide range of longboards of all sizes and shapes!

The term “cruiser” usually means “mini longboard” or “mini cruiser”, which means a shorter board. Thus, the opposition of the term “longboard” to “cruiser” is already beginning to make sense: “longboard” in this context refers to boards that are larger / larger than mini-cruisers.

One last thing about this: a cruiser (actually a mini-cruiser) can be similar or smaller in size than a street skateboard. Wheels and tire shape can be the same thing that differentiate the two types.

Now let’s dive deeper and see exactly what the difference is between a cruiser and a longboard.

Riding on Longboard vs cruiser:

Cruise: between the road and the longboard

What’s the point of cruising in the first place on the longboarding market? This is because cruisers meet the need for something between a street skateboard and a full-size longboard.

Many skaters like to skate on a daily commute to the city and on regular trips around the city. For busy and congested city streets and sidewalks, street skateboards are always more agile, less cumbersome and easier to carry than heavy 38 ″ or longer longboards. However, if you’ve ever skateboarded on the street, you know how annoying and slow these cruiseboards are because of the loud vibrations and vibrations you get from small rigid wheels and a rigid deck.

Enter the mini-cruiser and fill this void: they are agile and portable like a skateboard, but with a certain riding comfort you get on a full-fledged longboard. This is mainly because the wheels are larger than the road board and usually more comfortable in shape.

Urban transport versus long distance travel

The most important use of the cruiser is short-distance transport. Walk through the city, navigate things and people on the sidewalks and busy streets. It is small and light and easy to wear everywhere: to the shop, office, restaurant (under the table), to the bus, to the train … It fits on the roof of the plane.

Full-size longboards, on the other hand, are heavier and larger. But: they are firm and smooth for longer distances and higher speeds, such as country roads. They usually allow pushing more efficiently and effortlessly. Due to their size and weight, they can pick up speed faster and faster. They can handle higher speeds well, so they are a good choice for driving under them. On the other hand, larger boards have a larger turning radius and are therefore not as agile as a cruiser in a confined space.

Deck Size:

Factor number 1 in the difference between a cruiser (ie mini-cruiser) and a longboard is the size of the deck. Cruiser decks are usually no longer than 34 ″ (typically 28 ″ –32 ″) and narrower (<8.5). Landyachtz Dinghy, a very popular cruiser (read my full review here), has a deck size of 28.5 ″ x 8 ″. On the other hand, longboard cruisers usually have decks 36 ″ to 42 in length and 8.5 ″ to 10 wide.

Why is this important? The length of the tire and the wheelbase (distance between the front and rear trucks) will affect the ability of the plate to turn. The cruisers’ short decks make it easier for the board to “go a dime” to avoid cracks and obstacles. Larger longboards have wider arches. On the other hand, the cruiser is usually less robust than a full-size longboard, especially at higher speeds. The short wheelbase in combination with free trucks (see below) often leads to strong shocks when descending steep hills. Longboards are faster in speed due to the high wheelbase.

Flex is generally very different for longboards, but other bends can help make riding more comfortable on uneven terrain, easier on joints and help with shaping. Cruisers usually have a stiffer deck to allow more pop when using kicks. 

Shape Difference:

Many motor boats have a surfboard-like shape, asymmetrical with a square or round square (“squash”) tail at the rear and a pointed nose at the front.

They always have a kicking tail – and sometimes a small kick in the nose – for performing tricks and manuals and popping up small cracks.

This is another thing with mini-cruisers: they are very small (almost the size of a skateboard) and it’s easy for you to do fine tricks on them when you crawl through the city, such as kickflips, kick-turns, jumping on or in corners.

I say “soft tricks” because cruisers are often heavier than road boards because they have bigger wheels. So while some riders may brag, it costs more effort. Again, the cruiser’s main focus is, well, cruising, so kickstars are there to help you get through the city quickly.

However, some cruisers are designed to be more freestyle than others. A good example is the Loaded Poke, a cruiser with distinctive freestyle features such as two full-size kicks and a distinctive concave edge. It’s also great for a ride. Here you will find my full review of Poke.

Currently, full-size longboards are available in a variety of shapes, but many longboards focus on cruising instead of pintail (first photo below) or symmetrical cut. Longboards can also have kick-tails so you can do freestyle or dance tricks. In general, however, you can’t do the same tricks on a longboard as you can on a small cruiser: you will focus more on manuals and detailed instructions against radical kickflips and jumps. You also don’t normally take a regular longboard to a skatepool.

Wheel shafts – lamps – cutouts:

The cruiser usually has a narrower bow and wheel rims to reduce the risk of wheel friction. Cruiser trucks are usually very spacious for fast corners, so good wheel clearance is essential for working in tight cuts when driving in small spaces. For conventional longboards, both topmount and drop-through, wheel play can vary widely. Other longboards are primarily designed for long distance pushing, aimed at fast and long rides on straight roads, as opposed to continuous cutting and turning, and therefore have a more limited wheel clearance.

Others, such as Loaded Icarus, are made for cutting and pumping and can carry very large wheels without suffering from wheel biting due to their large notches and deep edges.

Truck Holder:

The way the trucks are placed on board has a huge impact on how the board travels at the intersection. Most mini-cruisers are located at the top, which means that the trucks are bolted under the deck. This means that the cruisers are a little high above the ground, so it’s even harder to push them – your foot should hit the foot to reach the ground, your standing knee should bend further.

A high mountain also means less speed stability due to a higher center of gravity.

So you have an idea: cruisers are mostly for short distance riding, they are not suitable for long distance skating due to their topmount design and small wheels. Cruisers are often not the best choice for speed below.

On the other hand, a full-size travel longboard can be a topmount (like most pintails) or a drop-through where trucks pass through the holes. A pintail longboard, such as the Sector 9 Lookout, may be more difficult to push and less rugged in speed than a drop-through longboard, but it spins faster. Drop-through longboard can be stronger at low speeds.

In general, the longboard is seldom as agile as a typical cruiser due to its size.

Trucks:

Mini-cruisers typically run traditional kingpin (TKP) trucks, which are street skateboards. On the other hand, conventional longboards usually use reverse kingpin trucks (RKP). TKP trucks are designed to respond to very small foot movements, making them ideal for kick boards when driving at lower speeds.

TKP trucks have more “dive” than RKP, which means that when you start cornering, the board first starts to rotate, then rotates slowly as you continue.

TKP trucks are shorter than RKP, so it has a function on the cruiser that compensates for the length of the upper bracket design, which makes driving easier than on a longboard. In addition to the length of the barriers, RKP trucks (eg. Paris, Calibay, Calibay, Calibay) to make longboards more stable at higher speeds. When it appears, it requires wages in the strongest. TKP is Twituer and easier Wobbles.

The mini cruiser truck is different. The Standard is running Thinghy running 105mm polar truck bear, making a reactive plate and fast, but not almost as a larger truck. However, these cars will fit on a small boat with tires.

Loaded Poke, on the other hand, is a larger cruiser with 150 mm or 180 mm RKP trucks, similar to a regular longboard. As a result, the feeling of riding a Poke is very different from Dingha’s, less fickle but stronger.

Note that Poke can also be set to carver trucks, creating a completely different experience (see this article on surf skateboards and cutting longboards).

Wheels

Cruisers usually have small wheels according to longboard standards, usually in the range of 55-65 mm, pairing small trucks and small deck-larger large wheels cause biting. Small wheels also help reduce the weight of the board. The cruiser wheels are usually larger than a traditional street skateboard, but usually it is about 50 mm.

Most importantly, the wheels on the cruiser are usually on the soft side, with a hardness between 78A and 82A. Soft wheels are better for tourism because they help absorb shocks, especially on uneven terrain, and provide better cutter traction.

Some riders prefer to use slightly harder wheels, which slide more easily and roll faster on smoother surfaces (less friction). The quality of urethane also plays a role. Other wheels, such as the Fatties Hawgs 63 mm, provide a good balance between smoothness / turning speed and the ability to glide on a mini-cruise.

By comparison, the full size longboard wheels used for cruising are usually larger, starting at 70 mm. The pressure distance of the longboards can drive the wheels up to 85 mm if the deck has sufficient wheel clearance – this is usually the case for boards 40 “or higher, or shorter boards with hooks. Settings (eg Gbomb push / pump setup).

Larger wheels roll faster, which is one of the reasons why longboards reach higher speeds. Like mini-cruisers, most longboards suitable for cruising ride slower bikes for better grip and better suspension in rough terrain. Freeride and freestyling require stiffer wheels for sliding. pack

Conclusion:

what is the difference between a cruiser and a longboard and what to choose? The Cruiser is great for short-distance driving in crowded or crowded areas. It is small, light, easy to carry and worn everywhere. Cruiser is not very suitable for long distance travel or very fast driving.

The longboard is stronger and more comfortable for pushing long distances and for driving at higher speeds. It can have a larger turning radius than a cruiser, although it is usually taller, heavier and harder to anchor and store.

Cruisers and longboards can be used for freestyle, depending on the type of tricks you do. Some cruisers are good for newcomers, while higher boards with kicks are suitable for tap tricks / dancing. However, if you want more difficult freestyling, consider buying a street deck or a “hybrid” longboard.