The Extreme Gear[note 1] (エクストリーム・ギアEkusutorīmu Gia?), also referred to as just Gear, is an object that appears in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. It is a type of transportation and is used for racing. Extreme Gear come with in-game characters and can also be purchased with Rings earned in races and achieving certain requirements.
What is the Extreme Gear used for in the Sonic the Hedgehog series?
Extreme Gear, appearing in the Sonic the Hedgehog series, is a high-tech, air-powered hoverboard. Characters use it to travel at high velocities, surpassing even Sonic's supersonic speeds. Every character possesses a unique default Extreme Gear, with additional ones available for purchase with Rings or by meeting specific game requirements. Extreme Gear is available in various types, each rated on four attributes: Limit/Top Speed, Dash/Acceleration, Curve/Handling, and Power/Durability.
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What are the different power sources for Extreme Gear?
Extreme Gear, including hoverboards, motorbikes, and rocket skates, utilize various power sources. Air is the main source, stored in an Air Tank, enabling jumps, steering, and braking. Other sources are Gravity Points and Ring Energy, used for speed boosts in a technique called Kick Dash. Certain models, such as the Power Gear, are designed for enhanced endurance.
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Can Extreme Gear allow the rider to fly or hover?
Extreme Gear, featured in Sonic Riders, enables riders to fly or hover. These hovering vehicles, including hoverboards and rocket skates, are powered by Air, Gravity Points, or Ring Energy. The Air stored in an Air Tank allows riders to jump, steer, and brake. Some riders with the necessary skills or specialized gear can perform an Air Ride, gliding mid-air briefly.
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What is the connection between Rings and Extreme Gear in the Sonic series?
Rings in the Sonic series serve as a currency to buy Extreme Gear and Gear Parts. Certain Extreme Gears, like Chaos Emerald and The Crazy, demand a particular amount of Rings for activation. The Ring Eater Gear Part in Sonic Free Riders also highlights the link between Rings and Extreme Gear.
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Description[]
Features and traits[]
Extreme Gear are capable of allowing their rider to fly, or at least hover, at high speeds. Depending on the model, they are powered by Air, Gravity Points, or Ring Energy. These types of fuel are used for using speed boosts to accelerate the rider to high speeds, in a technique known as Kick Dash. In addition, Extreme Gear powered by Air can drop miniature Tornadoes to trip up rivals.
Certain models of Extreme Gear each come with a variety of unique abilities, such as the ability to grind on rails, glide through the air, smash barricades and obstacles in the rider's path, or improve their own attributes. Some come with components of such abilities called Gear Parts, with which the user can alter the capabilities of their Gear. Most Extreme Gear even have their own abilities equipped in them, such as the Gambler's ability to manipulate the number of Rings the player earns in a race based on the position they come in.
It is still unknown the maximum speed Extreme Gear can reach, or whether this maximum speed is shared to all Gear or is only exclusive to certain models. However, it was once stated that Sonic himself can use Gear to go even faster than when running on foot;[1] as the hedgehog can reach supersonic speeds (915-3,840 mph), this would hint that at least certain models of Extreme Gear can reach speeds that exceed 3,840 mph.
Types[]
Extreme Gear comes in several different varieties, each with different ratings in the four attributes: Limit/Top Speed, Dash/Acceleration, Curve/Handling, and Power/Durability. Some Extreme Gear comes with their own special abilities. Every character has a "starting Gear" with statistics specially designed for that rider, in most cases only that rider can use that Gear. In Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity, some Gear Parts can physically transform the Extreme Gear into another type.
Besides statistics and abilities, Extreme Gear also come in many different shapes and sizes, and many unorthodox Gear are present in the first two Sonic Riders games. In fact, the first Extreme Gear ever made is actually a Magic Carpet, similar to one a genie would use. Other unconventional Gear include a flying broomstick, a cloud, and even the Opa Opa spaceship. Despite their varying appearances, all existing Extreme Gear fall into one of the six following classes:
Board type Extreme Gear are the most common type of Extreme Gear and are the first type available to the player in all three games. In fact, they are so common that almost every character's default Gear is a Board. In Sonic Riders, Boards are the most balanced class of Gear, having average statistics and an average rate of Air-consumption. They are used in Story Mode by every character, except for Dr. Eggman. In Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity, Board type Extreme Gear are again a balanced, middle class, with average statistics, and some Boards allow the rider to grind in Grind Areas with the GrindGear Part, an ability previously restricted to characters themselves as opposed to their Gear. In Sonic Free Riders, most Board type Gear can be equipped with two Gear Parts.
Bike[]
Bike type Extreme Gear are a more powerful but less maneuverable class of Extreme Gear, and they resemble hoverbikes. In Sonic Riders, Bike type Gear are less fuel-efficient, while in Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity and Sonic Free Riders, bikes allow the rider to punch through obstacles and barricades without slowing down, gaining Air/Gravity Points for each obstacle destroyed. In Sonic Free Riders, Bike type Gear can only be equipped with one Gear Part.
Skate type Extreme Gear are a less powerful class of Extreme Gear, but are more agile and, in Sonic Riders, more Air-efficient. Skate type Gear resemble roller skates. In Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity, Skate type Extreme Gear allow their rider to grind on Grind Areas, an ability which was previously restricted to Speed Type characters not their Gear, and unlike boards, they do not require Gear Parts to do so.
Air Ride[]
Air Ride type Extreme Gear have only appeared in Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity. Air Ride type Gear are similar in shape to the Greek letter Ψ, and they are ridden by kneeling or lying down on the Gear. Air Ride type Gear are capable of Air Riding, an ability previously restricted to characters, not their Gear. It should be noted that even though SCR-HD resembles a Wheel type Extreme Gear, it only has Air Ride type Gear properties.
Yacht[]
Yacht type Extreme Gear have only appeared in Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity. Despite the name, Yacht type Gear are more reminiscent of windsurfing boards rather than large boats. In addition to Air Ride type Gear properties, Yacht type Gear allows the rider to ride on slipstreams and accelerate on them while riding directly behind an opponent, which is otherwise known as "drafting". Without this trait, Yacht type Gear tend to have very poor top speed compared to the other Gear types.
Wheel[]
Wheel type Extreme Gear have only appeared in Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity, and appear to be based on the monowheel. Wheel type Gear are the largest Extreme Gear, as they need to be tall enough for the rider to comfortably sit inside and pilot. In addition to Bike type Gear properties, Wheel type Gear have the ability to use Slide Turns that can traverse through sharp turns. This is similar to the Air Slide in Sonic Riders, although Slide Turns do not consume any fuel. The drawback of Wheel type Gear is that they cannot perform Gravity Control to the full extent of most of the other Gear types, meaning that they will have to rely on Slide Turns to traverse through sharp corners and cannot access some shortcuts that normally require it.
Extreme Gear producers[]
Most Extreme Gear available for purchase don't include the name of their manufacturer; however, several business corporations have been mentioned for the characters' own Extreme Gear and a few others. Some of the Gear were redesigned by Tails or Wave to fit their friends' skills.
Robotnik Corp.[]
Robotnik Corp. is Dr. Eggman's corporation that produces Extreme Gear. First appearing in Sonic Riders, this is the company responsible for the character boards, even Team Sonic's. However, Eggman may have provided, or at least sold, the boards which Tails then modified to suit his friends' needs.
While the Babylon Rogues may be a band of thieves, they seem to also have their own brand of Extreme Gear. Since the only Gear made by Babylon Standards are the Type Gear, these Gear are created solely for themselves. In Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity the brand was never mentioned, just that Wave redesigned Type-J, Type-S, and Type-W. It's more likely that they were "standard" for the "Babylon" Rogues themselves.
Accevice Corp.[]
Introduced in Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity, this corporation is responsible for most of the Extreme Gear products Robotnik Corp. made in the last game, except for Blue Star, Red Rock, and Yellow Tail. The former two were redesigned by Tails, whereas the latter was built anew from the ground up. It could be a front by Dr. Eggman and that Robotnik Corp. and all its licensed Extreme Gear were sold, or they simply continue production where Robotnik Corp. finished. Either way, they now provide the character boards of the game.
Accelovice[]
Debuting in Sonic Free Riders, Accelovice created the Extreme Gear for the Xbox Live Avatar as well as a few other major boards and perhaps the new design or line of Extreme Gear. While the name is similar to Accevice Corp and claimed the creation of its boards, it is unconfirmed if it is the same business under a new name.
Competitive racing[]
The World Grand Prix is a competition for Extreme Gear racers around the world to compete with each other to see who is the fastest with riding on Extreme Gear by completing a series of racecourses.
After the Super Genesis Wave, Extreme Gear became nearly identical to their game counterparts. They are one of the main modes of transportation used by the individual Freedom Fighters.
