What influences your pop

This question worries every skateboarder over time. How do I get more pop? But what is pop actually? The pop is the energy you need to get your tricks in the air as high as possible.

So what influences pop?

In addition to your own physical strength, i.e. the energy you can exert on the tail or nose of your board, your technique and your jumping power, there are a number of technical factors in your setup that you can influence. In the following article we will go into these.

Deck:

First of all, your deck affects the pop. A fresh deck always has the most pop, which decreases over time. Among other things, this has to do with the fact that the constant stress in the structure of the wood causes microscopic cracks and the board becomes softer. On the other hand, the tail and nose wear out more and more and the area of the deck that has contact with the ground when popping away increases. For more information on this topic, see our blog post " Why Does a Deck Lose Pop? "

A second factor is the deck's tail and nose kick, i.e. how much they are bent up. The steeper your tail, the longer the distance the tip of the tail has to travel to touch the ground. This allows you to generate more bounce energy. However, you have to work a little more precisely here, which is why advanced skaters have an easier time with a steep deck than beginners.

The length of the tail and nose also have an effect. The shorter the nose and tail, the more pop you have. You may have noticed that tricks done over the nose often don't pop as high as over the tail. This is mainly due to the fact that the nose is usually a bit longer than the tail.

And then there's the wheelbase, the wheelbase of the deck. The larger the wheelbase, the further forward the front axle is. The greater the distance between the front and rear axles, the greater the centrifugal force generated by the weight of the combination of front axle, ball layers and wheels when popping away. Again, though, the bigger the wheelbase, the more effort you have to use to get the deck airborne.

Wheels:

The larger your wheels, the steeper the angle at which the tail touches the ground.

trucks:

Again, the higher the axis, the steeper the angle and vice versa. However, this is not the only point with axes. Due to the different geometry of the manufacturers, the wheelbase changes. Thunder Trucks, for example, lengthen your deck's wheelbase, while Independent Trucks shorten it. For more information about the effect of the axles on the wheelbase including a detailed list, please see our blog article " Wheelbase and Trucks ".

Riser pads:

Riser pads are pretty much a non-issue in today's street skating, but if you're riding wheels over 56 millimeters in diameter, you won't be able to avoid them. Also, risers or shock pads ensure that the angle of the deck increases up to the point where you pop.

Finally, let me say it again: Finding the right set-up is a challenge for every skater, even professionals are still fine-tuning their boards after many years. With this article we don't want to create the impression that everyone has to try to get the deck as steep as possible, because that would be counterproductive. We just want to enumerate physical facts that have an influence. You have to find out for yourself what is ultimately right for you. We hope you enjoy your next session!