T-Boards UK .com : Tierney Rides : T-Board - the ultimate surfing and snowboardinglongboard that mimics the hard carve action of surfing and snowboarding

What is the T-Board?

The T-Board is unique amongst longboards and street surfers. The T-Board is a snowboard with wheels. The large deck comes with a set of custom torsion one-wheeled trucks (yes that means the TBoard has only 2 wheels) and the design gives one of the smoothest carves around, mimicking the carve sensation experienced during snowboarding and surfing.

Downhill, you won't believe how fast you can go and how quickly you can lean into a carve. Wait until you land a 360 on 2 wheels, lean into a full carve and then pull out a slide. There is no other board that so closely mimics that carving sensation you get when snowboarding or surfing.

The exclusive torsion response technology allows you to achieve a true carving. The technology lets you carve naturally through your turns and cruise with less rolling resistance. These trucks give you greater control and a totally fluid ride. As you lean into your turn, the truck twists, accelerating you into the carve, the torsion rings then compress to provide active feedback, accelerating you back to center as you exit the carve. No other board does this.

In fact, it's so good that it is currently used by the US, Canadian and Japanese snowboarding teams to compliment training !

Ryan McDonald (US Olympic Snowboard Team) recently shared his thoughts on the T-board:

"I have been training on my T-board all summer. I think it will give me a competitive advantage over the other boarders this winter. I work on my riding technique with the tboard and really like how the T-board performs. There is no other streetboard that comes this close to snowboarding. Hey, if you haven't tried a Tboard and you snowboard, you're missing out."

There are no size or weight restrictions for either size board. The 38in board is best suited for quick turns and tighter action. The 41in board is based on snowboard geometry for the no-holds-barred hill carver.

T-Board Basic Riding

T-Board Reviews

Latest Review

Surfing's Dilema

The question arose: How can a surfer truly train for surfing when it's flat? Working out keeps the body strong, but it doesn't zero in on those specific surf muscles that only get used when riding a wave. There are no activities that truly mimic surfing. Skateboarding is close, but it lacks the on-rail carving sensation. So what are surfers to do?

When skateboarding, you are using your balance and leg strength but not necessarily the right weight distribution (front to back, side to side) to keep your surf muscles properly sharpened and loose. I remember skateboarding all summer when the surf was flat only to have to re-train myself to push my surfboard on-rail and place more weight on the tail while cutting back or bottom turning.

— The Solution — T-Board

The T-Board is an interesting addition to the boarding family. It's not a skateboard although it looks like one. Instead of four wheels, the T-Board has only two, which come in rubber for downhill or urethane for flat ground, and are attached to the board's bottom via two large metal trucks. According to the manufacturer, the torsion cushion (a rubber bumper that pads the movement or the trucks) is the secret to the T-Board's surf-like feeling. The deck itself looks like a skateboard deck, is constructed of 8-ply Canadian maple, and ranges in length from 38 to 41 inches (depending on your riding preferences).

The T-Board is currently marketed as a snowboarder training device, but I feel that it could also prove to be a functional training tool for surfers as well. The T-Ride

It didn't take me long to figure this baby out. In fact, after one push I was cruising confidently. However, I could see the possibility of some ankle tweakage if the rider isn't careful since it takes constant balance (like surfing). Without forward momentum, the board will fall over much like riding a bicycle. However, it seems that anyone who is a semi-competent surfer, snowboarder, or skateboarder could quickly get carving on the T-Board.

Immediately, the carving sensation was evident, and each turn was more of a rush than the last.

When riding the TBoard, all the principles of surfing applied in that I had to keep all my weight on the center point and in order to turn, I had to actually lean on rail to complete my turns. This board easily exhibits the feelings of bottom turns, roundhouse cutbacks, and speed carves.

Straight Talk

The T-Board is a lot of fun. I personally was not able to pull the flat ground tricks shown on the Tierney Rides website, but I loved generating speed and throwing carves. The real magic happens when you go downhill.

Here, I found that there was very free and surf-like flow. I spun out a bit on my more committed turns, but I was riding on the urethane wheels (for flat ground), so that's understandable. As stated previously, Tierney Rides offers rubber wheels specially designed for downhill. Interestingly, the T-Board doesn't get the same speed wobbles that plague skateboards.

For the Record

I urge you to never ride a T-Board in flip-flops…Never! I was showing some fellow surfers my board when I got all tripped up in my "rubbah slippahs" and ate some black top. To quote one observer's opinion, "I think flip flops were a bad idea." I agree.

Again, I wouldn't reccommend this either, but another fun T-Board experience can be found behind a car. I grabbed a rope tied to my neighbor's jeep and went for a spin around the hood. It was like wakeboarding as I carved from one side of the street to the other.

The Bottomline

In retrospect, I might have put a little too much in to this review. I rode the on flat ground, down a bridge in evening traffic, behind a jeep, and even gave a little blood sacrifice to the pavement god. All in all, I had a blast and would recommend the T-Board as a fun and functional way to slake your surf lust and keep those hard-to-target wave riding muscles strong and loose.

Jay DiMartino

http://surfing.about.com/

Other reviews

"The T-board is great. I have been riding it all summer. It is the best way to stay in shape and train for the snowboarding season!"

Chris Klug
Olympic Snowboarder
Bronze Medal 2002 Olympics

"The riders loved them. These boards have proved to be a valuable tool in our off snow training camp. We will use them often and I am sure our team will benefit from the T-boards when our winter season comes around. Thanks again for this great practice tool."

Sincerely,
Tom Hutchinson
Head Freestyle Coach For the Canadian Snowboard Team

"Members of the US Snowboard Team have tested the T-board and found it to be a great cross training tool. Many of them plan to use T-board to augment their conditioning programs while away from the snow. The body movements used in T-boarding are very similar to snowboarding. Most importantly T-boarding provides the same carving sensation as snowboarding."

Peter Foley
Head Coach US Snowboard Team

"Had a chance this past weekend to ride the board on some steeper terrain, and I think it performed really well. It took a turn and held well, going to try it again this weekend, it was fun!"

Jeremy Forster
United States Snowboard Association

"I had a blast on it today. Just a mellow hill to get used to it, but it turned well and stuck to the ground…. the folks at the Rally will dig it."

Eric Schultz
Snowboard Chairman, American Association of Snowboard Instructors

"I enjoyed the ride and found it very stimulating and challenging. The ease of carve and the "lay if down" feel of racing was similar. The extreme "edge" angle that can be felt on the Tierney is also quite comparable. We clearly see the cross training benefits of the boards for the team's style, technique and entertainment. I hope that we can use the boards again next summer during our camps. Thank you for a good summer."

Christian Hrab
Head Alpine Coach
Canadian Snowboard Federation

"I just got back from Europe lastnight and the board was here. I tried it today, its awsome! I took it up to one of my local shops and they love it too, they are going to check out the web site." Thanks, Pete

Pete Thorndike
US Snowboard Team

"I've been in Peru and just got back .. I can't believe how much it feels like snowboarding!! .. I have a tendancy to drag the rails because I like to crank turns but, man, is it fun!"

Lisa Kosglow
Olympic Snowboarder

"Two weeks ago, Kurt from Tierney Rides called me and asked if I would be interested in trying out a new two-wheeled board that's fresh on the market. Of course I was interested! I had read about the board, but never seen a picture or had any idea how it might work. Kurt said he would send one over and hung up the phone. The next day Kurt called and asked me what I thought of the board. I didn't have it yet, so I told him I would call him when it arrived. He told me to look outside and sure enough it was there! Overnight from the East Coast! I knew he meant business, so I went outside on my hill to try it out..."

"This is the SICKEST (BEST) downhill pavement board I have ever ridden! That was my impression after I took a couple of hard falls and started to get used to how far I could lean into my turns. (The board will lean about 40 degrees without sliding out). I have been riding it for a couple weeks now and can touch the ground with my toe and heel, mid-turn, without the risk of breaking loose. My shoes are wearing thin on the ends! The only other board I have ever been able to lean this hard with into a turn, is a snowboard. It's super stable at high speeds as well - I think I've broken the 30 mph mark! I highly recommend this board to anyone who wants to lay into turns all day long during the summer months. It stomps that "other Board for Carving" that all of my friends have been riding! Go to www.TierneyRides.com to check out some photos and videos of their boards in action. If you get one, send me an email and we'll go bomb some hills."

Dave Dirickson
REI Product Review Team
Seattle, WA

"This is the first streetboard that delivers a ride that duplicates the lower leg movement of a snowboard." "It's an extremely effective way to practice technique and keep a snowboarder's muscles conditioned year-round."

Scott Palmer,
Snowboard Program Director, Stratton Mountain Snowboarding School

"It is BAD A*%!!! It felt soooo much like boarding. I took it to a semi-steep hill where I could get some good speed going and it is like carving up a run. At the end of the run I finished off with a big toe side carve and got that "damn" feeling you get after linking some good turns."

Ted
Atlanta, GA

"Some of our snowboarding instructors and I busted out the T-Board this past weekend and had a blast. We took turns riding it on a long, steep, paved walkway and it was allot like snowboarding. We have a few more weeks here in Vermont before the snow falls and the T-Board will make for great training and lots of fun." Thanks allot,

Jeff Wise
Snowboard School Manager
Stowe Mountain Resort
Stowe, Vermont