After 9 days of building walls, painting, polishing floors and moving in shipping containers (not to mention moving hundreds of longboard decks, wheels, trucks, kites, kiteboards, standup paddleboards, wetsuits, and a heavy-ass flat screen TV) we are finally moved into our new Seattle longboard shop! We tripled the size of our old building and the parking lot which will be a huge bonus for customers. Plus, we’re easily accessible from the 2 biggest arterials in Western Washington, the I-5 freeway and Aurora Avenue (aka Highway 99), along with being about 4 blocks from Greenlake.
We’re super excited to have the space to expand our inventory to offer our customers all the latest and greatest new products including skateboard decks and accessories. Plus, Black Dog Longboards will be manufactured at our shop which means if you want a custom Black Dog longboard with a specific wheelbase, width, or length, we have a direct source to getting you your ideal deck.
We hope you’ll stop by and check out our new spot! And if you don’t live in the area, no worries. We plan on setting up a web cam inside the shop so you can see what’s going on at MoBo. Plus, if you want to see the lip on a Nersh wheel, we can hold it right up to the camera for you to see first hand, even if you’re in Brazil.
Directions:
Take the 85th Street Exit on I-5 and head west on 85th street.
When you get to Aurora Avenue, you’ll see a 76 station on your left.
Take a left at the light.
At the first light that you come to at Greelake Avenue, make a u-turn.
Then just take a right into our parking lot.
Seattle neighborhood central to eco-friendly board sport destinations
Motion Boardshop New Location and Shop
Lake Forest Park, Wash. - August 23, 2010 - Motion Boardshop (MOBO) is moving to a new location on Sept. 3, 2010 and will celebrate its grand opening on Sept. 12. MOBO’s new address is 8316 Aurora Avenue North, Seattle, 98103 (formerly a Karin’s Beauty Supply Store).
The Seattle longboards shop will have a larger selection of products like longboard decks thanks to the increased space, as well as more parking, and easy access from I-5. Since its arrival to Lake Forest Park in 2008, the business has quickly outgrown its location.
“We’re going to miss the tight-knit community we came to know and love in Lake Forest Park,” Jason Clack, MOBO owner said. “We’re excited to establish MOBO as a similar staple in the Greenwood neighborhood.”
The new store, located near the intersection of 85th and Aurora, is close to many longboarding, paddleboarding, and kiteboarding destinations including Green Lake, Golden Gardens, Carkeek Park, Richmond Beach, and Magnusson Park.
Based on its proximity to Green Lake, Clack expects the new location to be especially convenient for standup paddleboard rentals and the Woodland Skatepark in Lower Woodland Park at 5201 Green Lake Way North. Clack plans to sell skateboards with the increased retail space of the new store.
“We love board sports because they are so eco and green friendly,” Clack said. “They use water, wind and gravity (or pavement) as opposed to sports that need gas or whatever else.”
Offering kiteboarding lessons while the sport was in its infancy, Clack opened Seattle Kiteboarding Center (now Motion Boardshop) almost 10 years ago in Everett, WA. Today he still operates his kiteboarding school under the same name. It wasn’t until the shop moved to the Lake Forest Park neighborhood that MOBO became a local mecca for longboarding and downhill speedboarding. The business also expanded into areas of stand-up paddleboarding and skimboarding.
Having grown up in the greater Seattle area and collectively skating and longboarding for 40 years, Clack and his wife Katie have centered their business on sharing their passion of board sports and living life to the fullest. The Clack’s have grown their business from the ground up, thanks to the support of their YouTube following and local crew. MOBO has been a welcoming place for many skaters to meet, talk shop and watch video footage.
“Our local crew has not only helped our success, but they have invoked the excitement of board sports in this community,” Clack said. “Without them, we definitely would not be having as fun. We wouldn’t be MOBO without them.”
For more information, call (206) 372-5268 or email Shannon@motionboardshop.com. To see the massive selection that Motion Boardshop offers, check out their online store at http://motionboardshop.com.
Thought everyone might want to know about this free event featuring Hawaii North Shore Photographer Clark Little’s Movie/Slideshow at REI Seattle on Friday, September 3 at 7:00 pm.
Clark Little’s photography has recently been featured in National Geographic, Nature’s Best Photography, Geo, Nikon World, Sierra Magazine and
on TV shows Good Morning America, Today Show and Inside Edition.
As a pioneer of surfing the Waimea Bay shorebreak, Clark’s photography captures the oceans waves from the inside out. It’s pretty spectacular work, and if you’re an ocean lover like us, definitely worth checking out.
We would love to attend ourselves but since we’re moving our Seattle longboards shop to a new location, we might not have enough time. : ( Hopefully we can finish up the move quick to make it to this aevent!
So far, I think about half of the entries for our longboarding video contest have been from the great Northwest which is awesome. This one is from Liam and Alex who live out on Vashon Island, a little blip in the Puget Sound with some great hills. Unfortunately Liam is nursing a broken hand right now but the friends figured out a fair way to split the prize if they win. One will keep the Rayne Killswitch longboard and the other one gets the precision Munkae trucks. These guys both ride Loaded longboard decks with Orangatang wheels. It’s a fun, light-hearted video that we really enjoyed watching.
If you already read our blog post on how to grip tape a longboard, then you already know what you’re doing. But if you still have questions about the process, you can watch this handy video we put together which shows a sped up play-by-play. Remember, in order to grip your longboard deck you’ll need: a box cutter, a file, and scissors.
*If your deck is wider than your grip tape, you can do horizontal or vertical stripes instead. Just use a ruler to help you cut a straight line. Then flip it so the ragged edge is on the outside of the board, on the side that will be cut off. Our favorite grip tapes are gnar grip and edger grip. But if you have a deck made of bamboo or walnut, you may want to use clear grip to let the wood grain shine through. If you’re still having difficulty gripping your deck, bring it by our Seattle longboard shop and we’d be happy to do it for you.
Tonight, one of the MOBO teamriders, Jerica Green, will be featured on the one and only Tru TV as part of their 20 Most Shocking Series. Last year, Jerica took a nasty fall while navigating a corner in one of our local neighborhoods and the longboard wheels on her Five Mile longboard deck didn’t grip enough. Though she didn’t break any bones, she tore up the ligaments and tendons in her arm pretty extensively. When you watch this video, you’ll understand why. Luckily she was smart enough to wear pads and a full face helmet when she was out riding. Though the injury took her out of the running for the Maryhil Festival of Speed last year, she’s now fully recovered and was able to compete this July. It’s a lot easier to watch now that I know she’s okay but this video still makes me cringe every time I see it.
This entry for our video contest comes from another local, Jayson M., but unfortunately he’ll be leaving the NW to go to college in Tennessee. Jayson is not only a wicked longboarder but he’s also into skimboarding and skiing, as you can tell from the video. Out of all the longboard decks on the market, he goes with one of the most sought after: The Loaded Dervish. He rocks his with classic Randal 180s, a split duro Durian combo, and Bones Reds bearings. He’s only been riding for 3 years but he loves to nail one footed stalefish predrifts. Hopefully he’ll come by our new seattle longboard shop when he comes home from college to visit!
Five Mile Longboards are back in action and cranking out boards again. They took some time to engineer, craft, scheme, design, test, prototype and perfect their latest shape: the Five Mile F-22 Raptor. Compared to other longboard decks, this one revolutionizes the world of downhill longboarding by offering the first triple drop which is pending a patent. The Five Mile Militia wanted to come up with a board specifically made for downhill on technical courses. Instead of foot braking to scrub off speed before hitting a hairpin turn, you can now pre-drift like mad and hook back up. The angled hot pockets make for a super comfy ride when you’re in your tuck. This is truly a board that you have to ride before you can form an accurate opinion. It’s so unlike any other board out there, you just have to hop on it with your tuck to feel the magic for yourself.
We received another international entry for our video contest, but this time instead of coming from Norway, it comes from the opposite climate: San Juan, Puerto Rico. Alejandro calls his video “Our Session Today (Pa Panamericano)” which gives us a behind the scenes look at the streets of PR. He’s a fan of Loaded’s longboard decks and rides a Vanguard with Bear Grizzly trucks, Orangatang wheels and Sector 9 ceramic bearings. It’s a pretty sweet setup if you ask me. He’s been riding for 5 years now and has mastered dancing and boardwalking. This vid is a nice combo of sliding, fancy footwork, and humor.
Our buddy just keeps ‘em coming with his instructional strapless kitesurfing series. I don’t know where he’s finding the time to edit these gems together. This particular one focuses on how to catch some air on a surfboard or skimboard. You’ll want to start by finding a nice piece of chop to launch off. Keep your kite at a 45 degree angle. As you hit the chop, keep a wide stance and press down on your back foot and. Try your best to point the board upwind so that the wind will push the board back towards you, essentially keeping it stuck to your feet. Then point the board downwind again as you land so you can ride away.
The first time I tried a strapless jump it was on a skimboard like the Slingshot Scud skimboard which is nice and wide making it easy to stay balanced on when you land. I’m pretty sure Nick was flying one of the Best Kiteboarding kites when he filmed this.
Yet another video contest entry rolled in, this time it was from one of our local crew, Allan Wilkerson. His friend Danny Wood, makes a guest appearance in this one too. Allan is a well respected skater around these parts and consistently gets top rankings at all the freerides that are held pretty regularly. Not to mention, he’s been a huge helping hand at many of our events. As far as I know, Allan (known here as DH Allan) is sponsored by Bentley longboards and so he rides a Bentley Silhouette longboard deck with surf-rodz trucks, and 80 Orangatang In Heat longboard wheels. He used a POV camera duck taped to the back of his full-face helmet to get this footage rolling down Holmes Point Road which is right in our back yard. FYI, Allan can toeside standy all day long.
Nice! Another video contest from one of our local rippers Gabe Trainer. From Shoreline Washington, Gabe was one of the best groms that hung around our seattle longboard shop but he’s old enough to hang with the big boys at this point. Gabe had a serious, crazy longboarding accident that will keep him off the pavement for a whole year which was a big bummer when we first heard about it. If he wins this video contest, he wouldn’t be able to ride the Rayne longboards complete Killswitch with surf-rodz, but he’s such a nice guy he said he’d probably hook one of his buddies up with it. What a guy! That’s why I love that skating community so much. So check out this video he put together that actually started out as a school project for a video making class he took.
Need more wheel options for freeriding? These wheels are great for freeriding and comparable to the Retro Freeride and Orangatang Stimulus. Best of all, they’re really affordable too.
Popular, affordable, and ready for smooth, buttery drifts and slides. These wheels are fast and have a great core to urethane ratio. You’ll get a smooth drift with some decent grip. Cruise and carve, or ride them in the parking garage.
Big lips grip! Wider than the average freeride wheel, offering way more versatility for your riding. Not only can they slide, they also grip corners, making it an awesome all-around wheel. These wheels are beveled on each side and come pre-broken in. Pair them with a drop deck to raise the ride height and prevent rail bite.
Fast, smooth, comfortable, and good for all types of riding. Powerballs are great for smooth drifting and sliding, speed checks, carving, and standup slides. Secure for carving, and rolls over pebbles with no problem.
The best of the best from the Orangatang joined forces to make a video of epic proportions. Finally, a longboarding video that’s original, but still fun and full of sick riding. This is exactly the kind of originality I would hope to see in the video that wins our contest. This video brings together the skills of Kevin “K-Rimes” Reimer, Patrick Switzer, James Kelly, Kyle Chin, and Douglas Dalua da Silva in the hills of Los Angeles. Mastermind film-maker (and super talented rider) Adam Colton filmed and edited it all together with the help of Jonathan Jelkin. Even though these guys all rock Orangatang wheels, their decks range from different Rayne longboards to the Fullbag Elise P-Swiss longboard.
Even if a beginner can body drag upwind, it can take them a long time to get back to their board. It takes a lot of time and practice to master this technique. Picking up a loose board and delivering it back to the owner is much appreciated. Just make sure you pass along that good karma when you get a chance and you’re a more intermediate rider.
1. Approach the board from upwind. As you reach the board, slow down and sit in the water so you can fly your kite in neutral.
2. Pick up the board and put in your lap, so that you can use your knees to hold it while controlling your kite.
3. As you get up out of the water, use your backhand to hold a foot strap while still controlling your kite. Your knees will help steady the board as you start off.
4. As you ride away, you can then tuck the board under your arm
5. When delivering the board back to the rider, go past them downwind to prevent a kite tangle. Set the board down nicely where they can easily get to it.
On another note, always write your name on your board so that if you do lose it, the person who finds it knows how to get ahold of you. If you’re in the market for a new board, we urge you to stop by a demo a Best Spark kiteboard or the Cabrinha Custom kiteboard, both are favorites of ours.
To retrieve a loose Slingshot kiteboarding kite, make sure you have a plan and can predict where the kite will go. If the kite is tumbling, don’t try to grab it until it settles down. Wait until the kite seems to be staying on the water.
1. Go downwind of the kite as you approach so that you won’t get into any line behind the kite.
2. As you pass the kite, look for a place to grab where you can control it.
3. Stay a little upwind of the kite so that your kite is pulling you away. This will help to avoid getting wrapped up in the loose kite.
4. The nice thing about grabbing a bridle is that you don’t need to flip the kite over. Simply pull the kite with you, and the wind will lift the kite above the water.
If the kite doesn’t have a bridle, you can grab a wing tip to stop the kite and then drift away from the kite and begin to help it flip over before you start to ride on your board. Either way, make sure you approach, observe, plan, and then proceed to grab the Best Kiteboarding kite. If it doesn’t feel right, just trust your instincts and let go of the kite.
A couple of weeks ago our friend Sam came in with his own money to buy his first longboard. He ended up walking away with a killer setup including an Earthwing Superglider longboard with Monster Hawg wheels and Paris trucks. He’s been back to a make a few adjustments to his board, and recently bought some new pads including a Triple 8 helmet. We love hearing from customers, especially when they tell us how much fun they’re having.
From Sam’s Mom:
“We picked up Sam’s new pads from Motion yesterday and went for a cruise around the neighborhood. He is *loving* the board. Just wanted to share a couple of pics with you.
Thanks again to all of you for making him feel so welcome. He is always addressed by name when we visit the store. :)”
Here is yet another video contest entry coming from Andrew out of San Diego. We’re so jealous of all the sun he gets down in SoCal. We could use a good dose of that right now in the Pacific Northwest! Although he doesn’t showcase it in this video, Andrew can do a killer one handed toe side pendy. His setup includes a Kracked Skulls Scimitar longboard deck, randal 180s and Sector9 Nineball longboard wheels. Its hard to believe Andrew has only been riding for 7 months. I love the quote he chose for the opening scene, “Longboarding is my waking dream…”
Here’s yet another entry for our longboarding video contest. This one comes from a local rider out of the beautiful Pacific Northwest. This entry from Kirk of Portland, Oregon shows of the best the NW has to offer. He uses a makeshift “boom cam” for his gopro camera on the end of a long pole. We use something really similar to get a perspective looking back at the riders. He’s been skating for about 2 years now and enjoys doing big standies. His longboard deck of choice is a Longboard Larry Manatee, Bear grizzly trucks, and 83a Orangatang wheels.
This is the 6th entry for our longboarding video contest. This one comes from Michael V. out of Columbus, Ohio. It’s hard to believe he’s only been skating for about four months! This is a really well edited, high quality HD video with some sweet freeriding footage. Not sure exactly how old Michael and his friend are but they do a good job representing the groms of the longboarding world. He rides one of the most popular longboard decks at our Seattle longboard shop, the Landyachtz Switch. Plus, he’s got a sweet setup with classic Randal 180s, Abec11 Gumballs and some abec9 bearings. His favorite trick is the heel side shovit slide.
Here’s the latest installment to our video contest. This one comes from Philemon Crete, another longboarder from Canada. He rides in Montreal but this video was shot in North Conway. This is one of the most original videos I’ve seen so far. I love how he gripped his board to look like turn tables and the opening scene is just classic. I think you’ll love it too. Philemon’s longboard deck of choice is a custom DKLB with sabre trucks and the longboard wheels he goes for are the 76mm Sector9 Race Formulas. This guy really knows how to rip. I think you can tell how much he loves longboarding when he licks his board! He’s only been skating for 2 years but can freeride with the best of them.
The Orangatang team has been bumming around Europe for all the IGSA races across the pond this summer. They’ve been at Almatrieb in Germany, The Graveyard Call in France, and the Padova Grand Prix in Italy. While they were in Barcelona, Spain, it looks like they paid a visit to the skate shop there full of longboard decks from Loaded and longboard wheels from Retro and everyone else. This video is super smooth and shows some fancy footwork from James Kelly, Patrick Switzer and K-Rimes. Hopefully we can get them to pay a visit to our Seattle longboard shop one of these days!
Here’s the fourth entry for our video contest to win the highly sought-after Rayne Killswitch complete with Surf-Rodz precision trucks. This one comes from Audun G. out of Oslo, Norway. In his video, he shows us his favorite place to skate with his crew. They call their spot Aces Playground and they call themselves the Ace Crew. These guys know how to rip it up! Audun’s longboard deck of choice is a well loved Roger Bros DH36 that flexes after being skated on so much. He rocks super loose Paris trucks and coned Pink Powerballs, the sign of a true skater! After 4 years of longboarding, his favorite tricks are super sketchy early grabs and super tight toeside speedchecks and pendys. Love the Ratatat music choice and their freeride playground looks right up our gnar-alley. You can really tell how much the Ace Crew loves longboarding.
Here’s the 3rd entry for our longboard video contest. This one comes from Michael F. who lives in Pennsyltucky! haha You have to watch the video to get that one. He’s got some great downhill speedboarding footy here. Love the originality though. Unfortunately his audio was stripped when he first uploaded it to Youtube, so thank god Vimeo is so cool about copyrighted music. He has two longboard decks, a Revenger and a Switchback and he rocks those with Kahalani precision longboard trucks and 80a Orangatang 4prez wheels. He’s been riding for 7 years now and loves doing biggggggg ‘ol standies!
We wanted to share with you the latest entry for the seattle longboards video contest that we just announced on Friday. We were super excited to get a few entries in the very first day. This one is called “For the Love of Longboarding” and comes from Michael B. out of St. Louis, Missouri. He rides two longboard decks in this video. One is a 46″ Stella with generic trucks and 69mm wheels and abec5 bearings. The other is a 30″ Gravity Gringo with 66mm Gravity Burners, Tracker 129s and Abec 5s. Michael has only been skating for about 4 months now and likes to do the boneless trick.
Here’s the first entry for our freshly announced video contest. This one comes from a friend of ours in the Great White North (Canada). Kevin Yue from Edmonton, Alberta put together this video. His longboard deck of choice? The Rayne Vendetta with indy trucks and 72mm Pink Powerball wheels. He’s been riding since he was four years old which is a total of 8 years and his favorite trick of choice is the Tre Flip. Thanks for being our first contestant Kevin!
So you’ve made it through your series of kiteboarding lessons. After countless frustrating sessions of waking up the beach, you’ve mastered the waterstart. After that, you spend some time “mowing the grass” as we call it, or cruising back and forth. And finally, you’re able to make flawless transitions without dunking back into the water. At this point, you’re ready to do the thing that probably inspired you to learn how to kiteboard in the first place: JUMP! In order to get more than just 5 feet off the water’s surface, follow these steps from The Kiteboarder magazine.
1. Pick up some speed by veering slightly downwind.
2. Keep your kite at 10 o clock (if you’re on a port tack).
3. Start to turn the kite in the opposite direction, towards 12 o clock.
4. Edge the board harder and harder.
5. Stand up straight and release the board from the surface of the water as the kite reaches directly overhead at 12 o clock.
6. Once you’re in the air, pull your knees up and use your forward hand to redirect the kite back in the direction you’re traveling, back down to 10 o clock.
7. As you near the water, prepare your legs to absorb the shock of the landing.
8. Point your board slightly downwind and keep it flat as you land so you can ride away with speed.
If you don’t get much air but glide downwind a few feet, try again and edge the board harder next time.
If the board skids out on you when you land, remember to point the board downwind, not upwind as you land.
BONUS TIP: just before you land, pull the bar in towards you to power up the kite, it will create a little extra lift to feather your landing.
For beginners, our favorite kite for easy boostability: the Best Kahoona Kite
Here’s another step-by-step breakdown from the Best Kiteboarding video gallery. Andy Hurdman shows you how to do a Front Roll with four simple rules (click here to watch the video).
Four Rules to the Front Roll
1. Kite Position
Keep your kite at 45-60 degrees with good edge control. This will help initiate your pop and get you off the water to finish your rotation.
2. Take Off
To get good pop off the water, slightly bear downwind to get more board speed, then edge hard against the kite, pointing your board up wind. Pop out by throwing your head and shoulders forward, looking over the nose of your board. This will start a forward rotation. The key is to get a good pop and edge.
3. Body Position
Once you get good pop, turn your head and look toward your back shoulders as you leave the water, then bring in your legs to help your rotation. To help start the front roll, lead with your head and lean forward as you leave the water. As you leave the water, crunch your legs in. Tuck your legs, turn your head, and your body will follow.
4. Landing
Since you started your rotation by watching your back shoulder, you are able to spot your landing as you get half way through rotation. Spot your landing as you come around. Bring out your legs to slow your rotation and land smoothly. Keep your head turned until you finish your rotation, which will allow you spot your landing. If your rotating too fast, open your legs to slow your rotation and land smoothly.
Special Tip: Having trouble rotating? Taking off your lead hand will sometimes help finish your rotation.
Before you start, decide whether to grip the entire board, leave a pinstripe, a custom design, or horizontal strips. For a solid grip, you need enough length to cover the entire board or the portion of the board which you want gripped. Boards wider than 10 inches can be difficult to grip entirely (since most grip doesn’t come wider than that), so we’d suggest using a pinstripe or horizontal strip design (see Step 1 for details).
You’ll need: a box knife or razor blade, scissors (very useful when cutting patterns for the grip), a ruler or something with a straight edge, something to file the edges, and a sharpie.
Step 1: Remove the paper backing from the grip completely, and line up the grip where you want it, making sure that you don’t have it crooked leaving any standing platform exposed.
To add a pinstripe or horizontal design, you’ll need to cut the grip in half lengthwise (hot dog style, not hamburger) before you remove the paper backing. Don’t worry about how straight it is. Once you have the grip in two pieces, you can flip the them around so the outside edges are aligned on the center pin stripe for a nice straight line.
Step 2: Press down evenly to ensure the grip stays on well. Focus on small sections of your board to avoid air bubbles. With a drop deck (like the Rayne Demonseed longboard), it helps to work from one end of the board to the other once you have lined up the grip.
Step 3: To assure that your grip will stay on, use a spare wheel to roll across the deck using your hand to apply pressure.
Step 4: Now, using the file (the metal handle of a socket wrench works like a champ as well) run down the edge of the grip tape against the rails of the board at a 45 degree angle. When you are done with this step you should see the shape of the board but still have the entire piece of rectangular grip on the board. The whole point of rubbing down the edge is to score the edge and make it easier to cut.
Step 5: Using the razor blade or box knife, while holding the board, run the knife up the side of the board using the rail as a guide of where to cut. It may take some time, so be patient. Make sure that the blade is pretty sharp because a dull blade won’t give you as clean of a cut.
Step 6: Once you have removed a majority of the excess grip, check the edges for any grip that you missed. A nice finishing touch is to take that file again and run it down the edges, this helps ensure the edges of the tape don’t lift up and begin peeling.
This video is a Motion Boardshop exclusive interview with the one and only James Kelly (”The American Dream!”) You might recognize him as a sponsored rider for Orangatang and as one of the faces behind SkateHouse Media. But we know James as an all around great guy, not to mention a skater that makes the rest of us look like a bunch of little girls.
Even though James could have his pick of any of the longboard decks out there, he chooses to ride the Longboard Larry Sea Calf. At 36″ long, the Sea Calf has a nice short wheel base allowing him to get down nice and low to grip around the turns and loops of Maryhill and still be nice and agile. His preferred setup? Classic Randal RII 180’s on 42* Baseplates. The longboard wheels he rocks for Maryhill are the Orangatang In heats in the 80a durometer. He also uses 85a venom eliminators on his setup.
This is the Motion Boardshop video review of two of our favorite longboard decks, the Rayne Nemesis and the Rayne Demonseed. We decided to make this video after getting multiple requests from our youtube subscribers that wanted to learn more about the decks, particularly the Nemesis. Trevor lays it down for you all.
Nemesis: Bamboo core sandwiched between two layers of fiberglass giving it for a nice lightweight without sacrificing any strength. This is one of the few boards that will work for pretty much any kind of riding discipline. So many people ask us “what deck will do it all?” and 9 times out of 10, we’ll recommend the Nemesis. Thanks to its short wheelbase, its great for carving, while the symmetrical shape and 1″ drop makes it a killer freeride board. The shorter wheelbase option will make the deck more nimble and the long WB will make it more stable at higher speeds. Wide trucks (like Paris 195s or 200mm Surf-Rodz) work best since the standing platform itself is so wide. The fact that 80% of Motion employees own a Nemesis speaks volumes about the deck.
Demonseed: Newly redesigned to be symmetrical which is a huge improvement upon last years model. It’s basically a longer Nemesis with the added drop thrus. A better option for taller guys with a wider stance. Thanks to the nice big cut outs, you rock wheels upwards of up to 85mm. It has 6 plys of bamboo in the middle between the two sheets of fiberglass making it light but still stiff. Consider it the big brother to the Nemesis. We like it with the Abec 11 Freeride wheels thanks to their buttery-smooth slide. Or for downhill, try the new Nersh Money Hax for super grip and roll speed.
Unlike all the other longboard decks in the Kebbek lineup, the Hairpin isn’t named after one of their teamriders. The thing that stands out most about this deck is it’s super gnarly, aggressive concave. It’s not like your average concave though. A nice, wide flat in the middle makes it a lot more comfortable on your feet than most crazy concaves. But once you get to the sides, the rails jut upwards to grab onto your feet like a claw. Compared to the JimZ and the Steve Daddow, this concave takes the cake. Those claws make sure you have super leverage without having to worry about your feet slipping.
longboard deck
The ever-so-precisely cut drop through mounts make the Kebbek Hairpin longboard ideal for freeriding or speedboarding. Made from 100 percent solid Canadian rock maple just like all the other decks in the line-up, this board is built to last. All 8 plys of wood are compressed underneath tons of pressure to sandwich it all together. This deck features a universal drop through mount so you can saddle up with any combo of trucks and wheels your heart desires. Thanks to deep wheel wells, you can ride bigger wheels than usual.
kebbek longboards
It may have taken Kebbek a few years to get their stuff together but it was well worth the wait. Their new designs are pure perfection. And at $169 a pop, this is a purchase you can’t go wrong with.
If you’ve been skating hard all summer, chances are your bearings are probably due for a cleaning. If you spin your wheels and hear a gritty, crunchy sound, that’s the dirt in there slowing you down. Sure, if you’re lazy you can always shell out $13 for a new set of Mini Logo Bearings but it’s super easy to just clean them too.
1. It should be obvious, but you’ll need to pop your bearings out of your longboard wheels first. You can use the axle of your truck to pry them out which is much better than a screwdriver.
2. To completely clean the bearing, you’ll also have to take the outer shield off. You can use a thumb tack or needle to pull it off but be careful during this step so you don’t damage the shield.
3. Use a papertowel or toothbrush to scrub off any loose dirt on the bearings.
4. Place the bearings in a container (one that has a top) and fill it with mineral spirits or acetone.
5. Shake the jar to distribute the cleaner through the bearings and let them marinate in the solution for 15 minutes.
6. Rinse your bearings off with a high concentration isopropyl alcohol which will remove any last bits of dirt and will also evaporate to dry the bearings.
7. Place 2 drops of bearing lube or speed cream inside the bearings.
8. Spin them to disperse the lube around the bearings.
9. Place the shield back over the bearings.
10. Pop them back in your wheels and you’re ready to take your longboard deck for a cruise.
how to clean longboard bearings
**NOTE: DO NOT use WD 40 to clean your bearings. Avoid riding through puddles which will rust your bearings quick. Thanks to this blog for the play-by-play.
Steve Daddow is arguably the face of longboarding in Australia. He pioneered the sport in his home country and worked hard with local media to get the sport off the ground and portrayed in a good light. Many of Aussie’s best downhill skaters and slalom riders have Steve to thank for getting them started too. He’s been skating for 26 years and has a lot to show for it, including multiple titles for giant slalom racing.
The Kebbek Steve Daddow deck is one of the newer boards added to the Kebbek line-up for 2010. Just like Daddow’s style, this deck is designed to be super versatile for all riding disciplines. Underflushed truck mounts make for stability at high speeds without sacrificing traction in those hairpin corners. Did I mention it has gas pedals too?
Made from 100% solid rock Canadian maple, this board is made to last a lifetime. No need to worry about delams here. Beefy wheel wells and a universal flushmount mean this is one of the rare longboard decks where you can throw down with any truck and wheel combo you can dream of. You want 75mm bigzigs on Bear Grizzly 852s? Not a problem. 76mm Flywheels with Surf-Rodz? Consider it done. I can guarantee we’re the only Seattle longboards shop where you’ll be able to find this deck.
Most people know the name “JimZ” for bushings and trucks. True, this legendary longboarder was one of the first to pioneer the stim shaped bushing which are still regarded as some of the most stable in the industry. He also cranked out some of the first precision trucks to hit the market from his company SpeedParts. But did you know he had his own board too? That’s right, JimZ was an integral part of getting Kebbek up and running in the early stages, and he got one of the sickest pro model boards in exchange.
The Kebbek JimZ Flushcut is legendary in the world of speedboarding. It’s one the very few longboard decks that features a dropped deck in addition to dropped-thru flush mounts. What does this mean? Lower center of gravity for unparalleled stability at high speeds. The flush mount provides a little more grip/traction than a deck like the Rayne Demonseed longboard which is a drop thru/drop combo. The symmetrical shape makes it a killer deck for freeriding and sliding too, in case you aren’t hittin’ high speeds quite yet.
Features: Made in Canada. 43″ long, 9.5″ wide with a 32 3/4″ wheelbase.
**Keep in mind this deck doesn’t come gripped and only fits Paris trucks.
Here’s Nate with a new 60 second video (which ended up being more like 7 minutes…) talking about how he likes to setup his Black Dog Pussy Gato longboard deck which is the topmount speedboard in the BD Series. It has an 1/8″ rocker, 1/2″ concave, and aggressive wheel wells so you can rock 70mm wheels without getting too much wheelbite.
Nate’s Setup
-Munkae Trucks with a red (90a) venom cone roadside and a yellow (85a) venom barrel boardside. Both have a cupped washer for a divey feel on the front truck. For his back truck, he ditches the boardside washer so the bushing can deform a bit for lots of grip. It’s more sloppy bit has more traction.
-1/8″ riser on the back truck and 4 degree wedged riser on his front truck
Best Kiteboarding has a killer video gallery chock full of flicks focused on instruction, travel, and gear reviews. My favorites though are the instructional videos which show you a step-by-step breakdown of all the kiteboarding moves. The one that caught my attention today was Shannon Best showing you how to hit a slider (click here to watch the video).
1. You’ll need to learn how to load and pop effectively without sending the kite. Get really good at this.
2. Keep your kite nice and the whole time you slide the rail.
3. Square up and load and pop up onto the rail/slider.
4. Hit the rail with the board flat and side on so your deck is perpendicular to the rail. You might want to remove your fins to keep them from snapping off if you hit it wrong.
5. Focus on your balance. If you start to fall, try to fall towards the side with water!
6. As you get off the ramp, land with your board flat and pointed slightly downwind to ride away. (If you want to get really steezy, you can downloop the kite at this point or pop off the rail with a 180)
Photo Courtesy of Jim Stringfellow
If you want to start hitting sliders, you’ll need to get geared up. One of our favorite boards for the ultimate pop is the Cabrinha Custom kiteboard. For wakestyle tricks like riding rails, you can’t go wrong with the the Best Nemesis NXG kite.
At the Maryhill Festival of Speed this year, we got a chance to spend some time with Blake Startup from Landyachtz. He just happened to have a sexy new carbon 9two five longboard deck with him. We were able to sneak him away from the races for a few minutes to give us the scoop on this hot new deck and here’s the video for all of you to check it out too.
Blake’s favorite setup for the 9two5? 70mm Mini Monster wheels (he prefers the 78a “turbo” blue race formula ones) and the Bear Grizzly 852s. He’s also got a nice little custom grip job with a skull and wings.
If we don’t have this board in stock, just email, call us, hit us up on livechat, whatever. We’ll special order it for you and the shipping is on us as usual! We got a chance to try it out firsthand and it really was truly amazing.
Benefits of the Carbon Foam Core?
-super stiff and no torsional flex
-input from your front foot will transfer movement to back truck
-results in more control and more grip
-added stiffness makes it a killer deck for racing too
-still has all the features we love about the regular 9two5 longboard deck including drop thrus, gas pedals, rocker, and the widest possible foot platform with big wheel wells.
It’s bound to happen, and nobody likes when it does. You’ve lost your board. Sigh, so sad! Too bad you didn’t have one of these babies to slap on there.
Reward if Found stickers are here again! For the locals, these tags are some great insurance that their board will be returned. Just last week we rescued a Slingshot kiteboard from Harborview Park in Everett. It had been washed up, torn apart and mauled by a boat propeller. None the less, it ended up safely in our arms.
Yes, we sell a lot of boards. But trust us, we remember all of them. You may just be the guy who bought the Earthwing Supermodel 8 ply (with Retro ZigZags, Paris trucks and some Venom Eliminators), but in our eyes, you are the new mama or papa of a precious little baby that we hope you will nurture.
We know that you love you board just as much as we do. It’s a huge deal when you’ve lost something so near and dear to the basis of your existence like a longboard deck. With one of these, you at least know who to call first.
There is still time to enter the Best Kiteboarding Driven By Wind Photo Contest! Get your photos in by August 31st for a chance to travel with four friends in the Cape Verde Islands on the Best Odyssey. It’s the kiteboarder’s trip of a lifetime!
To enter, simply purchase a Best kiteboarding kite, board or bar online at www.bestkiteboarding.com, or from your favorite local retailer ; ) and you’ll be eligible to submit your photos!
All submissions are available for viewing and voting, so tell you friends! Photos will also be judged by a professional panel on their originality/creativity, humor, and prominence of the Best Kiteboarding product. A winner will be picked on September 15,2010.
We’ve got tons of Best gear to get you started! Check out the Best Kahoona kite, Nemesis HP, and Bularoo V2 kites! Not to mention the Spark Twin Tip kiteboard, available in 124, 130, 135 and 140 sizes, or the Best Performance Redline Bar.
The trip will take place sometime between January 15 and March 15, 2011. Secure your spot! Participants can enter up to five photographs for each qualified purchase. It’s a winning combination—buy new kite, take picture with new kite, go on cruise with new kite. It doesn’t get any better than that!
Here’s a great video that one of our good friends Nick (aka Sick Nick) put together. He’s the Pacific Northwest guru when it comes to strapless riding and he was cool enough to share his expertise with the rest of us. If the internet where you are is too slow to load this up, here’s some of his tips…
Basic Waterstart: With the kite pulling you slightly, position the board in front of you with your back hand. Then position your feet flat on the board with the kite still pulling downwind slightly. Lean back and dive the kite.
Advanced Waterstart: Toss your board in the water and dive your kite as you step on the board. Be careful not to drag your fins across the rocks in the shallow water.
How to Switch Your Feet: Transition feet from your weak side to strong side. Bring your back foot up towards your front foot, keeping your kite at normal flying position. Then move your original front foot back in a shimmy movement.
How to Gybe: Now that you’re riding toeside, begin to send your kite in the opposite direction. Carve on your heel while sending your kite at the same time.
On another note we just got some new Best Kiteboarding Kites in stock including a demo of the soon-to-be-released Taboo in 8m and 12m sizes to try out. We also have tons of used kiteboarding kites in stock to choose from if you hope to save a little money.
We got some new longboard decks in the shop today that we’re really stoked about. We’ve been carrying Bombsquad noseguards for awhile now and they are an amazing product for anyone with a delicate board that has a habit of sending it flying into curbs or parking garage walls. I hope they continue to crank out new noseguards that will fit all the popular decks on the market these days.
However, Bombsquad also makes some really killer boards. We’ve just brought in two decks for the time being but we’re really impressed with the quality. The F-Bomb and the Wooden Saltflat are the ones that we’re starting out with. It’s not too often you can find a drop through speedboard for just $125! The Earthwing supermodel deck is the only one that can even touch that price range.
The Saltflat longboard deck is a 9 ply topmount made for agility and precision when drafting down big mountains at high speeds. It has just enough concave too-mellower than what seems to be the concave trend these days with super aggressive concave. The Saltflat is $125. I have to say, Bombsquad longboards can do no wrong in our book.
Looking for a grippy wheel to nail hairpin turns on a super tight, technical course? Well look no further than the Nersh Money Hax longboard wheels and the Abec11 Centrax wheels. They both feature a monster contact patch so you get the ultimate contact with the pavement for traction like none other. But for two wheels that seem so similar on the surface, what’s the difference between the two?
*Nersh longboard wheels are an offset wheel with a 70mm contact patch and a 75mm height. The super squared-off lips really dig into the pavement to give you a ton of traction. The softest option, a 76a durometer, will glide over any bumps in the road to give you the smoothest ride possible. In the harder duros, 80a and 83a, you can actually drift them a bit and the urethane gives a pretty smooth slide but they still get a ton of traction to make them a good all around wheel.
*The Abec 11 Centrax wheels are grippy like none other. No drifting out of these bad boys. Made from the “Reflex urethane”, these wheels are fast, grippy and predictable. The urethane also has a reputation for durability and holding up during usage. The square lips will fold under while cornering to give you traction. UNLIKE the Nersh, these wheels are center-set so you can flip them around and get a nice even wear pattern on them.
Maryhill, the 2.2 mile speedway for downhill located in Goldendale, Washington, has graced longboarders with her many gifts. Smooth pavement, tricky turns, and best of all, an amazing view with an escape from traffic. But Ms. Mary, oh Ms. Mary. This is too good. A featured video in the New York Times? Big high five!!!
“With an inclusive, do-it-yourself ethic, longboarding has grown as a grass-roots movement mostly outside the established skateboard industry and spread from Southern California to places like Brooklyn and Bend, Ore.”
This article is one to check out for sure. Not only does it feature a killer video on Maryhill, it mentions some of the sweet beginnings of longboarding. Venom. Longboard Larry. Earthwing. Orangatang. Sector9. Definitely the bread, butter, eggs and milk to our industry.
Photo Courtesy of the NY Times
“There’s no stigma,” said Larry Peterson, who made 2,500 boards in a dairy barn in Salem, Ore., last year under the brand Longboard Larry. “It’s one of the sports where someone who’s 40 can go skate with someone who’s 13 and nobody thinks it’s weird.”
We couldn’t agree with Larry more, and that’s the very reason we love longboarding so much. Even guys who are “older” and grew up pushing around on longboard decks 30 years ago feel comfortable when they join the local crew at the parking garage.
“It’s really all new,” Marcus Bandy, 37, the Orangatang team manager claimed. “It’s like when punk rock or hip-hop first came out. It’s a whole new thing, and the kids are loving it.”
He added: “People are always going to create their own stuff and that’s what’s happening here. These guys are creating skateboarding and reinventing skateboarding.”
As a Seattle longboard shop, we’re excited to be a part of the movement and can’t wait to see what the future brings.
Are you headed on kitesurfing vacation soon to somewhere isolated with not a strip mall (and unfortunately a local kite shop) for miles? If so, well lucky you! But there are a couple key essentials to take along with you if you have the extra space in your NSI deceiver golf bag. The last thing you want is to wind up with a broken line that ruins the rest of your kiteboarding trip.
1. 2 Extra Kite Lines- The chances of snapping one of your lines are actually pretty good. If you’ve owned your kite for awhile, your lines might have stretched over time in which case you’ll need to tie them to a post and stretch the shorter line until they are all the same length.
2. An Extra Chicken Bone- I know lots of people that have lost what’s also known as a “donkey d*ck” when the little screw comes loose. It can be a big pain to kite without it since you’ll come unhooked much more often.
3. A Repair Kit-The Airtime DIY Kite Repair Kit is one of our favorites because it comes complete with scissors, seam grip glue, 20ft of fiberglass tape, dacron repair tape, and lots of other helpful goodies.
4. An Extra Pump Hose-If you break or lose your pump hose, that could put the kabosh on the rest of your kite trip. If you think you can blow up your kite with your mouth, don’t bother, we’ve tried!
5. Extra screws and Fins for your Best or Slingshot kiteboard- In case you break off a fin while riding over the tropical reefs of Tahiti, these will be clutch.
This video is part 2 of our surf-rodz precision trucks review. You can watch part 1 in the blog post just before this one. In the second part of this series we aimed to tackle life’s toughest questions, like “How do Surf-Rodz trucks compare to Munkae precision longboard trucks?”
Compared to JimZ Precision Trucks, Surf-Rodz come in 3 different baseplate degrees to dial in your ride. JimZ trucks are designed for stability and nothing else so they are limited to a 35 degree baseplate only. Jimz Trucks have a tight bushing seat with minimal lean. Surf-Rodz have a deep bushing seat.
You can expand the axle widths on the Surf-Rodz trucks by purchasing the axle extensions to make it a 220-240mm width. Narrower hangers will offer a nimble ride with quick turning for easy carving. The wider option will be super stable, especially at high speeds. You can also get the 150mm hanger which can extend to 160 or 170mm. It’s suited for small longboards like longboard hybrid minis. These narrow hangers will turn on a dime for ultimate thrashability.
Did we mention that they come in a huge variety of colors like purple, blue, gold, and black?
This is part one of our video for our Surf-Rodz precision truck review. We love Surf Rodz Trucks because they bridge the gap between inexpensive cast trucks and super pricey high-end precision trucks, while still maintaining the quality of a truck twice its price. They have really nice deep bushing seat for maximum rebound (great for venom barrels, but won’t fit an eliminator) and a beveled edge for a super wide range of motion.
They are basically the first precision truck on the market to take carving and freeriding into consideration. They don’t have sphericals so your motion isn’t so restricted and you can choose the baseplate angle for the style of riding you’ll be doing. You can bomb hills and be stable or you can carve and drift with no problems. The 45 degree plates are our favorites. You can flip these too unlike other precision longboard trucks. Unflipped (indented side of hanger will face outwards) they are more nimble for freeriding and flipped they are more stable for high speeds.
In order to reduce costs without sacrificing performance, the threaded part of the axle screws into the hanger. Set screws are inserted on the underside of the hanger to make sure your axles don’t back out while you’re riding. See our part 2 video for more info.
I wanted to tackle one of the most frequently questions we get in the shop. “How does the 10 Best Kahoona V2 kite compare to the 09 Kahoona?” Since we teach on the Kahoonas almost exclusively in our school, these kites practically sell themselves. They have a great reputation among the kiteboarding community and if you do your research and scour the forums, you won’t find a bad word said about the kites. Pretty amazing since you can’t please everyone, and every other kite out there has its pros and cons.
Since a lot of people bought the original 09 Kahoona, they’re wondering why they should upgrade to the 2010 Kahoona. Here’s what we think…
The Kahoona V2 has the newly redesigned V2 bridle system which eliminates a main pulley and incorporates a unique stainless steel block that allows the bridle to move so you can trim the kite effortlessly. The old pulley had a tendency to build up with sand over time so it would glide as easily. Plus, it was a plastic piece that had a higher chance of breaking, compared to the metal ring.
The new Kahoona is made with a higher quality dacron on the beefed up leading edge. We estimate that it’s about twice the strength of last year’s so it’s more durable and resistant to abrasion. Here in the northwets we have to be careful of barnacles, mussles, driftwood, oyster shells and other sharp objects which can mangle our kites.
The new redline bar is a huge benefit too with it’s increased line strength, and other cool features which you can find more about on our Best Performance redline bar review.
It looks like there is a little bit more adjustment per size, especially in the trailing edge. The 13 and 11 have more lower end and are easier to relaunch in lighter wind conditions (the trailing edge is longer so it has more surface area to help catch the wind and relaunch).
In reality, it just does everything better-more depower, much more stable when fully depowered, relaunch is effortless even in light wind, turning speed is about the same which is plenty fast (even in the larger sizes).
If you’d like to try one out for yourself please contact us for a demo.
Big thanks to MOBO rider and filmmaker Trevor Preston for slaving away on this footage. His inspiration? The excess of gnar in the world that needs shredding. How beautiful. So far, we’ve had a hugely positive response to the video which we leaked on youtube just a few days ago. Glad everyone is enjoying it. If you like it too, leave us a comment either right here on the blog or on our youtube page.
The video will be featured in the upcoming 2010 Concrete Wave Evolutions video, which should be out in in mid-August.
Preston shuffled through hours of labor intensive filming. The back breaking work feat took six days and one broken limb.
MOBO rider Max Wipperman broke his arm during a film session. It was a pretty bad break and unfortunately, he was unable to race at Maryhill. Thank you Max, for sacrificing yourself for the sake of gnar!
Some of the longboard decks ridden in this video include 2 Rayne Nemesis decks, and a Black Dog Longboard and the longboard wheels they were sliding on included some Orangatang 4 Pres in 83a and Retro Freerides.
One of Motion’s biggest supporters, Christian Johnson, took the time to test out the brand-spankin’ new 2010 Best Redline Performance Bar that now comes with Best kiteboarding kites, both on the water and off. He documented the key features that set this bar apart from the rest and was nice enough to put it in a video we can all watch. I have to admit, my favorite part is watching him personally test the chicken loop release in the beginning. : ) He’ll always sacrifice his body for the sake of a good review. So here you have it, the unofficial 2010 Best Redline Performance Bar Review.
This is an unbiased opinion that doesn’t sugar-coat anything. Christian talks about both the good and the bad parts of this kiteboarding bar. He’s tried most all bars on the market so he can offer a great comparison.
PROS-smaller chicken loop (good for people with shorter arms), dependable chicken loop release, stopper ball works really well, above the bar sheeting (less likely to tangle with chicken loop), actual RED line has a bungee feature to decrease shock on your body when you engage safety system, OSR on both sides of the bar, line trim/adjustments under the floats,
CONS-smaller chicken loop (not as good for wakestyle riders), above the bar sheeting (harder to reach, more clutter)
Youth Empire: The Future Generation of Kiteboarding
Cabrinha Northwest Race Series features pro riders, youth enrichment
Lake Forest Park, Wash. - July 14, 2010 - Cabrinha kitesurfing brand will host “Youth Empire,” an event in conjunction with the 2010 Cabrinha Northwest Race Series kiteboarding competition on July 24 and 25 at Jetty Island.
Youth Empire aims to ignite the interest of younger kiteboarders. Youth under 18 years old are invited to learn about kiting, ride together, and gain tips from professional riders including Damien Leroy, Jesse Richman, Matt Collins, Andre Phillip, Brandon Bowe, Matt Elsasser and Kirsten Ulmer. The children and teens will learn how to fly kitesurfing kites during the day.
“We are excited to show kids the kite scene and see what the future generation of kiteboarding will be,” Ulmer, a team rider for Cabrinha, said.
Motion Boardshop will also host a “Meet the Riders” event at 8 p.m. on Saturday, July 24 at Lombardi’s Italian Restaurant, 1620 West Marine View Drive, in Everett. Locals will get a chance to shake hands with Cabrinha’s professional kiteboarders. The event is free and open to the public.
Spectators are encouraged to view the kiteboarding races. Parking is available at the 10th Street Boat Launch and Marine Park for $3. The Everett Yacht Club will provide free transportation from the boat launch to the island.
“Youth Empire is truly a once in a lifetime chance for kids and teens to come out to Jetty Island and try the sport of kiteboarding. The fact that they’ll be learning from the best riders in the world is an unbelievable opportunity for them,” Motion Boardshop co-owner, Katie Clack, said. “I wish something like this was around when I was learning how to kiteboard. We are so excited to be part of this organization.”
Youth Empire participants do not need to register in advance. For more information, go to www.motionboardshop.com or visit the Youth Empire Kiteboarding Facebook page. If you want to meet the pros behind some of the hottest products on the market like Andre Phillip’s Cabrinha Custom kiteboard, you can also come to the Meet and Greet later on Saturday night.
So you’ve already mastered kitesurfing in flatwater and choppy conditions so the next step, naturally, is venturing out into the waves. Whenever I talk to someone who has just ridden in waves for the first time, they’re practically glowing they’re so stoked to the brim. Wave riding with a kite is almost like a whole new sport, just like snowkiting is so different from water kiting. One of the biggest concerns for kiters in the waves is wondering what will happen if you drop your kite, but luckily I found this article from the Kiteboarder Magazine that gives some tips. The last thing you want to happen is to get a rip from your leading to trailing edge when the next set of waves pummels your kite.
If possible, you want to do whatever you can to relaunch the kite immediately. If it’s too late and a wave is already upon you, you may need to let the kite go, but only do so if no one is downwind of you. Once you pull your chicken loop and safety leash, swim as quick as you can into shore. You may even be able to catch the kite before it’s too late.
If you can’t release the kite, pull your chicken loop release to engage your safety system. If you don’t have one that will completely flag your kite, then grab one of the oh-$hit handles to depower one steering line and flag out the kite. Make sure you’re clear of the loose lines while you swim in the direction of the waves. You never want to pull in on your bar when a wave hits the kite otherwise there will be too much tension and either your lines will snap or the canopy on the kite will rip.
Good luck next time you hit the waves and in the meantime practice relaunching your kitesurfing kite until you can do it in no time. If you struggle with relaunching, consider taking an advanced Seattle kiteboarding lesson with us to hone your skills. The Best Kahoona kite is one of the best relaunching kites we’ve encountered so far.
The Cabrinha Custom Kiteboard is a new favorite at Motion Boardshop (particularly the 136 and 140 sizes), thanks to the demo we’ve had a chance to session on over the last two months. I’m guessing the fact that kiteboarding legend and wakestyle phenom, Andre Phillip, collaborating on the design may have had something to do with it. The new flex pattern gives ultimate pop for wakestyle tricks like hitting sliders and riding unhooked. But it also makes the board excel in choppy conditions too.
The unique 3D bottom shape with quad concave means you can rock this kiteboard finless for flatwater riding or for nailing sliders and ramps. The unconventional shape allows for maximum drive and speed. It also has concave that narrows around the middle of the deck which provides a lot of stability.
The Custom is made with a Paulownia wood core and is reinforced with carbon deck stringers. The wood core means that you’ll have a smooth ride but it will also stand the test of time with unparalelled durability. (Slingshot kiteboards are also wood-core which is why we’ve been big fans of their boards for a long time too)
Wanna get on the water and see if everything I said is true? With our choppy Pacific Northwest conditions, I guarantee you’ll love this board more than your mama’s apple pie. Give us a call to demo one on the next windy day.
It took forever for Sam, 7 years old, to save enough money for something very special.
We were honored when he walked into Motion to purchase his first longboard—an Earthwing Superglider.
Sam saved $150 by doing his chores, selling lemonade, and saving money from his birthday.
This man works hard for the money. He’s no stranger to skating either—he’s been skateboarding since he was 4 years old and spends most days at the skatepark. He says he can’t wait to use his new board on some ramps and to get more speed!
Sam completed his board with Indy trucks and MiniMonster wheels. Pretty fly for a small guy! We are stoked on his setup too. We can see him ripping at Maryhill in no time!
I just wanted to share with you a sweet go pro video that one of MOBO’s friends, Christian Johnson, put together recently. He’s been rocking the Best Kahoona kite in the 7.5m and 9.5m sizes and he’s a huge fan of Best’s hottest selling kite, just like we are. The Kahoona is just one of those magical kitesurfing kites that you can’t help but have a great time flying. You’re guaranteed to have an awesome session on a Kahoona no matter how crappy the wind conditions are. This hybrid-delta style kite eats up the gusts like no other with a huge wind range and lots of throw in the chicken loop which translates to tons of depower.
We use the Kahoona’s to teach on in our school, the Seattle Kiteboarding Center, where we teach Seattle kiteboarding lessons on a daily basis. Since switching over to the Kahoonas, our students have seen tons of success. It’s now a regular occurrence to get fresh newbies the taste of getting up on the board during their very first lesson. With a price you can’t beat (the most expensive size, the 13.5 is still under $1300 for a brand new Kahoona complete with a new bar), the Kahoonas are a no brainer. The best part is that it’s not a beginner kite though. Even our super experienced teamrider Joaquin chooses the Kahoona on a regular basis.
Just wanted to make a quick shout-out to congratulate Motion’s junior teamriders, Ryan Heffernan and Jack Neffner for finishing 1st and 2nd place, respectively, at the Maryhill Festival of Speed this weekend! Our guys were leading the pack all five days and finished strong in the end. Since Ryan held the fastest qualifying time out of all the junior 1’s, he also took home a sweet Never Summer longboard skateboard deck too. Both riders scored TONS of swag during the week long event and we’re stoked for them. They deserve it all!
The weekend was full of big upsets with lots of riders noting that they had bad starts which made it so they didn’t qualify for the next round. Mischo Erban claimed his shoe got stepped on at the starting line and after taking a tumble he wasn’t able to catch up to the pack. Kevin Reimer snagged a new record time on the course but after running off the road during the finals, he ended up in 2nd place, even though he consistently finished first in all his heats. Scoot Smith finished 3rd with venom bushings creator, Zak Maytum, scoring a 1st place finish.
Since the event took place on the 4th of July, I was stoked for America to win! Brianne Davies took first pace for the women and local Portland rider Alex Tongue finished first for the junior 2 division. Thanks for a great weekend everyone! More to come later.
After drilling Nate for some tips on improving my downhill longboarding tuck, here’s what he came up with. Keep in mind these are just the basics designed for someone who has never seriously longboarded faster than 25mph before and wants to know what it’s all about.
1. Move your front foot as far forward as is comfortable for you on your board, but will still allow you to turn. Twist your foot slightly so it’s at an angle.
2. Flatten your back as much as possible, trying to make it parallel with the ground. The less curve in your back the better because this will make you more aerodynamic so you can go faster. If you’re not sure if your back is flat enough, try practicing your tuck in front of a mirror.
3. Hinge at the hips.
4. If you’re regular foot, situate your front foot on the left 1/2 of your longboard deck. Position your back foot on the right rail of your board to leverage turns.
5. Take your back knee and wedge it into the calf of your front leg. The lower your knee is on your front leg, the wider your stance will be making for a nice, stable tuck. If your knee is higher up on your front calf, then you’ll have a short stance which is will allow for nimble, tight turns.
We get tons of questions from newbies wondering about how they can stop on their longboard, and I wanted to address those questions here. Hopefully we can have a full page on our site dedicated to answering beginner longboarding questions just like this one. There’s actually a number of ways that you can slow down or come to a full stop on your longboard and this article from Silverfish lays them out with more details.
1. Carving-This should be one of the first things you learn to do on a longboard not only because it’s fun but because it helps you scrub off some of your speed, especially if the turns are sharp.
2. Sliding-Even though this is the most advanced technique to learn, it will completely stop you in the shortest possible distance. Your longboard wheels will wear down over time from sliding.
3. Speedbraking-If you’re going really fast, you can just stand up from your tuck and open your arms to make yourself less aerodynamic which will slow you down.
4.Footbraking-The most basic and universal method of stopping your longboard deck. Done by dragging one foot along the ground to slow yourself to a gradual stop.
5. Rolling Into the Grass-Not highly recommended (prepare for a potential faceplant!) but will slow you down pretty quickly
6. Jumping Off Your Board-Also not an ideal way to stop because you’ll probably tumble if you’re going too fast, but it works.
Of course there are other ways to stop your deck but these are the most well known methods. Check out our youtube channel in the near future to see tutorials on how to do all these things.
These wheels are just as pretty as they look—smooth and sticky.
Nersh Longboard Wheels are here just in time for Maryhill and the summer race season. Similar to Centrax Wheels, these wheels pack a massive amount of ‘thane ready to grip pavement and drift smoothly.
Being one of the widest wheels on the market, the Nersh Money Hax is designed to provide the best traction with maximum grip for racing.
Not only do these wheels grip, they hold speed and roll over bumps like a bulldozer.
Nersh Money Hax Wheels 75mm come in 3 varieties of durometers: 76a, 80a, and 83a (pictured in order.)
To allow more drift, go for the harder 83a. If you’re looking to carry your speed through a turn, go for the softer 76a.
Made in Huntington Beach, California, Nersh Wheels are made by the same company that makes Sector9, Abec11, and Seismic.
If you’re interested in a pair and don’t have time for us to ship them to your doorstep before the Maryhill Festival of Speed, then give us a call at the shop. We’d be happy to bring a set of Nersh Wheels (or anything else for that matter) down to the race with us with your name on them.
If you haven’t heard already, we just launched an email newsletter with the latest gear, events, and videos from MOBO. Check it out here!
The current promo we’re running is 15% of of Surf-Rodz trucks when you purchase a full price longboard decks. Only until July 4th so you have about a week left to make it happen.
If you would like to receive this newsletter, email shannon@motionboardshop.com.
