Grinding down rails might be one way to avoid a painfully bumpy ride down stairs, but the Stair Rover offers a much more convenient and advanced way that embraces this particular obstacle instead of sidestepping it. It doesn't matter that doing so will yield a creative trick or two, sometimes a person simply can't pull one out of their sleeves.
Conceived by Po-Chih Lai, a graduate student at the Royal College of Art in London, the Stair Rover has pivoting trucks with two wheels on each side to follow the contours of the stairs, which allows the board to ride down smoothly. The Stair Rover is made out of aluminum, maple, bamboo, PU rubber, PVC. Lai writes that the Stair Rover "aims to expanding the capability and possibility of extreme sports as we understand them."
Why This Trend Is Growing
- Stair-riding Skateboards
- The trend towards designing skateboards that can ride down stairs will continue to grow.
- Extreme Sports Innovation
- Innovators will continue to push the limits of extreme sports by constantly introducing new ideas and designs, like the Stair Rover.
- Urban Mobility on Wheels
- As cities become increasingly crowded, there will be more and more demand for unique modes of transportation, like the Stair Rover.
Industries Being Reshaped
- Skateboard Manufacturing Industry
- Companies in this industry can take advantage of the trend towards creating new and innovative skateboard designs like the Stair Rover.
- Sports Equipment Industry
- Manufacturers of sports equipment could explore designing products with the capability to overcome obstacles like stairs, offering more ways to practice extreme sports.
- Transportation Industry
- The Stair Rover represents a unique mode of transportation that could inspire new innovations in this industry, specifically short-range urban mobility.
