Off Road Skateboards

Land boards also known as mountain boards are an off road skate board, they utilise much larger often pneumatic tires which allow them greater ground clearance and better traction and suspension. Due to their off road nature foot straps are essential when using land boards, they often also use a hand held brake connected to the board by wire. The boards steer using oversized skateboard trucks. Land boards have evolved into a versatile platform and are often used in conjunction with equipment from other board sports, especially those that are water based such as windsurfing and kite surfing. Like with the skate board and the surfboard, the aim of this is to replicate the water based sport on land to allow riders to enjoy it even if the conditions on the water are not suitable or water is inaccessible. Land boards can also be ridden on their own downhill, in a style that is reminiscent of a snow board. I particularly like the large tires used on land board and the rugged/ industrial look.

Information and pictures from:

http://www.bluearthatb.com/index.php?mountain_board=mountain_board_whats_new&atb=dirt_windsurfing

http://www.flexboardz.com

The Dirt surfer is a two wheeled land board; it shares similarities such as often being used in similar terrain and with similar equipment like traction kites and windsurfer sails it also uses a handheld wire brake and can be ridden by itself downhill. The main differences are that it only has two wheels and, steers with a free floating front wheel which uses a mechanism similar to that found on swivel castors. The front wheel’s angle changes according to the angle of tilt on the board. This makes the board much more agile than its fore wheeled counterpart and allows it to carve in a style that more accurately replicates a surf board or snowboard. It is also faster due to having less rolling resistance. However it is less stable. I don’t find the dirt surfers aesthetic pleasing despite it being rugged and exposed, because I find the tire height to width ratio unbalanced (tyres too narrow) and I think the board lacks design flare, it looks too industrial. I am aware though that the board has these features to improve its functionality and to keep its weight and cost down.

Information and pictures from www.dirtsurfer.com