The History of the Scooter

By Mary Bellis, About.com

The caster board or castor board as it may sometimes be called is a made up to 2 small narrow platforms to which as set of caster trucks have been attached at the front of it. This particular board is closely related to a skateboard but instead of having 4 wheels it only has 2 and instead of being solid it comes with a center area that allows the 2 parts of the board to pivot separately from each other.

As you will soon discover if you decide to purchase a caster board such as the Ripstik you will find that no longer do you need to step on to it with one foot and push off with the other to gain momentum. But rather what you need to do is stand on it and then begin to twist your body in a certain way and this will then provide the board with the momentum that is required in order to get it going.

You will find that the Ripstik version is available for around $99 to $129 and comes in a variety of different colors. The makers of this new kind of board are claiming that it is able to provide the person using it with the same kind of sensations that they would feel when either snowboarding or skateboarding because of its unique 2 wheeled design.

In fact a person when riding these boards is able to either make their way downhill just as a snowboarder would or they can easily make it uphill as well in much the same way as skateboarders do. However in order to achieve this they need to bend their knees and then twist their hips which will then help them to propel the board forward. Each board is designed so that the two platforms on which a person’s feet are placed are connected using a torsion bar (made from metal). This bar then allows each platform to rotate independently from one and other and so provides the rider with the ability to allow them to tilt into sharp turns without losing their balance or it can also help them to perform much more precise tricks than they would ever be able to with a skateboard.

However if you really want to understand the way in which a caster board such as the Ripstik works before you make your purchase there are plenty of sites online which will show you just how it works and the way in which the rider will need to move their body correctly.