There are tons of amazing freestyle tricks that you can do at Ripstik. I’m going to talk about some beginner tricks for you to try. Before trying any Ripstik tricks, make sure you’re comfortable riding your board. Once you are comfortable and confident, you can try some of these great tricks.
Try a manual first. A manual is where you simply lift the front wheel off the ground. The longer you keep the manual, the cooler it will look. Try to keep your balance for long distances by riding only on the rear wheel. This is called manual. A nose manual is when you do the same thing, except you lift the rear wheel off the ground and balance the board on the front wheel.
Another great trick for beginners is the step by step. Once you know how to make a manual and a nose manual, the above step should be a piece of cake. To do the step, place an object like a broomstick. Get close to the broomstick on your board and when you get to it, lift the front of the board and then immediately lift the back of your board onto the stick. That is the step forward. To make this trick more difficult, use a larger object or try climbing onto something like a curb.
A hang 9 and hang 10 are tricks that look very flashy and cool, but they are not that difficult to do. A hang 9 is when you are riding your board normally and you take your front foot and place it on the rear deck and ride for as long as you can. This trick leaves the front of your Ripstik empty and both feet are on the rear platform. To do this trick, place your rear foot directly on the rear wheel, if you put it too far back when you lift your front foot from the front of the board with a pop up in the air. Pick up some speed and regain your balance, then quickly pull your front foot onto the rear platform. Hold it for as long as you can, then return your foot to the front deck and continue riding, that’s your hang 9. Doing a hang 10 is a bit more difficult but looks even cooler. Do the trick with the same technique, but instead take your rear foot off the board and ride with both feet on the front deck, then return your rear foot to the rear deck.
One trick that I don’t have a name for but is a lot of fun to handle is simply trying to balance on a sidewalk. It is best to find a curb that has a slight drop on one side and grass on the other. A sidewalk with grass to one side is perfect. Climb up to the side of the sidewalk and try to walk along the sidewalk to balance yourself and not fall. No other board lets you do this trick because no other board except the Ripstik has the two-wheel design. There are some kids on youtube.com who climb onto a 137 foot sidewalk without falling. These are all the tricks that I will discuss in this article, so be careful when trying new tricks, but most of all, have fun.
