I hate to be a downer, but I just don't see design as being nearly as functional as more conventional shapes. I completely understand wanting something that rides both as a shortboard and a longboard, but when trying to use this as a shortboard, there's too much weight way up at the nose to do quick shortboarding maneuvers. And as a longboard, the funky shape of the rail is less functional than a straight rail. And I don't know what to say about that very narrow tail. I've watched a few promo videos for these boards (which you would assume would show the very best rides on these boards), and there is nothing that looks like shortboarding, and the longboarding is just mediocre. I believe a true hybrid between a shortboard and a longboard is usually a board sized between the two lengths (often called a funboard). I think the Meyerhoffer design is more "interesting" than any type of breakthrough, and more likely to impress non-surfers (and tech blogs) than surfers.
@TechSurfer: I gotta agree here. Not downplaying what he's done here, but it does looks this board makes some sacrifices and might be a board more suited for a beginner. It doesn't appear to surf much differently than a regular funboard(I think your comment on funboards is spot on, but even I won't ride one anymore), and even then I feel those still take away from getting a board/fin combo for your size/weight and style. Sometimes an all in one solution isn't the best, and this is one those cases.
I think most surfers are better off with some sort of a quiver. Just buy used, and it won't cost so much. I personally wouldn't give up my dedicated shortboard(5'10" Neptune with Vector fins), or my fish for smaller and weaker days(5'6" Neptune with huge twin keels). If anything I'd rather add a nice long board, or disc like a walden mini magic to the setup.
@CaseyG: Whenever any of my friends suggest an activity that doesn't involve lurking in a bar, I make it a point of asking whether I'll have to go out into the sun and whether there will be overhangs or trees for me to cower under.
@OMG! Ponies!: Myabe gizmodo should consider the readership a bit and suggest indoor summertime activities. summertime websites? high tech air conditioners? i dunno.
Didn't you guys already post this story a few weeks ago? Or was it engadget? Go grab so more coffee and wake up. Don't you dare make this a slow news day!
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Edited by BergenCountyJC can't beat MW2 at 08/31/09 11:14 AM
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@nutbastard: i got to agree with most of ur concerns, but brakes could easily be implemented on top of the wheels' insides. if you got some heavy gloves you could probably brake by just pushing the wheels against the inside of the wheels - leaning back while doing this might help ;)
the same goes for ollie, you could use your hands if they improve on a spot for hands on top of the wheels' insides. it's more of an ollie cheat tho
and yeah, i definately dont wanna fall off this thing, it looks like it was designed as a foot-trap
problem with brakes - engaging brakes on this thing would cause it to roll forward. balancing the lean-back with the rotation induced wouldn't be cool, just annoying, and unnecessarily dangerous.
as a long time skateboarder, I can find no end to the problems with this thing. One – steering. Traditional skateboards use a pivoting truck to turn, which in well designed trucks will do so at a rate that compliments the need for a surface perpendicular to your centripetal angular momentum. I don’t see how this could employ anything even remotely similar, which means that the board remains flat at all times (bad) or somehow they pulled it off, but you risk running your knees into the hubs.
Secondly, it’s way too high off the ground – the last thing you want at high speed is a high center of gravity.
Thirdly, aren’t hubless wheels plagued by exorbitant cost and sketchy mechanical reliability over time?
Fourthly, a normal skateboard runs somewhere around $150, $200 and up if you go for premium components. This thing looks like it’ll cost at least $400, and without an established hobbyist culture around the device, you’ll be hard pressed to get newcomers to drop $400 on what is essentially a novelty.
Fifthly, you can’t ollie with it, which means getting off every time you get to a curb. WTF. The entire point of being a decent skater is that things like curbs and stairs don’t stop you, or even hardly slow you down. BTW this is one of my major gripes about the segway.
Sixthly, I see no braking system, nor a decent way of implementing one. And you might say, well, ‘neither does a skateboard’ but at least with a skate you can drag the toe of your rear foot, or skid the tail. Also trivial on a skateboard but not on this – jumping off when a crash is inevitable. Imagine careening towards a blackberry bush and trying to jump off, and you get your feet tangled in the hubs, causing you to tumbleweed all over the place. Not cool.
Looks a lot like these: Big Wheel
and Di-Cycle.
The second I hadn't seen before I started searching, but the two linked products look suspiciously similar...
kids are already playing this all over the place in asia. Has it landed in the US yet? You kinda zigzag it by alternating the two feet, looks pretty smooth.
@diehippiedie: I've seen them at The Toy Fair - the big Toy Convention for buyers and sellers here in NYC. But i haven't actually seen any in the wild.
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09/02/09
Maybe I should just stop being witty and just come out with it from now on.
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08/31/09
I think most surfers are better off with some sort of a quiver. Just buy used, and it won't cost so much. I personally wouldn't give up my dedicated shortboard(5'10" Neptune with Vector fins), or my fish for smaller and weaker days(5'6" Neptune with huge twin keels). If anything I'd rather add a nice long board, or disc like a walden mini magic to the setup.
08/31/09
But me and the Sun - not friends
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08/31/09
[zazzle.com]
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And remember - The fight is not always to the strong nor is the race always to the quick. But that's the way to bet.
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08/31/09
I was gonna say it didn't make the cut for the latest AT&T commercial.
07/27/09
the same goes for ollie, you could use your hands if they improve on a spot for hands on top of the wheels' insides. it's more of an ollie cheat tho
and yeah, i definately dont wanna fall off this thing, it looks like it was designed as a foot-trap
07/27/09
problem with brakes - engaging brakes on this thing would cause it to roll forward. balancing the lean-back with the rotation induced wouldn't be cool, just annoying, and unnecessarily dangerous.
07/24/09
Secondly, it’s way too high off the ground – the last thing you want at high speed is a high center of gravity.
Thirdly, aren’t hubless wheels plagued by exorbitant cost and sketchy mechanical reliability over time?
Fourthly, a normal skateboard runs somewhere around $150, $200 and up if you go for premium components. This thing looks like it’ll cost at least $400, and without an established hobbyist culture around the device, you’ll be hard pressed to get newcomers to drop $400 on what is essentially a novelty.
Fifthly, you can’t ollie with it, which means getting off every time you get to a curb. WTF. The entire point of being a decent skater is that things like curbs and stairs don’t stop you, or even hardly slow you down. BTW this is one of my major gripes about the segway.
Sixthly, I see no braking system, nor a decent way of implementing one. And you might say, well, ‘neither does a skateboard’ but at least with a skate you can drag the toe of your rear foot, or skid the tail. Also trivial on a skateboard but not on this – jumping off when a crash is inevitable. Imagine careening towards a blackberry bush and trying to jump off, and you get your feet tangled in the hubs, causing you to tumbleweed all over the place. Not cool.
07/24/09
You know what this reminds me of? That Star Wars drone from Episode 2, the Hailfire.
07/24/09
07/23/09
Looks a lot like these:
Big Wheel
and Di-Cycle.
The second I hadn't seen before I started searching, but the two linked products look suspiciously similar...
07/23/09
07/23/09
07/23/09
07/24/09
07/23/09
kids are already playing this all over the place in asia. Has it landed in the US yet? You kinda zigzag it by alternating the two feet, looks pretty smooth.
07/23/09
07/23/09