Salt’s line of skateboards have an old school design that harkens back to surfboards – which makes sense because Salt if primarily a surfboard maker! Of course the two sports are closely connected and Salt offers a line of boards for carving on the pavement even if it is on land.
The boards are made from two layers of walnut veneer with layers of maple in between, making for a hardwood deck that is still responsive for shredding. The result is almost like riding the waves but on dry land.
Skate culture is one that we truly could say has many “old school” elements, but a new start-up dubbed Krack is looking to change things. The wearables company is looking to bring fitness tracking to the board culture. This isn’t as easy as it sounds as skateboarding is a technical sport that involves many quick and precise movements.
Krack’s new system includes tiny sensors that attach to the bottom of a skateboard, and these feature a gyroscope, accelerometer, and magnetometer to collect data, while an algorithms is able to make sense of it. The big question of course is why? The answer is that this could allow skaters to track progress – and possibly allow it to be used to show off their skills even if someone didn’t witness the skater in motion. It could also be used to enhance the skateboarding community through social media.
The York family owns the San Francisco 49ers professional football team or about 95 percent of the team but it is a minority owner who has been making news. Mark Wan, who holds about one percent ownership of the 49ers and is also is a minority investor in the Boston Celtics, is looking not at the NFL or NBA for next play but at the Street League Skateboarding Circuit.
Given the success that the NFL and NBA have had, perhaps the next big sporting league could be the SLS, especially if Wan is seeing something in it. We’ll have to watch and see.
Street League Skateboarding
[Via Niner Nation: 49ers minority owner invests in skateboard league]
What do you do with a broken skateboard? A bonfire might be one option, but Virginia skate shop Scene 3 is taking old skateboard decks and transforming these into colorful bottle openers. The broken boards are cut, glued and pressed so it is more than just a trashed piece of wood – and it allows that favorite deck to live on, and even open the bottle to toast its demise.
[Via HiConsumption: Recycled Skateboard Bottle Openers by Scene3]
httpv://youtu.be/HIm_9Ts7RFk
Via YouTube: How To Fix A Mountain Bike Puncture (With Lance Armstrong) Continue reading Weekend Reading List (04.19.2014): Lance Shows He Can Change (a Tire), Another Brick In the Wall, Going Primitive
From Bicycle Retailer: The single biggest issue facing the bike industry (A blog by Jay Townley)
As we finish the first quarter of 2014 the U.S. bicycle business is preparing for its April gathering of industry leaders at the Bicycle Leadership Conference and the IBD Summit. We have noticed that the U.S. bicycle business continues to separate the meetings of the specialty bicycle retail, or bike shop channel of trade suppliers from the retailers and the separate agendas for these two important annual gatherings still do not mention or pay attention to the most important single issue facing the U.S. bicycle business today!
The following chart (above) is a graphic presentation of the 18-year history of U.S. bicycle riding participation from 1995 through 2012. The data is from the National Sporting Goods Association (NSGA). The overall trend is a slow decline, from the peak of 56 million in 1995 to flat overall bicycle riding participation at 39 million for the last three years. 2013 bicycle riding participation will be available in early April, but we don’t anticipate any significant change from the history you see here. Continue reading Weekend Reading List (04.05.2014): Bike Decline, RIP Hobie, Total 360, Old Timers
It isn’t reinventing the wheel, but Davici’s Hillboard is reportedly working to develop a device to capture the thrill and excitement of skateboarding and snowboarding. We’re not sure what this simulation might be, but the original design was submitted to the Atlanta office of InventHelp.
“I invented this idea because I love board sports, and I am fascinated by the hover board from the movie Back to the Future II,” said the unnamed inventor. “I thought it would be awesome to design a board that works similarly to that.”
We’ll be looking forward to what this device could actually be!
InventHelp Official Website
[Press Release: InventHelp Client Develops Redesigned Skateboard (ALL-308)]
LEDs are everywhere, and for good reason. They’re bright, they’re small and they run forever on a little power. This is why we’ve seen LED added to things such as skateboards.
So it is no wonder that Third Kind Skate Lights has created a business out of adding some illumination to the traditional skate deck. The company has created a simple – but apparently effective – kit that provides a rechargeable battery pack that easily mounts to the truck hardware, along with a 20-inch light strip that will provide a warm glow as you ride. Video after the jump
It is sometimes hard to believe what people try to use crowd funding for as some are truly senseless. The Shaggo Skateboard almost falls into that category, but we suppose someone might have a reason to need a carpet on a skate deck… right?
With nearly 120 backers at press time the company has almost made its goal, so apparently there are those that like the idea of some rug on the board. Video after the jump
There have been a few concept skateboards that looked to go off-road, and others that looked to provide some juice to get up and go. The Altered V3 DS, is the world’s first dual sport electric skateboard. In other words, this concept – which is now being developed through a Kickstarter project – is both on-and-off road board, and it features an electric engine. It could make it the go-anywhere board – but only if it gets the funding it seems. Video after the jump
From BikeRadar: Bordering cycle lanes with white lines will not keep cyclists safe, says charity The CTC has questioned elements of a coroner’s report which suggested London’s unbordered blue cycle lanes could be made safer if they were demarcated with white lines. The charity claim that most motorists won’t be aware of the legal differences anyway. Continue reading Weekend Reading List (10.26.2013): East Riding?, Facing Questions, Gotta Go!, Skate Innovation
Surfboard maker Hydroflex has created some colorful surfboards and now it is looking to take its skills to the streets with a new line of skateboards. The company has created a 3D Glassing Technology that provides a stronger, lighter and most importantly a board with increased flex. It is also waterproof, which means it can endure a little rain better than most wooden decks.
Hydroflex is not looking to a Kickstarter project to get rolling with the sidewalk surfing crowd. Video after the jump
Chinese contemporary artist Ai Weiwei is known for his social, political and cultural criticism, and he is now the latest artist to collaborate with SK8room, the platform dedicated solely to the production of art, promotion and sales on skatebaords.
These are available directly from the manufacturer and 20 percent of all the sales go to Skateistan, non-profit NGO that works with youth from a range of ethnicities and socio-economic backgrounds.