Any mountainboarder who has done any riding has felt the terrible wrath of speed wobbles. What seemed like a smooth, controlled ride suddenly turns into a violent struggle for balance. The board takes on a mind of its own as it darts from right to left. The trucks become extremely sensitive to the slightest movement or the smallest rock. You become a ticking time bomb, and more often than not, you lose.

A physics lesson is not necessary as I’m sure we can all agree that speed wobbles are, as the name suggests, caused by speed. Both body weight and the speed in which you ride (either due to the steepness of the hill or the terrain you’re on), are part of the equation that causes the wobbles. With speed being a good friend to many a mountainboarder, experience and technology has brought us ways to prevent the ugly side of speed from showing its face.

Your board has a few features that help to defend against this:

First, you can always lower your tire pressure to prevent gaining too much speed, but then you’re not living so let’s move on.

Second, most trucks are equipped with a hex bolt directly over the springs which can be adjusted. This either compresses or decompresses your springs, depending on which way you turn it. The more compressed your springs, the stiffer the ride, and the faster you can ride without speed wobbles.

The last piece of technology available is what’s called egg shocks, or torsion cubes depending on who makes your trucks. These are placed inside your springs (or in the middle of your trucks if you’re using torsion cubes) and further stiffens the compression. There are different levels of stiffness available so that you can tailor to your specific needs.

Of course, even after proper adjustments have been made, we sometimes find ourselves reaching a speed that is just a little faster than what we prepared for. There’s a few things we can do once the wobbling begins. Most importantly, focus and stay calm. Your goal is to slow your board down gradually. Keep in mind that the response time of your board is now much quicker. You will need to fight to maintain your balance and unless you want to wreck, the best way to stay on your board is to mentally eliminate the option of wrecking. Once you consider the option it’s over. Mountainboarding is full of mind games, isn’t it great.