What is ATB? ATB or Mountain boarding is a fast growing extreme sport easily accessible to most people. Similar to snow boarding but the board has wheels and is used on a wide variety of terrain. A little over 100 will get you equipped and if you have a hill nearby you don't even need to drive there. Which board? The first factor in choosing a board is your height. The board stood on end should come just above the hip. If the board is too long your stance will be too wide and this will cause control and balance difficulties. If the board is too short your feet will be too close together and you will have trouble balancing and the board will feel unstable. You should be stood on the board with feet pointing straight forward and legs comfortably apart, knees slightly bent. The next consideration is weight. Boards tend to get more expensive as they get lighter due to the technologies and materials used. Basic boards use steel channel trucks, standard wheels/tyres, and plywood decks. These trucks are very stable at speed and they are tuneable with different springs and egg shocks. Skate trucks provide an alternative and are very popular. They are just a larger version of the truck you find on a standard skateboard. The skate truck is not good at speed as you get speed wobble which will throw you off the board, but they are very light and manoeuvrable. The decks tend to be very stiff and will provide a hard landing when jumping. Decks get more flexible when layers of ply are removed and replaced with layers of GRP, Carbon fibre or Kevlar. This makes the deck lighter and stronger too. This flexibility improves comfort as suspension does on a car. The next step in deck construction is full composites. This can be solid Carbon fibre or reverse cap over a wood core as used in snowboards. These decks are the most expensive to buy but are far stronger and lighter than the previous versions. The flexibility varies between manufacturers and most riders will stand on several before they decide which one feels right. With these top end boards come better trucks and wheels. Trucks are usually a variation on the channel truck but are usually Aluminium alloy and some even plastic parts. Some engineering has entered the sport now and there are some fancy trucks using variations of rubber blocks similar to indespension units on car trailers. These can be tuned to each riders preferences and are very tough which is an advantage if you are jumping or riding very rough terrain. Wheels get lighter for these boards as do the tyres, though not always stronger. Bindings help keep your feet on the board. On basic decks they are a Velcro strap which fastens over the top of your foot and allows the foot to be put in and taken out with ease. This can lead to your foot slipping out while riding, not good! A heel strap improves this by fastening to each side of the binding and passing behind the foot to stop the foot leaving the binding without the heel strap being lifted by hand first. An improvement is the ratchet binding, this is tightened onto the foot via a ratchet system making the foot more secure, it can also be used with heel straps. The top end boards may have the facility to use snowboard style bindings. These can be used with your normal riding boots. These bindings use ratchets or over centre clips to fasten your foot tightly to the board giving no accidental escape. When you are attached in this way control is enhanced as any movement you make is directly transferred to the board, also if you need to jump the board over an obstacle it has no chance of falling off your feet. If you are not attached to your board via snowboard bindings or heel straps then a leash must be used. This leash attaches to the front binding and then to your lead leg just above the knee. The purpose of this is to prevent the board continuing down the hill in the event of a fall, saves you a walk and the board can't damage anything or anyone on its way down. Safety Before you leave the shop be sure to equipe yourself with a helmet and pads at the very least. Safety equipment does vary as does cost but remember that the ground is harder than you are! Knowledge It is better to talk to someone in the know before you spend your money. Either find a local club and chat to the riders or visit a shop that has an experienced person on the staff not just a salesman, some shops, like ours, will have an instructor available to give lessons if required. |
