Mountainboarding Explained

Mountainboarding (MTB), also known as dirtboarding, off-road boarding, and All-Terrain Boarding (ATB), is a well-established,^[1] but little-known action sport derived from snowboarding. The sport was initially pioneered by James Stanley during a visit to the Matterhorn in the 1990s, where snow was not available. A mountainboard is made up of components including a deck, bindings (to secure the rider to the deck), four wheels with pneumatic tires, and two steering mechanisms known as trucks. Mountainboarders, also known as riders, ride specifically designed boardercross tracks, slopestyle parks, grass hills, woodlands, gravel tracks, streets, skateparks, ski resorts, BMX courses, and mountain bike trails. It is this ability to ride such a variety of terrain that makes mountainboarding unique from other board sports.

History

Origins

Morton Hellig's 'Supercruiser Inc.' was the first company to manufacture and retail the 'All Terrain Dirtboard', patented in 1989.Mountainboarding (name coined by Jason Lee) began in the UK, the United States and Australia in 1992. Unknown to each other, riders from other Boardsports started to design, build, and eventually manufacture boards that could be ridden off-road. This desire to expand the possible terrain that a boarder can ride created the sport of Mountainboarding.^[2]

United Kingdom

Dave and Pete Tatham, Joe Inglis and Jim Aveline, whilst looking for an off-season alternative to surfing and snowboarding, began designing boards that could be ridden down hills. Inglis developed initial prototypes, and in 1992 noSno was started. Extensive research and development produced the noSno truck system which enabled the boards to be steered and remain stable at high speeds. NoSno boards utilized snowboard bindings and boots, with large tyres for rough ground, and the option for a hand-operated hydraulic disc brake.^[3]

United States

In 1992, after having snowboarded at Heavenly Valley Resort in Northern California, friends Jason Lee, Patrick McConnell and Joel Lee went looking for an alternative for the summer season. Not finding anything suitable they co-founded Mountain Board Sports (MBS) in 1993 to build boards that they could use to carve down hills. The original MBS boards, known as 'Frame Boards' had a small wooden deck, metal posts to hold the rider's feet, a tubular metal frame connecting trucks which used springs to enable steering, thus create the carving sensation that the MBS co-founders sought.^[4] The first recorded mountainboarding act occurred in the summer of 1978. On a bet, skateboarder Mike Motta, residing in Medford, Massachusetts, navigated down a hill known as Seven Bumps in Malden, Massachusetts using a standard Franklin skateboard.

Australia

John Milne developed a three-wheeled version of a mountainboard in 1992 in his spare time during periods of very poor surf. It used a unique steering system to emulate surfing on land. It had three wheels and a skate-style deck with no bindings.^[5]

Mid-to-late nineties

From the early days of invention there has always been a competitive element in mountainboarding. Encompassing racing, freestyle and downhill, competitions have been organized in the USA since 1993 and in the UK since 1997. In the same year, the ATBA-UK (All Terrain Boarding Association), the national governing body for mountainboarding in the UK, was born.^[6] As a non-profit making organization it represented and promoted the sport by putting riders interests first, promoting safety, sanctioning events, providing training, and sourcing funding to put on the ATBA-UK National Series, an annual series of competitions. The competitions did much to promote the sport and in 1998 mountainboarding had an estimated participation of over 1 million athletes worldwide.^[1] The components evolved, and the sport continued to grow. MBS developed the open heel binding, the channel truck called the "eggshock", and the reverse V-Brake system and sold boards worldwide. In 1998 Maxtrack started distributing MBS mountainboards in the UK and Europe.

Future

Some powered mountain boards are gaining traction in the board enthusiast world. Small gas or electric motors are being attached to allow for mountainboarding to be done on flat ground or to climb hills rather than just downhill. Many DIY electric mountainboard builders are developing new drivetrains for their boards with electric motors, rivaling the power of small motorcycles, which could become the norm.

Equipment

Board components

Deck

Mountainboard decks are the part that most of the components are attached to, and provide the base for the rider to stand on. They are generally from 90–110 centimeters in length, and can be made from a range of construction methods and materials. For example, high specification boards may be made from composite carbon and glass-reinforced plastic, possibly with a wooden core, similar to a snowboard deck. Basic decks are generally made using laminated wood pressed into shape, comparable to a longboard deck with larger dimensions and a different shape. There are variable characteristics such as flex, weight, shape, length and tip angle that can be custom-made, or stock boards from a variety of manufacturers.

Trucks

Trucks are the components made up of a hanger, damping and/or spring system, and axles which attach the wheels to the deck. They also have the mechanisms required to allow the board to turn.

Skate trucks

Skate trucks have a rigid axle and a top hanger, with a single bolt and bushings, also called rubbers or grommets, that provide the cushion mechanism for turning the mountainboard. The bushings cushion the truck when it turns. The stiffer the bushings, the more resistant the mountainboard is to turning. The softer the bushings, the easier it is to turn. A bolt called a kingpin holds these parts together and fits inside the bushings. Thus by tightening or loosening the kingpin nut, the trucks can be adjusted loosely for better turning and tighter for more control. Skate-style mountainboard trucks are similar to skateboard trucks but more robust and with a longer axle.

Channel trucks

Channel trucks are common on mountainboards, and are made up of an axles mounted to the truck bottom piece, which is suspended from a top hanger by a kingpin. They are mounted to the deck using nuts and bolts through the hanger part, on an angle, (usually 35°). When the board is tilted laterally the axles turn together to angle the wheels in the direction of the turn. Two polyurethane dampers sometimes known as "egg shocks" are mounted between the hanger and the axle housing on each truck to provide resistance to the lean of the rider during turning. Springs are mounted in the same place with the dampers inside them.

The 'shocks' present in channel trucks are there to dampen the turning system, and help reduce the oscillations of the trucks on the board commonly described as speed wobble. The springs are there to return the deck to center after a turn has been performed. Neither are there to provide suspension between the deck and axles. They have a kingpin that can't move vertically which prevents this.

Also, the effectiveness of springs as employed in 2009 channel truck designs is open to debate.In a "Coil over Oil" shock, the extension of the spring is dampened as well as contraction. In a channel truck design, this is not the case as the damper sits freely inside the spring—therefore only contraction is dampened, not extension. This means that when a spring ceases to be under load and extends, it can extend past the equilibrium point.

NoSno trucks

NoSno trucks use two 'kingpin'-type bolts to create a floating pivot, an axle with a plate into which the bolts go, an angled base plate that attaches to the deck, and polyurethane bushings to dampen the turn. The amount of turn available in the trucks can be adjusted by tightening the bolts or by using bushings of different hardness. A similar design was adopted by Howla Mountainboards for the limited time that they manufactured boards.

Bindings

Bindings involve adjustable straps that hold the rider on to the board while allowing room to move their feet.

Snowboard bindings
Ratchet-strap bindings
Velcro Bindings
Bar-Bindings
Heelstraps

Wheels

Wheels are made up of plastic or metal hubs and pneumatic tires ranging in size of 8–13 inches. The 8" wheel has evolved into the best choice for freestyle riding, and also an all purpose wheel for general riding. Larger wheels (generally 9" and 10") are more useful to the downhill rider; granting the rider access to high-speed runs and more stability when traveling at speed. 13" or larger is better for floatation on soft sand or control in mud.

Tyres

Various tires have been made available by different mountainboard manufacturers, giving riders a choice of tire specifications. For example, the thickness of the tire is variable and usually either 2- or 4-ply. 2-ply tires are lighter, but more susceptible to punctures than 4-ply tires. There is a variety of tread patterns available, ranging from street slicks to deep tread designed for maximum grip with split center beads to channel water away. Width and diameter are also variable.

Brakes

Brakes are generally reserved for big mountain riding where riders need an increased ability to control their speed over long runs. The brakes are usually attached to both front wheels of the mountainboard rather than the rear to give greater braking efficiency and reduce the chances of the rear wheels locking up and skidding. They are operated via a hand-held lever which when pulled causes both brake mechanisms to work simultaneously. There are four types of brakes used on mountainboards:

Mechanical drum brakes

Those brakes use brake drums attached to the wheel with the 5 wheel-screws (Scrub). They are cheap and brake rigidly but get extremely hot and tend to melt the plastic hub. Good emergency brakes only, not any good for long steep hills. There is currently no heat resistant hub where they would attach to.

Hydraulic Disc Brakes

Hydraulic Disc Brakes use rotors attached to the hubs with hydraulically operated brake mechanisms that force ceramic pads against the rotors to effect braking. Advantages include high braking power and reliability. Disadvantages include cost, vulnerability of the discs, heat build up, and weight.

Hydraulic Rim Brakes

Hydraulic Rim Brakes use the hub, or preferably, a bolt on metal disc as the braking surface for hydraulically operated brake mechanisms that push polyurethane blocks against the braking surface. Advantages include good braking power, and good modulation. Disadvantages include possible damage to bearings.

Cable-pull 'V' Brakes

Cable-pull 'V' Brakes also use the hub or metal discs as a braking surface. The hand operated lever pulls a metal cable to push polyurethane blocks against the braking surface. Advantages include low cost, low weight, and easy installation and maintenance. Disadvantages include low braking power, and the need to be regularly adjusted.

Protections

Mountainboarders wear a range of protective equipment while riding.

Helmets - are designed to protect the wearer's head from falls and damage to the brain. There are two types of helmets: full-face and open face. Full-face provides more protection to the wearer and open face provides greater visibility for the wearer.
Wrist Guards - are designed to protect the wearers' wrists from impacts. They come in two types: gloves and wrap-arounds. But both include plastic splints which prevent the wearers wrists from bending backwards during a fall and protect the palms against cuts and grazes.
Elbow Pads - are designed to protect the wearers' elbows from impact during falls. Sometimes forearm guards are incorporated into the elbow pads.
Knee Pads - are designed to protect the wearers' knees from impact during falls.
Padded Shorts - are designed to protect the wearers' hips, coccyx, and buttocks from impact during falls.
Body Armor - is designed to protect the wearer's upper body, arms, shoulders and back from impact during falls.

Disciplines

Mountainboarding consists of four main disciplines:

Downhill (DH)

Timed one-man descents. Usually relatively long courses (more than 1 kilometer) in the mountains. Sometimes referred to as big mountain.

Boardercross (BoarderX, BX)

Two to four-man racing on a specifically designed track.

Freestyle (FS)

Slopestyle

Performing tricks on a slopestyle course consisting of multiple jumps, rails and innovative features.

Big Air: Performing tricks including grabs, spins and inverts over jumps.
Jibbing: Similar to Slopestyle except with the focus on smaller more technical features such as rails, quarter pipes, drops and smaller kickers.

Freeriding (FR)

Non-competitive riding over a range of natural terrain including woodland.

Similar Sports

Similar all terrain boardsports include Dirtsurfing and Kiteboarding.

Crossover Sports

Media

The following are some of the numerous publications Mountain Boarding has had in various news media outlets and other media, including for the annual Mountain Board US Open in Snowmass and the Twighlight Showdown Mountainboard Championships.^[7]

Historical Magazines

Off-Road Boarding Magazine founded in '99 with its editor Brian Bishop and other dedicated riders. It ran numerous pictorials, US riding spots, rider profiles and carried virtually no ads. It started small, and was given away at comps and shops. The last issue of the mag was printed in full color and a new name "Mountainboard Magazine". The new title was later adopted by a UK publisher.
All Terrain Boarding Magazine aka ATBMag: The longest running, 4 years, and only Mountainboard magazine to make it onto mainstream newsagent shelves. Distributed worldwide it ran to 39 copies and one photo album featuring the work of Paul Taylor. ATBMag was also responsible for the creation of the World Freestyle Championships, running it for the first 2 years. It also created the World Series, taking place in 12 countries. ATBmag sponsored a team of riders, who were later sponsored by EXIT. The team featured Tom Kirkman, Laurie Kaye, Alex Downie, Oli Morrison, Arno Van Den Vejver, Ig Wilkinson, Jack Chew and Tuai Lovejoy. 2005 saw the team take to Europe and ride in 7 countries following the World Series Tour. In 2006 the magazine made its final issue.
Scuz Mountainboarding Zine was first published in July 2004 as a paid-for magazine, however subsequent issues were published and distributed for free both as a printed hardcopy version and on the internet as a downloadable PDF. It was announced in October 2006 that issue twelve would be the final issue.
Mountainboard Magazine was produced by the same people who created scuz, and it was re-branded to suit changing trends in mountainboarding, and a cover charge was introduced to help pay for the costs involved in producing the magazine as the advertising featured was sufficient. Only one issue was ever printed.
Mountainboarding Video Magazine (MVM) The only video mag to showcase mountain boarding from around the world. This publication only made nine issues, co-produced and edited by Justin Rhodes, Van DeWitt, and Brett Dooley.
UKATB ran for 6 years between 2000 and 2006 and was the first website to feature in-depth advice and tips from board maintenance to ramp building and trick tips. At its peak the site attracted over 10 000 unique visitors a month.

Movies

^[8] is the 70th Disney Channel Original Movie and is the sequel to the 1999 film Johnny Tsunami. Its popularity encouraged people to take interest in the extreme sport.

TV

Mountainboard Aux Saisies^[9] TV coverage of the 2009 noSno World Downhill Championships, from the French TV channel Savoie ACTU.
History Channel.^[10] The history of extreme sport on the History Channel. Featuring Mountainboarding and many other board sports.
They Think It's All Over.^[11] Pete and Dave Tatham from noSno taking part in "Guess the sportsman" on BBC's sports comedy program "They think it's all over"
Park City TV: What is Mountainboarding?^[12] The Utah DirtStar Army team on Park City TV in late 2005.
Good Morning Utah.^[13] The DirtStar Army live on Good Morning Utah 2005.
US Open Mountainboard Championships^[14] 2006, held in Snowmass, Colorado. JSP TV talks with the youth division winner and the director of the Dirt Dogs.
Toasted TV.^[15] Interview with Munroboards team rider Ryan Slater on the Channel 10 show toasted TV.
Domino's Pizza.^[16] "That was Puff" commercial featuring mountainboarders: Ryan Slater, Clint Farqhuar, Markus Lubitz, Adam Zemunic.
Horizon TV.^[17] Willingen D-MAX World Series Mountainboard 2007.
Rockon.^[18] TV report on WDR on the mountain board park opening in Winterberg.
At Your Leisure: The DirtStar Army.^[19] TV report on Utah's DSA mountain board team ripping up the Park City dirt jumps.
Top Gear.^[20] TV item showing a staged race between Tom Kirkman and a Mitsubishi Evo rally car and Bowler Wildcat.
Friday Download.^[21] Kids TV report on mountain boarding (2012).

Newspapers & Magazines

The Guardian.^[22] What do snowboarders do when faced with the perennially powderless slopes of the UK? They find the nearest verdant hill and hurtle down it. Tim Moore and son go gung-ho in Surrey.
The Telegraph.^[23] Jonny Beardsall loses balance and bottle as he faces a 40 mph slalom on a mountain board.
Men's Health.^[24] Fancy traveling at speeds of 60 mph on a board down a mountain? Read on…

Chad Harding features in Stroud news and journal about his win in the under 14s UK championship freestyle.

Public service/Community (online)

Atboarders. ^[25] UK based mountainboarding badasses who reignite the hype. Always Fresh. Always A Ting
The Dirt.^[26] US based mountainboard blog & news site.
Surfing Dirt.^[27] International mountainboarders community forum.
Remolition.^[28] Free mountainboard webzine with regular features.
MountainboardingUK.^[29] Beginner mountainboard-riders website (free advice)

Competitions

World Freestyle Championships

From 2005 to 2008 was named Fat Face Night Air WFC

From 2009 to 2010 was named Battle of Bugs

2004 (Weston Super X Arena, Weston Super Mare, UK) - Leon Robbins, USA
2005 (SWMBC, Bideford, UK) - Tom Kirkman, UK
2006 (SWMBC, Bideford, UK) - Alex Downie, UK
2007 (SWMBC, Bideford, UK) - Arno VDV, Belgium
2008 (Bugs Boarding, Gloucester, UK) - Renny Myles, UK
2009 (Bugs Boarding, Gloucester, UK) - Tom Kirkman, UK
2012 (Luzhniki, Moscow, Russia) - Matt Brind, UK
2017 (Venette, France) - Matt Brind, UK; Natasha Chernikova, RUS
2018 (Kranj, Slovenia) - Matt Brind, UK; Simona Petrò, ITA
2019 (Moszczenica, Poland) - Nicolas Geerse, NLD; Maja Bilik, POL
2023 (Venette, France) - Matt Brind, UK

World Downhill Championships

2009 (Les Saisies, France) - Pete Tatham, UK
2010 (Bardonecchia, Italy) - Pete Tatham, UK
2011 (Bardonecchia, Italy) - Pete Tatham, UK
2012 (Les Saisies, France) - Jonathan Charles, UK
2023 (Super Besse, France) - Pete Tatham, UK; Margaux Rolland, FRA

World Boardercross Championships

2013 (Bukovac, Novi Sad, Serbia) - Kody Stewart USA; Martina Lippolis, ITA
2014 (Bukovac, Novi Sad, Serbia) - Matt Brind, UK; Martina Lippolis, ITA
2015 (Großerlach, Germany) - Matt Brind, UK; Simona Petro, ITA
2016 (Bukovac, Novi Sad, Serbia) - Matt Brind, UK; Sonya Nicolau, ROM
2017 (Venette, France) - Matt Brind, UK; Senka Bajić, SRB
2018 (Kranj, Slovenia) - Kody Stewart USA; Senka Bajić, SRB
2019 (Bukovac, Novi Sad, Serbia) - Matt Brind, UK; Vanja Rakovic, SRB
2023 (Venette, France) - Matt Brind, UK; Suzy Rolland, FRA

Overall World Champions

2017 (Venette, France) - Matt Brind, UK; Ola Tomalczyk, POL
2018 (Kranj, Slovenia) - Matt Brind, UK; Simona Petrò, ITA
2019 (Moszczenica, Poland; Bukovac, Novi Sad, Serbia) - Matt Brind, UK
2023 (Venette, France | Super Besse, France) - Matt Brind, UK; Margaux Rolland, FRA

European Downhill Championships

2009 (Bardonecchia, Italy) - Pete Tatham, UK
2010 (Bardonecchia, Italy) - Jonathan Charles, UK
2014 (Monte Penice, Italy) - Matt Brind, UK

European Mountainboard Tour

2010 - Arno VDV, Belgium
2014 - Matt Brind, UK

European Mountainboard Challenge

2010 (Bukovac, Novi Sad, Serbia) - Marcin Staszczyk, POL; Senka Bajić, SRB
2011 (Bukovac, Novi Sad, Serbia) - Marcin Staszczyk, POL; Senka Bajić, SRB
2012 (Bukovac, Novi Sad, Serbia) - James Wanklyn, UK; Sonya Nicolau, ROM
2015 (Kranj, Slovenia) - Dawid Rzaca, POL; Senka Bajić, SRB
2016 (Kranj, Slovenia) - Matteo Andreassi, ITA; Senka Bajić, SRB
2017 (Kranj, Slovenia) - Nicolas Geerse, NED; Senka Bajić, SRB

Notes and References

Wall Street Journal, April 16th 1998
Web site: Remolition's history of Mountainboarding Article . 2009-03-03 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110715172314/http://www.remolition.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5:history-of-mountain-boarding-part-ii&catid=4:articles&Itemid=11 . 2011-07-15 . dead .
http://www.nosno.com/snosite/index.htm noSno Off-Road Boards
http://www.mbs.com/mbsNewsAndEvents/IntheMedia/MBSHistoryTimeline.asp MBS History Timeline
http://www.a2xtreme.com/2000/0054.htm Outback Mountainboards
http://atba-uk.org/about/ About the ATBA-UK
Web site: Alexa Konstand (More Posts) . Twighlight Showdown Mountainboard Championships Were a Success . The Ski Channel . 2009-09-02 . 2012-08-17.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QhBsu23XbA Johnny Kapahala: Back on Board 1/10
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x9s8bn_mountainboard-aux-saisies Dailymotion video of TV coverage of world downhill championships 2009
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFSsNscEpBA YouTube video of History Channel Mountainboarding segment
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHhFnK6LXQ0 YouTube video of They think it's all over segment
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uL1tT_STbwM YouTube video of Park City TV segment
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yxFl3pDAhU YouTube video of Good Morning Utah segment
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Af7jY5PtOLw YouTube video of JSP TV segment
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjWZSnFq7rs YouTube video of Toasted TV segment
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GS6Ou3VmJEE YouTube video of Domino's Pizza advert
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yvdotzcd0p8 YouTube video of Horizon TV segment
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmJ0b9opj7g YouTube video of WDR segment
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVf1_ejdRRc YouTube video of the Utah DirtStar Army team
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9AKp35gDco "Skater boy vs Mitsubishi Evo - Top Gear - BBC"
https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/clips/p00q4wwc
Web site: Mountainboarding . 2007-09-28 . . https://web.archive.org/web/20230602015005/https://www.theguardian.com/news/2007/sep/29/guardianspecial4.guardianspecial2 . 2023-06-02 . live .
https://web.archive.org/web/20090126211802/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/dietandfitness/3356359/Mountain-board-riding-help!-My-braking-point-on-a-descent-into-hell.html Telegraph Article
http://www.menshealth.co.uk/Gear/Go-mountain-boarding/v2 Men's Health Article
Web site: ATBoarders.com - Always Fresh...Always A Ting . www.atboarders.com . en.
Web site: Mountainboard News You Need . The Dirt . 2012-08-17.
Web site: Surfing Dirt Mountainboarding Community . Surfingdirt.com . 2012-08-17.
Web site: Remolition Mountainboarding | Mountainboarding at its best . Remolition.com . 2012-08-17 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100216021543/http://www.remolition.com/ . 2010-02-16 . dead .
Web site: Mountainboarding - The Beginners Guide . Mountainboarding.uk.com . 2012-08-17.