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news
Skate vs bikeVideo: skateboards vs bikes in the Alps
If you think Cancellara has got some skills when the road points down, have a gander at this video of professional downhill skateboarders Byron Essert and Alex Tongue ripping up an Alpine descent. Anyone recognise it?
With no brakes to slow them down the only way to scrub off speed is to get sideways and use the friction of the wheels to slow their descent. It's amazing stuff, and we reckon there was some prize expressions on the faces of the riders they passed on the way down. Byron and Alex were staying at a hotel on the climb itself, and the dash across the car park to get to the hotel – at what, 50mph? – is properly scary stuff.
Anyway, enjoy. If you can watch...
Dave is a founding father of road.cc, having previously worked on Cycling Plus and What Mountain Bike magazines back in the day. He also writes about e-bikes for our sister publication ebiketips. He's won three mountain bike bog snorkelling World Championships, and races at the back of the third cats.
Latest Comments
- slc 14 min 12 sec ago
More than that, right? This (common) design is sending a clear message to turning drivers: pedestrians are following the curve and the priority is...
- kinderje 20 min 28 sec ago
Why does the Cervelo 'Paris-Green' look yellow? Is this that blue/gold dress again?
- bensynnock 2 hours 29 min ago
I see a car go through a red light at almost every single cycle at every single junction. ...
- chrisonabike 3 hours 28 min ago
Also don't forget - Sustrans are a charity *....
- chrisonabike 3 hours 39 min ago
Yes ... but (just due to the large numbers of people affected) this likely would only proceed in the UK at a very ... cautious ... pace....
- EK Spinner 3 hours 57 min ago
Arsehole in the van not with standing, how did they manage to get a risk assessment allowing a race (a group not a TT) group to be competing on ...
- RafaDy 3 hours 52 min ago
I think reviewer completely missed the point here trying to match bike's name with what it can do. Ribble is namin git's bike weirdly, the...
- Moist von Lipwig 7 hours 18 min ago
Bit of googling gone wrong in the article - the JAT is the Junction Assessment Tool, the Joint Approval Team appears to be a coutner terrorism...
- HKR 8 hours 33 min ago
Can't believe that child threw his bike on the floor at the end of that. Young people today have no respect... ;))
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27 comments
My nephew does this, down some very steep roads indeed, flat out. He came off last year coming down a hill and hit a roadside sign at maybe 50mph. His knee was almost completely severed, only one tendon remaining. After nearly a year of reconstruction surgery, he's still into it but also gone back to higher education and is growing up fast!
I mastered the "Scandinavian flick" years ago on 4 wheels,
but these guys take the biscuit ... completely sideways .... !!!!!
chapeau
I don't think so.. if you look at the way the skateboarders were moving their position about to turn and slow down, the picture is too steady to be held by a skateboarder - my money is on the camera being fixed to a bike.
At times of feeling motivationally compromised, in breach of Rule #5, I google "people are awesome and red bull" and awe....
Skillz!
I can't believe their wheels aren't ground down to nubs with all those "handbrake turns"!
Wheels do get worn down pretty quickly actually. My younger boy is into this, not quite at this level, although he did win the u18s comp at the Redbridge cycle centre. Interestingly there is a real culture of "wear your helmet" in long boarding.
Look up "Liam Morgan raw run" if you have 2 mins to spare and enjoyed this...
Yeah. They weren't cycling. I didn't see any pedal action. I don't really understand that though.....
Yoof of today eh!
Those cyclists weren't trying. I'd like to see the skate boarders race Spartacus down the Tourmalet.
Very impressive, what thrill all or nothing just how it should be
Niiiiiiiiiiiice.
As an ex skateboarder and now a roadie, I can tell you these fella's have it down. It may look reckless but they are in full control of their speed. Great video!
Fantastic- remember this guy?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXWK8FE5kuw
Blimey, that's a new one for me - how much fun does THAT look ?
Cheers for the link !
Oh my god it's like ironman with added wheels. Love how he tucks his arms back to go 'full aero'. I'd like to what the other road users said to each other after that passed!
Thanks for sharing!
As an ex skateboarder and now a roadie, I can tell you these fella's have it down. It may look reckless but they are in full control of their speed. Great video!
Very impressive but the bikes weren't trying. Maybe it was a skateboard sportive ;-):-o:-P
talent, balls,no scrap that fucking massive balls!
best video i have ever seen on the internet
im gobsmacked!
Huge talent, truly spectacular. The young have no imagination at all.
I love that comment
I was really stupid as a kid. Bikea skateboards jumpunf off the pier, off bridges. When my son was 7 I took him skiing. I was giving him the chat about turbs and speed and he just went for it. . Straight down the mountain. Flat out. I couldn't catch him. We got to the bottom of the run. My adrenaline was through the roof. He couldn't see the problem. No trees to hit at 40+ mph. No sides of the piste to fall off. Just simple fun. Saw no danger. Had no fear. No f**king imagination whatsoever.
That's what dad's are for.
Kinda reckless, but kinda cool.
I laugh out loud every time I watch this. Superb. Pure joy.
'Looks like they had a really good time, would like to see a race between a cyclist and a skateboarder' Yeah me too, the uphill bits would be interesting as well!
A bit optimistic saying "skateboarders racing cyclists". The cyclists looked to be freewheeling slowly and not in any hurry. Still, a good video and I'll bet the cyclists were surprised to be overtaken by skateboarders.
Spend over a grand on a bike a get over taken by skateboarders
Looks like they had a really good time, would like to see a race between a cyclist and a skateboarder.
I presume the camera man was on a skateboard too?
Awesome! In the 80s Powell Peralta videos used to have some downhill action and also weaving in and out of cones very quickly, them were good times.
From my days on 4 wheels a stone had an unfortunate breaking effect on your forward progress so that road would have to be very clean otherwise major wipe out.