Mountain Board
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Mountainboards: An Education
Mountainboarding is an exhilarating blood pounding sport that can be likened to surfing on grass, dirt , or even pavement. It takes skill, patience and, if i do say so myself, a pretty hefty threshold for pain. There are many types of mountain boards on the market from highly tuned well constructed Pro models to homemade Franken-boards that look like snowboards on steroids. This page will breakdown my experience of discovering the world of mountainboarding, and help you to decipher whether this is a sport which you would enjoy and if so, where to begin.My Experience Getting into Mountainboarding
My Start in Mountain Boarding - Is this a Sport for You?
Inspiring Mountain Board Vids
Check this out!
Where to Begin?
The First Step: Finding a Mountain Board to Ride
Where I began...Well just like you probably did, I began to search the internet for information about Mountainboards. Through my research, I discovered that it is pretty widely accepted by people who Mountainboard that the best Mountainboards are made by a company called MBS. So, armed with this information, and a modest budget, I began to search for a used MBS Mountainboard. I found a very affordable used MBS Ambush Warrior. The Ambush warrior is arguably the bottom tier of the MBS's line and at one time could be found on shelves in your local sporting goods retailer. (This board is now discontinued.) The Mountainboard I bought came with the often optional V-Brake that I will talk about in more detail a little later. So with board in hand it was time to find terrain. I found a grassy hill at a local library which looked to be the perfect spot to test out my new Mountainboard. After the first run down this beautiful grassy wave I was hooked, but after several runs and even with very modest terrain my used ambush warrior left a little something to be desired. But what was it? And would a new more expensive board be much of an improvement? The answer, as I would shortly find out, was yes!
So what now?
Where to go from here?
What to buy?
And how much will it cost?
So Freeride Mountainboarding is the same as Freeride Snowboarding. The goal is to find steep terrain and tear ass down it with whatever style and flare you desire. You can find Freeride terrain in many different environments and it ranges from single track wooded trails to off season ski resort runs! So obviously, if you are going to tackle this type of difficult terrain you should choose excellent equipment that will not fail and will give you confidence you need to reach the bottom safely. So here are your options. MBS offers several Mountainboards that are more than suitable for even the sketchiest of runs and here are the best ones.
MBS Comp 95x Freeride Mountainboard
The Best Freeride Mountainboard Period!
MBS Pro 100 Signature Mountainboard
Exellent freeride mountainboard but consider the addition of a V-Brake for safety
MBS Pro 95 Mountainboard
Good Freeride MountainBoard when sporting a V-Brake but more of an overall rider
The Board I Chose
My Opinions...
So there you have it boys and girls the Top 3 Freeride Mountainboards on the planet. After much research, and with great consideration about where I was going to be riding my Mountainboard, I decided on the MBS Comp 95X Mountainboard with V-brake and here is what I think. I ordered this Mountainboard off Amazon and received it fully assembled and ready to rock within a few days. The first thing I did was sit it side by side to my used Ambush Warrior and the Comp 95x put it to shame. The Comp 95x Mountain Board was bigger, sturdier and the overall construction was very impressive much more so than the outdated Ambush Warrior. This board featured matrix trucks with yellow eggshell shock absorbers that virtually eliminate speed wobble (a big problem with my Ambush Warrior). The matrix trucks are amazing and can be fined tuned to accommodate any desired turning speed right from the top of the board.The deck is strong and in my mind indestructible with normal use. Needless to say I was thrilled with this Mountainboard.The MBS Comp 95x Mountainboard comes with F4 ratcheting bindings which are very comfortable and work quite well. Overall this mountain board has exceeded my expectations but seeing it in person and riding it lead me to some other thoughts...
What I Discovered
Things you Should Consider
After inspecting and more importantly riding my new MBS Comp 95x mountain board I came to several conclusions. The first conclusion I came to was this board fit my current personal needs perfectly. The board is durable and well constructed and because I was planning on pushing this Mountainboard to the limits by engaging it in such activities as ski resort riding it had to be well built and safe. However before receiving this Mountainboard and riding it I had delusions of occasionally removing the v-brake and using this Mountainboard for freestyle riding (riding focusing on tricks) , but after receiving it, I quickly concluded that the board was just too heavy, and overall too large for such activities. With that being said MBS does make several Mountainboards that can better accommodate freestyle or trick riding and also has a few mountain boards which can perform quite well for both Freestyle and Freeride Mountainboarding. First here are the top 3 freestyle mountain boards.
MBS Pro 90 Mountainboard
Excellent Freestyle Mountainboard - Preferred Mountainboard for Kite Boarding
MBS Comp 90 Mountainboard
Excellent Freestyle Mountainboard for a Great Price
So There you Have it
Other Options for the Budget Conscious Shopper
So there you have it, the best Freeride and Freestyle Mountainboards money can buy. I know what some of you must be thinking, you are not sure if you will like mountainboarding and it looks a tad expensive to find out. Although the boards I have feature are the best available and certainly flaunt a price to match there are some very good options for the budget constrained shopper. Here are some more affordable options.
Conclusions
Mods and Upgrades Briefly Discussed
The Mountain Boards listed above, although significantly cheaper then some of their higher end counterparts are still excellent high quality Mountain Boards. If you are just starting out I would definitely recommended purchasing one of these brand new entry level Mountainboards, opposed to an outdated used board. Also like many other sports/hobbies you do get what you pay for and the more you spend the better components you will receive (trucks,wheels,hubs,etc...). Rest assured though if you choose one of these entry level Mountainboards you can easily upgrade your components at a later time. I will briefly list some of the most popular components/upgrades for MBS Mountainboards below.
Mountain Board Truck Upgrades
Mountain Board Hub Upgrades
Upgrade You Wheel Hubs
Mountain Board Wheel Upgrades
Upgrade the Wheels on Your Mountainboard
Mountain Board Binding Upgrades
Mountain Board Accesories
Top Mountainboard Accessories
Replacement Parts
What to Do if Something Breaks
Tech Kits and Replacement Parts
Mountainboard Replacement Parts
Finally: Is Mountainboarding Safe?
What Precautions Should you Take?
). But as long as you learn slowly and are aware of your own limitations and you don't push them too quickly you should have a safe enjoyable experience mountainboarding. There are also many ways to reduce the threat of injury the most important being wearing the proper safety gear. I know what some of you might be thinking (BS, pads are for wussies). Well I will tell you from personal experience even when riding the easiest of terrain the more pads the better. I neglected this advice for the first month I was mountainboarding and oh boy do I wish I hadn't. I took a couple of nasty rookie spills early on and my tail bone was bruised for months and I had many nasty scraps and plenty of bruising to show off to family and friends. So remember to pad up and cover as much skin as possible so when you spill you can pop up quickly for another run. Below is a list of essential safety equipment that I recommend. Top Safety Gear
Safety Equipment Revisited
Final Thoughts
So that's about it. I hope this information was useful to you and remember take it slow and pad up! And who knows maybe one day we will cross paths while riding on some sick Colorado single track. Oh and be sure to take the time to answer the poll question and also to check out some of the sickest mountain board videos on the web. Be careful and happy riding.
Mountainboarding Style Poll
Thoughts on Mountainboarding
Have any questions or thoughts about Mountainboarding? Share them here
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Nov 7, 2011 @ 2:43 am | delete
- Interesting sport:) great lens!
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by MreXtreme
Hello world. This is my bio. I can edit it later!
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