Gravity Sports Terms

Gravity Sport Terms Definitions

These terms have been gathered from many different sources including the following:
Chris Chaput www.abec11.com
www.streetluge.com bulliten board
HAE Incorporated Streetluge website

Do you have other terms that are not on this list? Let me know by email Admin

ABEC - Manufacturer rating of bearing quality.
Air Braking - Creating wind resistance by extending body area into the air flow to reduce speed. Sitting up is a good way to air brake.
Amped - To be filled with the adrenaline rush that comes with streetluge racing.
Apex - The point in a corner where you past the closest to the inside edge of the course. Riders try to pick an apex that will give them the straightest line and maintain maximum speed. This is often, but not always, the geometric center of the turn. See also early apex and late apex.
Bacon - Very rough, hazardous road surface conditions.
Banana - A rider who wipes out often.
Brake Point - A reference point a rider would use to start braking before a turn.
Brake Turning - Using both braking in the beginning or during a turn. In Streetluge and Classic Luge (buttboarding) this does a number of things. A - it slow you down, B - it stabilized the turn, C - it reduces the chances of the rear sliding out and D - it helps apply more steering. Buttboard - Short skateboard-like craft that is used like a streetluge. Also called "classic luge".
Chucking Bales - Hitting the hay bales (used on tracks as barriers) hard enough to move them.
CG - Acronym for Center of Gravity. Streetlugers want a "low CG" by making their boards as low as to the gound as possible without scraping it. This helps to provide stability and control at high speed.
Classic Luge - (buttboard) No footpegs and smaller than a streetluge but piloted in the same way.
Constant Radius Corner - A corner that has a constant radius through the turn.
Corner Entry - The area between where braking begins and the Apex begins.
Course-out - The point where you reach the outer most point on the course exiting a turn.
Decreasing radius Corner - A corner that has a smaller radius in the last half of the turn.
Delam - Short for "delaminate". A poor bond between the wheel and hub can lead to the wheels delaminating from the hubs when a lot of force is exherted upon them in turns and at high speed.
Draft - Using the pocket of air behind pilots as a high speed racing strategy.
Drop A Hill - Ride a course.
Dual Luge Racing - Head to head competition.
Durometer - Degree of softness or hardness, referring to luge wheels.
Early Apex - Reaching the point in a corner where you past the closest to the inside edge of the course before the optimum Apex point. Can cause you to go off the track and forces you to steer harder in the second half of the turn.
Flame - Urethane luge wheels actually catching fire as a result of high speed.
Flesh Wing - Extending an arm during a run for balance.
Floating Axle - This is an axle that is not molded into the truck and runs through a set of bearing.
Flowing Like Water - A fluid even run down a course. The ultimate ride.
GIAA (Gravity Induced Adrenaline Addiction) - An addiction to adrenaline producing gravity sports.
Going Deep - Braking as late as possible before reaching a turn.
Hairpin Turn - A corner that exceed 100 to 120 degrees.
Hook up - To maintain traction throughout a turn without sliding.
Hysteria - Uncontrolled wobble during a run. Usually results in a wipe out.
Increasing Radius Turn - A turn were the radius of the first part of the turn is tighter than the second half.
Junkyard - Equipment left in the track after a multiple collision.
King Pin - The bolt on the truck (steering device) that holds the rubber cushions and hanger in place. A locknut on the king pin is loosened or tightened to adjust the amount of steering desired.
Late Apex - Reaching the point in a corner where you past the closest to the inside edge of the course after the optimum Apex point. Can cause you not to use the full width of the track.
Late Brake - To wait until the last possible moment before applying the brakes (putting your feet down) before a turn.
Limited push - A race in which the allowable distance from the starting line that a rider may push is limited. This area is called the "paddle zone".
Line - The optimum path that will produce the fastest speeds and times or the preferred course the rider takes through the course.
Load Transfer - The change or shifting of weight on wheels caused by braking or turning the.
Mass Luge - Racing event featuring multiple racers on the course competing at the same time.
Melt - Wheels soften from heat of road friction, defective wheels or a little of both.
Mooch - When one rider bumps up against another for any number of reasons.(see speed mooch)
Nerf Bar - A bumper around wheels, nose and/or pegs to keep streetluge from snagging hay bales and other riders.
Paddle Zone - Area between the starting line and the beginning of the road course where pilots use their hands to develop downhill momentum.
Pegless - A type of streetluge that doesn't use the traditional boom and pegs on which to rest your feet.
Retread - Refers to re-applying car tire tread to the sole of a shoe. This is used as a long lasting "brake pad".
Pilot - The gravity sports athlete or rider.
Puke A Wheel - To blow up or "melt" a wheel. See "flame".
Push off apron - (See Paddle Zone).
Rail - A streetluge, specifically a simple design featuring a seat on a beam with foot pegs and wheels.
Rafting - Recovery after an unplanned stop requiring frantic pushing with the hands.
Reference point - A visual reference or spot on or near the course used to cue the rider for an action such as braking, turning, apex, ect.
Road Rash - Body burns from scraping the road surface. You try to avoid this.
Scambled Eggs - Bad road surface. Not as bad as "Bacon".
Screaming Mimis - Unhealthy sounds from a streetluge during a run.
Scrub - To reduced speed by breaking traction or sliding through turns.
Seat Pan - Part of streetluge that holds body of pilot, usually includes any handholds.
Showstopper - A fancy braking technique at the end of a run where the rider grabs the front end of the luge and lifts the front wheels off of the ground while putting his feet down. When done correctly it looks like the rider is waterskiing with smoke coming off of his shoes.
Shut Down Area - The length of course after finish line for slowing to a stop.
Skateluge - Sit style downhill streetluge. Slower but safer, easier to ride and more maneuverable.
Sled - A streetluge where the main construction is seatpan rather the boom.
Slingshot - Like motor sport racing, the art of using lead pilot's draft to pass on straight section down through a curve.
Snag - When two or more racers that get hooked together during a run.
Speed Mooch - When one rider bumps up against another to steal speed from the other rider
Spew - A blown wheel. (see "melt", "puke a wheel").
Splitter - Device attached to axle to add an extra set of wheels to the truck. Increases traction during turns.
Staked - To crashed in an interesting fashion.
Stand Up Stop, Quickstop - Short space stopping technique where pilots stand up while braking to a stop. Looks real cool, too.
Supermass - A race with 6 riders instead of 4 (Mass) or 2 (Dual).
Sweeper - A long turn or curve.
Technical Turn - A turn that can't be negociated without either braking before it or sliding through it.
Trucks - Lean activated steering device where wheels are attached; most commonly used on skateboards.
Turn-In - The point were you begin to turn or steer into a turn.
Turn-out - The point where you begin to reduce your steering when exiting a turn.
Urethane - The material most streetluge, skateboard and in-line skate wheels are made of.
Wad - To crash in a large group.
Wail, Wailing - To go extremely fast.
Wedge Helmet - A special designed helmet used for racing.
Wobbs - When your streetluge or classic luge start to Shudders and wobbles at higher speeds (see "hysteria").
Z-rollers - A popular racing truck.