Snakeboard
A snakeboard or streetboard is a variant of the traditional skateboard , with the roots more likely to be found in surfing and snowboarding .
In contrast to the essentially rigid skateboard, a snakeboard consists of three segments lying one behind the other in the direction of travel, which are connected via vertical joint axes. The two terminal segments each carry a pair of rollers (running wheels) on a rigid axle under or very close to the respective segment joint.
Halfway along the board (without bindings) there is a vertical mirror plane, so there is no mechanical difference between the front and the back. A snakeboard can be driven in both directions. The end segments can be rotated independently of one another.
A certain torsional softness in the longitudinal axis ensures that all 4 wheels are in contact with the ground, even on a twisted road or when only one wheel sinks into a hollow.
There is a - rigid - axle with the running wheels under the front and rear segments. The driver's feet are above the axles on the end segments, which can be turned in a kind of " steering movement " with respect to the middle segment. By rhythmically turning the feet towards each other and apart again and at the same time executing supporting rotary movements with the upper body, the board picks up speed. Relatively high speeds can be achieved without the feet touching the ground. For special trick techniques, separate bindings are available, in which the driver puts his feet. Current boards have wooden decks and are therefore suitable for freestyle skating.
Surname
Streetboarding (English) or Streetboarding (German) is the official name of the sport established by the World Streetboarding Association (WSA) in 2000. The sports equipment is called accordingly streetboard.
history
The snakeboard was invented in Johannesburg, South Africa in 1988. Three college students, James Fisher, Oliver McLeod-Smith and Simon King, were looking for a new type of board that would enable them to take turns on steep roads such as surfing and snowboarding. Braking should work as well. Their first draft, the Ursnakeboard, was called the "wobble board". This first board consisted of a water pipe as a connecting piece (“bar”) between the footplates (“plates”, these in turn were sawn-out pieces of a table tennis table) and roller skates that were sawed apart served as the axis.
At the same time, the companies Alterskate and TomTom also developed street boards. As Fisher and McLeod-Smith patented the sequence of movements and basic structure, Alterskate had to stop production. The two South Africans founded the Snakeboard company. Sales difficulties drove the company into bankruptcy in the late 1990s. The patents and naming rights were taken over by the English toy manufacturer "MV-Sports", the company was sold to "Toll-Collect" at the beginning of 2000 and is also producing again.
In the early 2000s, the American company Dimension Streetboards acquired the patent to manufacture streetboards (snakeboards). This was the beginning of the "From Riders for Riders" companies founded by former pro riders.
Manufacturer
Streetboards are currently being produced by several licensed companies: Dimension Streetboards (USA), Highland Streetboards (GB, has currently stopped production), Lowboard Workshop (RF), Click (GB, has currently stopped production), Snakeboard Streetboards (USA), GrossorG Multiboard Factory (AR, has currently stopped production), Gazpacho Boards (ES)
literature
- Dirk Rennekamp: Snakeboarding (More Skill, More Fun) . Meyer & Meyer Verlag, ISBN 3-89124-618-8
