Comments on: We piss on your Segway!

We piss on your Segway!

327.ca — Fri, 17 Dec 2004 12:16:21 -0800

Freebord explained. (Rest of life still a mystery.) Via Bifurcated Rivets.

By: 327.ca

327.ca — Fri, 17 Dec 2004 12:17:47 -0800

Apologies for the browser window-resizing voodoo (Firefox).

By: everichon

everichon — Fri, 17 Dec 2004 12:38:54 -0800

This looks nice; I broke my leg in a coleman slide gone horribly wrong last year. And also, Pepsi Blue!

By: tomharpel

tomharpel — Fri, 17 Dec 2004 12:39:15 -0800

That's pretty cool. Using the freebord, a large, six-wheeled skateboard, people can get the snowboard experience (glide and cut) on pavement. Clever idea.

By: arse_hat

arse_hat — Fri, 17 Dec 2004 12:48:20 -0800

I read it as Freebird. I was hoping to find out why that damn song still appeals to so many folks.

By: 327.ca

327.ca — Fri, 17 Dec 2004 12:49:58 -0800

Freebird. That's that new web browser, isn't it?

By: EvilKenji

EvilKenji — Fri, 17 Dec 2004 12:56:56 -0800

how do you brake on one of those things?

By: Voivod

Voivod — Fri, 17 Dec 2004 12:58:08 -0800

Paging Dr. Freebird. Please report to the Pepsi Blue room.

By: dougunderscorenelso

dougunderscorenelso — Fri, 17 Dec 2004 12:58:51 -0800

Looks like you can't fall while riding one of these... In my experience, falling down was half the fun of snowboards. Well, that's what I kept telling people. this reminds me of my personal favorite semi-skateboard, the hill-climbing, self-powered Snakeboard.

By: freebird

freebird — Fri, 17 Dec 2004 12:59:40 -0800

Identity is a merely a steady-state solution of interpersonal dynamics - an eigendirection in a tangent bundle on the manifold of free will.

By: papercake

papercake — Fri, 17 Dec 2004 13:01:56 -0800

freebird: explain yourself

By: kickingtheground

kickingtheground — Fri, 17 Dec 2004 13:09:23 -0800

Yeah - riding at high speeds on public roads while not wearing a helmet or obeying traffic laws. Smart. Real smart.

By: OmieWise

OmieWise — Fri, 17 Dec 2004 13:13:43 -0800

Does it mean I'm old if all I can think while watching that is: THEY'RE GONNA DIE! THEY'RE GONNA DIE!

By: fungible

fungible — Fri, 17 Dec 2004 13:17:18 -0800

I got my ass kicked trying to snowboard. I can't imagine what this feels like. Genius idea though.

By: freebird

freebird — Fri, 17 Dec 2004 13:17:38 -0800

explain yourself I hope you meant this to be the wonderful logical and spiritual jest it is. Else I should be forced to point you at Godel's Incompleteness Theorem, and perhaps some drivel about what the reflection of a mirror looks like. I can no more "explain" my "self" to you than I can "explain" a flower in a crannied wall, or the entire universe.

By: prettyboyfloyd

prettyboyfloyd — Fri, 17 Dec 2004 13:22:20 -0800

Ommiewise: "THEY'RE GONNA DIE! THEY'RE GONNA DIE!" Don't feel old, I felt like that when I was 12: nasty Scab+the embarrassment stemming from eating blacktop on the playground after totally whiffing a small quarter-pipe at school = enduring love of books! Looks like a hell of a lot of fun though, I'd be wearing moto-cross style body armor if I was riding one of these things done a big hill like twin peaks in SF though!

By: jeffj

jeffj — Fri, 17 Dec 2004 13:31:03 -0800

how do you brake on one of those things? Same way you do on a snowboard - turn sideways and grind. This does look pretty fun. But yeah, pavement seems maybe not so forgiving as snow. I'm in enough pain from yesterday's bails as it is.

By: jimmythefish

jimmythefish — Fri, 17 Dec 2004 13:33:59 -0800

I like how you go so fast that the stop signs are all blurry. "Every kid now looks at the streets in his neighbourhood and sees a snowboard run." *shudder*

By: meh

meh — Fri, 17 Dec 2004 13:36:38 -0800

Oh man...it looks like fun. But I know I'd just wind up shredded all over the pavement within five seconds.

By: grimcity

grimcity — Fri, 17 Dec 2004 13:37:53 -0800

I'd really like to try this... I've been up to 45 mph on a regular street skateboard setup, but it was pretty sketchy (death wobble is always ready to strike). I've been close to 40 mph on my longboard, but it still suffers from the wobble at high speeds. I've been skateboarding for 20 years now, and it'd be nice to ride something that is both new and non-cheesy. It wouldn't stop me from being the ramp/street skater that I am, but it would be nice to break 55mph without an engine!

By: papercake

papercake — Fri, 17 Dec 2004 13:56:46 -0800

I hope you meant this to be the wonderful logical and spiritual jest it is. Exactly what I meant. Well deciphered.

By: mdpc98

mdpc98 — Fri, 17 Dec 2004 13:58:06 -0800

this looks like a lot of fun. i'd be interested in equipment wear. seems like stopping, as described by jeffj (correctly, i believe), would wear your wheels very quickly. focusing all braking force on the outside edge of the two 'uphill' wheels would be quite stressful considering the concrete/asphalt hardness. also interested in economy size tubs of neosporin... cuz i'd be quick to land on my face

By: callmejay

callmejay — Fri, 17 Dec 2004 14:12:59 -0800

That's just awesome. *runs off to buy some skater clothes*

By: andendau

andendau — Fri, 17 Dec 2004 14:22:48 -0800

When I was really into longboarding I wanted to try alot of these hybrid skateboards. Silverfish Longboarding is a good resource for learning about longboarding and other Hybrids.

By: five fresh fish

five fresh fish — Fri, 17 Dec 2004 17:37:54 -0800

Absolutely awesome. Wholly reckless. And I gotta feel sorry for the drivers who will, inevitably, strike or be struck by, one of these street 'tards. You gotta be a complete fucking idiot to blow a stop sign like the video shows several times over.

By: Balisong

Balisong — Fri, 17 Dec 2004 18:01:55 -0800

This is very cool... Reminds me of the early Powell Peralta videos where the kids were doing the same slides using a special gloved hand like they did in this video, except, with a regular 4 wheeled board on very steep slopes and high speeds... I remember "Speed Wobbles" that you would get on a regular board if you got going too fast.... the only thing to control them was a hard carve.. The trucking system these guys devoped seems to solve this in a way that very much mimics a snowboard's action.... Bet it's a lot worse to crash on hard pavement than fluffy powder wearing layers of down... ---Skate or Die---

By: specialk420

specialk420 — Fri, 17 Dec 2004 18:11:07 -0800

sweet. great link. i have been wondering about freeboards for some time. im in.

By: Enron Hubbard

Enron Hubbard — Sat, 18 Dec 2004 03:04:08 -0800

While watching these knuckleheads ignore stop signs with reckless abandon, I envisioned a beer truck catching our hero in a perfect T-bone, lifting him in a graceful arc against the sky, and three judges holding up 10.0 placards to the sound of a polite but heartfelt golf clap from the spectators gallery.

By: jimfl

jimfl — Sat, 18 Dec 2004 10:50:41 -0800

Neat, but will it get me laid?

By: kindall

kindall — Sat, 18 Dec 2004 11:03:22 -0800

Some pretty seamless special effects work there -- it really looks like a bunch of retards snowboarding on pavement.

By: terrapin

terrapin — Sun, 19 Dec 2004 06:33:04 -0800

what song is it you wanna hear?