The Original Wave

The Original Wave - Street Surfing Board - Limited Edition Bonus Pack

Manufacturer: Street Surfing
Customer Rating:
List Price: $129.99
Sale Price: $99.95
Availibility: Usually ships in 1-2 business days

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Product Description

The Wave is a radically new board that combines the best of surfing and snowboarding on 2 wheels. The board is propelled by the subtle movement of the rider's body. The Wave features front and rear flexible panels that are controlled by a spring-oriented torsion bar on top of wheels which are both free to rotate 360 degrees.

Product Details

Limited Edition Black Wave Board with Red Graphics!
The Wave features front and rear flexible panels that are controlled by a spring-oriented torsion bar
The deck sits atop two wheels which are both free to rotate 360 degrees
Wheels are 77mm/85A, with ABEC 5 bearings
The Ultimate New Sport!

Video Reviews

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Customer Reviews

Remember the 'Back to the Future' hoverboard.

Review Date: August 26, 2005

Reviewer: Richard Kelly, Huntington Beach, CA

Until we get anti-gravity, this will have to do.

When I first saw this board, I didn't believe it could be rideable. Only two wheels instead of four, and they're on swivels. And the board is split in the middle, and pivots around a rod? I rounded up the owner, my 7-year old nephew Taigen. "Show me." I demanded. When he did, it was like I was watching a magic trick.

So I studied it awhile, and took one ride while supported by a helpful shoulder. Then I kicked off by myself. As soon as you pivot once, and feel the board actually propelling you, you "get it." I was hooked.

Never have I seen a recreational toy where the disparity between perceived and actual difficulty was so great. If you kick off hoping for the reassuring support of four wheels, you're not going to make it. If, however, you kick off, and believe you're surfing/snowboarding/whatever, you will do fine. It's faith-based boarding! It's all about active balance.

I showed it to a friend. When he saw the swiveling casters, he said, "That's death-on-wheels!" I give him the prep-talk ("balance") Three kicks later, he's going around the parking lot.

The smoother the movements (swivel those hips!) the better. It's like riding a wave a couple of inches off the concrete.

Excellent Ride!

Review Date: August 25, 2006

Reviewer: Patrick A. Ochs, NJ United States

Got the wave board about 5 months ago. Took me about an hour to get the hang of riding it. Was a bit daunting at first, but after using a wall for a few runs, I got the hang off it. One tip: I found the "advanced" launch method easier than trying to do the "beginner" technique. In the beginner you push off with your back foot. The problem is that with only 2 wheels you need to move your back foot into position quite fast. Makes it hard to get your feet properly placed, which is key to a good ride. In the advanced you start off with both feet on the board and then start twisting to gain momentum. I found this a much more controlled way to launch.

It has a great smooth ride and allows tight carving. I can already do 360s. Probably the best feature is that it is self-propelled, so you never need to touch the ground after you get going.

Some of the other reviewers complained of wheel problems, but I have had no excessive wheel wear. I have been riding 2 to 3 days a week for 5 months, and while I have worn the shiny cover off the wheels, they are still perfectly usable. Just this week the bearings in my back wheel have worn out, but given the amount of riding I have done and that I weigh 225lbs, I would not consider this excessive wear. Maybe the pavement they are riding on is more rough than where I ride.

All in all, a great board at a very fair price. Have had more fun on it than my $300 long board.
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UPDATE
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Found a good alternative to caster boards. Check out the Thruster 385. It is a skateboard with a special front truck that allows it to carve like a wave board but is stable through turns and smooth over bumps like a skateboard. VERY COOL.

Notes for new buyers [UPDATED Dec. 08]

Review Date: October 7, 2008

Reviewer: Satoru Isaka, San Jose, CA USA

I've been riding a StreetSurfing's Wave for a month, and I'm really having a great time with it. I thought to share my experience in some areas that new buyers may find useful.

Wave vs. Ripstik:
I chose Wave over Ripstik because I heard that it's easier to learn.
The claim was supposedly based on Wave's wider deck plate and shorter caster height. I tried my friend's Ripstik, and my conclusion is that it does not matter which. They are both good and easy to learn.

Having said that, there are noticeable differences in riding feels more than cosmetic. I felt that Ripstik was a bit more responsive, perhaps faster too. But it could be the ground surface or the wheel condition that made me feel that way. I liked the narrower deck plate on Ripstik, as it felt easier to position my feet. But I am very happy with the Wave, and these differences won't make me switch to Ripstik.

Wheel tread wear: *** UPDATED Dec. 8, 2008 ***

My rear wheel lost its tread 1/8" after 2 months, and the front wheel lost 1/16". I weigh 180lb, and used the board on sidewalks and blacktops for 1 hour/day on average for 60 days. When the wheel loses more than 1/8" in tread, it catches tiny debris on the ground, making it difficult to maneuver sometimes. I switched the front and rear wheels for a few weeks, and then replaced them both with new ones.

Caster problem (and the great customer support):
My Wave's rear caster became too wobbly to ride after 3 months of use. I wrote an email to info@streetsurfing.com the day before Thanksgiving. I got a reply the following Monday. They gave me two new replacement casters for free with a purchase of one wheel set, plus 15% discount. I received the shipment one week later. The problem is resolved.
This is an excellent customer support by StreetSurfing.

*** End of UPDATE ***

Exercise value:
My heart rate doesn't go up much even on up hills, so I can't say that it's a great aerobic exercise. I feel that my sense of balance has improved. My lower body (hips, knees, ankles) seem to be a bit more flexible now than before I started caster boarding.

I did have one big discovery. The mechanics of generating power to drive the caster board are similar to the ones to throw punches correctly.
I discovered this when I was struggling to drive the board on the first day. When I recognize the effective body moves, it became easier for me to drive it. I heard somewhere that the origin of caster boards comes from martial arts training tools. Whether it is true or not, I do see a connection between the two.

Ripple and Ripster for kids:
I saw a 6-year-old comfortably riding the Ripster one day. He told me that he started with Ripstik but he had trouble riding it, so he got the smaller board, i.e. Ripster. If a child is below 4 feet and weighs less than 50lb, Wave may be too big, too heavy. I'd consider Ripster or Ripple instead.

Protection gears to learn fast:
I highly recommend wearing a helmet, knee/elbow pads, and gloves/wrist guard when you first try to ride the board. They give you protection of course, but also the sense of security that allows you to overcome your fear. Once you get on the board a few times, you will quickly realize that it is not as hard as you think. Some people who tried my board without protection gears seemed to be too fearful of falling to actually get themselves on board in a proper manner.
Subsequently they gave up quickly, saying it was too hard.

You don't need to be young, fit or coordinated to ride a caster board.
Enjoy!

Wave skateboard review

Review Date: November 23, 2006

Reviewer: Geezer, Honolulu, Hawaii

I found the Wave to be in intimidating at first especially when I mistakenly tried to ride it with the back facing front. Going down a very slight grade really helps too. Follow the instructional DVD.
Once you get the hang of moving your hips to make it go, it quickly becomes addictive and so much fun.
It is an excellent way to improve balance skills and it provides a strenuous workout. I feel it's a lot safer than conventional skateboarding since it doesn't squirt out from under you and dump you as easily as a regular skateboard. I'm a 64 year old geezer in fairly good shape and using the Wave is a great addition to my retired routine.

A review of skateboards, RipStiks, Waves, WhipTides, Xgliders, PowerWings, Bladeboards, PumpRockrs, TimberWolfs, etc.

Review Date: August 7, 2009

Reviewer: David Root, Houston, TX USA

This is a description of most types of boards based on the experiences of my son (15), my daughter (9), and me (cough), within Amazon's 1000-word limit:

Skateboards - Fun for jumping tricks (grinds, etc.). Casterboards are more maneuverable and fun than skateboards on a street, but less fun at skateparks. Soularc Skateboards have one curved deck on top of another for a springy carving feel. Flowboards have 7 wheels in front and 7 in back for a snowboard feel. Longboards are longer and wider skateboards.

RipStiks - Like skateboards but with two small decks connected by a crossbar, and two inline casterwheels which swivel 360 degrees. Seems safer than skateboards because RipStiks don't easily shoot out from under you (they just flop onto their sides). The wheels might show some wear fairly quickly, but even with flattened wheels they're way more fun than skateboards for zipping around on the street. We're able to take apart our RipStik casters and clean them, but not our Wave Board casters, giving RipStiks an advantage over Waves. RipStik Gs have metal crossbars for doing grinds. RipStik Airs are molded into a single piece of plastic, and feel stiffer than RipStiks.

Wave Boards - Like RipStiks, but with shorter crossbars. Makes more of a "clatter" noise than our RipStik. Wave Ripples are smaller to fit younger kids. ExBoards, X-Boards, EssBoards, VigorBoards, Cudas, Freeriders, and eXtreme boards are similar to RipStiks/Waves.

WhipTides - Like RipStiks, but with four inline casterwheels. The crossbar bends up-down and side-to-side, unlike RipStiks. Can do tighter turns and slaloms than RipStiks. Can't do jumps or lift one wheel off of the ground. There's a slight "wiggle" motion as you go faster. I'm more aggressive on RipStiks since they don't wiggle, but my daughter prefers the wiggle because it helps her get moving. Shred Sleds and Alive Boards are similar to WhipTides. Hurricane Boards appear to be WhipTides with only two inline casterwheels.

Xgliders (Xliders) - Have two separate (unattached) casterboard decks, so they're a bit tricky to learn and easy to lose your balance or do the splits. Can do different tricks and tighter turns and slaloms than RipStiks/Waves/WhipTides. You can't just step on and go, like with RipStiks. Instead, you place the two decks onto the ground, step on one at a time, then go (kind of a hassle). Freeline Skates are similar, but the wheels don't spin 360 degrees. OrbitWheels have separate decks as well, but your feet are *inside* the wheels.

PowerWings - Have safer features than RipStiks (two casterwheels in back plus a wheel in front for stability, and handlebars with brakes). You face forward and move your hips side-to-side, but on casterboards you face sideways and use a twisting movement with your hips. It's easy to lean too far back and flip over, but with practice this allows doing wheelies. Some PowerWings have safety bars at the back to prevent flipping over. Rip Rider 360s are similar, but they have a big plastic wheel in front with pedals, and kids ride them sitting down. Trikkes and "Slider The Unscooter" are also three-wheeled, but with unique methods of propulsion.

Bladeboards - Like RipStiks, but the casters are designed differently. We cleaned and lubricated the casters, and put in new bearings, but it still feels sluggish and noisy compared to RipStiks. Bladeboards don't appear to be sold anymore.

PumpRockrs - Skateboards with one casterwheel in front. Can't make tight turns like casterboards can. T-Boards are skateboards with two casterwheels, but don't appear to be as maneuverable as RipStiks. OBoards appear to be PumpRockrs.

TimberWolf XtreeMs - Similar to RipStiks, but the casters are designed differently. My kids and I are experienced riders, but we felt cautious at first because the TimberWolf is quite a bit faster and more maneuverable than RipStiks/Waves/WhipTides. The casters can go forward or backward, so you can swap ends as you ride, and do 360s. RollerSurfers have different casters, but they also allow you to swap ends and do 360s.

Streetboards - Like skateboards, but the decks are in three sections. Your feet rotate the outer sections to propel the board, and you can strap into bindings on the footplates (optional). Good for jumping tricks (grinds, etc.), but not as maneuverable and fun as casterboards on the street. Snakeboards are shorter versions of Streetboards. It took us several days to figure out how to ride our Snakeboard because the movement is different than with casterboards. Alterskates had a similar rotating mechanism to propel the board, but no-one at their website responds to emails. LandSharks are kneeboards which you propel similar to Streetboards (using a handlebar).

Bottom line:
We own a skateboard, RipStik, Wave, WhipTide, Xglider, Bladeboard, TimberWolf, and Snakeboard, and we've ridden a RipStik G, RipStik Air, PowerWing, PumpRockr, and LandShark. If we could only have one board, it would be the TimberWolf. For less-expensive boards or for new riders, we would choose the WhipTide, RipStik, or Wave (in that order). To do carving/twisting/turning/spinning around the street, casterboards are best. To do jumping tricks, skateboards and Streetboards are best. At skateparks, skateboards are best.

About the wheels:
We replaced our worn-down RipStik wheels with two good wheels from our Xglider, and put the flattened RipStik wheels onto our Xglider. Strangely, we didn't notice much of a difference in the feel of the RipStik or the Xglider. After 20 minutes, the rear wheel on the RipStik had worn down a bit, but RipStiks/Waves are fun even when the wheels are flattened (until it becomes excessive). The wheels on our other boards don't seem to wear down very quickly.

For some videos of my kids and me playing a casterboard game that we invented, search for "Caster Soccer" at YouTube. Another fun game is playing "tag" on casterboards. We wear protective gear when trying new boards or tricks. Skate safely!