YOW - Your own wave

YOW is an acronym and stands for "Your Own Wave" because you are not dependent on waves with a YOW to get very authentic surf feeling.

Exact reproduction of the movements of surfing: YOW brings the movements you make while surfing to the street more accurately than any other Streetsurf board.When you apply the movements you learned on a YOW board to surfing, surfing works.

When you apply the moves you learned on most other brands of Streetsurf boards to surfing, you fall into the water because the weight transfer in particular is different here. This makes it not just fun to ride a YOW, the YOW board acts as a "surf coach"! This is the big difference and advantage of YOW compared to Streetsurfboards of other brands! Because of the almost identical movement, you learn and internalize the correct movements while surfing and thus train your movement memory instead of confusing it with wrong movements.

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The YOW steering mechanism

The YOW steering mechanism was invented, developed and patented worldwide by two Spanish surfers. Quiksilver and Globe also wanted to acquire the rights to YOW, but HLC was the final winner. 

Unique selling point fixable steering mechanism:  With the help ofa supplied mounting screw, the steering mechanism can be fixed in no time at all, so that the board can then be ridden like a normal cruiser board. This function is also patented and is only available from YOW.

The YOW Meraki Surfskate system is the culmination of the last 5 years of research and development. A simplified and reinforced design along with Yow's patented spring system makes it one of the most unique surfskate setups in the world.

Yow has removed the redundant parts of their old system, keeping the patented spring system and reinforcing the essential parts, making the axle lighter and more durable and also improving the aesthetics. The new system is now united with Yow's own skate trucks, making the overall system more stable without sacrificing the surf flow that the Yow system is known for. Take your surf skating to the next level. 

Compatible with all skateboards and cruisers

Only steering mechanism on the market that is compatible with all skateboards and cruisers 

for example, if you don't have the money to buy a YOW Complete, you can continue to use the axles, wheels and ball bearings you already have, because: with the YOW steering mechanism you can convert any skateboard/cruiser into a Streetsurfboard. In the YOW Completes, all components are high quality and precisely matched to each other, so in terms of board performance it always makes sense to buy a YOW Complete and not just a YOW steering mechanism.

Standardized components: All parts of a YOW Complete can be loosened or tightened using a conventional skate tool Excellent quality of deck and all installed components:

• A deck made in single pressing by HLC in Spain from 100% American maple from controlled cultivation (FSC seal for environmentally friendly cultivation and processing)
• Jessup Griptape
• Cinetic Wheels made of high quality urethane with very high rebound
• Caliber or YOW Standard Trucks
• YOW steering mechanism made in Spain
• Abec 7 ball bearings

There are currently two steering mechanisms, which differ by the spring used in each case:

• The S4 has a 4mm spring and is recommended for riders up to 50kg weight
• The S5 version has a 5mm spring and is recommended for riders weighing 50kg or more

A rider who weighs significantly more than 50kg can also ride with an S4 steering mechanism. However, the heavier the rider, the more steerable the YOW board. Therefore, YOW recommends their S5 steering system for heavier riders.

The shorter the wheelbase (i.e. the distance between the front and rear axles), the more steerable the YOW board. So a 40" long YOW board is more steering stable than a 30" long YOW board.

Important: In order for the YOW steering mechanism to function properly, it is important that the YOW Kingpin nut is always properly tightened. This ensures that the two moving parts of the baseplate are always parallel to each other and that the pressure on the installed ball bearings comes from above and not from the side. If the YOW Kingpin nut is tightened too loosely, the ball bearings will wear out more quickly. A too tightly tightened YOW Kingpin nut also causes the installed ball bearings to wear out faster and also prevents a reasonable mobility of the steering mechanism

The YOW Kingpin nut is correctly tightened when the two moving parts of the baseplate:

• are parallel to each other
• have no play up and down (i.e. you cannot move them up and down)
• can be swung to the right and left easily and without much effort

The specially shaped YOW Kingpin nut, which is now installed, is extremely tight and hardly loosens at all. Therefore, it only needs to be checked very rarely.

10 HOW TO USE TIPS FOR YOW SURFSKATES

Ten steps to learn the correct riding technique ("Surf Pumping") with a YOW board:

1. Place the front foot behind the axle hole of the front axle. If the front foot is on or even in front of the front axle, you may fall if the pressure on the YOW steering mechanism comes against the direction of travel (this is similar to trying to ride a bicycle backwards). Depending on leg length and preference, the front foot can be placed further back towards the center of the board. The main thing is that it is always behind the front axle.

2. Push briefly with the back foot still on the ground.

3. Place the back foot on the board, approximately on the axle hole of the back axle or slightly behind it.

4. Raise the arms slightly and bend the knees slightly for better balance. Turn the back knee in slightly in the direction of travel to put more pressure on the back foot than the front foot without having to shift the body's center of gravity too far back. Shifting the body's center of gravity too far back could cause you to get too much backward lean, fall backward, and shoot the board forward ("Mister Wilson"). Push the pelvis slightly forward (do not stick the butt out backwards / no "poop chair" position).

5. Alternately shift body weight slightly toward the tops of the feet and the heels.

IMPORTANT: the back foot exerts the main part of the pressure. The front foot merely accompanies the movement.

6. This shifting of weight alternately toward the tops of the feet and the heels is accompanied by slight movements in this order: A) Gaze, B) Shoulders, and C) Waist, which D) finally transfers to the feet.

7. The gaze (the head) and the back arm initiate the movement of the shoulders: starting with the movement of the back elbow back and forth, the shoulders follow first, then the trunk, the waist and finally the pressure of the feet.

8. The gaze is always directed to where we are about to go. Do not look at the board. 

9. All these movements are accompanied by a slight bending of the knees whenever we initiate a turn.

10. The stronger and faster we make these movements, the stronger and faster our turns will be.