Lightwind Alternative at Alameda. Snowkite on pavement?
Posted: Thu Jul 07, 2005 10:22 am
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A couple of months ago I used a small trainer kite in moderate winds to pull me on a cheap skateboard. I had a blast, but there were a couple of problems. I had no instant speed control, I did not have an easy way to stop, it didn't feel like a snowboard, and transitions involved coming to a complete stop. All this was addressed when I found the Freebord.
The freebord has 4 very wide skate wheels, and 2 additional rotatating wheels on the bottom.. For design specifics go to www.freebord.com
Anyhow, this board takes at least an hour to learn how to ride. Although to me it NOW feels akin to a snowboard, it doesn't at first.
The freebord design allows the board to slide and carve like a snowboard unlike a normal skateboard. This allows you to
1. Slide for speed control
2. Slide to a stop
3. Edge the board to ride upwind
4. Slide to transition
In this video, I have a total time of 3 hours with the Freebord, with about 2 of that with a kite. I am just at the beginning of the learning curve, but I am having a blast learning. I feel much safer on this boad since I can just slide to a stop if I need to. Plus it is more fun than a regular skatebord.
The wind registered 6-10 on the sensor nearest to this site (Alameda Ports) and had lots of holes.. The kite is a Kitewindsurf 3.6m preproduction model (availible later this month at www.kitewindsurf.com ) made by newtech kites.
Anyhow, here is the link to the video
www.kitewindsurf.com/trainer/KWSfreebord.wmv
Enjoy
A couple of months ago I used a small trainer kite in moderate winds to pull me on a cheap skateboard. I had a blast, but there were a couple of problems. I had no instant speed control, I did not have an easy way to stop, it didn't feel like a snowboard, and transitions involved coming to a complete stop. All this was addressed when I found the Freebord.
The freebord has 4 very wide skate wheels, and 2 additional rotatating wheels on the bottom.. For design specifics go to www.freebord.com
Anyhow, this board takes at least an hour to learn how to ride. Although to me it NOW feels akin to a snowboard, it doesn't at first.
The freebord design allows the board to slide and carve like a snowboard unlike a normal skateboard. This allows you to
1. Slide for speed control
2. Slide to a stop
3. Edge the board to ride upwind
4. Slide to transition
In this video, I have a total time of 3 hours with the Freebord, with about 2 of that with a kite. I am just at the beginning of the learning curve, but I am having a blast learning. I feel much safer on this boad since I can just slide to a stop if I need to. Plus it is more fun than a regular skatebord.
The wind registered 6-10 on the sensor nearest to this site (Alameda Ports) and had lots of holes.. The kite is a Kitewindsurf 3.6m preproduction model (availible later this month at www.kitewindsurf.com ) made by newtech kites.
Anyhow, here is the link to the video
www.kitewindsurf.com/trainer/KWSfreebord.wmv
Enjoy