You’ll need to learn how to stop on a penny board properly once you start building up speed while skating.
Knowing how to stop is crucial when you’re around other people too. Even if you manage to avoid them you could still cause a scene.
There are a couple of techniques you can use to stop or slow down on a penny board, so you’ll need to start practising each one now.
How To Stop On A Penny Board
Footbraking is the easiest way to stop on a penny board. When your foot touches the ground the resistance will slow you down. Carving and sliding on a penny board when going fast works too. Plus you can always wait until you come to a stop unless you’re going downhill.
Each braking technique on a penny board comes with its own positives and negatives. Here is a quick list of the top ones you should learn to master once you start riding your first penny board:
- Footbraking
- Sliding
- Carving
1 – How To Footbrake On A Penny Board
Your foot is the penny board brake you’ll use more than anything else. As you can imagine it involves coming into contact with the ground and using drag to slow you down. It’s more complicated than it sounds. There are three rules when learning how to slow down on penny boards:
- Front foot forward
- Shift your weight
- Optimum pressure
Front foot forward – Your front foot should be facing forward when you’re trying to slow down. It might take an extra second to get into position but it will be worth it. You’ll feel more stable when you begin to slow down, which makes a big difference when you’re going fast.
Shift your weight – Another great way to increase stability when stopping on penny boards is to shift your weight. Roughly 60-70 percent of your weight should be placed on your front foot. Keep your knee bent and lean forward a little until you feel comfortable.
Optimum pressure – Unless it’s an emergency you don’t need to stop your penny board within a few milliseconds. Don’t put too much pressure on your foot touching the ground. After enough practice you’ll know exactly how much pressure to use at various speeds.
Learning How To Footbrake On A Penny Board
Practice makes perfect and now you should have a good idea how to footbrake on a penny board using correct technique. There are some other things to take into consideration too.
Firstly, start as slowly as possible because you’ll be more confident taking your foot off the penny board. Stay away from hills until you’ve got the penny board footbrake under control. It also helps to practice on smooth ground so you don’t need to avoid cracks and stones.
2 – Sliding On A Penny Board To Stop
You can powerslide on a penny board to stop. The narrow board and urethane wheels means it’s never going to be the same as sliding on a longboard, but it’s technically possible. You will also need to wear protective gloves because you’ll need to put your hands on the ground.
Powersliding on a penny board is more for fun than anything else. Something you can mess around with when you want to learn new tricks. Don’t use it as the primary means of stopping because unless you’re an experienced rider you could injure yourself badly.
3 – Carving On A Penny Board To Stop
Carving on a penny board means zigzagging from side to side as you’re skating along the road. As soon as you stop moving in a straight line you’ll begin to slow down. It’s a fun way to slow down on a penny board if you don’t care too much about coming to a complete stop straight away.
It’s also an effective way to reduce your speed if you think you’re going too fast to footbrake. When you finally slow down you’ll have more stability while braking with your foot, plus you’ll burn through a lot less shoes. It works much better on wider roads versus narrow ones.
How To Stop On A Nickel Board
If you have a 27 inch penny nickel board all the techniques we’ve talked about will be a lot easier. Nickel boards are also great for anyone who cares about going as fast as possible. The huge increase in stability helps when you’re footbraking, carving, and sliding at higher speeds.
Normally, you’ll reach speeds of 5-7 miles per hour on a traditional penny board. More if you really push it downhill. Nickel boards can go even faster so practice slowing down and stopping even more if you ride one.
Jumping Off Your Penny Board
Most people who use penny boards commute from A to B, so jumping off when you get into trouble doesn’t work. If you’re carving in and out of foot traffic it will smash into someone. However, it can work in certain situations like when you’re messing around in a skate park.
If there isn’t anyone in close proximity to you it’s fine to jump off. Don’t attempt to abandon your board when riding downhill because you don’t know where it’s going to end up and if you’ll ever see it again.
Aiming For A Safe Landing
When you sense danger, look around and you might see somewhere soft to land. If you roll onto grass at high speed the friction will stop your penny board and even if you fall you won’t hurt yourself. Gravel is another surface where friction can slow you down although you’ll want to stay on your board.
Pay Attention To Your Surroundings
If you are using your penny board to commute to work or school you’ll be skating around people. Stick to footbraking when there are others around. You definitely don’t want to start scaring pedestrians to death by powersliding near them. Carving isn’t much better when it’s busy.
Pay attention to your surroundings and use the braking technique most suited to your environment.
How To Stop On A Penny Board
Now you know how to stop on a penny board. In fact, you know a number of different ways to slow down. Just use the right one at the right time. Try to master all the techniques before you go down any steep hills or attempt to go too fast on your penny board.
