Reviewed by: mepoland(Unregistered User)
,
Snowboarder
, from Needham, MA
Price Paid:
$200.00
at www.getboards.com (c Summary:
Basically freebords kick a**. ive had mine for about a year now and i keep finding new things to do with it. I got it in the first place cuz im a snowboarder and i watned something to do in the summer; i can't skateboard for s***, so i didnt really know what i was doing. when you start out, you need to find a moderately sloped hill and just practice turning and eventually carving, and then drifting and doing powerslides, which comes surprisingly easily.. it takes a few days, but once you get started it feels awesome. At first you wont think its much like snowboarding, but once you catch on you'll realize its all the same movements. remember its a hell of a lot easier to get a feel for the board when you're on a hill, and when you're going at a decent speed.
When i started, i just went down this big hill as fast as i could, or carved back and forth, just like snowboarding. Then i decided to try some new stuff i saw in the movies on the site (www.freebord.com/watch.html). It only took me a day or two to start doing 180 spins, then 360's, and once you can do those it looks so incredibly cool... and just lately i've started doing spins with just the board (so the board spins in 180's under my feet but my body doesn't rotate). I have an Alpha 112, which is great for simulating snowboards, but im thinking about getting an x-80 deck so i can do tricks better. the 112 is heavy as hell (and probably the 110 too), and its too long and heavy to really ollie. Although the longer board is better for the big hills (if you have one nearby), id go with the x-80 in general. when you want to take the tricks to a higher level, or if you do a lot of flatland, its probably better.
A few tips:
The center wheels that came with the freebord are basically cr**. I mean they work fine, but after a month or two i was out there on a hot day and hit a weird crack or something, and a big chunk of the wheel just busted right off. theres something wrong with the material they use or something. i didnt notice it for a while, and it actually didnt affect my riding much at all, but i still ended up going out and getting some new ones. so next time you're at the shop, pick up some nice 88A's (hard=lasts longer).
The outter wheels that come with the board are also too soft. It doesn't really matter for when you're just starting, but once you start spinning a lot, or ESPECIALLY going down real steep hills, i would highly reccommend some 82A's or harder. the soft ones wear down way too fast and they're too grippy for doing tricks where you slide. mine basically turned square from me powersliding after going real fast on steep hills, so i got some 70mm 82A's and they make riding SO much better. pick up some of those too.
The way i see it, the harder your outter wheels the better. you slide more, they go much faster, they dont stick to the pavement and make you catch edges, they dont overheat, they let you do spins, and most importantly they last MUCH longer.
When you start out, make your front trucks real loose and your back ones real tight. the lead truck should steer the board, and the back one should be able to drift out on either side.
Skyhooks are awesome for downhill stuff. i got some plastic ones (i dont see why you should pay an extra 9 bucks for the metal). they also let you jump the pus** way; without ollieing, but hey, what else are you gonna do on a 112-cent. board. i reccommend them if you're going to do some hard carving/drifting, but after using my board a lot i've taken them off for a couple reasons: they're a b**** if you have shoes that dont exactly fit them and they dig into your foot, you learn better balance and coordination without them, and you cant do nearly as many kicka** tricks with two giant plastic things sticking out of the board. so start with them, and take them off when you want to raise your riding to another level.
if you get one and you live anywhere near needham, ma, email me. Customer Service:
haven't needed it yet. (i didn't ask, but they probably wouldnt have sold me new center wheels after one of mine got screwed) whatever, thats wear and tear. i went out and picked up another pair, and they'll probably last me forever.
sign up at www.jboom.com/freebord. yeah. Similar Products Used:
(snowboarding), a friend of mine has a flowboard, its good but not nearly as much like snowboarding and you cant do slides, spins and sh**. freebords arent quite as good for flatland as flowboards. bu
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