OT: summer substitutes for snowboarding

[John Gilmour]

Here's a clip of the recent Luna slalom jam- just one of the many races scheduled for the America's cup series.

If you think alpine snowboarding is small - slalom skateboarding is even smaller. But a little more fun.

http://www.skatems.com/vids/luna_byte.wmv

Vlad won this race the previous year making him a bi-carver. This year he took 4th....

And if you think for one second that Alpine snowboarding is safer than slalom skateboarding....I'm living proof that it ain't so.

________

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[gdboytyler]

Originally posted by Barry

i havent' skated since i was in elementary school. what level do i have to reach before doing the pool stuff you are doing in that video.

thx,

Barry

There's a sign at the Van's pool that says "Expert Skateboarders Only!". But that's just a recommendation:)

Minimum recommended skills would be frontside and backside kickturns and kneeslide. You could start at the bottom of a pool/halfpipe, pump back and forth and get use to getting higher and higher on the wall.

Helmet, knee pads and elbow pads is the minimum recommended level of protection.

[lonerider]

What type of longboard should one get? Carveboard? Is there place that has basic info to someone who doesn't really skateboard (I'm a rollerblader myself).

[Guest Pre School Rider]

Lonerider,check out www.ncdsa.com,or www.silverfish.com,both have great depth of material,and good links,pics,and advice. What I'd recommend is a board of mid-length,somewhere in the 30"-48" range made with Wood and Glass that has some flex and camber.Go with turnier trucks,ones that turn in crisp but with good adjustment range,and softer,stickier wheels. What you're looking for is a board that's known for doing fluid turns with ease,and yet has some energy return(hence the Glass+wood preferrence).There are some nice G.S./Hybrid Slalom boards that fit the bill,although they'll feel short by snowboard sizing standards. BTW,the Carveboard is a great riding machine.It is however both heavy(hard to haul back uphill)and takes up some serious real estate in turning,so it's good for longer hills on wider venues.Most mid-sized longboards that are meant for carved turns will out-turn it in radii size,but not in grip or degree of lean. A fave of mine(one I do not yet own,but will!)is the Bozi G.S. 36" board,set-up with Seismics or 150 Randal trucks,and a fat,soft,big,sticky wheel such as a 3DM Avalon or ABEC 11 Flashback wheels. This is parking-lot friendly,fast,manuverable,and very easy to pump,yet can be raced in the G.S. class.It's one of those great boards that'll teach you as you go,and hang with you once you know. I've been using skateboarding as a cross-trainer since,well,way long ago,and have found that the two sports,skateboarding and snowboarding can create a dynamic where skills learned in one realm transfer right back to the next sport.Crosstraining is a Very Good thing.

[bobdea]

If you get a decent four stroke dirt with a little extra work (putting on the proper lights and such) it could be perfectly street legal wich kills the need for a truck or trailer as long as you have a friend that will come fetch your bike in the event that you get in a crash that makes your bike unridable

many people will tell you how much dual sports suck but they are super fun

here are the key factors (in my biased opinion)

1.four stroke engines are heavy and do not have the snappy fast respone like a two stroke

2.Go with a dedicated dirtbike and put a light kit on it stuff like the Sherpas are not really ideal in a pit if I had the money I would probably go for a Yamaha WR 426

[willywhit]

Although slalom water skiing is much closer to carving a snowboard, Kitesurfing isn't as expensive as you might think and is WAY too much fun.You can get a used rig for under $500 and a used beginner board might run another $250. Learning takes a toll on your body.Paying for lessons can be pricey but will make learning much safer and faster. I fully recommend that you get dirtbikes as well but you're talking much more investment. Legal trailriding is limited here in New England but still well worth "exploring". A hundred mile trek through the woods on a Sunday in the Spring/Fall is a good workout.

[Guest Pre School Rider]

http://www.stik.com/demohigh.html Jack,IF this works,you'll be liking this! I do believe that my previous issues with Carveboards have been addressed. :)

[Neil Gendzwill]

Originally posted by gdboytyler

Minimum recommended skills would be frontside and backside kickturns and kneeslide. You could start at the bottom of a pool/halfpipe, pump back and forth and get use to getting higher and higher on the wall.

I'd just like to add that the figure-8 pump-carve around the bowl is a hell of a work-out, too. We have a little squared kidney in the outdoor park that opened last year, and pumping figure 8s in that bowl is a good recipe for quad burn.

Originally posted by Pre School Rider

http://www.stik.com/demohigh.html Jack,IF this works,you'll be liking this! I do believe that my previous issues with Carveboards have been addressed. :)

Eric, those new Stiks look pretty cool but what are they doing in that park that you couldn't do with a regular long park board and some Randalls on angled risers? Seems pretty limited without a kicktail. I also get the sense that they're pretty squirrely at any sort of speed.