One thing I absolutely do not regret letting go of at the Sk8 Swap is this Long Rider, for multiple reasons. First off, I’ve still got two in my collection, including one in the original packaging. Secondly, this one was sold to none other than Willis Kimball, (who I’m sure is tired of what I’m about to point out) the son of 70’s pro skater Curt Kimball. “Long Rider” is the nickname his friends have given him, and this board is allegedly destined to end up on the wall of his skateshop, Rip’s Co.

There are so many hybrid bike skate scooter thingies these days. The Dryft Board positions itself as snowboarding simulator if you can believe that. It’s more or less a backwards Skate Bike with a caster wheel. And instead of a single axle, the back truck is hinged. Oh, and it’s electric too, because why not? Comes with brake lights and a switch to make the caster wheel stable. I’d bet there’s a fistful of overlapping patents on this $2000 toy. At least they ship it for free. I totally forgot about Bikeboards and Strullers. I’ll bet you did too.

A non-skateboarding friend sent me a link to an online auction for the Ital Board, and I couldn’t find out anything about it on the interwebs, except for another auction of a slightly different version. It looks late 70’s to me, although possibly from the early 80’s.

Because this site is still part of the Skatewing Preservation Society, enjoy these pics of a red Skatewing. This one is in pretty good shape until you get a look at a side view of the tail. Once again, this site is also the only member of the Skatewing Preservation Society. – Thanks to Allen Weekes for the photos.

Because this site is part of the Skatewing Preservation Society, enjoy these pics of a gray Skatewing. Also, this site is the only member of the Skatewing Preservation Society. – Thanks to Terry Daniel for the photos.

Way back in 2014 I saw one of these things on eBay and couldn’t figure out what it was, or even if it was skateboard related. I looked like it might have possibly been made for rollerskating rinks, I couldn’t tell. Fast forward 8 years and turns the this thing was the “Sit Skate,” and it is a skateboarding alternative that is/was “the wave of the future” for people who can’t be bothered to learn how to stand up on a skateboard. If anything, this device looks like its would be harder to maneuver than if you just sat on a regular skateboard. In any case, mystery solved. This advert is from the October 1981 edition of Action Now. The kid in the ad is wearing a t-shirt with the manufacturers logo on it, a lo and behold Mark 10 Industries is still around. They make an odd and small assortment of automotive related products these days, and I’ve contacted them asking for more info on the Sit Skate. If you want see pictures of the Sit-Skate, check out This is a thing. What is this thing?- Thanks to Darren Haugen for the tip.

It’s only been about 9 years since I first became aware of the Ski Skate, and now at long last, I can add a second post on this ancient relic. Check out this promotional flyer from the toy company that made it. I say toy company, but they seemed to split their product line into the categories of subpar sports-training and unofficial Star Wars glom-on products like the Force Beam and the Force Missile. One is essentially a light saber, and the other is a pneumatically launched rocket that looks vaguely like a TIE Fighter with “The Force” grafted onto the product name. If they love skiing, skateboarding and surfing, they’ll love the Ski Skate™! Trust them, they are from LA.

Dave England performs a public service in this video by RossAngeles. – Thanks to Matthijs for the tip

Ah, the Long Rider! I first became aware of the Long Rider back in 2005, but only saw a couple small pictures. In 2009 I uncovered an ad for a Long Rider in the Montgomery Ward catalog from 1984. Since that time, I bought one from a reader named Dan Kite who saw it on the site and offered his up for a very reasonable price. I marveled over it, and then I tried riding it a few times but the bearings were sort of shot. Long Riders are sized for (ahem) much smaller riders, so it sat in my basement for a couple years. Recently I picked up one on eBay that Matthijs tipped me off to. It came in the original packaging and it was essentially brand new. Bonus! It was in a different color from the one I already had. So I jumped on it. We had a philosophical discussion about the purchase the other night before we went to the Briefs show. Both my wife and Grover were puzzled by why I spend any money on these things. The answer? I buy them because they are magical and weird!

Avenue Trucks is the latest attempt to redesign the skateboard truck. It’s getting harder to come up with new ways to fix something that isn’t broken, but they managed to do it. They must have used up all their creativity by the time it came time to choose a name though. The combination leaf spring baseplate looks like it would bend all to hell if anybody other than a little kid was riding it. They have a video showing it in action, and it looks stable for the most part, although it does dip pretty low at points. If it’s the same rider that they show at the end, he’s not exactly taxing the board. Benefits? I imagine they’ll claim some sort of extra carving feel, maybe a shock absorber for high impact landings? Maybe they are cheaper to manufacture. It’s hard to know, as the web site is retry much just a place holder right now. You’ll find more info on their Facebook presence. Even as I can hear the choruses of naysayers, I’d like to ride a set of these just to see what it feels like. That’s going to be their biggest challenge. I can’t imagine a…