I accidentally stumbled into a blog about a sogenanntens Wave or flexboard. These designations made me curious because entirely new, rather the surf or snowboard, or wakeboarding similar movements were to take place, if one travels with it. So a cool mix of everything, including Skateboard Feeling!
Quick looked on YouTube and there already discovered many small movies of people who make so great feats. Of course there are also sent Werbefilmchen the manufacturer to find that make the scene advantage in order to place their products well can ...
There are two main differences to "normal" Skateboard:
1.The flexboard is thinner in the middle, so that both ends of the boards can be rotated relative to each other to make changes of direction when driving.
2. The Board has not as a skateboard two axles with two wheels that can be tilted by shifting your weight, but the front and rear only one wheel, which - as with a shopping cart - let twist.
Approximately three, four manufacturers offer these boards if you google times under "waveboard" or "flex board". The prices are similar because the boards and this sport is fairly new. So take a look at design and security features:
While a category of manufacturer relies on torsion bars, which in the middle of the boards for a twisting (torsion) of the stand space permits, there is also a manufacturer as this one, which establishes the board directly from a special plastic which allows these twist. I find this better because a component that does not exist, can not break down or wear out.
Safety point it occurred to me that some board manufacturers have booths that need to be made non-slip only by more (subject to surcharge) measures such as rough adhesive films apparently. This feature also has included this Board from buying directly.
So I've decided yet on holiday on the North Sea coast to initially order a board from Amazon and get delivered right the next day it :-).
After having worked out perfectly, the kids were off, which now had to share one himself. The result: After both alternately could try half an hour and then slowly ran out of the day, were both kids both starting, accelerating, curves and evasive action (!). A day later, I had to order a second, otherwise I would have a problem ...
The two jets since almost every day so through the area and have a lot of fun with it. I can only recommend the device! The board itself has hardly suffered in spite of the many ground contacts that inevitable course. The rollers with ABEC 5 bearings are apparently commercially available and easy to replace when needed.
The most beautiful are of course a very level asphalt tracks as evening empty parking lots ... On gravel or cobblestone go no more.
Another little technical supplement that I discovered only later: The rolls are brought by a torsion spring again into a starting position, the - if you look at the board from below - corresponds to the position, having the wheels on the shopping cart, when it pushes forward. This ensures that when the kids start driving with the board, not only the wheels need to be rotated into the "right" direction. Reversing is so, however, logically not really possible.
Conclusion: The kids are thrilled to have a not to be underestimated challenge to deal with (but they create), the sense of balance is trained, the fun factor is guaranteed! I would recommend it! And another thing: Of course you can "pop down" with this board also has a mountain, but the attraction is ehr is to drive on flat or only very slightly sloping stretch. Thus the risk of injury in my view, be regarded as somewhat less than the skateboard.