Blog Evolution...

So as the seasons change and the snow melts, I take up another past time that is much less respected in the action sports world. My take on this is that at the end of the day it is what it is. Think its lame, think its rad whatever you want but I've been doing it longer than snowboarding and its definitely a big part of my life. Here are a couple links to provide an idea as to what rollerblading has evolved to since it first appeared in the x-games long ago with JNCO Jeans and goofy sponsorships...


Bittercold Showdown: The Biggest Event In Rollerblading Today

BCSD 2009 HD edit from AGGRESSIVEMALL on Vimeo.

Montre Livingston's Section from Sayword 3: Easily one of the nicest pro rollerbladers out there and he absolutely kills it

MONTRE LIVINGSTONED saywordthree 2008 from kenneth owens on Vimeo.

Jon Jon Bolino and Brian Shima: Up and coming pro jonjon skating with legend shima for a week out in Cali

Jonjon Bolino and Brian Shima Nimh Edit from Rat Tail Army on Vimeo.

You can find plenty of my photos of local pittsburgh rollerblading here

www.flickr.com/photos/davedphoto

2 New Photos

EDIT: For some reason blogger keeps messing up the second picture so please click on it to see the full image

We had perfect weather on Friday so myself and a couple of friends went to the terrain park for some early evening photos.

Comments and feedback are always appreciated and if you want to see the images in full resolution please visit www.flickr.com/photos/davedphoto

2010 Rome Pusher

I got to see the new Rome line last night and one of the most interesting additions in my opinion is the Pusher. The shape is very similar if not exactly the same as the Mod and the flex/construction is about the same as the Agent. The board comes with Rome's "free rocker" which is the same rocker as this years postermania has. The board bends in the middle and cambers up 3mm to the inserts, from the inserts to the contact points the rocker raises to 9mm. The board is loose, buttery and rides really really well.

Rider: 5'9 190lbs
Board: Rome Pusher 153
Bindings: 07/08 Rome 390 24.5" 15/-15
Resort: 7 Springs Pittsburgh PA
Conditions: 16 degrees, Packed Powder

Quick Thoughts: The board performs very well in the park. Buttering, pressing, jumping, jibbing and everything else that I enjoy doing on a regular basis was a blast on this board. I would have preferred to ride the 156 but 153 was the only available size.


As soon as we rode away from the lift I felt at home on the Pusher. Most rockers take a run or two to get used to but I would say that this is one that I felt needed very little adjustment time. This may be due to the fact that I have ridden a lot of rocker this season and I'm getting more comfortable on it, but considering that I have been riding cambered boards the rest of the weekend before this, I will assume that the Pusher is easy to get used to.

I spent the night running laps through our new terrain park the Alley. Its a 3/4 mile run littered with small to medium jibs and jumps. Pressing boxes and jibbing was a breeze as one would expect on a rockered park board. Where I was most impressed was on the larger jumps in the park ranging somewhere between 20 and 25 feet. Even at a size 153 the Pusher felt stable and solid spinning 180's 360's and popping straight airs. I realize these arn't 70 foot booters we are talking about, however for a board that was too small to begin with I was very suprised at how well it handed airs.

For freeriding I would have to say the Pusher rides the whole mountain like most rocker park boards. It rips when the snow is groomed and smooth and its a bit unstable in the choppy stuff. This isn't an area I was expecting this board to excel as most rocker all mountain boards arn't very good in choppy snow either. The edge hold on normal hardpacked groomer type runs was awsome. It has that surfy feeling that comes associated with most rocker boards, however I was able to throw euro carves and hold a solid edge all the way through.

All in all I was very happy with the Pusher because it rides very well for the east coast park rider such as myself. It rides the mountain well enough to get by and it slays in the park. It will be one of the boards I consider for next season among a few others which I haven't had the chance to ride just yet.

Sorry I don't have any photos because I haven't seen them online and I won't put anything up that I'm not sure the company would want leaked just yet. If you have any questions and want to know more details about the board just ask and I will do my best to answer

2 New Photos

Full resolution at www.flickr.com/photos/davedphoto

Burton Hero: First Impressions

I ended up picking up a Hero for myself for the upcoming season as I was incredibly curious to see how Burton's take on rocker/reverse camber would hold up. At first glance the scoop tech is easy to see from the top sheet and not nearly as obvious on the base. The extended PDE is hard to see also, but is noticeable if you closely examine the edge. The hand flex feels medium stiff, with the tip and tail flexing more than the center of the board.

Board: Burton Hero 155 with Cartel EST GMP
Rider Stats: 5'9, 200 lbs Male 22 years old
Riding Conditions: Hardpack and Ice, 8 pm session after a fairly mild and sunny day so the snow had melted a bit and then re-froze.
Terrain Ridden: Mellow to Medium groomers and jib park.

I was absolutely floored by the Hero's ability to hold a solid edge even on the icier areas of the mountain. I'm not able to attest to how the board performs on steeper terrain, however the edge hold on the medium to mild trails was awsome. I was able to lay out a carve around one of the tight turns on one of the green trails of 7 Springs where I was riding. The middle of the board is stiffer than the tip and tail and I believe this is the reason that it is able to free-ride so well and maintain its jib/pressability. As hard as you can charge on trails of this nature, the Hero was more than willing and able to handle it.

The board's middle name oughta be butter for how easy it is to press, jib and spin with. From tripod manuals to nose presses the Hero is dialed into the butter game with no questions asked. I was able to comfortably butter, press and spin on the flatground without any issues. The flex is forgiving in the tip and tail making the board very predictable when playing on the flat ground. The one area I felt it was slightly lacking was the pop department. Not to say it doesn't pop, and really well at that, but when comparing to to banana-tech, I do think that banana has more pop. When I got into the terrain park, the Hero was like my favorite old broken in board. Tricks that took the entirety of last season to dial in I was able to land first try. Pressing was effortless and the scoop tech made front noseslides seem effortless. I felt as though I was able to jib and butter with much more confidence than normal on this board.


The EST portion of this board is what worried me more than anything else. I rode an UnInc EST last year and had my share of issues with the bindings slipping while I was riding. I was hesitant to ride an EST system again this year knowing the issues that I had previously had. I have to say that after my first few runs the bindings started moving on me. I was really bummed since I was enjoying the board so much, but I brought it into the shop, tightened everything down and went back out with absolutely no issue the rest of the night. I genuinely think that the slippage was fault of my own for not quite tightening everything down enough. I find that I generally have this issue with most new boards after a few runs. The cold air shrinks the metal and everything gets slightly loose. I'm riding the Cartel EST Green Mountain Project bindings which come equipped with the Shredbeds. For those unfamiliar with what this is, it is a slimmer EVA footbed for the EST bindings which is supposed to give you insane underfoot board feel. To be honest, I don't notice a huge difference in terms of feeling the snow and whatnot underfoot. I do however believe that I get a ton more feel for what the board is doing and how it flexes when I'm riding the EST system.

All in all this board blew me away in terms of first impressions. I had an absolute blast riding it and I can't wait to get back on snow and spend more time learning new tricks and enjoying snowboarding as much as I did the first night I rode it. I would absolutely recommend this board to someone looking for an all mountain freestyle stick, especially for the east coast. It is exactly what I was looking for in a board... stable enough to charge and soft enough to jib. If this sounds like what you are looking for, the Hero will not disappoint


Pick yours up at www.thejibshop.com

-Dave "Boots" DiNuzzo

First Post

Well it's official, I'm joining the bandwagon and starting a blog. I figure this is one more way to spread my opinion/know how/life/photography/miscellaneous crap with the rest of the world. If you become a reader, please keep reading and let me know what you would like to read about. If you like my photos, you should buy some prints and tell your friends to do the same. If you hate me then click that sweet red X on the top corner of your browser because I'm not forcing you to read this.


Check out some of the sweet people I'm friends with and that I support

www.thejibshop.com
www.pistsnowboarding.com
www.shayboarder.com
www.angrysnowboarder.blogspot.com


Check out my photos here:

www.flickr.com/photos/davedphoto