With a plethora of sweet products from around the globe, its no doubt Cool Hunting had to include Freebord in its 2008 Gift Guide.
G3 Freebord Skateboard
Designed to closely simulate the behavior of a snowboard, the G3 Freebord is built with six wheels. Central wheels turn freely in any direction, allowing the Freebord to slide laterally.
Available from Freebord for $230.
The Gear Junkie Stephen Regenold recently reviewed Freebord’s G3 setup for Outside Magazine’s online blog. Check out the excerpt below or read the whole story here. Thanks Stephen!
Another new longboard, the Freebord with G3 Trucks, acts almost nothing like a skateboard when underfoot. Indeed, with six wheels and two foot-ensconcing binding wings, the Freebord, which costs $229, can produce a wild ride down terrain so steep that you’d normally need a brake.
Made to mimic a snowboard, Freebord (www.freebord.com) riders buzz straight downhill on two polyurethane wheels mounted on a spinning mechanism that sits in the middle of the trucks. Leaning into a turn, the center wheels rotate and the rider carves on his inside or outside wheels, which act like edges on a snowboard.
It’s hard to explain. And it’s even harder to master. I watched several Freeboard videos online, with the riders carving effortlessly on steep streets and skidding to stops with precision heretofore unknown on a skateboard.
But on the hills around my house, I flailed and crashed into the grass. It took several laps until the feel for the board came through, and even then I was uneasy with my technique.
A steep learning curve is common in sports like surfing and snowboarding. So why not Freebording, too? Though it looks like a longboard, this is really a new discipline in the sport.
Freebord cites more than 50,000 boards sold since its founding in 1998. There are videos to show proof of this board’s potential. If you try it, wear a helmet and pads. And be prepared for a few bumps before you get it down.
But once mastered, you’ll be able to essentially snowboard on land. Step in. Point the deck downhill. And ride off carving, the concrete or asphalt skimming past below, gravity pulling faster as the wind picks up and begins to beat on your face.
The guys at the skate/scene ‘zine SLUG (Salt Lake Underground) got their hands on a Freebord last month to review. After a few runs they were loving the ride…read more here. Thanks Adam!
Freebord
Haze 83
www.freebord.com
Much respect goes out to the newest type of ride out in the streets. The Freebord is exactly that. This skateboard-type device is exactly like a snowboard, but runs on cement instead. It has two customizable caster wheels that pivot side to side, as well as gigantic trucks on the outside of those that are used like the edges of a snowboard during a sweetly made slash through pow (technical gnar gnar term, meaning soft snow or powder). What a coincidence that Freebord is based out of San Francisco where there are hills everywhere, but no snow. So forget your $700 lift pass and move to San Francisco to get your swerve on. - Adam Dorobiala
