Which hyboard is most like snowboarding?

[kayakr]

Wow, bro, way to bash one of the greatest sports ever. So much hate.

Maybe a little over the top. Partly meant as a devil's advocate statement. Much more bewilderment and disappointment than hate, really, over why the modern pioneers of carve don't carve. One can also see in my post that I'm grateful about the positive influence for my own purposes.

[samk115]

In my opinion Freeboarding is the closest you can get in terms of the techniques for snowboarding, however it is still a vastly different experience, you dont really have to cope with catching edges, Ice, moguls and alot of other variables that you encounter up the mountains.

That said, i am an avid Skiier(i come from Wanaka, New Zealand so i am lucky enough to have grown up with it), however i had freeboarded a few times and decided to try snowboarding once, and found myself going "oh, hold on thats just like on a freeboard" quite a bit.

[surfingdirt]

In my opinion Freeboarding is the closest you can get in terms of the techniques for snowboarding, however it is still a vastly different experience, you dont really have to cope with catching edges, Ice, moguls and alot of other variables that you encounter up the mountains.

That said, i am an avid Skiier(i come from Wanaka, New Zealand so i am lucky enough to have grown up with it), however i had freeboarded a few times and decided to try snowboarding once, and found myself going "oh, hold on thats just like on a freeboard" quite a bit.

I have only tried freeboarding one time and from the moment I stood on it I couldnt help but think "what is this crap?". It feels like a cheep skateboard just more unstable. My mountainboard carves like a dream and takes drops like a champ and from the moment you step on it you can just feel the similarities. Wouldnt trade it for anything short of a snowboard and snowmaker that would work in a tropical climate.

[keef]

The guys on the Freebord forum gave me a hard time at first, then I joined and they were like, 'Well come on just give it a bit more time, there's loads of information here, and people will help.'
So rather than just leave my Freebord hanging on my wall decided to start again with it, as if I'd never set foot on it with no preconcieved ideas.
I still think that the technique is different to snowboarding, but not as different, and when you link up a whole hill worth of turns with sliding and drifting in between it it absolutley amazing and I have to admit that I am totally 100% hooked and I love it.

[keef]

I have only tried freeboarding one time and from the moment I stood on it I couldnt help but think "what is this crap?". It feels like a cheep skateboard just more unstable. My mountainboard carves like a dream and takes drops like a champ and from the moment you step on it you can just feel the similarities. Wouldnt trade it for anything short of a snowboard and snowmaker that would work in a tropical climate.

Yep, that's what I thought at first. It takes more time to appreciate the finer points of the skills involved, when you get it though it's ####### amazing. I could not have hated it more the first time I tried it, and believe me, no one could have been harder to convince than me after that initial few tries and the spills and bruises.
The main difference is that drifting or sliding a board that has all 4 wheels on the ground all the time is that the level of grip is pretty much constant, ok it changes a little with rider input and positioning, but with the freebord you control the grip of each wheel, which is what is needed when you want to drift and slide for as long as you have forward momentum.

[radinplaid]

If there was only one thing I hated about Freebording, it was the general attitude of their rider community. Full of closed-minded, elitist, cocky evangelists -- both online and in person.

I love seeing people get passionate about what they do, but it's another matter when they choose to communicate that passion by cramming it down other people's throats.

if i didnt know better i would have thought you were telling me how the general population of this forum treats freebords...

Pfff.
Whats the hardest part about freeboarding?
Telling your parents you're gay.

seriously man.
skyhooks?
learn to ollie
Trucks and bed-frame wheel don't mix
Might as well go all out and buy some rollerblades.

DAGGERS RULE!

There is not much good about anything having to do with [freebords] as far as I can see.

All I'm seeing is some kook with skyhooks.

Welcome to the internet, where everyone's a hater.

the only freebord decision that is nesesary is not to buy one. i did the same thing your thinking of and i hated it from the moment i got it. DO NOT GET!!! they are tippy and you have to be turning in one direction or another you cant go straight

freebords are super duper GAYE

Hating on freeboards is the way people on silverfish collect all their e-cool points. You can't take that away from them.

these are only a few from just the first couple pages of results after searching for freebord in this forum. granted, there are some here that are wise enough to tolerate variety, but the general mind-set of this forum is reflected in your statement just as much. people always remember the worst of any situation and so it shouldnt be a surprise to hear you say this, but lets put away the pretenses shall we?

oh, and props to keef for keeping at it! i hope you are able to find a couple freeborders to ride with.

[kjc6]

if i didnt know better i would have thought you were telling me how the general population of this forum treats freebords...

You're probably right. I certainly think Silverfish has plenty of similarly minded members. However, my experience has been generally more positive here (and interacting with longboarders in person, in particular) than what I got from Freebording.

And as far as I recall, I've personally never talked #### about Freebording as a sport, just maybe about some of the individuals I've ridden with. I mean, Freebording is what got me into longboarding in the first place - if anything, I'm very grateful for it. I just really didn't mesh with their community very well. That's all.

But anyway. I'm not going to spend any more time explaining my opinions about Freebord(er)s. Doing so (and arguing with those who disagree with me) is not going to achieve any kind of benefit for anyone - whether they're running four wheels or six. I'm also unsubcribing from this thread, so if you (or anybody else) have any comments for me, you're welcome to take it (respectfully, I'd prefer) to PMs.

[qckslvrsiete]

This is my second post on silverfish, so I know I don't have much cred, but here's my 2 cents about freebord. My older bro has always been big into snowboarding, but I never really got into it through high school and college because money was always tight for me. My second winter out of college I decided I was gonna take the plunge and developed a total powder addiction -- I'm talking season's pass (logged 32 days which is pretty good when you consider I'm a 40 hours a week 9 to 5'er) and literally two of every piece of gear. When the season ended at the beginning of last month I was fiendin for something to tide me over until the snow came back.

I was thinkin longboard but the thing that always kept me off skateboards is that I couldn't footbrake to save my life (literally), and I always felt powerless carving down hills without the ability to stop or easily control my speed. The I saw some freebord vids and was immediately sold on it (esp. that clip where the guy stops on a dime while bombing a hill when a suburban pulls into the intersection) -- tracked down a shop in my area that sold them within a week and made the investment.

Then I tried riding the thing and was like "sh!t, I just wasted 230 bucks. this sucks." I'd spend five or ten minutes with it at a time and just give up cuz it just felt so effing weird. Then one day, I asked a buddy if he wanted to give it a shot. So we took it up to some mellow hills and started making some progress. THEN, I had the moment where it clicked.

Suddenly I was riding the thing exactly like my snowboard. Deep carves when the road was open, narrow speed checks and quick cuts when I needed to avoid obstacles in the road; it was amazing. My stance was exactly like my snowboard, I was using my shoulders and arms to counter balance like I do on a snowboard, I couldn't believe it, but I was stoked. I've taken it out for hours at a time ever since and I can't believe how well it simulates my snowboarding ride.

That being said, it's not practical at all outside of hills. I had this idea that I would use it as a commuter board and be the only consultant at my clients who rides a board to work, but soon realized it is not efficient at all when it comes to flats. The short time I've spent riding it though I think has improved my balance and confidence on a wheeled board tremendously, and decided to invest in a longboard for the commute. I messed around with a buddy's board a little last weekend and realized the footbraking and controlling of a normal skateboard/longboard was really just a mind over matter issue for me, and I'm starting to get it down.

So that's my spiel. Basically, when it's the middle of July and I get that itch to feel like I'm bombing Baker on a pow day, I'm gonna hop on my freeboard and ride. For every day practical cruising, it's my longboard.

Oh and BTW, once I got over the initial toolish feeling I got from wearing a helmet on a funny looking board, I started forcing myself to do it and it definitely helped quicken the learning process. My buddy caught an edge on it without wearing any protective gear and now he won't step foot on it. I caught an edge going downhill pretty fast with a helmet on, landed on my head, and realized it really wasn't that bad so it actually built my confidence on the thing even more. As funny looking as they are, helmets and pads are a great training tool for anyone frustrated with their freebord.

[Gomer]

Thanks for these first hand accounts of the Freebord. I think it is well established that the Freebord is the closest to snowboarding you can get on pavement.

I would buy one.

For those who ride it I wonder if the learning curve could be flattened by raising and lowering the caster as familliarity of the board increases. Could you raise the caster wheel if wanted to cruise (commute and push off) like a longboard and lower the caster to ride hills and link turns?

It seems like it would be easier to lower the caster wheels gradually to get the feel of linking turns and riding penpendicular to the fall line rather than have the casters wheels lowered an just going for it.

[keef]

Thanks for these first hand accounts of the Freebord. I think it is well established that the Freebord is the closest to snowboarding you can get on pavement.

I would buy one.

For those who ride it I wonder if the learning curve could be flattened by raising and lowering the caster as familliarity of the board increases. Could you raise the caster wheel if wanted to cruise (commute and push off) like a longboard and lower the caster to ride hills and link turns?

It seems like it would be easier to lower the caster wheels gradually to get the feel of linking turns and riding penpendicular to the fall line rather than have the casters wheels lowered an just going for it.

No don't think this would work. You just end up catching edges all over.

I tried mine on the ONE down from the highest, and it was okay until I found a slight dip in the road surface then my outside edge caught even though I was fully over on my toes. Not an experience I'd like to repeat, ever.

[ATG-ATB]

No don't think this would work. You just end up catching edges all over.

I tried mine on the ONE down from the highest, and it was okay until I found a slight dip in the road surface then my outside edge caught even though I was fully over on my toes. Not an experience I'd like to repeat, ever.

More rocker gives you more grip but more danger of edge catching.

It is possible with small centre wheels and large edges to drop the centres so only four wheels are touching but bigger centre wheels mean more speed and a smoother ride so most people don't go back once they put 72mm centres in. I only had very mellow hills near me when I started and bigger centre wheels opened up alot of terrain when I was learning!

Also the wide hangers mean a very limited turning circle if you were to do that.

[Gomer]

Also the wide hangers mean a very limited turning circle if you were to do that.

So true. I see what you are saying about catching edges with low center wheels.

The center wheels used to be adjustable (up and down). Is that still the case or do you just vary the diameter of the center wheels?

I imagine the trucks are tight too so, combined with the wide hanger, it wouldn't turn sharp with out the high rocker.

Do most people ride with sky hooks? I think they would be necessary once you got the motion and needed to clear stuff in the road.

I had heard that they couldn't jump but I've seen enough videos of them to know thats not true. I also heard that they didn't take uneven pavement well. What about that? Can they take any surface a longboard can roll over?

[sk8norcal]

yes, most people ride with skyhook,
it allows you to put more weight on your edge... and avoid the dreaded 'catching an edge'

[ATG-ATB]

They can take any surface but some just aren't much fun. The smoother the surface the better. This is one of the cons, they're not good everywhere.

The centre wheels are adjustable, but larger wheels (73mm) will only go to the third notch before rubbing the truck. The preffered setup was 85mm blue kryps on the edges and 72mm mac o-boys or joyride centres for a long time. Now blues in 85 are like hen's teeth and freebord make their own 80mm edge wheels, they've recently released their own larger ccentre wheels too. Quite frankly the stock wheels suck balls and can easily be used up in one days heavy riding!

[keef]

More rocker gives you more grip but more danger of edge catching.
It is possible with small centre wheels and large edges to drop the centres so only four wheels are touching but bigger centre wheels mean more speed and a smoother ride so most people don't go back once they put 72mm centres in. I only had very mellow hills near me when I started and bigger centre wheels opened up alot of terrain when I was learning!

Also the wide hangers mean a very limited turning circle if you were to do that.

Really? I thought it would be the other way around, so, the closer the centre wheel is to the board the less rocker, and the more chance of catching an edge?
Can you explain it please?

[ATG-ATB]

Really? I thought it would be the other way around, so, the closer the centre wheel is to the board the less rocker, and the more chance of catching an edge?
Can you explain it please?

Typo man, I meant less rocker!!

[shorncliffe longboarder]

Ok youve got lots of evidence but straight out it is freebord. For just chilling around though check out an original custom 35. or maybe one of the s9 sidewinders.