Carveboarding is a boardsport on hard surfaces (roads, sidewalks, etc.). It is also known as surfskating when using a surfskate, which has smaller wheels. Carveboard is also the brand name of the board which popularized the practice of this sport, while Surfskate is also used as a brand name. The board was invented by Californian snowboarder & surfers (David Colley and Brad Gerlach) to practice their moves during flat sea days and summer. The result is a board that shares with the

surfing Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suitabl ...

snowboarding Snowboarding is a recreational and competitive activity that involves descending a snow-covered surface while standing on a snowboard that is almost always attached to a rider's feet. It features in the Winter Olympic Games and Winter Paralympi ...

skateboard A skateboard is a type of sports equipment used for skateboarding. They are usually made of a specially designed 7-8 ply maple plywood deck and polyurethane wheels attached to the underside by a pair of skateboarding trucks. The skateboarde ...

ride experience. And although by its anatomy (a board, 2 trucks, 4-wheel) the carveboard looks somewhat like its cousins skateboards, the handling and feel are ultimately much closer to those of

and

. Joe Gerlach, Brad's father, started Carve Board Sports based on the design. The practice reminds of, better known,

longboarding Longboarding is typically defined as a variation of skateboarding that involves a larger board and softer urethane wheels. Longboards vary in shape and size. Compared to skateboards, longboards are more stable at speed and have more traction, due ...

. However, it emphasizes the work of the turn for which it provides all the variations of the carve. Some models are equipped with pneumatic (air filled) tires, so use on rougher surfaces (asphalt, pavement, hard earth, etc.) is also possible.

Anatomy

The board itself has the distinction of being connected to the

truck A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame construction ...

s by small hinges that allow to tilt the board relative to the horizontal. Thus, the board can tilt up to about 45 °; much more than conventional skateboard trucks. This allows a much more aggressive turn attack, limiting the speed loss in each curve (carving). Compared to skateboarding, it is easier to accelerate without pressing a foot on the ground when carveboarding / surfskating (which is known as tic-tac for skateboarding and requires to keep the front wheels off the ground). The possibility of instantaneous change of edge (Rail To Rail), allows to gain speed by flexion-extension as found in "shortboard" surfing and snowboarding. This is the "carving" effect that allows the development of necessary skills to advance one's surfing and snowboarding.

Emulation of other boardsports

Like skateboarding in its infancy, carveboarding seeks to give some specific sensations from

. These are also found in some practices of

(which is no surprise given the history of the latter). That is why today carveboards are sold on the quality of their emulation of surfing and snowboarding. But let there be no mistake, they are not necessarily noticeable to all, because they only relate to the carving practices of alpine and freeride snowboarding. Moreover, unlike the

freebord A freeboard is a specialist skateboard designed to closely simulate the behavior of a snowboard. Freeboards were developed to allow snowboarding, snowboarders to transition to skateboarding (as non-winter transport) without the need to adapt to ...

and

T-board A T-board is a Longboard (skateboard), longboard skateboard with only two wheels, designed to mimic the sensation of carving on a snowboard. The design differs from a traditional skateboard in a way similar to how rollerblades differ from traditio ...

, which have been specifically developed to emulate

type of

, the carveboard was developed by a surfer/snowboarder for surfers/snowboarders. To put an end to sterile debates that inevitably arise around these competitive new boardsports offers, let's just remember that in essence emulating surfing or snowboarding on hard surface will always be imperfect. Top surfers and snowboarders use the carve board unique characteristics as a training tool when there are no waves or snow. We can thus assume that over time, like skateboarding, these sports will transcend their origins and establish themselves as separate sports and not more or less successful emulations.

Popularity

Although this relatively innovative idea is fairly new, the popularity and practice of carveboarding remains limited compared to

. This can be explained by the fact that the latter was created in conjunction with

skateboarding Skateboarding is an extreme sport, action sport originating in the United States that involves riding and performing tricks using a skateboard, as well as a recreational activity, an art form, an entertainment industry Profession, job, and a ...

(in the 1970s), and has had time to develop. Like so many of the similar boardsports, the experience of riding the board is the key selling point. As mentioned, it is used frequently as a training tool. Also, the price of innovative board designs such as the carveboard remains high due to lack of competition in particular (only a very limited number of manufacturers have the patent), limiting its adoption by the masses.

Reference

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External links

CarveUSA
Original inventors, manufacturer and sellers of Carveboards
DropBoards
Creators and sellers of an alternative brand
Landyachtz Surf Skates
Launched the first Surf Cruiser - the midway between a carving and cruising board.
Carveboard.fr - Surfez le bitume / Surf the Asphalt !
Forum for everything carveboarding, mostly in French Surf culture Boardsports