Freebording: not quite skateboarding and not exactly snowboarding. With a totally unique rider-driven design, Freebord gives you the look of a street deck and the feeling of carving a mountain. Using four outer wheels to simulate a snowboard edge and 360° rotating wheels in the middle of the board to initiate slides in any direction, the feeling (so we hear) is just like bombing down a mountain.

Recently they amped up their site with three fresh designs — Elite, Haze, and Riot — all fitted with new lighter trucks for better agility. Gripped and made from 7-ply Canadian Maple, the decks are light enough for tricks but strong enough to support any height or weight. Now go shred.

Tags: Design, gadgets, innovation, Skateboarding, Snowboarding, sports

First off, if you’re not familiar with Freebord, check them out– their futuristic-skateboard design is certifiably nuts and will change the art of summer riding forever. They’re holding a 2006 Deck Design Contest with support from Snickers. The winners’ art will be featured on the ‘06 line of decks (which they will of course receive), $500 in cash, and a Snickers bar each day for a year. The deadline is March 1st, so get moving! Head over to their site for more details, templates, as well as further rules and guidelines.

Tags: skate, Snowboarding

I got a chance to meet, hang out with, and go on a little adventure with the great folks at Freebord yesterday. It was really a treat. If you haven’t seen their inventive way to literally ride the streets as if you were carving smooth powder– on steep paved concrete hills–definitely check it out. After talking shop with them for a few, I was lucky enough to go out with two of their professional riders to some of the steepest terrain I’ve seen on my whole trip to San Francisco. These guys were nuts; no helmets, no protective gear, flying around.– I viewed it all safely from a car following closely behind them as they weaved in and out of traffic, I swear it looked like they were snow-boarding, weaving around the lines of the road. One of the riders even went as far as riding in flip flops, on an older style board with no bindings–while the other was riding a newer version with some newer model bindings. Absolutely bad-ass. I didn’t have a chance to try it out this time around, but next time I’m out in the bay area with some time it’s a go–although i’m told it has a steep learning curve despite how closely it seems like snow boarding.

Tags: Skateboarding, sports, Trends