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| Articles: FREEBORD Manufacturing Word is...Maura Taylor spoke with Steen Strand, co-owner and product designer for Freebord, an innovative product manufacturer in San Francisco. Here's what she found out about this small, ever evolving segment of the industry. "At first glance, I wasn't exactly sure what to make of Freebord. From video clips and pictures on the Freebord homepage, it just looked like another long board company trying to push their version of the sidewalk surfer. It wasn't until I met with Steen, who began Freebord a little over three years ago, that I fully understood Freebord's purpose. According to Steen, the Freebord came about as part of his Master's thesis in product design and mechanical engineering at Stanford University. He had intended to simulate the sliding motion that one experiences while carving turns on a snowboard. Riding a traditional long or short skateboard, carving turns is similar to the perfect turns that racing or alpine boards create. Typically, carving a turn on a freeride snowboard involves a great deal of snow sliding, meaning pushing snow out while making turns. In powder, it's all about sliding, a movement that feels just right when a plume of snow billows overhead as you push out to make heelside and frontside turns. Freebord was specifically designed to emulate this experience on cement. It's an interesting concept on paper, but I needed to ride one in order to get the full effect. On a gusty, cold San Francisco summer night, Steen took me to Potrero Hill, a somewhat deserted and moderately hilly area of the city - supposedly an easy place to learn. The street we parked on was steep in some parts, but a gradual slope was all we really needed. As Steen unloaded the Freebord 112, he tried to explain its mechanics and I looked on with curiosity. Turning the Freebord on its back, it looks like your average long skateboard, except for a few distinctions -- the trucks are much more heavy duty and stick out a few inches on each side of the board and there are two additional wheels, one centered below each truck. These wheels rest on a pivot joint and depending on their height (which can be adjusted), allow the board to slide sideways. Handing the Freebord 112 over to me, Steen grabbed a prototype model with much shorter trucks and lighter deck construction. He hopped on and started cruising down the hill, sliding big heel and toeside turns and effortlessly sliding backside and frontside 360's. I looked on enviously and feeling awkward, I stood on the board and began to push. Wrong move...the board slid out from under my feet and I was sent running. A few tries later, I figured out the whole edge concept and finally got the picture. Although the Freeboard has trucks, wheels and wood just like a skateboard, you must think snow not street (or else you'll wind up on your butt). Currently, Freebord's manufacturing headquarters are based in the Mission District of San Francisco. Steen and his partner, Bayard Winthrop devote all their efforts to running the operations. Steen grew up snowboarding and skateboarding in the bay area and although he has traveled worldwide, decided to make San Francisco his permanent home. Bayard, an east coast transplant, has his roots in product design and joined Steen about two years ago during the early stages of Freebord production. Right now, Steen admits that there are still things he would like to improve about the Freebord. Each board weighs around 13 pounds, which is not very practical for transportation purposes and makes it more difficult to maneuver. It's not a cheap thrill, either. With money roll in hand, be prepared to spend about $300 per board and if you're in a higher tax bracket, you'll still have enough left over for rent. Although the technology is still being perfected, Steen is confident that the Freebord will be modified and refined as new product goes into construction and if he can find less expensive means of production, it will lower the price significantly. Meanwhile, he's stoked that so many people of all age ranges and backgrounds are getting excited about Freebord and he's interested to see how the company grows. For the future, he hopes that more people will recognize what Freebord is all about and the category for street snowboarding will continue to expand. For further details about Freebord, check out their website at www.freebord.com and look for product write-ups in Warp, Spin and Trace magazines. In addition, Fox Sports Ride TV is featuring a segment on the company that will be broadcast sometime this summer". Maura Taylor has been snowboarding and skateboarding for five years, is a New York City native, grew up in Jersey (represent) and currently resides in San Francisco. When she's not hopelessly following the snow, she can be found in front of her computer checking email. Send all comments, questions and other interesting bits of data to snowsalot_@excite.com. If she's not too busy trying to find the latest summer snow conditions at Mt. Hood, she'll be sure to write you back. |
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