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jconley77 · Site Admin Joined: 14 Feb 2007 Posts: 30

Sometimes speed just isn't a thing to be had. A lack of decent slope is often the cause, and properly skating your board is a way to pick things up.

Skating 101
Mountainboard Essential - Beginners

1 - Mongo

The purpose of skating your board is to pick up speed, and the act is done much the same way as on a skateboard, with a few board-specific differences.

In mountainboarding as in skating, the number one rule is don't skate mongo! The act of Mongo is executed by pushing off the ground with your front foot, leaving your body weight sitting heavy on the tail of the board, and robbing you of effort. Skate properly by removing your back foot from the binding and pushing off your toeside edge.

This really is the primary rule. In skating, pushing Mongo will get you laughed out of the park. In mountainboarding, pushing Mongo requires you to push off the front foot, opening up your hips and putting your rear foot at a wide arc. Unless youre double jointed, pushing mongo on a mountainboard is nearly impossibly, if not entirely stupid.

2 - Wide kicks

Unlike a skateboard, a mountainboard's tires stick well outside the back of the board. One mistake made during the transition from skate to dirt is the tendency to push right along the toeside edge. I've taken many a spill from pushing too close to the board, catching the rear tire, and nailing a faceplant. While pushing, be sure to leave yourself a wider birth for the tire than you would on a skateboard. It requires a longer stride and more effort, but is well worth it to avoid a dirtplant.

3 - Long Strides

Mountainboards are heavy. Pushing from a stop can be a chore if you don't get enough ass behind your kicks. When pushing, start out with a huge stride. Bring your back foot all the way out to the front tire, put your foot down early, and continue pushing off the back foot until your leg is fully extended. Repeat the huge kicks until your speed is closer to where you want it. Shorten the length of the kicks as you get ready to hop back into the binding. It requires more effort than your standard skateboard push, but you'll get more for your work with every push.

4 - Pivot the Front Foot

It's a completely unnatural motion to push with your back foot as your front foot remains angled in the binding. Just as in skateboarding, allow your front foot to pivot, facing completely forwards. This will square your body with the direction of your ride, allowing you to generate stronger pushes and avoid tapping the rear tire.

5 - Tap the Deck

It's another natural tendency to bring your foot straight back onto the board, often crushing your binding and ending your speed in the process. Until you get familiar with bringing your foot up, back, down, and finally into the binding in one fell swoop, start by tapping the empty middle of your board before sliding back into the binding. Doing so allows you to relocate your binding without taking your eyes off your line, and enables you to maintain your balance and your speed as you get back into the binding.