Friday, July 10, 2009

Insect Firefly Speedboard

When you spend far too many waking hours thinking about how to edge the competition by a few seconds at the finish line... When you just can't seem to forget the time you slid out in that dreaded hairpin and explored the ditch while watching the rest of the pack streak past smiling and waving at you. When you keep finding yourself standing on the second step, not the top of the podium, it starts to get to you.

The Firefly is different from almost anything else on four wheels for many reasons, but it's form comes from it's racing pedigree. Designed by a committee of genuine racers on very steep, very fast roads around Seattle, Washington, this board exists because those who want to win made it so.

Rather than being penned by a sole architect working alone under a 100 watt bulb, this board lives because dedicated downhill junkies had to have it.

In fact, they demanded it.

When some of the fastest speedboarders in the world, including the likes of Shane Donogh, Editor of Northwestlongboarding.com and Team Insect's Jeremy Geier line up shoulder to shoulder in your shop with their helmets hanging from their hands and ask for a board to make them drive better and win more often, you really ought to grab a notebook and start scribbling.

Well, Steve Hopper of Insect Skateboards did just that, and after an infinite number of hours of negotiation, testing, building and destroying prototypes, and hauling Firefly decks to dozens of actual races, the Insect team has created what they believe is the best thing to ride when you want to take home the cup, and not just a ribbon.

The jet black, 40-inch long, topmount stealth bomber you see here is their baby. It has some immediately obvious features, including a 3 position adjustable wheelbase, full cutouts front and back for no chance of deadly wheelbite, deep concave, and a touch of rocker toward the nose. Motion Boardshop's Trevor Preston says that the concave on the Firefly is like "standing in a bathtub".

But Insect's owner and chief scientist Steve Hopper isn't the kind of guy to bang out a plank that works and sit back on his laurels. He set out to improve the design in two fundamental ways. He wanted it to be lighter and thinner than any other board out there, and he wanted it to be just as strong or stronger than a traditional wood core board. Enter the microscopic carbon building blocks called 'nanotubes'.

Carbon nanotubes are the strongest and stiffest materials yet discovered in terms of tensile strength and elastic
properties. In 2000, a multi-walled carbon nanotube was tested to have a tensile strength of 63 gigapascals (GPa). Under high pressure, nanotubes merge together like the strands in a rope, producing strong, unlimited-length wires through high-pressure linking of the tubes. Insect is the one of the first companies on earth to utilize this material, and the only company using it to make longboards. The response has been overwhelmingly positive.

This unassuming black board is turning up at races with increasing frequency, and Insect is now so committed to the material, they're building every board in their line out of it. This means casual riders, slalom fiends and go-fast officionados on your block can experience for themselves the performance of next generation skateboard design alongside some of the world's fastest, most determined speedboarders alive today.

The Insect Firefly, built for speed by those who live it.

Monday, June 08, 2009

motion boardshop

Located in Lake Forest Park, just 10 minutes north of Seattle, Motion offers an astounding array of adventure sports toys for nearly every kind of wind, water, or even concrete activity you can imagine.













Motion Boardshop slash Seattle Kiteboarding Center has everything you need for kiteboarding, stand-up paddle, wakeboard, and surfing but their comprehensive longboard skateboard showroom is the real deal offering the ultra-rare boards, wheels and hardware that downhill riders demand.

Motion has a casual, family feel. Drop in any given day and you'll find athletes from a wide variety of outdoor sporting backgrounds rubbing shoulders, swapping expertise, and playing video games. Drop-ins are welcome, and you will feel welcome at Motion.

Motion Boardshop
Seattle Kiteboarding Center LLC
Lake Forest Park, WA


Friday, June 05, 2009

Go Skateboarding Day, June 21 @ SnoCon

Friday, May 22, 2009

snowboard connection

Snowboard Connection has virtually everything you need for any kind of board sport! Full selection of park and pool skateboards, longboards from Loaded, Gravity, Sector 9, Arbor, Landyachtz and more. They carry a wide selection of surfboards and of course they are the experts in snowboards and gear. Check out the excellent skate shoes and clothing for men and women. Whatever board sport you're into, the folks at SnoCon have you covered!

263 Yale Ave N
Seattle






Thursday, April 30, 2009

Herd of Flamingos



Somebody really likes flamingos! They've installed an entire HERD of them on their front lawn.

Kells Irish Pub

Kells Irish Restaurant & Pub is one of Seattle's favorite hideaways. Situated in Post Alley above the historic Pike Place Market, Kells is a fine way to round up a day's sightseeing or browsing at the market.
The pub is always alive with folks cooling off after a day's work. The restaurant will be sure to remind you of the Old Country with its warm, cozy atmosphere and traditional surroundings. There's also a patio outside that's a great place to feel the breeze from the Sound and the buzz of the marketplace. They also have a grand celebration every St. Patrick's Day. Kells proudly serves Seattle's largest Single Malt Scotch collection.





Between Virginia & Stewart Streets on Post Alley.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

The Green Tortoise

Green Tortoise Hostel is located next to the world famous Pike Place Market at the corner of First and Pike Street, directly across the street from the Pike Place Market sign. About $31 a night and up.

DESTROY RISK

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

The TURF Restaurant

Called Seattle's 2nd-most intimidating dive bar by the Stranger, TURF is both horrible and wonderful. A true greasy spoon. The Chinese ladies that run the place are rad, and you're almost guaranteed to witness a heated argument at the bar. The prices, of course, are extremely Recession Friendly.

200 Pike St