Surfing Dirt Mountainboarding

I know brakes are a contentious issue it mountain boarding, but I’m a self confessed gear head, and a nice big brake board has been on my wish list for a while so…..

A few weeks ago I decided it was time to invest in a brake for my NoSno board. Unfortunately for me the £600 price tag for the NoSno disc brakes was just too much. Having looked at the alternatives the solution seemed to be an Alpine Brake systems setup. However this presented a problem, as they did not appear to make a brake for the type of axle I have.

So late one Friday evening I sent an email to Nick at ABS, expecting to wait a few days for a reply, and be told that ‘no they don’t do a brake for that axle’. So I was very surprised when a few minutes later I got a reply, saying, no we haven’t made a brake for that axle, but can you send me some pictures. I won’t bore you with the details, but basically a very brisk email exchange resulted in me sending my axle to Nick, and a few days after that it came back with a ‘first of its kind’ brake attached!!!!!!

All I had to do was attach the discs to my trispokes with the included bolts, and screw on a retaining clip for the brake line, and away I went.

The brake system is constructed using Magura hydraulic brake components, and custom made brake lines. The build quality is exceptional. The brake lines have a steel wire running along their length to take any stress caused by pulling away from the lines, and then brake line and wire is wrapped in plastic tubing to protect it. The brake components all sit on top of the axle, giving them maximum protection, unlike the NoSno brake, where some feel the ground clearance is compromised by the disc assembly.

I’ve ridden with the brake a few times now, and I have to say I love it. It’s nice and responsive, and has a really progressive feel. Ok it won’t stop you in a few feet, but that’s good, it means that I’ll never come to rely on it as a means to stop quickly. What it has done is open up runs which I wouldn’t have attempted before, and allowed me to link separate runs up, where the intermediate sections were just a bit too gnarly for me. It also allows me to ride for longer, as I don’t have to expend all my energy scrubbing speed.

The main benefit is it lets you ride faster??? Yes faster, the security of the brake means you can nail stuff you would other wise be a bit cautious on. ( this probably says more about me as a rider )

There are a couple of negatives with the rim braking system, you need to check your bearings regularly, as it puts extra pressure on them – although I expect it is comparable to the lateral pressures put on bearings by kite boarding.

I have also heard mixed stories about there performance in wet conditions – I will post my experiences when we have had some rain.

Apart from that I’m chuffed to bits with my purchase. The service I received from Nick was exceptional. The ABS system can be fitted to various truck systems including, matrix, scrub and NoSno, check out their website for more info.