Does anyone remember the snakeboard? This was, back in the day, the original street surfing board. Two platforms which moved independently. It was invented in 1989 by James Fisher and Oliver Macleod Smith but when they sold their company back in the late 90’s the company that bought it stopped production.
Check out the video below to see the original snakeboard
Anyway, following on from this a new type of board was created called the Street Board; from Anderson Streetboards USA.
The Street Board now involved a skateboard split into three decks, with the rider bound to the board. The boards have quickly caught on and offer a much more aggressive alternative to the Wave Board and the Ripstik (at least until the Ripstik G becomes widely available).
Interested in picking on up? Check out the range at Extreme Pie.
Thanks for Jamie Nowman for the heads up and suggestion for this post.
Firstly apologies for the slow updates guys, I’ve been really busy lately and haven’t given this place much attention. Don’t forget you can add backlinks to any related websites and we have a number of subscription options available. Oh, and don’t forget the Ripstik race.
RazorX recently introduced a new board to the Ripstik line of products aimed at the more experienced and aggressive street surfer – The Ripstik G.
The “G” stands for grind and as you can imagine the bar in the middle is now made of aircraft-grade aluminum tubing to allow grinding in the same way as you might with a skateboard or the much forgotten snakeboard.
On first impressions I have to say that this now puts the Ripstik above the waveboard and other competitors for the sheer amoutn of possibilities this will open up.
The board appears to be currently available only in the United States through Amazon, Walmart, eBay etc. I cannot wait for this to come out in the UK later this year so I can get my hands on one!!
So far I’ve tried to cover a multiude of different boards on this blog. I’ve come accross a couple this week that I have absolutely no information on so it would be good if you could get in touch if you have any experience of these.
WhipTide
I found this on Amazon.com but it doesn’t appear to be on Amazon.co.uk. From what I can see it just looks like a bigger, clumsy version of The Wave / Ripstik.
Hurricane Board
I found this while researching the WhipTide and it essentially looks the same as the WhipTide.
1. Feet need to be evenly spaced on the board across the grips flat footed.
2. Prepare for the 180 by bending your knees.
3. Jump and turn 180 degrees as quick as possible, trying to land back, switch-stance, with your feet landing back on the grips.
1. Make sure you bend your knees.
2. Shift weight to tail so that the nose lifts before drop.
3. Have your weight towards the back of the board and then shift your weight forward while in the air preparing yourself for the landing.
4. Bend your knees when you land to absorb the impact and try to balance your weight in the middle so you can roll away.
While moving along on your board put the ball of your back foot on the tail (in the middle) and leave your front foot in the centre of the front platform. Press down quickly on the jail and jump forwards slightly after the pop. Drag your front foot up and “jump forwards.”
Once you’re off the ground you want to level out by pulling up both of your legs up so they are level.
Try and land on the board, both feed at the same time. Try to ensure that your feed are in the standard central position on landing in order to aid balance and continue to ride!
1. Have your back foot almost like how you ride the board normally but on the lip of the tail, flat footed so as you can still balance the board.
2. Your front foot should be on the front grip but towards the back of the grip with your heel hanging off angled inwards.
3. Pop the board with your back foot by pushing down on the lip of the tail getting the front (the nose) of the board up in the air
4. Almost at the same time as step 3, slide your front foot up and out at an angle so as to flip the board over and level the board out.
5. Wait for the board to flip completely around and then try to land back on the board on the grips, so the board can stay balanced and you can roll away.
6. Land it then go show your friends one of the hardest tricks on The Wave.
When I wrote my recent post about completing an ollie I didn’t realise there were already a number of excellent posts on the wave board homepage here. From that site here’s how to complete a Nose Manual:
Nose Manual
Level of Difficulty – 1
(Almost the same as a manual, only reversed)
1. Have your front foot just on the edge of the nose, flat footed to maintain your balance.
2. Your back foot should be across the back grip, towards the front of the panel.
3. Slightly shift your weight forwards while slightly pressing down your front foot to lift up the back (tail) off the ground.
4. Keep your weight balanced while on one wheel, trying to keep the tail up but not scraping your nose. Use your arms to help balance your weight.
Place the board on the floor and put your front foot in the centre of the front platform. If you’re left footed place your right foot on the front, if your right footed place your left foot on the front. Make sure the board is level with the ground with your front foot, give a gentle push with the back foot and then place this in the centre of the of the rear platform. If you’ve been surfing, snowboarding or skateboarding before this will seem very instictive and familar to you.
You should now be moving off a gentle speed (or have fell over a few times and have repeated these steps!). Next you should start twisting from side to side with your knees slightly bent. Imagine there is a pole coming up from the centre of the board (on the torsion bar) through the middle of your body. You should now be making an S shaped motion and moving in the correct direction.
Keep your eyes in the direction you are travelling and keep it up! If you want to change direction lean into the turn slightly and push the boards gently in opposite directions.
Check out these two videos which will illustrate this to you.
