5 Best Longboards for Downhill Reviews [for 2023]

If you are thinking of randomly picking up a longboard to get the job done for downhill riding, you are wrong.

It requires some prior knowledge as the downhill longboard needs to fulfill specific requirements to be the best fit.

Good for you!

In this write-up, I’m going to guide you with the 5 best longboards for downhill reviews mentioning their upsides and downside.

Here are some parameters that I considered before picking up a longboard for reviewing-

  • If the deck construction, size, grip tape, shape, profile, concave are ok for downhill longboarding or not.
  • If the truck settings and bushings are ok for downhill riding.
  • If the wheels boast the required size, durometer, contact patch, lip profile for downhill longboarding, or not.
  • The overall stiffness, stability, durability of the longboard. 
  • Its cost-effectiveness.
  • The brand value.

Without any further delay, let’s dive right in.

5 Best Longboards for Downhill Reviews

 

Pros

  • Pushing and braking are as easy as pie with this board.
  • I dig the deck length(41”) and width(10.2”) of this board. It’s quite significant to give ample space for comfortable foot placement.
  • As the deck is made of hardwood maple, it provides ample stiffness for the riders.
  • The wheels feature 80A durometer, which is the best value for a downhill board to get the desired grip and durability. 
  • This longboard is sturdy, fast, and safe.
  • The drop-through truck mounting makes it substantially stable.
  • It receives enough wheel clearance. Kudos to the cut-out shape.
  • It’s suitable for all levels of riders.
  • It comes fully assembled.
  • The graphics are outstanding, and various versions of the graphics are readily available for this longboard.
  • It’s quite easy on the wallet.

Cons

  • The bearings are good. However, they could have been better. 

Detailed Review

This B BAIJIAWEI longboard is the best downhill longboard for so many reasons.

It offers everything for a pleasant and safe downhill riding from deck size to wheel durometer and size.

It’s an 8-ply hardwood maple deck to provide enough strength, durability, and stiffness.

The wheel size is 70mm, the durometer is 80A, and the lip profile is sharp with a large contact patch, which is the perfect combination for downhill longboarding to get proper grip and stability during riding.

As the deck is cut out and features drop-through truck mounting, all these give the required stability and safety required for downhill riding. It’s safe from wheel biting.

No matter if you are planning to buy this longboard for a beginner or an advanced rider, this board will live up to anyone’s expectations.

Overall, this longboard from B BAIJIAWEI features everything that you require for downhill longboarding. More importantly, it doesn’t hurt your pocket at all.

 

Pros

  • The deck size is quite big for getting better foot placement and comfort during the ride.
  • You can adjust the truck baseplate angle for your convenience and use two settings for two trucks (more on this later).
  • It’s a drop-down deck to give extra benefit to place your feet with ease. 
  • The cut-out shape provides enough wheel clearance, hence ensuring safety and durability.
  • The wheel is big enough (70mm) with a big contact patch to provide excellent top speed and grip. 
  • It features excellent maneuverability. 
  • No assembling is required, and you can use it right from the word go.
  • You have the liberty to choose from different, readily available graphics.
  • The price is a bargain.

Cons

  • Had it been a drop-through truck mounting, it would have been a more stable option for downhill longboarding. 

Detailed Review

This Minority longboard is another all-rounder longboard with the essential features for downhill longboarding.

It boasts a 40” long and 10” wide deck having an 8-ply maple wood construction. It clearly shows how good it is for getting better foot placement and stability during the ride. 

The combination of drop deck and cut-out makes it one of the ideal decks for speedy riding like downhill longboarding. These settings give the rider maximum comfort, control, stability, and keep the deck from wheel biting. 

You can adjust the truck’s baseplate angle effortlessly, which makes this board a perfect ready-made unit for downhill riding.

If you set the front truck at a 50-degree angle to get better turning support and the back truck at 45-degree to get better stability, it will undoubtedly be the best setting for downhill longboarding.

Altogether, this downhill longboard offers all the features to steal the show without breaking anyone’s bank. You won’t regret buying it.

 

Pros

  • The deck is well cut out to provide more than enough space for the wheels. There is no chance of wheel biting.
  • I like the rocker deck profile with a slightly w-concave as it gives sufficient control.  
  • Its grip tape is flawlessly applied to provide the desired grip. 
  • Turning or carving with this board is a plain sailing task.
  • It’s a pretty long deck to offer a comfortable foot placement for any tall riders. 
  • The wheels have a large contact page and a sharp lip that ensure ample grip and let you slide through the corners effortlessly. 
  • It provides easy maneuverability.
  • It features a high-quality reverse kingpin aluminum truck.
  • This board is suitable for any heavy riders. 
  • It comes assembled and ready to ride right out of the box.
  • The price is quite low. 

Cons 

  • The outer skin of the wheels had to be shiny to get more grip.
  • You may have to loosen the truck to get more turnability.
  • It doesn’t feature any graphics. It’s an all-black longboard. If you are a fan of all those cool graphics, this is not the best fit for you. 

Detailed Review

Quest is a prominent brand in the longboard industry without any doubt whatsoever.

It produces several high-quality longboards for different styles of riding. This downhill longboard is not any exception.

This board features a 7-ply hardwood maple deck (40” long), which is substantially stiff to deliver the best downhill riding experience.

As it’s an open-wheel design that keeps the wheel away from touching the deck, you will get enough safety during the downhill riding.

The wheels roll pretty smoothly and quickly. However, they are a bit ugly-looking.

Although it doesn’t feature any graphics, it still looks good to me. I like the all-black color. It seems more elegant to me compared to other graphics-oriented longboards.

 

Pros

  • It’s smooth, fast, holds up the speed for long without pushing, and is stable at the same time. 
  • Pushing and braking are quite comfortable with this board. 
  • The drop-down shape makes it easy to place the feet comfortably with enough control. It gives the required stability too. 
  • The deck is well cut out to keep it from wheel biting. That makes it a safe board for downhill riding.
  • It features quite a large deck with high-quality grip tape.
  • The bright color and graphics are quite eye-popping. 
  • It offers wheels having a big contact patch and sharp lip to ensure ample grip. 
  • I must say, the truck and bearing shine in quality. You don’t need to change the bearing due to any quality issues.
  • It’s a quiet board.
  • No assembling is required.  

Cons

  • A little pricey. However, the quality, performance, and brand value justify the bill quite well.
  • A drop-through truck mounting would have made it more downhill-friendly in terms of stability.
  • It’s a bit heavy. 
  • Initially, you have to tighten the trucks a bit to keep the board from wobbling at high speed. 

Detailed Review

When it’s about picking a longboard from a well-accepted brand, Atom wins the race without any doubt.

This drop-down longboard from Atom boasts a 41” wide and 9.6” long deck made of maple wood, which is substantially durable.

The truck’s axles are quite long (245mm) with a reverse kingpin to make it a perfect fit for downhill longboarding.

It features 70mm wheels having a long contact patch, sharp lip, and shiny outer surface to get a proper grip for downhill riding.

No question about the quality of the bearing too.

Although it has a few minor drawbacks that I’ve listed above, I still believe, this longboard is one of the best downhill longboards on my list. The company is quite popular and stands behind its customer pretty well. 

 

Pros

  • The grip tape on the deck provides an excellent anti-slippery benefit.
  • It boasts a substantially long and wide deck for a comfortable foot position.
  • The drop-through truck mounting gives the required stability for downhill riding.
  • It comes with a highly responsive truck, which offers ample stability too.
  • The wheels excel in quality with a big contact patch and sharp lip to give the required grip.
  • It’s a cut-out board to keep the wheel from wheel biting; hence you are safe for fast traveling. 
  • It comes fully assembled.
  • The graphics of the board are quite charming, I should say. 
  • It’s reasonably priced. 

Cons 

  • Had the deck been stiffer, it would have been even better for downhill longboarding.
  • It’s not an ideal board for a beginner. 
  • The bearings are not too good. You may want to replace it with some other better bearings.

Detailed Review

Enkeeo drop-through longboard features a 9-ply 40” long and 9” wide deck, which is sufficient for doing downhill longboarding with a pleasant experience.

This board is quite sturdy, and the truck gives smooth turning facilities.

It features 70mm wheels, which are okey-dokey for a downhill longboard.

If you are too massive like 220 lbs, better skip this longboard and go for the other options I’ve listed here.

Despite having a few downsides, this longboard from Enkeeo gets the job done pretty well without costing a fortune.

When it’s about finding one of the best bets for downhill longboarding, this board has already won the hearts of many riders.

How to Buy a Longboard for Downhill? – An In-depth Buying Guide

Downhill riding is probably the most serious way of longboarding, where control and stability are something that you want to achieve more than anything from your board. 

Downhill longboards are built to fulfill your requirement of control and stability because these are things that you need most while racing downhill. 

Here I am going to present a summarized version of the different parameters of downhill longboard board components, then I will elaborate on the different parameters with proper explanation.

Deck

Material – Any materials but stiffness should be something you should be looking for from your board – fiberglass, carbon, solid hardwood are some of the most suited materials for downhill riding. But as long as your deck provides proper stiffness any material is ok.

Size ( length ) 

  • 36” – 42” is the ideal size for downhill longboarding.

Shape – Both directional and symmetrical shapes are ok for downhill riding. 

  • Among the different symmetrical shapes cut out, drop down, and speedboard are the most perfect ones.

 

Deck profile – “Rocker” to get the most support and control. 

Concave – Progressive, w-concave, tub, and radial are the four concaves that a downhill deck should have these. 

Deck Flex – Stiff. Should avoid flex or medium flex for downhill riding.

Mounting System – Drop through, top mount, drop deck, double drop, flush mount. 

Truck

Width –  10” or 180mm for optimum stability.

Kingpin – Reverse kingpin.

Bushing Seat – Tight bushing seat for stability.

Bushing – [Roadside / top – Barrel, Boardside / bottom – Barrel] Or [Roadside / top – barrel, Boardside / bottom – stepped cone bushing] – these are the perfect combination. But barrel – eliminator, eliminator – eliminator are good to go as well. 

Bushing Durometer – 

  • Weight ( 50 lbs – 100 lbs) -> 78a – 81a
  • Weight ( 75 lbs – 125 lbs) -> 83a – 85a
  • Weight ( 100 lbs – 145 lbs) -> 87a – 88a
  • Weight ( 125 lbs – 175 lbs) -> 90a – 93a
  • Weight ( 145 lbs – 195 lbs) -> 93a – 94a
  • Weight ( 175 lbs – 220+ lbs) -> 93a – 100a

Baseplate Angle – keep this to 50 degrees is perfect for all downhill riders particularly for beginners.

Wheel

Size – 70mm to 75mm 

Shape / Lip Profile –  Sharp lip.

Wheel Durometer – 

  • 80a is the most optimize durometer in terms of grip and durability
  • But if your weight is more than 180 lbs you can go for 83a+

Wheel Core – Centerset or Offset core. The offset is the most perfect one.

Let’s learn how the above recommendation is going to help you during your downhill riding. 

Downhill Longboards Deck Configuration

While choosing the deck material, stiffness should be the main choice criteria for you. So like the freerding and sliding deck the fiberglass and carbon, solid hardwood, or the decks that are covered with liquid fiberglass and sand are the perfect solutions to get the stiffness and grip.

The deck size of a downhill longboard varies in different ranges but the 36” – 42” range is the ideal one for downhill longboards. But again this is NOT something you must follow but following this will make you’re riding a comfortable one. 

Expert longboarders tend to avoid the longer deck size due to their lack of maneuverability, that is why 36” – 42” is the ideal size for them, shorter than this won’t give them so much pleasure due to the instability in high speed. 

But the beginner downhill rider should go for the longer ones initially to get the extra stability. 

I personally prefer 40” deck size for downhill riding.    

The deck shape – you will find both the directional and symmetrical shapes for the downhill longboards. 

Among the different symmetrical shapes, particularly cut out, drop down, and speedboard in most of the cases.

All these three shapes ensure speed and stability. Especially the drop-down and speedboard. You will see the drop-down boards comes with cut out shape as well to maximize the wheel clearance. 

But as switch riding is probably not going to be the case while downhill riding, so going for directional shape is also pretty common among the riders.

If you are confused between rocker and camber, go for the rocker deck profile. Camber won’t give you the support and control for the downhill riding. 

Tub concave, progressive concave, w-concave are the three deck concaves that match with the downhill longboard to help to place your feet more comfortably hence giving you extra control.

Now comes one of the most crucial parts, that is the deck mounting system. Downhill longboards can have both drop-through and top mounting systems. Even flush mount, drop deck, and double drop mounting are also found in downhill boards.

Aggressive riders usually go for the top mounting decks as these provide more grip, whereas the beginner downhill riders tend to choose the drop through / double drop/drop deck to get the extra support and stability that these mounting systems offer. 

When it is about the deck flex without any doubt the downhill longboard decks should be stiff. No flexibility, not even medium flexibility is good for downhill riding. You got to have the stability, in this case, to ride without facing any sort of wobbling. Stiff decks ensure exactly that kind of stability.

Downhill Longboards Truck Configuration

If the truck size of this sort of board is 10” or 180mm then you will get the desired stability for downhill riding. 

Your truck size should be close to the deck width as much as possible but few inches more or less won’t be a problem. But remember, it is always better to go for the wider truck than too narrow trucks.

No doubt reverse kingpin is the kingpin that should be used to make trucks for downhill longboards as these give nice support of stability and control at high speed.

What type of bushing seat? Very similar to the freeriding ones meaning the tight bushing seat as this helps your board to go faster with stability by restricting the movement of the truck. 

In reality, most of the trucks have a bushing seat that is neither tight nor open but something in between to provide both responsiveness and control. 

Bushing shapes are pretty similar to the freeriding longboards. That means a barrel (top) – barrel (bottom) combo is the most ideal one to get stability and responsibility at a perfect level.

But of course barrel (top) – stepped cone (bottom), barrel (top) – eliminator, eliminator – eliminator are perfectly alright, in fact, they provide more stability and should be used by the beginners. 

The eliminator (top) – eliminator (top) combo stops the truck movement at a certain point which ensures top-notch stability.

Harder bushing or softer bushing? – depends on your weight. See the above summary table for downhill longboards to find the recommended bushing durometer against your weight.

The baseplate angle can vary but if you are a beginner then keeping it 50 degrees will be the optimal solution for you to avoid the wheel bite and getting the mixture of stability and responsiveness.

Downhill Longboards Wheel Configuration

The wheel of a downhill longboard should come in 70mm-75mm size as this is said to be the perfect size for downhill riding. 

Smaller wheels accelerate quickly but wear out faster. 

On the other hand, if the wheel is too large then there is a chance of wheel bite. 

However larger wheels tend to keep a higher degree of traction during the turn and this creates its demand to a lot of riders. 

But always keep the wheel bite in mind and make your board accordingly to get the most wheel clearance.

So what is the lip profile you should be looking for on the downhill riding wheels?

The answer is the sharp lip profile.

And the contact patch? 

A big contact patch is better than a narrower contact patch. The sharp lip wheels generally have a bigger contact patch.

A sharp lip profile and a big contact patch are there to give you a good grip. The big contact patch also helps to prevent sliding out on corners. 50mm is the optimal width of the wheel’s contact patch, particularly you are a fresher / beginner in downhill riding. Bigger than 60mm makes it difficult to slide out if you want to lose speed. 

The outer skin is got to be shiny to get more grip.

Harder or softer durometer? Why not both? 80a should be the one that will help you get the proper grip and ensures durability. So if you are a beginner then start with 80a. Later decide if you want even harder or softer. 

Centerset and offset core are the two core systems that are suitable for downhill longboards. 

Mostly the offset core placement is something that your wheels should have to get the most accurate performance during downhill riding. 

FAQ

  1. What type of longboard is best for downhill?
  • Downhill longboard needs to be stable, stiff, and fast. The wheels should provide enough grip, and there should be no chance of wheel biting. The rider should be able to place his/her feet comfortably.

2 . What is the best longboard for downhill?

  • I’ve reviewed several top-class longboards for downhill in this article. If you’ve gone through this article already, I believe you know which one is the best bet for you. In my opinion, the B BAIJIAWEI longboard is the best longboard for downhill. 

3. What type of deck is best for downhill longboarding?

  • For a downhill longboard, the deck needs to be as stiff as possible. Fiberglass, carbon, hardwood are some of the most suitable materials for a downhill longboard’s deck. The size should range from 36”-42”. It’s better if the deck is cut out or drop-down shape, having drop-through truck mounting. Rocker deck profile with either w-concave or progressive or tub or radial is the best combination.

4. What type of wheel is best for downhill longboarding?

  • The wheel needs to provide enough grip. That’s why a big contact patch with a sharp lip profile is ideal for downhill longboards whee. The wheel size should range from 70mm to 75mm. 80U is the most suitable wheel durometer for the downhill longboard.

5. What type of truck is best for downhill longboarding?

  • It must be a reverse kingpin truck having 10” or 180mm width with a tight bushing seat. A barrel-barrel or barrel-stepped cone or barrel-eliminator, eliminator-eliminator is the best bushing combination for a downhill longboard’s truck. The baseplate angle should be 50-degree. 

Final Thoughts

So, this is it.

I’ve listed some of the best longboards for downhill here and tried to answer some of the most frequently asked questions.

Despite having few hiccups, all those are best bets considering the usability, performance, and price.

B BAIJIAWEI downhill longboard is the winner, in my opinion. However, the other longboards on my list have all the abilities to steal the show as well.

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