Surf Trainer / Surf Skate Skateboards
I’m thinking of getting one for a bit of fun when there’s no surf. Apparently they’re also good for your surfing. Do you think they’re worth the money ($350+)?
Got a link to one?
Haha Terminal, was thinking the same.
I was a skater before a surfer.
I don't have any recent experience. Actually, my only real skatey experience was probs 30 years ago.
Anyways I found this link which was informative.
https://www.basementskate.com.au/blog/2019/10/14/what-is-a-surf-trainer-...
How's these modern day skatey trucks.
Smoothstar have a range of skateboards with modified trucks and decks that make skating feel similar to surfing.
https://smoothstar.com.au/
@west, yeah they're wild hey. My old man actually has a setup with those trucks, I've been a skater for over 25 yrs and can barley stand on the thing! Totally different turning to conventional double kicks.
Overthefalls. There are different types for different purposes.
Smoothstar are generally good for tight turns but not long distance pumping.
Streetboardz / Carveboards good for downhill carving and/or pumping for leg strength. (I had one, but didn't like it much and sold it).
Carvers look like a good option - might get one down the track.
There are many variations and plenty of information about them if you have a look around the internet. The hard part is choosing what you want to do with it.
I've got a Smoothstar for dicking around in my garage and a lovely smooth longboard for cruising down gentle hills. I feel like they've helped me a little in practising technique and just pretending to surf.
Regardless of what you choose, they are heaps of fun.
http://www.streetboardz.net/page.php?page_id=1
https://smoothstar.com.au/
https://www.arborcollective.com/collections/skateboards/products/axis-40...
https://www.concretelines.com.au/product-category/skate/carver-skateboards/
Smooth star works great on the hills. Steep is good. Use tight surf type carves to keep your speed in check.
My bones are too brittle for steep hills. I'll leave that to the younger crew.
Complete gimmick...nothing worse than someone going ham surfstyle on the street.
Surely you're trolling Fraze? Nothing gimmicky about this:
Yup, get in a park on one and they are awesome fun. You can draw super fun lines and they definitely help your surfing, when you can repeat a bottom turn over and over it helps your muscle memory. Learn to how load and unload your weight for speed.
Really good fun to ride around on. I've got a Carver. Some mates have got Smoothstars but they seem quite squeaky and the Carver feels a bit more solid and is USA made
Gary has had a Smoothstar for about 18 months and loves it. At first Gary's technique was a bit too stiff (first time for everything!) and he subsequently couldn't last long, but he has now worked on his stamina & technique and can pump for long periods no worries IcanDig,
Poo-Man - at once stage the front truck started to squeak but Gary just did what Gary does best and applied some lubrication (WD-40) to the spring, smooth as butter.
Put some riser pads on your skateboard and some softer wheels then loosen your trucks get the same result and a hell of a lot cheaper...Hows that vid joe posted thats exactly what I'm talking about even Barton couldn't pull it off.But hey I am just a skateboard snob...everyone should aim for this...
Fraser, I imagine you'd scoff at my razor scooter and blow up Sup as well. Skaters gonna hate. Gary G - do you have any videos of your pumping technique? I'd be interested to know how you keep it up for so long?
Christian's kid and John John's mate. Floooooow...
You may have to turn the music down. Hurts the old eardrums, what?
Or conversely, one for the Swellies...
Fraser G - Gary has a real skateboard for real skating. Surf-skates / smoothstar aren't real skating but fun nevertheless.
Icandig- Gary doesn't usually take film footage, he's more of a livestream kinda guy. Will send you a nudge when his next webcam event starts xoxo
That Heel Trick Guy vid is special DC, interpretive dance for the iso age. Some smooth skating elsewhere folks, keep em coming, ‘cept perhaps the live stream Gary. Keep it behind your paywall.
I've got a Carver with CX truck. Might not be real skating, might not be real surfing but it's damn fun and it does "feel" like surfing, except you can make that wave last as long as you want.
And definitely highlighted some issues in my surfing turns and got a light-bulb moment from that.
You got to be careful not to fall in the delusion that pumping a surf skate is like pumping on a wave though, easy to get bad habits from it.
Some better videos than the trolls above :-)
Haha Yeti you keep up strengthening my point...not trolling just making a point you know.Some of the worst accidents I've seen over the last few years other than young groms on scooters is crew rocking up with the "surf simulator boards" trying too get all freaky...does not end well...best advice for helping your surfing and not wanting to use transition is pumptracks bigger the better.How can you troll using Grant Taylor ?
That Grant Taylor clip was incredible. Amazing skills!
Glifberg taking the kids to school at 45:
https://m.
Holy smoke, he still rips!
Some dude went past me after work yesterday on an electric skateboard thing, looked like it had a larger centre wheel in the trucks with 2 smaller outriders. He was riding it snowboard carving style.
Meh, I'm an old school into modern skate fan myself.
Some dude went past me after work yesterday on an electric skateboard thing, looked like it had a larger centre wheel in the trucks with 2 smaller outriders. He was riding it snowboard carving style.
Meh, I'm an old school into modern skate fan myself.
I got a smoothstar (Toledo 77) and I also ride a skateboard. I even ride it in bowls sometimes but never tried dropping in on one cause the front trucks are pretty loose. I probably could though. The way it carves frontside (skating frontside) is way nicer than a normal skatey. Or even carving in general but they're far more limited.
The smoothstar is good to work on bottom turns, cutbacks or whatever you're weak at. It carries over to surfing as well IMO. I've found though that once you have the basics down, I prefer to ride a normal skateboard. A normal skateboard is more fun and versatile for me and although the turning circle is way worse, I'll sometimes practice bottom and top turning on banks at skateparks like I do with my smoothstar. The body mechanics are the same but you can get more rotation with the smoothstar cause of the front truck.
Oh, if I had my time again I would get a slightly smaller one. The toledo 77 has bigger back wheels that are harder to slide but you can slide them but I would prefer a shorter wheelbase (183cm, 80kg) and smaller rear wheels.
Not that it's a factor for me, but I've never seen anyone look cool when they ride them. Especially when people don't pump but wiggle from side to side. It's also hard to jump between them because of how differently they turn. I'll skate around the skatepark and after I'll bust out the smoothstar or vice versa and sometimes fall off just turning when jumping on the other. The Smoothstar is way higher as well. They're very different.
My verdict is unless you're really working on your surfing, get a normal skateboard. If you only want to surf and improve at surfing, get a smoothstar.
EDIT: I read through all the comments and agree with them except the dude that said pumping on a surfskate isn't the same as surfing. It's not the same but on a smoothstar it's basically the same IMO. Can't comment on a carver because I've never skated one.
Fraser, saying everyone should aim to skate like Grant Taylor is like telling everyone to aspire to surf like John John. It just aint gunna happen, especially given my limited ability. Having said that, Taylor has got a really nice carving style in bowls akin to a surf style. I used to skate bowls and half pipes (back in the 80's / 90's) but haven't for years. I used what people call 'cruisers' but they were the de rigueur of the day. Tried the popsicles, but could never really master them. Surf skates fill the gap -especially on the flats . I'm never gunna kickflip one, but I can cruise around mine in the garage and practice technique...good for muscle memory and I can attest that I've 100% managed to replicate some movements in the water. Not as cool or as skilled as a so called real skateboard. I get it - Kooky looking ; yep but i can close the roller door, visualise a Margaret River John John carve and in my mind I'm ripping.
icandig give pumptracks a go ...great for stamina and the pumping over the humps teach you to be light on your feet while the corners are like setting your rail...all done at the most important thing in both surfing and skating ......SPEED.... Grant Taylor is more like a skating Tom Curren...out of everyones reach haha.
Nearest pump track to me is about an hour away (we do have gravel ones for bikes though) - I trawled the web a while back. They seem to be the go though - look like heaps of fun. Might have to hassle the Council for one. Cheers.
Hmmm, the John John of skating, hard one, don't think it's GT though, little to no switch game. Evan Smith or Ishod maybe? Ishod is like today's Tom Penny. Then there's Daewon and Haslam:
https://m.
https://m.
There's a great quote in the comments "no matter how good you think you are, there's always a Haslam better than you", classic!
Hmmm, the John John of skating, hard one, don't think it's GT though, little to no switch game. Evan Smith or Ishod maybe? Ishod is like today's Tom Penny. Then there's Daewon and Haslam:
https://m.
https://m.
There's a great quote in the comments "no matter how good you think you are, there's always a Haslam better than you", classic!
For street hard to go past Nyjah
Yeah agreed re Nyjah, not really known for his transition game though. Evan and Ishod are incredible on transition, Ishod particularly. Pretty sure I've seen footage of him throwing down padless 540s in bowls, and cabalerials so relaxed he's nearly snoozing off
This is great ...skateboarding such a diverse pastime...was hooked ever since riding my cousins skateboard in the 70's through to the boom mid late 80's and onwards....now both groms have skated since before than can remember...how much stuff for them to skate these days is unreal so many parks...so good for your surfing...learning to fall and get back up and go again...learning limits pushing boundaries can't recommend it enough for kids as they grow up especially through adolescence...keeps confidence and releases angst...
Surfing has tuberiding. There is no skate equivalent.
Though I was always fond of the boardslide in all of its manifestations back in the day.
Quite a line.
Street Cab!
Frontside!
History...
RIP Grosso.
I think the gx1000 stuff would be pritty close to being barreled
Skating -1975
"The surf sucks. We're going skateboarding."
Epic video Udo! Watched the whole thing last night. Good to see the birth of pool through a wider lens than Stecyk and Peralta's.
Spinifex Skateboards / Santa Teresa N.T.
2021 Olympic size Skateboard News...(Mega Bowls & Ramps allround)
US Vid Comp
https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/skateboarders-return-to-olympic...
Olympic Qualifiers at new US Park....looks like a big deal...
https://www.weareiowa.com/article/news/local/pro-skateboarders-practice-...
UK Sky 11 y/o (Youngest Olympian) was actually born in Japan (Olympic Grom Jab Mascot?)
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/mar/13/sky-brown-10-year-old-skat...
Japan's Olympic Skate Park Design
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-04-09/tokyo-olympics-skatepark-designer...
New Release...(May- Demos) So weird to see Virginal Concrete!
[ No Games ] Logo would be pretty rad!
Great Photo lay out of Olympic Skaterz tour of each Component (Cool)
https://www.midfloridanewspapers.com/search/?k=%22ariake%20urban%20sport...
( Test Event ) Japan's Olympic Skate Bowl
Guys & Skaterchix + all aspects are shown. (Not a bad little Demo vid!)
Message from Big Brother on Olympic Screen (Tick!)
Looks like sponsors (Stickers) Frame the Replay Screen Only ( Non ads on the course )
(re: YouTube official Olympic Vid Link?)
Reuters Vid looks a bit rogue but comes with some cool bass-licks!
https://www.reuters.com/video/watch/idOVECXWPD3
PS: Huge News for Oz Mega Ramp Fans...
23-24th Oct -2021- Nitro World Games locked in for Suncorp Stadium Brisbane
Hot Tip! This was on Brisbane News Tonite -(Skaterz wanna suss tickets Now!)
https://www.queensland.com/kr/ko/things-to-do/events/p-6009b3fa62574b035...
https://www.nitroworldgames.com/
Tickets ( 2day Only) Cheapie $110 > Standard $134 > VIP $169
https://premier.ticketek.com.au/shows/show.aspx?sh=ESUN0000021NC
I bought this surfeeling one about a year ago: https://surfgearlab.com/collections/frontpage/products/surfskate
It's a Brazilian brand of which there are quite a few actually. It rides okay, but difficult to say if it has complemented/improved my surfing. My mate has one of Jamie O'Brien Swelltech surfskates and he loves it.
I've got both the JOB Swelltech board and the Roots Cutback. Comparing these two, the feel and riding styles are very different. That's why when people ask me about surf skating, I always say that it depends on the type of board you ride. Some are really loose like the 3 wheeled Ripsurf mentioned seen in the review below, and others more upright like the Roots. I think most places should let people demo these boards before buying them.
Have been looking at the surf skates lately for something to muck around on. I know its more pointed towards shortboard riders, But has anyone used one and have an opinion on them?
marlinpaul wrote:Have been looking at the surf skates lately for something to muck around on. I know its more pointed towards shortboard riders, But has anyone used one and have an opinion on them?
Hey MarlinPaul..... If you decide on getting a SurfSkate - take a look at ours... Can do you a deal on a MR Version if keen.. Hit the 'message us' button on our website.. Cheers.. Chris www.bravosurf.com.au
Anyone ever tried them?