Curb Destruction

By Steve Lenhert

Dateline: 25 January 2001

Originally Posted: 9 January 2000

Some of the most common skateboard maneuvers are the grind, noseslide, tailslide, and railslide. Those (and other) tricks share the common requirement of a slick curb or ledge, bench, handrail, etc.) while a skater may occasionally be lucky enough to find curbs made out of metal, or hard plastic, most curbs are unfortunately made sticky. Hence, it is necessary to wax them.

Waxing curbs The technique is quite simple: rub some wax on whatever surface you're going to use to slide, and then start skating the obstacle. The only way to go wrong is to use too much wax. A little friction is required for maintaining control of your grind or slide, and it's difficult to remove the wax. You can always add more, so start out with a little wax or you may fly off of your skateboard on the first attempt.

While surfers and snowboarders require special wax for their sport, skateboarders can use just about any kind of wax. Candles are the most common source of curb wax and are easy enough to find. Paraffin Wax, sometimes called "petroleum wax" or "candle wax" is another common choice, if you want to buy it in bulk. Paraffin wax can usually be found at a local grocery store.

If you're having trouble finding candles or paraffin wax, there are some other sources. Soap has been known to work, although it may not last through rain. Another excellent source of wax are those disposable paper cups that one receives at fountain drinks or fast food restaurants. The entire surface of those cups are coated with paraffin wax, and rubbing one or two large cups on your curb should do the job.

Curb Destruction

All this information on how to wax and grind curbs may sound great to my fellow skateboarders. However, imagine that you are a company or school who just built some beautiful curbs (perhaps out of marble or something expensive). Maybe you like to watch the skaters wreck when they put too much wax on your curbs, but there is an obvious problem when chunks start flying out of the concrete, wood, or other vulnerable materials. For instance, not long ago I received the following message from a school administrator who wanted to protect their shiny new cement curbs:

"It is a wonderful place for the skateboards with the wall, however, we are already starting to see damage. Whenever we get a report from someone, by the time we can get someone to talk with the student they are gone. If this continues we will have a serious problem on our hands. Any ideas??"

As a skateboarder, I understood where they were coming from. Being banned and kicked out of skate spots on a daily basis has of course made me ask "why?" more than a few "X-thousand dollars were just spent on repairing curb damage."

When one considers how much skateboarding is going on, it is not surprising that so much damage is incurred. The SGMA Market Report estimated that in the year 1998: $80,000,000 wholesale was spent on skateboarding. Further estimates show that 7,190,000 people participated in skateboarding at least once during the year, while there were 1,262,000 "Frequent" Participants (52+ days/year).

Knowing the answer to the school administrators question, I reluctantly responded with the (current) options: A) Spend some money on building a place for skaters to skate, B) Put up "no skateboarding signs" and make some fines, or C) Screw some bolts into the curbs so they can't be slid.

There is, however, hope for another option in the near future.

The Solution

The Curb Condom©

This revolutionary device could save skaters waxing time and energy while simultaneously preventing curb damage. Simply stick the Curb condom on your curb, bench, or whatever, and start grinding away. Once you're done, you can remove the Curb Condom©, revealing the undamaged curb underneath. Furthermore, there would be no more worry about over-waxing. Unlike some other skateboard prophylactic devices (e.g. bolts), the Curb Condom© keeps the skater happy, and can be mass produced and distributed cheaply (perhaps for free), maybe "No Skateboarding" signs will turn into "Skate at your own risk" or "Use Protection" signs.

Recently, your About.com skateboard guide has been discussing several designs with some engineers, and it should be possible to make the Curb Condom© fold or roll up, so that it is easy to carry around (the first prototype was a big piece of metal). We are currently in search of a manufacturer interested in making the Curb Condom© a real product. A those interested, please post a message on the Curb Condom Thread in the Skateboard Forum, or send an e-mail.