Ripstik rear skidplate in metal, mounted on a DLX. Photo by Don Tai
Little Weed has been Ripstiking on a used Classic for 2 years now. I had just recently found a new Ripstik DLX on Kijiji here in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, so I bought it for him. Learning to wheelie, he had been grinding down the tail end of his DLX. I feared, correctly, that the plastic on the ass end of the board was wearing thin and would eventually grind through. We took the rear deck off, designed and fabricated a rear skidplate out of metal. Here is our design.
Ripsticking in General: Ripstiking is both fun and good exercise for kids. It is slower than a standard skateboard, which you push forward with your foot. The Ripstik uses a sinusoidal or back and forth sideways motion for forward movement, a motion that is quite unique to the Ripstik. Little Weed has taken to it very well. In fact, he wore out the torsion bar of his Ripstik Classic. Finding and buying a new torsion bar has proved too expensive. Razor wants a huge amount for shipping using a courier service and not USPS, so the cost of an $18 torsion bar comes out to near $45 shipped to Canada. It seems to be more economical to find another used complete unit, or upgrade. In an effort to get him off his computer and outside with his friends, I bought him a new DLX.
Ripstik Models and Characteristics: The kids in the neighbourhood have really taken to Ripstiks. Starting with one kid on a Classic, then Little Weed also on a Classic, other kids have purchased Classic Special Editions and “G” models. There are differences in performance, which I did not know after Internet research. The “G” model is the slowest, slower than even the Classic. The DLX is the fastest, followed by the Classic and Classic Special Edition. The DLX is fastest because the torsion bar is the stiffest, resulting in less effort required to move forward. The kids don’t really do any tricks, for now, other than wheelies. There is no grinding whatsoever.
Ripstik Wheelie: The new big trick for kids is the wheelie. Ride along to get speed, then raise the front wheel and balance, while moving forward, on only the rear wheel. He has been perfecting his wheelies, specifically raising the front wheel as high as possible and dragging the tail end of his board. On the newer DLX and Classic Special Editions the rear wheel has a rear plastic protrusion or ledge built into the back bottom of the board. When you do a high wheelie and drag the back of the board, this plastic ledge grinds on the ground.
Grinding Through your Board: I had suspected that on the DLX and Classic Special Editions this wheelie grinding would grind down the plastic of the rear board, and would eventually grind right through the bottom of the board. We removed the top plate of the rear portion of the DLX and sure enough, the plastic of the rear ledge had been markedly thinned. Any further wheelie grinding of the rear ledge would eventually result in a hole in the rear of the Ripstik. We therefore thought to add a metal skidplate to the rear bumper. A wheelie grind would then grind the metal plate to the ground, thus preserving the Ripstik plastic ledge. As the metal is much harder than the plastic, it would take a long time to wear through the metal. In the event that the metal skidplate would wear through, it could be easily replaced.
Remove the Top Plate: In order to inspect and attach the metal skidplate you will need to remove the top deck. The top deck is a somewhat delicate piece of plastic, so one needs to be a little careful. If you break off a tab the top deck will rattle when you ride. Turn your Ripstik over to see the bottom. Remove the 5 screws in the middle of the board. The 2 screws on each side need not be removed, as they attach the side grips. Starting with the rear, insert a flathead screwdriver into the tab holes and carefully pry the tab through the rectangular hole. Continue prying from the rear to the center of the board. There are 6 tabs in all, 3 on each side. There are also 2 tabs that insert into the board, near the torsion bar. This will prevent you from starting at the torsion bar end.
With the top plate removed, the inner part of the Ripstik deck uses a honeycomb type of construction. The deck of the Ripstik is not a solid piece of plastic. This is probably to save weight, improve flexing of the board, as well as make manufacturing much cheaper, because this reduces the amount of plastic used. Cheap shoes from China also use a similar construction.
Rear part of a Ripstik DLX, with the deck removed. The Ripstik uses a honeycomb type of construction and is therefore not a solid piece of plastic. Repeated Wheelie grinds will eventually grind through the outer plastic and leave a hole in your Ripstik. Photo by Don Tai
Rear part of a Ripstik DLX, with the deck removed. The Ripstik uses a honeycomb type of construction and is therefore not a solid piece of plastic. Repeated Wheelie grinds will eventually grind through the outer plastic and leave a hole in your Ripstik. Photo by Don Tai
The Skidplate: Our plan for the metal skidplate was to drill two holes through the rear deck. Metal washers would be used on the inner part of the deck. The metal skidplate would be attached to the outside of the deck. The plate would be attached using 2 bolts.
Metal Washers: As the sections of the rear board are not round, out metal 1/4″ washers would not fit. We had to grind down two opposing sides of the washers in order to fit, as well as slightly grind down one of the remaining sides. This allowed a tight fit for the washers. Two washers were required. Once the washers were fitted, I marked and drilled two 3/16″ holes as close to the center of the washers as I could.
Adding a metal skidplate to a Ripstik DLX. Metal 1/4 inch washers were filed down in order to fit into the cells of the Ripstick board. Two 3/16 inch holes were drilled. Two bolts were used to attach the metal skidplate to the board. Blue Locktite was used on the bolts so they would not loosen. Photo by Don Tai
Making the Skidplate: The metal skidplate need not be too thick. We used 1/16″ metal. In fact a thick plate will make it more difficult to bend. The top of the skidplate is 1.75″ long, while the bottom of the plate is about 4″ long, but can be longer. The sides have a 60 degree angle, measured from the bottom side. The bottom can be longer because your skidplate must be bent downward to conform to the back of the Ripstik ledge. We made a paper template for the plate. The bottom of the Ripstik is also not flat, but deeper in the middle and higher on the sides. Your plate must also be bent in a concave curge, meaning that the middle will be lower and the sides will be higher. This curve is very slight, but combined with the sharp angle of the rear of the board, the concave curve is a little tricky.
Two holes will need to be drilled into the metal plate, just slightly larger than 3/16″, so the bolts can go through. On the bolt threads we used blue Locktite to prevent the nuts from coming loose due to vibration.
Ripstik DLX metal rear skidplate curves downward at the back to follow the ledge, but also has a convex curve from the middle to the sides. The skidplate is attached using two bolts and washers that attach on the inside. Photo by Don Tai
The skidplate only contacts the ground during a wheelie grind, meaning you have to have the front wheel quite high off the ground before contact occurs. Due to the angle between the rear wheel and the skidplate the bolts will never contact the ground, meaning there is no risk of grinding the heads off. Bolts with larger heads can be safely used as there is no risk of ground contact or damage to the bolt head.
Ripstik DLX metal rear skidplate curves downward at the back to follow the ledge, but also has a convex curve from the middle to the sides. The skidplate is attached using two bolts and washers that attach on the inside. Photo by Don Tai
Early use of the skidplate is encouraging. The skidplate works well and protects the Ripstik bottom deck. The metal skidplate should not pull through the plastic because there are 1/4″ metal washers on the inside of the board, resulting in a large surface area used.
Wheelie grinds on various hard surfaces results in an increase in noise, some grinding marks on the pavement but no damage to the Ripstik. The increase in noise and the grind marks are perceived advantages to Little Weed. It is difficult to say if one can wheelie any longer than without the plate. Ideally one should wheelie without the need for the grind. While the plate does become scuffed there is as yet almost no wear on the metal. The metal plate can be easily replaced if necessary. Extra metal can be added to the metal plate using a welder if necessary. We did not paint our skidplate, but you can paint yours. The skidplate is on the bottom of the board so it is usually not seen, and any paint used on the grinding area would be quickly removed anyway.
If you do wheelie grinds or are just practicing wheelies and want to protect your board, consider this Ripstik modification. It is relatively easy but does take some time.
