MUNRO Mountain Boards | The Mountainboard Specialists

HOW TO LOOK AFTER YOUR BOARD

noreply@blogger.com (RYAN SLATER) — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 01:38:00 +0000

Boards can cost up to $1,000 so its important to look after them in order to get maximum Board life. Heres a few tips I have picked up over the years:

Storage: Always store in a dry place, and away from direct sunlight. Leaving your board out in the weather can cause your deck to weaken, rusting of metal components etc.

Transporting: When transporting your board in a car or plane make sure it is not rubbing against anything. The Vibrations caused in a car can not only leave wear marks, but can actually weaken the structure of the deck. Check out the MUNRO board bags for a top way to protect your board in transport.

WD-40: wd40 is your best friend. When assembling a new board I spray every bolt and nut with WD40. This stops dirt build up, around the bolts and prevents rusted bolts etc.

After Use: Hose your board down whenever it has dirt or mud on it. I often go to a carwash and use the high pressure hoses and it normally works a treat.

Tighten Bolts: Not only are loose bolts dangerous, but they can also cause the bolt holes to stretch and loose shape, leading to other problems later down the track

How to teach mountainboarding

noreply@blogger.com (RYAN SLATER) — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 06:59:00 +0000

With the sport of mountainboarding constantly growing, there is always people learning to ride and wanting to have a ride of your board. Below are some tips you should mention when people are first having a ride on a mountainboard.

STRAPPING IN
This is the most common mistake, as new riders are not used to mountainboard bindings. Here is a video by U.S rider Jon Diurba on how to use bindings correctly

It is important to emphasise to the rider that they shouldn't jump or step out of the bindings while riding. Staying in the bindings significantly reduces the risk of knee and ankle injury.

FALLING OFF
Tell the rider that if they are going to fall, lean back and put their bum on the ground.This is the safest way to fall off when learning.

STOPPING
Most new riders find it easiest to turn heelside, so the best way for them to stop is to turn bakc up the hill in a heelside direction. Tell the rider to get down low, grab the toeside edge of the board and lean back gradually.

These are some steps to ensure new riders can safely enjoy their first mountainboarding experience.

Staying On Board

noreply@blogger.com (RYAN SLATER) — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 00:28:00 +0000

Mountainboarding is a sport that can be very punishing on your body. Many others share my vision of wanting to ride for as long as there body is capable of, so I am going to give you some tips that I have learned over the many years I have been riding for.

1. Mentality

Many people who have begun mountainboarding, or haven’t been hurt mountainboarding, have the mentality that they are invincible and picture it is hard to get hurt. This is not the case, it is still important to minimise unnecessary risks if you don’t wish to get hurt or it’s just a matter of time before your number comes up.

• Never ride too far outside your limit.
• Practise inverted tricks into water or foam first (the first flips I tried into water I landed on my head)
• Wear pads
• If you don’t have a clear vision of a good outcome don’t try it.
• Don’t fall victim to peer pressure.
• Work up to things, try a 4 stair set before a 6 stair set.

2. Flat Landings

Flat landings are a killer on knees, back and ankles. Although sometimes they cant be helped I think it is important to try and minimise doing jumps, drops to flat landings. When I first started riding 7 years ago I did lots of flat landings, however now my body cant really hack it and I am only 21, so keep that in mind.

When you hit the ground for a landing something has to give, often it is the flex in the boards, however many boards these days are tough and it is your body that gives out. Try to place kickers on hills, do drops onto a slope.

3. Warm up

Warm up by stretching before you start riding and when u start riding do a few mellow runs before you get right into it.

4. Pad up

Always wear protective gear especially a helmet. If you love riding and would like to do it for a while, its best to minimise the risks that you can. Putting pads and a helmet on are very easy steps to minimise the risk of breaking bones etc.

How to use a Platter???

noreply@blogger.com (Simo) — Mon, 05 Feb 2007 11:41:00 +0000

And what is a platter you may ask? It’s a type of ski lift similar to a T-bar used to pull you up a hill. It’s a round rubber pad that you sit/lean your bum on and is connected to a cable been pulled up a hill.
Firstly have your board facing up the hill with your feet in the bindings, as the platter comes past grab it and put it between your legs and hold the cable with your hands.

Make sure your board isn’t bogged behind a rock, as it will catapult you off your board. Shift your weight towards the back of the board and wait until your board starts to gain momentum.

Because of the way you are being pulled up the hill, turning can feel a little different, so if you find yourself heading off line, hop the front of your board around by jumping.

Release the platter from between your legs at the designated points and use your back foot to stop you rolling back down the hill, then jump out the way of other boarders coming up the hill.

AND DON'T GET THE PLATTER WRAPPED AROUND THE CABLE LINE..
Like i did

And enjoy

Ride Life

Simo

Mountainboard Season

noreply@blogger.com (Simo) — Wed, 29 Nov 2006 00:52:00 +0000

Depending on where you are in the world you may be coming in to the summer season. So its time to dust off your board (maybe even invest in a new one) tighten the bolts, pump up the tires and get out there.

Remember where all the safety gear, slop on some sunscreen and be free. The earth is a mountain board park: RIDE IT Ride Life

Simo

The Art of Pumping

noreply@blogger.com (Simo) — Fri, 17 Nov 2006 01:01:00 +0000

A few Blog’s ago I mentioned that pumping is a good way to gain some extra speed. Because this is the only way you can gain extra speed once moving I thought I might give some extra tips.

The object of pumping is to put minimal weight on your board when travelling up and put extra weight into the board while travelling down.

Heres some physics behind why it works.

Les say your coming up to a rollie. To put minimal weight on the board while traveling up bunny hop at the base of the rollie, don’t bunny hop off the ground but just enough to glide you up the rollie. As well as this, as you climb the rollie, absorb it by tucking your body so when you get to the top of the rollie you are squatting.

Now as you start going down this is where you pump, push the board into the ground and straighten your body back out. Really try to work the board into the ground and use you back foot to give one last kick as you leave the rollie.

To make the most of pumping you need to really emphasize the absorbing and pushing your board into the ground, use your arms to help get that extra bit of power from your pump.

Remember to use this technique any time there is a rise or fall in the terrain.

Ride Life

Simo

How to Jump

noreply@blogger.com (Simo) — Fri, 17 Nov 2006 01:00:00 +0000

Ever dream of that floating feeling? Well here’s some tips to get the real thing. This is how to jump a mountainboard.

Jumping is one of the most dangerous things you can do on a mountain board so it is vital that you have good board skills, you know how to fall, you know how to bunny hop and are wearing all the safety gear.

Find a jump that you are able to roll over, such as a rollie or a tabletop. Roll over the jump slowly to get a feel for the environment and your board.

Now with that same amount of speed try bunny hopping at the peak of the jump. Make sure you keep the board straight, your weight centered and try to land with all wheels at the same time.

Once your use to this try bunny hopping higher or going faster so you can get higher and clear the whole jump.

Remember this is dangerous and do not attempt it until you are good with all the basics of boarding.

Ride Life

Simo

How to Bunny Hop

noreply@blogger.com (Simo) — Fri, 17 Nov 2006 01:00:00 +0000

Before you’re able to bust out big air and big drops you have to be able to bunny hop comfortably. Here's a few tips for those having trouble.

The best way to bunny hop is to throw your weight back on to your back foot lifting the front wheels in the air. This gets your front wheels over the object while your still on the ground.

Now you jump off your back wheels level out in the air and land with all four wheels touching down at the same time.

This technique is much better than just jumping as you can get your back wheels closer to the object your jumping giving you a greater overall bunny hop distance.

Ride Life

Simo

How to F/S 360

noreply@blogger.com (Simo) — Thu, 16 Nov 2006 23:16:00 +0000

A F/S 360 is a 360 degree clockwise rotation (for regular boarders) in the air on a mountain board. It is an awesome trick to learn because you can add grabs, do them onto rails and even off drops and stair sets.

1. First hit your jump with a bit of speed, but not too much for your first jump, wind up with you arms the way you are going to spin.
2. Launch of the jump and start your rotation and spin the 180.
3. Keep spinning and look over you shoulder.
4. Spin your feet at the last minute to kick you around the rest of the way.
5. Spin that last extra bit and DON'T BAIL OUT. This is where most people stuff up, so spin as quick and aggressive as you can. Look down at your landing bend your knees and roll away.

By sponsored Rider

Dylan Warren

Mountainboard Glossary

noreply@blogger.com (Simo) — Thu, 16 Nov 2006 06:28:00 +0000

Here is some terms to get you speaking fluent Mountain Board.

All Terrain Board (ATB): Just another name for a mountain board.

Backside Turn: Turning on your heal edge.

Backside Spin: Spinning so your back faces the direction of travel first.

Bail: Purposely jumping off the board to prevent crashing.

Base Plate: A plate that you stand on, giving greater comfort and more options in binding and foot position.

Bearing: The object that connects your wheel to your axel giving it the ability to spin freely. Keep these babies running smooth and replace regularly.

Berm: A banked corner that allows greater speeds, usually seen in boardercross tracks.

Big Air: Similar to freestyle but there is usually just one massive jump.

Bindings: Adjustable foot straps holding your feet to the board.

Bionic Trucks: Trucks designed by G.I. that use urethane blocks to control the stiffness.

Board Bag: Specially made bag that fits your mountain board and gear.

Boardercross: Racing where four riders attack the same track at the same time.

Boardslide: A grind where the actual deck is sliding across a rail.

Box: An object that can be used for stalling and grinds.

Bunny Hop: Jumping the board on flat terrain.

Bushing: A urethane doughnut that is found on skate trucks, it allows them to turn.

Carve: Linking turns to control speed similar to the technique in snowboarding.

Channel Trucks: Adjustable trucks consisting of springs and shocks.

Dampener: The egg shaped spring insert that reduces speed wobbles.

Deck: The main body of a mountain board.

Double: A jump consisting of two parts, the jump and a landing.

Downhill: The style of riding focused on descending large hills or mountains.

Drafting: Riding close to the back of another boarder or car in order to use them as a windbreak allowing greater speeds.

Drifting: A controlled slide around a corner which can be used to wash off speed. Looks very stylish.

Eggs: Shocks that help eliminate speed wobbles. A range of densities available. Harder eggs = less wobble, more speed.

Fakie: When riding in your non preferred direction eg, Regular riders riding goofy.

Flex: The flex in the deck that helps to absorb bumps.

Freeride: Style of riding that is suited to wide open hills. Very relaxed and allows rider to enjoy the environment and Ride Life.

Frame board: A ridged board that has a steel tube under the deck for strength. Very old school. The building blocks of ATB.

Freestyle: Big air and even bigger tricks.

Frontside Spin: Spinning so your toe faces the direction of travel first.

Frontside Turn: Turning on your toe edge.

Goofy: Riding with your right foot up front.

Grab: Performed to add style to your big air freestyle.

Grab Handle: A handle fitted to the middle of the board that kite boarders use to pull one foot out of the bindings and no foot tricks.

Griptape: A sandpaper like tape that is glued to mountainboard decks to improve grip between your shoes and the deck. Replace when required.

Hardware: All the nuts, bolts and screws on your board.

Heal edge: The edge of the board your heals are on.

Heal Straps: An addition to standard bindings that pulls your heals into the binding for greater control.

HelioCore Reverse Cap Composite: G.I. designed deck that uses a foam core instead of the traditional wood.

Hill Bombing: Riding as fast as you can down a hill.

Helmet: Head protection, essential for mountain boarders.

J-Turn: When you turn the board 180 degrees and head back up the hill. It can be used to help slow down or stop.

Kite: A kite that looks like a small parachute used to pull you along flat ground. Mountainboard + kite = kite landboarding.

Kite Landboarding: a style of riding that uses a kite instead of a hill to keep you moving.

Leash: A surf style bungy cable that connects you to your board to stop the board getting away, if your happen to fall.

Long board: An extra long skateboard used for either speed, cruising or sliding.

Manual: Balancing on the back wheels while riding.

Matrix: Adjustable trucks that consist of springs and eggs to control their stiffness.

Matrix-Lite: Lighter versions of the standard Matrix trucks.

Nollie: A bunny hop where you pre-load off the front wheels.

Nose angle: The angle of kick at the ends of your board, greater angle give better turning circle but less stability.

Ollie: A bunny hop where you pre-load off the back wheels.

Pads: A form of body protection. Knee pads, wrist pads, elbow pads etc.

Patch: A rubber seal that repairs punctured tubes.

Ply: Layers of wood in the deck of most boards.

POP: The amount of boost your board gives when you jump.

Power Lam Composite deck: An MBS deck design that consists of a wood core and laminate wrap.

Powerslide: Getting all four wheels to slide, but not stop.

Pump: Using your legs to gain extra speed off the terrain.

Rachet: The device that tightens your bindings via the use of a lever.

Rail: Pipe used to grind and stall on.

Reverse-Cap Composite: An MBS deck design that includes a fiberglass weave giving it greater strength, pop and a better ride for boardslides.

Ride.Life: The philosophy behind MUNRO Boards to ensure you make the most out of every time you ride and every day you live. YouÂve got one life, make the most of it.

Rolley: An obstacle in boardercross tracks that are used to pump.

Ruts: Terrain that has lots of long holes in it caused by erosion.

Sandwich Composite: An MBS deck design consisting of multi layer ply.

Single track: Thin tracks that usually involve weaving around trees.

Skate trucks: Trucks that are based on the traditional skateboard design. Light weight and good for kite land boarding and smaller riders.

Slipstreaming: Riding close to the back of another boarder or car in order to use them as a windbreak allowing greater speeds.

Stall: Similar to grinding but you are stationary.

Switch: When riding in your non-preferred direction. E.g. Regular riders riding goofy.

Table Top: A jump that has its center filled so it can be rolled over on a board. Opposite to a gap jump.

Toe edge: The edge of the board your toes are on.

Top Hat: The device that holds the springs in channel trucks. 2 per spring. 8 per board.

Trucks: Hold your wheels to your board. There are two main styles, Skate and Channel.

Tube: The insert to your tire which contains the air pressure.

Unibody: A board that does not consist of a support running beneath the deck.

V5 Brake: A reverse V-brake ideal for single tracks and beginners.

Wheel Bite: when your foot or board touches a tire causing it to stop. Can happen on small boards doing tight turns or riders with big feet/ shoes.

Wind boarding: similar to windsurfing but on a specially designed mountainboard.

Ride Life

Simo

STOP!

noreply@blogger.com (Simo) — Mon, 16 Oct 2006 04:29:00 +0000

You’ve probably been told how to stop your mountain board “just turn hard and slide”, but its sometimes easier said than done so here’s some extra tips on how to slide.

When your first learning to slide its best if you find a smooth hill with thick grass that slightly wet, this way it hurts less if you stack and is easier to slide. To help the tires lose grip, make sure they’re pumped up. You need to carry a bit of speed, remember, it’s easier to slide the faster your going.

Once you are going fast enough you need to prepare to slide. Get down low with your knees and grab the front edge of the board with your backhand. Remember to bend with your knees and not your hips because it makes it much easier to balance. Make sure you keep your bum close the board keeping your center of gravity low.Shift some of your weight towards the front wheels lean off the heel edge of your board, keeping your bum near the board. Put your front hand out behind you for balance, don’t be afraid to drag it across the ground. Now that your turning sharp keep low and give your back foot a bit of a kick to brake traction, commit and don’t be afraid to fall on your ass.If do a 180 this means that you had too much weight on your front foot, try to balance out you weight between your bindings.
If you couldn’t brake traction or you fell backwards off the board before braking traction, try going a bit faster or pumping up your tires.
If your tires gripped halfway through the slide, you need to commit more, and remember to keep low.
Once sliding hold it steady until you completely stop, then jump off the board and go do it again.

Ride Life

Simo

Carving

noreply@blogger.com (Simo) — Sat, 14 Oct 2006 01:22:00 +0000

Carving is a fun way to cruise down huge hills and roads whilst still keeping control of your board. It’s basically just a cool way to bomb a hill, but also if done properly it can help you control your speed wile your riding.

Carving is a simple maneuver. To carve turn left and right on the hill, keeping your weight on the side that you turn on.

· First turn up the hill heel side, putting your weight on your heels and lean back up the hill to turn left (only if your regular footed, the opposite if your goofy).

· Then turn back down the hill toe side again applying weight on your toes so that your turn back up the hill.

· Then continue down the hill for as long as you like doing the same thing and also try to add in some grabs for style and to carve harder all the way to the bottom.

Carving is just like weaving down the hill, the wider theses weaves are the more control you will keep over your board due to a smaller amount of speed. The tighter you turn, the more speed you will lose, but if you do the opposite you can cruise down the hill as fast as you like and style out the road.

Now get out there, go carve up your hills!

Dylan Warren

Down with the Ship

noreply@blogger.com (Simo) — Mon, 02 Oct 2006 03:21:00 +0000

Crashing is something that no one really wants to do, but most of us still seem to do it. It is possible though to crash a little safer. There are a number of things that you can do to avoid injuries while crashing.

Go down with the ship, the best advice I can give is to stay on the board, don't try and get out of your bindings. A lot of injuries happen when you only manage to pull one leg out. If you leave your feet in the bindings you have the strength of both legs helping to avoid twisted knees and ankles.

There is a lot less chance of breaking bones and pulling muscles if you keep a solid stance and slide across the ground rather than roll. Take advice from the moto GP riders, when they crash they try to slide because if they flip and roll there is a much higher chance of getting into an awkward position and causing themselves damage. Sliding can cause cuts and grazes though so wearing protective gear is recommended.

With this all said it is possible to ride a mountain board without crashing, just ride within your limits. Always where knee pads, wrist pads, elbow pads and a helmet, padded shorts and pants also help.
Need a helmet, knee pads, wrist guards or any safety gear?

Mountainboarding can be a dangerous sport, but as long as you where the right gear and ride wisely nothing can stop you.

Ride Life

Simo

Where to Ride?

noreply@blogger.com (Simo) — Tue, 19 Sep 2006 21:59:00 +0000

When your on a Mountain Board the whole world is a park so you can ride just about anywhere you want weather it be grass hills, skate parks or just cruising the streets. Depending on what style of boarding your into there is a few ways that you can find a sweet location to ride.

If your into riding big hills and ripping up grass find out what areas are hilly and look through a street directory for park land, or use google earth, this shows what's on the land and how steep it is. If you have a lot of free time you can always just jump on a train and ride the rail system until you find that sweet hill.

If riding skate parks is more your thing try skatelocate.com.au, this place has tones of parks to ride and if you cant find what you want there, threes always google.

Ride Life

Simo

Check your Nuts

noreply@blogger.com (Simo) — Wed, 30 Aug 2006 05:59:00 +0000

There’s not a lot to a mountain board so there’s no excuses for not giving it a quick check over before each ride. If you don’t check that your nuts are all tight you may end up damaging yourself and your board.

Most nuts on most mountain boards are Nylock nuts, this means they have a nylon sleeve inside them, while this helps stopping them coming loose they still need to be checked.

A fast way to check that your nuts are all tight is to drop your board on to its wheels and listen for any vibrations that come from it. It should sound reasonably solid.

The main nuts and bolts that you should look out for are any around your bindings. As they are not always loaded up they are prone to vibrate loose. If you use F’3 bindings there is a bolt under buckle holding it to the binding, make sure you always tighten this because over time it does vibrate loose.

It’s also a good idea to check your truck and wheel nuts. Just go over them with an allen key and spanner and take up any slack. Some trucks have a grub screw that tightens the axel to the truck. It is well worth keeping this tight because as soon as it comes loose it will strip the spline on the axel and loose the screw.

Keeping all screws, nuts and bolts tight on your board is a must do to protect you and others around you from avoidable crashes. It also extends your boards life and gives a more comfortable ride.

Simo

MORE speed

noreply@blogger.com (Simo) — Mon, 28 Aug 2006 05:13:00 +0000

Its easy to get speed on a mountain board but here's a few tips on getting that little bit more.

Firstly I would recommend using either orange or red MBS eggshox, and if your really plan on flying use some MUNRO hard springs. All these products help minimize speed wobbles. I'd also recommend all the standard safety gear eg; helmet, wrist pads, kneepads.

The easiest way to get a bit more speed is to decrease the rolling resistance. This can be done by pumping your tires up as hard as possible. Most tires can be pumped up to 50 psi. Don't go any harder than what's recommended on the tire as you risk stripping your hubs apart with a bad landing. Also make sure your bearings are running fast, keep them oiled and for extra pace use light oils (you will have to replace this more often than standard oil).

Try to keep low on the board to beat air resistance, this really helps at high speeds.

The next thing you can do to add more speed is to flow and be as smooth as possible. When you turn the board take the straightest line and try keep it as smooth as possible, every time the board slides, even the slightest bit, washes some of your speed off. If you have trouble stopping the rear tires from sliding try putting a bit more weight over the front of the board, or tighten your rear springs.

If there is any lumps or jumps in your path you can use them to your advantage. The key is pumping. Absorb the rise of the object and push you board in to the fall. This gives a quick boost and is the key when racing on border cross tracks.

Before going out and going as fast as you can, get comfortable with you board, you should be able to ollie/jump and slide with no problems just incase something gets in your way. Also be comfortable with your surrounding, ride the hill a few time to make sure there's no pot hole or obstacles you could hit. Now strap in and get ready to pull awesome speeds.

Simo

Wet'n'Muddy Rides

noreply@blogger.com (Simo) — Sun, 20 Aug 2006 07:13:00 +0000

Riding in the rain can be awesome fun and a good time to practice slides, but you should take extra care with your board to make sure the water does not destroy it.

After a wet ride I find the best thing to do is to get any excess water off the board, Just use an old rag or towel, this stops the water from soaking in to the board over time.

Its also best to keep your board away from very warm and moist places when its wet, such as board bags, Try to find somewhere to hang your board to help it dry a little faster.

If the board is muddy its much easier to clean while it is wet, Just wipe it down with a rag. To clean the griptape use a brush and rinse the tape with a bit of water. Once the mud Dries onto the griptape you need to use a soft metal bristled brush to scrub it off, This may be too harsh on your grip tape so I recommend getting the mud off before it dries.

It may also be a good idea to try and get some oil in to your bearings after a few wet rides to stop them rusting and to keep them running fast.

Mountain Boards can withstand rain without a problem, but if you take a little bit more care of them they will last a lot longer.

Simo

Fitting MBS ROCKSTAR PRO's

noreply@blogger.com (Simo) — Tue, 15 Aug 2006 09:50:00 +0000

If you want to pimp your ride and increase the strength of your hubs without adding kilos, then Rockstar Pro Aluminium Hubs are for you. Heres a few tips on how to install these new hubs.

Tools: 3mm Allen Key
7mm Socket
5/8" Spanner
Lubrication (eg WD-40)

The first thing you need to do is to pull the hub apart. You will notice that their a little bit different to the traditional Rockstar hubs. You should have the hub in two halves and 3 different sized spacers.

Put the tube inside the tire with just enough air to hold its shape.

Place the biggest spacer inside the tire with the tube valve through the hole. This can be tight so you may want to use some lubrication and make sure the tube or valve isn't been twisted or pulled.

Put one side of the hub on to the tire and place the middle spacer in to position.

Now put the other side of the hub on and bolt both sides of the hub together. While doing the bolts up be careful not to pinch the tire or tube between the hub/spacer, and make sure the valve is not fouling on any spokes.

Slide one bearing on to the axel then push the hub on to it, you might want to use some lubricant because this is tight.

Place the small spacer on the axel and slide it inside the hub followed by the second bearing. you may once again need lubricant. If the bearing is too tight you can use a soft mallet to tap it, or screw the wheel nut on to push it in.

Tighten the wheel on to the board, pump it up and repeat the steps for the next three wheels.

All that's left to do is to go get some massive air and ensure these babies because the moment you turn you head your board will be sitting on bricks.

Simo

Welcome to MUNRO Boards

noreply@blogger.com (Dan) — Tue, 01 Aug 2006 02:13:00 +0000

Dedicated to the sport of mountainboarding, this blog is hosted and contributed to by key members of MUNRO Mountain Boards in Australia and beyond.

We aim to discuss the latest and greatest in mountain boards, the sport, tips and tricks and general advice to help you become a better boarder.

We welcome your comments.