An interview with the people at Dirtsurfer By Rod Walters  Page 1 can be found here.

Snowboarding & Surfing

The inventor, Graeme Attey is reported to be a surfer. Was this factor essential to the birth of the Dirtsurfer?
Completely. An addiction to a sport that can’t be reliably fulfilled locally was the driving force behind the invention. Being able to get that speed-carving buzz whenever he feels like it is what it’s all about.

Another way to go

The Dirtsurfer ride is likened to surfing or snowboarding (incessantly, using nearly the same phrase). Is this a good comparison, or is it becoming something of an albatross?
While our sport is still in its infancy it is important that an understanding of how it feels to ride and an image of who it appeals to is conveyed, that’s why we’ve used comparisons - to give a glimpse of what its like. No, it’s not exactly like surfing - but the feeling and motion of pumping and carving the face of a wave is incredibly similar, the sensation afterwards from bombing down a hill at 100 kmh is way close to just scoring a nice long barrel. Finding fresh powder and laying down a huge spray is sooo much like blasting out a long sweet drift on dirt, cruising down a run popping a few airs then jumping on the chairlift talking up your ride and scoping out some fresh lines for the next run - it has a pretty similar vibe to snowboarding.

We really like albatross’ but our comparisons are well grounded and all 3 sports have huge overlaps in the sensations experienced.

Should Dirtsurfing become a sport in its own right that requires no comparisons?
Yes! But when a completely new product comes along that creates such wild sensations, comparisons must be drawn so that people without the opportunity to simply jump on a board and experience the feeling for themselves can understand what its like. We aren’t leaning on comparisons to boost up our product and sport - it well and truly stands on its own 2 wheels.

In the videos, many riders adopt a crouching or bent posture and don’t seem to carve much. Is carving not really essential?
To reduce wind resistance at higher speeds riders either crouch and hug onto the front rails of the board, or put their hands behind their back, keep their legs straight and lean the top half of their body forward. Other video excerpts show the riders crouched ready for intense situations like busting into slides and other high pressure carves. Carving is totally essential for attaining greater speed on road runs, and for just the simple buzz of carving itself. Online we like to keep our videos’ intense action pumping throughout - but for more all round appreciation of the sport of Inline Boarding checkout ‘Rooster Tales’ a video that shows off just where the sport is at and where its headed - cruising on carving grass and road runs through to harsh rocky terrain and boosting big air.

Keeping low  

Development

The flexideck is coming out soon. Was it difficult to incorporate this into the design?
It’s out and available right now! The design was a piece of cake - we input the basic flex characteristics required into GA’s brain and he spat out our magnificent green and purple beast.

Will the flexideck be strong enough?
The front and tail sections of the FlexiDeck are made from 7005 T6 Alloy. The mid section of the board is the flexible shock absorbing, ‘power storage’ area of the board - this section needs to flex under varying degrees of load and have excellent memory (or spring) to return to its original state. The solution for this has been to create a composite deck of maple laminate (used in the best skateboards) sandwiched between fibreglass matt and epoxy resin. It’s tough enough. Our teamriders have been jumping, slamming and hammering down staircases - the boards have handled it easily.

Testing the FlexiDeck with some serious protection

  
What is the next development likely to be?
Well, we have quite a few ideas and prototypes in our workshop - but you'll just have to wait and see.

I’ve read of boards bending. What does it take to bend a board, and can it be fixed?
It’s possible to break anything. Dirtsurfers are no exception; we recommend a weight limit of 90 kg for riders and most importantly the correct selection of board. Want to boost 5 m airs on a GP? - sure you can do it - as long as you’ve got a great downramp and land sweet every time - but face it, you’re not always gonna come down just right - the board for serious jumping is a FlexiDeck.

The frames on GP and RoadRacer models are made of high spec, heat treated 7005 T6 alloy - theses models also have subtle flex characteristics to enhance their riding capabilities, a balance of strength and performance must be struck - and while these boards are overspecced for their job descriptions, inflicting unrealistic jumping expectations will inevitably bend a frame. It is possible though to correct a bent board - but it must be professionally heat-treated afterward - exactly the same way a high-end mountain bike frame is repaired.

Brakes

I read somewhere that you need to learn how to bail if the brake fails. Does it fail?
That particular website article referred to an early board where the rider relied upon the deadman’s brake designed to stop the board alone. All boards since then have come fitted with high quality mountain bike brake components (either disk brakes or V brakes). Even if these components did fail, our calf brake lever itself acts as a friction brake as a safety backup.

Do you need to use the brake much?
Well, I guess it really depends on your level of riding and just how fast you want to go! A big part of a braking system is purely psychological - just knowing that there is a reliable, effective and safe braking system that is easy to activate and control, sets the rider free to attack pretty much any terrain they desire - with the absolute confidence that they can stop if they want to.

Injuries

I read that the Dirtsurfer comes with a warning (on the bottom where you can't see it) that says, "Do not purchase unless you are prepared to be injured at some time". Is this true?
That’s the old warning sticker! Pictured below is the current warning blazing loud and proud on the base of the FlexiDeck ‘WARNING - MAY RESULT IN INJURY OR DEATH – DIRTSURFER’ we gotta be honest about these things. We’d put it on the top of the board but you wouldn’t be able to see it through the deck grip! We actually have the warning label as a T-shirt design - it is very popular.

You have been warned

What sort of injuries have you seen or experienced from riding the Dirtsurfer?
Well, since the teamriders undergo the full rigours the dirtsurfer experience, here’s their list of injuries to date:

Cahn - Hyper-extended elbow and a couple of cracked ribs
Quin - Rolled ankle, bruised fingers
Matt - Nothing more than the usual road rash and bruising common to all the teamers.

As you can see the injury list is pretty soft compared to what a snowboarding list would be - because in severe situations you can simply kick the dirtsurfer off your feet.

As a minimum we recommend riders wear helmets, gloves, knee and elbow pads.

Some riders wear shin guards. Are shins particularly at risk?
Ummmm I suppose if they’re playing downhill hockey.......

With cars

Does the Dirtsurfer fit on a conventional snowboard rack?
We haven’t ever tried. We are currently putting the finishing touches to our Dirtsurfer roof racks - these are the best babies for the job.

Japan

What do you know about the winter sports scene in Japan?
To be honest all we basically know is that you guys have some great snow and a vibrant snowboarding and ski culture.

Has any of the team ever been to Japan (either in winter or otherwise)?
Yes, early on in the summer of 2000 a couple of teamriders came over for a quick demo tour that went over well with some big crowds.

General

Message to SJG readers.....
Give it a go, we know you’ll love it!

Part 1 of this feature can be found here