A summer alternative to snowboarding! (?)

"No snow. Counting the days until the season starts. You dreamed of a way to snowboard year round. We built it." http://www.freebord.com/

"Accelerate fast. Ride the edge. Push deep into the carve and control your speed." http://www.tierneyrides.com/ 

"When the surf or snow sucks…" http://www.carveboard.com/ 

"a truly unique on-land surfing experience" http://www.onshoreboards.com/ 

These bold claims are made by makers of boards that mimic the ride offered by snowboards or surfboards. "Snowboard when there’s no snow" – there’s definitely appeal in that proposition. But the question is, how much? Another question might be, OK, so what about in Japan?

In the first spring following my induction into snowboarding life, I was pretty desperate to get some downhill action. Actually, I was frantic. Not only did I want to feel the thrill of carving a board across and down a hill, I wanted to improve my skills for next year. The season was just too short to get in all the riding I wanted, and to learn the finer points of carving. Surely there must be something?

That spring, a friend introduced me to mountainboarding, something he had found out about through an ad in a local commercial magazine. We went to a small local ski place and hired helmets, pads, and what appeared to be a big skateboard with a handheld bicycle style brake. We trundled downhill many times, kicking up dust, falling off, and using the brake nearly all the time. It was fun, but I wondered if there was something better than these really quite crude and dangerous MTB-made boards. (Previous article on mountainboarding here).

Internet searches revealed that the problem of snowboarding without snow has been addressed by some of the finest brains in the world (brains that I suspect have taken a good few hard knocks over the years). There are two main approaches – build something that can be ridden anywhere, or set the limit at paved roads. And there are many, many kinds of each type, some working on novel and interesting principles, and all claiming to be the best.

Finally, with the advice of the good people of the SJG Forum, I decided to buy a Dirtsurfer (a name to conjure with, indeed). This unique, 2-wheel design offered the most flexibility, allowing carving on both grass and pavement. It also features an elegant calf-operated brake, a very attractive feature on a board without a snowboard’s edges. But for some reason, the 49,800 yen required to purchase one through the Japanese supplier refused to materialize in my piggybank, however hard I willed it.

At this point, SJG stepped in. At my suggestion, they canvassed a number of makers, and of these, only Freebord stepped up to the plate. Kudos to Freebord, and many thanks. Freebord has the most accessible and user-friendly website of all the makers, as well as a number of fansites that independently do a very creditable job of recommending the product. There’s also a Japanese site. Freebord has a great reputation for prompt service and replies to emails, in marked contrast with some of the other makers I contacted. In the two years that I’ve been watching the market, several types, notably the Outback mountainboard have gone out of business, but I think Freebord has a bright future with their approach.

Out of the box

OK, so what’s it actually like, this snowboarding on tarmac?
When I got the board out of the box, I noted that the real thing looks cooler than it appears in photos. The, ahem, shopping trolley wheels are offset by the long powerful looking axles of the main trucks. The Freebord is made for riding on smooth, paved roads.

I took it out for my first ride in the dark, hoping to avoid cars completely. This was a mistake. You can’t see in the dark. The slope was a smooth concrete road through a park, with a very gentle gradient.

Reviews I’ve read talk about catching an edge. But I couldn’t find an edge, let alone catch one. Indeed, where I hoped to find my toe-side edge before moving over to the heel-side edge, there was nothing but a sliding trolley wheel. So I bailed, and stood hopping and twisting about on the tarmac, while the board shot off and smashed into the left curb. There seemed to be nothing like the reliable edge of a snowboard.

Figurin’ it out

I fiddled about with the Allen keys that come with the board, raising and lowering the trolley wheel. On my first try, I was able to strip the edges of the hexagonal hole and render the nut on that side useless. Fortunately, there’s another one on the other side that does the same job, but I wasn’t pleased to bust part of my new kit on the first day.

CONTINUED HERE