There is no denying that the skateboard came about when surfers put wheels on short boards to ride on land when the surf wasn’t up, and now some surfers from Huntington Beach, California are essentially reinventing it all over again with the Hamboard. What makes this one different is that it basically combines modern skateboards with a surfboard, resulting in what the creators called “a really big skateboard” or “basically an uber longboard or longboards.”
And the word from the creators is these boards, despite the length or possibly because of it, can carve and flow quite well. The surfers behind Hamboard have also noted that opinion has changed from those who simply to dismiss it to those who want to try it. So it could be the reinvention of sidewalk surfing all over again.
This is possible because most skate decks are still good old fashioned wood. Makes us want to think twice about those carbon fiber bike frames, tennis rackets and even hockey sticks, as well as other items that still can’t be so easily recycled.
Skateboarding was born in America, but the sad truth (at least for purists) is that many of the parts are now made overseas. Fortunately there are still a few companies out there that are producing products to let boarders grind it and show some American made pride.
Based in San Diego, California, Kontrol Wheels is still producing skateboard wheels in America. The company was founded by Dan Eager in 2004, after he and few other engineers came up with a new technology to mold urethane wheels.
This new urethane-molding process not only eliminated much of the physical labor, but also created a superior skateboard wheel. It even reduced the amount of waste that came with conventional manufacturing.
There was that old Brady Bunch episode where Bobby kept uttering the immortal line, “Mom said not to play ball in the house,” and some silly scenario ensued. Well Carol Brady probably wouldn’t have approved of the PAS House, a full-scale, 753.5-square foot prototype house being designed in Malibu,CA by Francois Perrin of LA-based Air Architecture.
Come to think of it Mike Brady was an architect, but yet he never came up with something as revolutionary as this design for former pro skateboarder and Etnies footwear founder Pierre-André Senizergues. The house, which will feature a sofa, bed and furniture from the Skate Study House collection is actually designed to be skateboard friendly. The concept was part of a the recent Public Domaine/Skateboard Culture at the new La Gaite Lyrique museum in Paris, but the completed residence will measure 2,200 square-feet and will be designed to overlook the Pacific in Malibu. Read the rest of this entry »
This hasn’t been a banner week for skateboarding. The northern Utah city of Richmond is considering banning skateboards on city streets. There have been complaints that skateboarders ride in the middle of streets, but one city councilman reportedly expressed concerns that the boarders threatened the safety of pedestrians, especially children.
Won’t someone think of the child? But seriously, how is it that the boards are threatening children – are the kids walking in the middle of the streets as well? It would seem that skateboarding on the sidewalk would threaten the safety of pedestrians.
Meanwhile, ESPN has announced that it has eliminated women’s vert skateboarding form the program at this July’s X Games in Los Angeles. This event reportedly struggled to sustain a viable competitive tour, and the X Games was the only remaining major competition.
On the plus side women’s street skating will remain a part of the X Games program.
What do you get if a BMX bike were to somehow mate with a skateboard? Technically this is impossible, not just because the BMX bike and skateboard aren’t actually living creatures, because even if they were they’d have different chromosomes and thus not be able to produce an offspring. But getting past those issues, we return to the question at hand, and since this sounds like the makings of a mad science experiment gone bad – let us also say that a third ingredient is added to the mix, namely a scooter.
So now we’re really crazy. But the result would the sbyke, the invention of Bart and Steve Wilson, who apparently broke their BMX bike, ruined a perfectly good skateboard and created a scooter-like contraption.
The sbyke – which is confusingly pronounced “spike”- has a fixed-position front wheel that isn’t turned using the handlebars but rather by the shifting weight of the rider. There is a break attached to the handlebars to stop this thing at least.
One problem with learning to ride a skateboard is simply maintaining balance. Staying on the board is the other problem, but again it comes down to balance. If you could solve the former problem, the latter one would be less of an issue.
Now it seems that a few people have tackled the problem by incorporating the same technology used in the Segway scooter into a deck, which was unveiled at Maker Faire 2011. The question here is whether this things is technically still a skateboard or just a revised Segway with a flat board?
The first day of summer, also the longest day of the year is now also going to be the day for the 9th Annual Go Skateboarding Day. June 21, 2011 will bring together the skateboarding community and let them get out en masse for a day dedicated solely to skateboarding.
Go Skateboarding Day, presented by The International Association of Skateboard Companies (IASC), works to honor and unite participants in the spirit of skateboarding and since its 2003 inception, has prompted cities to build skate parks, promoted local skate shops and raised money for local charities.
“Go Skateboarding Day is a great day for everyone to rid all obligations and go skate, “said IASC Chairman of the Board, Don Brown.! This June 21 will be another great day full of smiles, fun and lots of rolling as millions of skaters around the world unite and charge their local terrain.”
Go Skateboarding Day started out as a small group of colleagues skating to the Huntington Beach Pier and has grown into a worldwide event with millions of participants. Last year, millions of skateboarders participated globally in more than 500 events held worldwide. If you are possessed to skate, than June 21 is the day for you!
Sometimes you just have to say what the Fiik. Well, actually you never really need to say Fiik at all, but then again maybe you will – at least if you like to skateboard and ever considered taking it off road. We’ve seen a lot of supposedly “off road” skateboards – including a couple that have been designed with military needs in mind.
But now comes the Fiik Street Surfer, which was designed by two brothers from Queensland, Australia. It features a digital wireless throttle control system, ABS braking system big wheels that can handle most terrains. The Fiik (Future Is In Knowledge) also has a bit of retro appeal – it looks like a classic “sidewalk surf deck” with red strips. But unlike those retro boards, this one has a maximum speed of 23 mph/37 km/h. While the board comes with a sealed lead acid battery, users can also upgrade to the optional lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) battery, which also offers a range of 22 miles or 1.5 hours of runtime. The board further includes three speed settings, including a setting to limit the top speed for newbies.
Given the rising price of gasoline, maybe decks like this could help you get to and from the office. At $1600, with the lithium iron phosphate battery upgrade, this deck could help you commute and even take you off the beaten path to get there.
Take a simple device and add some LED lights and suddenly it is better. That’s sort of the idea behind the new Flexdex skateboards. The California-based skateboard company is attempted to shed some illumination on the skating scene with its new light board.
Their flagship model is the Clear29 LT longboard, which features a “clear as glass” polycarbonate frame that is lighted up – while not exactly lightened up – with a strip of LED lights that are powered by a 9-volt battery. The effect is further enhanced by the deck’s translucent wheels, while riders have a choice of blue, green, white, orange and of course red boards. So even if you can grind like the best of them, you can light it up for the rest to follow.
If you’ve ever commuted by bicycle in the big city you know there are a few issues to overcome. The first is making sure you actually make it to work safely, the next is making sure you’re not a huge sweaty mess when you arrive, and finally be dressed in the proper clothing for a day at the office.
The latter can be addressed by leaving a pair of shoes at the office and wearing cycling shoes for the commute – but what happens when you think you have shoes at the office and don’t? This happened to me personally once, and I spent the day wearing cycling shoes. While a good look on the bike, these don’t exactly work well the rest of the day. But Italian bike maker Cinelli and skateboard clothing company DVS are teaming up to create a urban cycling shoes reports our friends at BikeRadar.
The shoes are based on the DVS Luster skate trainer and will be available in two versions. One will be based on the Cinelli Pro Best of Italo 79 road bike, whilt he other will be based on the Vigorelli track racer. Either way the upcoming Luster Cinelli, which will arrive stateside in July (MSRP $68), will reportedly feature a high-abrasion rubber sole, full grain leather upper, stiffeners to aid efficient pedalling, reflective detailing, and a hidden tongue panel that also serves as a lace protector. These shoes look like they’ll be good for urban commuting, and look good off the bike.
While we normally look at the technology of the skateboards, there has been some interesting innovation with the skateboard ramps. Here are a couple of interesting videos that show how an iPhone app can measure each skaters “air time” and landings from an interactive projection. The top video was for a promotion for the premier of the movie Tron Legacy, while the bottom video shows how cameras were synchronised with skaters and snowboarder movements.
There comes a time for every skateboarder to realize that the old deck just can’t be used any longer. Whether it is cracks in the wood or just other structural issues, skateboard decks just can’t last forever. But that doesn’t mean that they can’t live on afterward.
Portland, Oregon based MapleXo has long been turning trashed decks into thrasher jewelry and now the company is looking to turn old skate decks into iPhone 4 cases. However, the catch is that the company is releasing just 50 limited edition cases so you better skate over to the website quickly to sign up for one.
There is no denying that the skateboard came about when surfers put wheels on short boards to ride on land when the surf wasn’t up, and now some surfers from Huntington Beach, California are essentially reinventing it all over again with the Hamboard. What makes this one different is that it basically combines modern skateboards with a surfboard, resulting in what the creators called “a really big skateboard” or “basically an uber longboard or longboards.”
