Riviera Longboard – The Best Pick For You

How does Riviera do?

When the skateboarding market grows continuously, the urgency to upgrade classic models is necessary.

So, this brand has put a specific spin on its products. Another factor that makes Riviera’s models different from others is the high-quality Paris trucks. Meanwhile, at the same price, other brands only offer generic trucks.

This guy also creates some of the most splendid products we have ever seen. There is exceptional artwork etched into those decks, which is attractive at first sight.

Moreover, the brand owns a vast, diverse lineup, ranging from micro to drop-thru styles and from downhill to street decks. They are aimed primarily at freeride and downhill riders with a light focus on cruising ones.

How About the Quality?

Riviera boards take advantages of solid materials such as fiberglass, carbon fiber, and bamboo to make a perfect combination of strength, durability, and the flex.

Plus, they come with a more extended deck than traditional ones so that you will have better control of balance and sliding direction.

With wheel cutouts to prevent wheel bite, the deck is also sturdy enough to overcome all the surface, including rough terrains.

Overall, if you have a desire for longboarding, and get ready to try it, Riviera will provide you with excellent boards which are always ready-to-use.

Those complete skateboards and longboards are well-equipped with a deck, wheels bearings, essential hardware, trucks, and grip tape. Skate your hardest with them right now!

MINIS

The board length of most Minis goes up to 38 inches while the width goes up to 9.5 inches. Their construction ranges from bamboo to maple, which gives them enough flexibility and durability.

Other features you can find in these decks are drop-through mounts, concave, as well as tails. All of them will allow you to ollie on and off curbs correctly.

Depending on the retailers where you buy your Minis boards, they have Paris trucks and Divine City slashers or Trailblazers wheels.

MICRO-MINIS

The board length of this type goes from 26 inches to 27 inches, and the width ranges from 6.5 inches to 8.0 inches, which makes them more prominent than other typical penny boards.

The maple construction of micro-minis will deliver the high sturdiness. These top mounted boards also offer a lively feel as well. Other notable features include high-quality EVA foam grips, kick tails, and wheel flares.

Notable, the ease of portability more than compensates for their small size. The Divine City Slashers are perfect for that size since they offer fast acceleration and will not rub against the board’s deck.

Not only that but their Paris trucks also prove to work well with cruising, or free riding as they are one of the most common aftermarket types.

FUSION

The Fusion deck has the 46-inch length and the 10-inch width which make them an ideal matchup for many of the best longboards out there.

While some Fusion boards have the typical maple design, others of this type feature the bamboo and maple construction.

No matter what designs are, with high-quality kick tails and wheel flares, they are resistant to disgusting wheel bites.

Their large mount also make them suitable for sliding and freeriding in long distances speedly.

What’s more, their Paris 180-mm trucks and Coyote wheels will offer a perfect mix of free riding, carving, and stability in a package.

COMBINE

The lengths of combined boards go up to 38 inches while the widths go up to 9.8. The primary materials of all top-mounted models in this range are maple. There are also wheel flares, tails and concave.

The trucks of most completes in this combined range are Tracker Axis 149-mm types. Some other models also come with Paris street trucks. In general, both of them work quite well.

LIVE FLEX

The next category is Live Flex with decks materials ranging from bamboo to traditional maple.

This type often comes with longboard gas pedals, tails concave, as well as wheel cutouts. They come with a drop-through mount system, too.

All of those features will make these boards more appropriate for cruising, freeriding, as well as carving at higher speeds.

DROP-THRU

One typical model of this type is La Rana, which features a bamboo and drop-through body, concave, Paris trucks and Coyote wheels.

All of them make La Rana a quality gear, more stable, ideal for cruising, and convenient to push in long distances.

Another perfect model is Cherry Blossom with a bamboo build, mild concave, and drop-thru mount system.

Compared with Coyote wheels of La Rana, the larger Divine wheels of Cherry blossom are more favorable since they are more appropriate for both commuting and cruising.

DOWNHILL/FREERIDE

This category has decks lengths going up to 41 inches. Most of downhill/freeride models have maple construction, but the Heta type is a mixture of glass and maple.

Notable features found in those decks are drop-through mounts, concave, wheel cutouts as well as flares. In freeride boards, there are also tails, pockets, and symmetrical shapes.

Moreover, the boards in this category often feature Coyote wheels and Paris 180mm trucks.

Symmetrical Deck Shape

For good sliding, this factor is essential and provides an amount of flexibility impressively. Plus, it will allow users to skate in two ways and switch when looking forward conveniently.

Drop-through Mount System

This feature will provide better stability and enable users to break traction and push out their slides quickly without difficulties.

So, if you want to perform better slides or need higher flexibility and responsiveness, you should choose a drop-through top-mounted deck.

Drop-down Platform

When coming down to freeriding, this beneficial thing will contribute to perform better tricks, slides, jumps, and more.

Here, a lower platform will provide extra stability while top-mounted trucks can offer essential traction, controls, and decent rides.

Low Flex

Do you know flex? It means how bouncy and flexible your board is. In this case, it would be wise to get a stiff model with less flexibility.

Why? Since bouncy boards will not let you skate in high speeds safely while stiff ones will provide you with complete control as well as stability.

Proper Concave

How about concave? This feature means the deck’s curvature. Typically, half of the users’ stability will depend on the deck’s concave shape.

So, you had better select a board deck with a moderate or higher level of concave. It will help to lock your both feet while riding and give you better comfort.

Notably, remember not to try performing tricks with flat decks if you are a newbie. There will be a high chance that you may fall out of the board.

Rocker

One more necessary factor you notice if you tend to pick a good board for freeriding is the rocker. It will let you push your slides and create more stability.

Wheelbase

This feature is the primary distance between your longboards’ front and back trucks.

When you get a longboard with the more extensive wheelbase, it will provide much stability but not much responsiveness. Here, responsiveness is what you need the most while performing your tricks.

Of course, a longboard with a short wheelbase would be highly responsive but less stable. So, you should choose a product with proper wheelbase.

Deck Length

You had better get a deck that is 38 to 42-inches in length. That length range will give you perfect responsiveness as well as stability.

That length is not too high, so your board is not too bulky as well. Moreover, the width of the deck that is between 9 and 10-inches will be okay.

Essential Accessories for Longboarding

Last but not least, don’t forget to buy some must-have protective gear to protect yourself while sliding.

• Knee Pads: If you are a newbie and want to learn how to skate or practice sliding downhill, those knee pads will help to protect you from falling off or unexpected rash.
• Helmet: One more vital gear to prevent head injuries is helmets. When it comes to wheel-based activities, the risk of sport-related head injuries is possible no matter what sliding speeds you are in.
  In some cases, that situation may lead to fatal. So, might you ignore the knee pads, but not for the helmet.
• Slide Gloves: One more important thing in our suggested list is some slide gloves. They will perform as helpful brakes for your longboard and allow you to shutdown your slides.
  Wearing those gloves helps your hands avoid road rashes when you make a brake.
• Elbow Pads: Furthermore, you had better protect your elbows by using a pair of pads while sliding downhill at higher speeds.
• Butt & Hips Pads: Butt or hips pads are also necessary for those who enjoy learning how to surf downhill or doing a new trick. You can wear them underneath your clothes to get better results.