I was out on my board a few weeks ago and the day was ruined by two punctures in quick succession. I dragged my miserable self home and dumped my kit in the garage. I began to dig out my puncture repair kit when I came across a product which I use on my mountain bike and the light went on in my head. I could have used this on my board and saved myself a bag load of unhappiness.

The product is tire slime. It’s a green goo which carries thousands of small length of fibre about 1cm long. The idea is, when you get puncture, the air pressure of the tyre pushes the fibres and goo into the hole blocking it and stopping the puncture.

How to use it; you will need to check the configuration of your board’s inner tube, if like mine it has a removable valve you are in luck. Take out the valve and squirt in the gloop, remembering to remove all traces from the valve itself. Put the valve back in and re-inflate to your desired pressure.

Fingers crossed I have not had any problems since. Give it a go.

Before you even set foot on a mountainboard (in fact before you even buy one) you should answer the age old question “Am I Goofy or Regular?”.

These terms are used to describe which foot you will lead with when boarding,  regular riders lead with their left foot, and goofies lead with the right.  The leading foot as the name suggests is the one at the front when you head down the hill.

There is no right or wrong way, it is whatever makes you feel the most comfortable when up on the board.

So how do I find out if I am goofy or regular, one sure fire way I have been using for ages is to take the newby and have them stand comfortably with their feet shoulder width apart.  Without warning give them a push in the back so they are forced to take a step forward.   The unconcious action of stepping forward reveals the stronger foot.  Go on give it a try is really works.

Equipped with your new found knowledge you can setup your board with the appropriate binding settings and off you go.

Gotta love that Russian rock music