right i've go a dungy old mountain board and its offending me with its henious weight lack of turning and instability.

stince im a man of some laminating prowess i'm going to build a press and make a new deck.

if you could have the perfect deck what would it be?

how long? wheel base? flex? stiffness? camber and concave? width.

what are the fruitiest boards out there at the moment. and why

for those interested it will be made of carbon,ply,foam,ply,carbon.


also what are some good light trucks and bindings?

Talk to spig, copy a mbs deck. World leaders in board design.

Get channel trucks and wheels for it, unless you can aford revos.

End of story

Current leaders in board design are D-EX (http://www.design-extreme.co.uk), with the Genesis. These are super lightweight carbon boards, (between 1.0-2.0 KG), are handmade out of the the UK and will cost around NZ $380-$440 to buy + shipping to NZ, (Expensive..!!).

Boards generally come with either 15 or 30 degree tip angles, (15 degree for skate trucks, 30 degree for channels), and lengths range from 69 to 78cm and around 23-25cm wide for freestyle boards, longer for carving and crusing boards, (upto 120cms).

Flex, Pop and Stiffness are dependent on a number of factors including ply and board shaping. On the whole these are some pretty subjective qualities that can only be found through prototyping. D-EX are working on adjustable flex panels, check out their website for more info or the Flexifoil forums.

The latest shorter freestyle boards from D-EX are generally run with Revo trucks with special mounting brackets, (P-type or E-Type), that allow you to hang the trucks off the end of the shortened board. Revo's are light, (675gms and up), sealed, maintainance free, and alledgedly hardwearing. They are also expensive, especially here in NZ, (Starting around NZ$350+ shipping).

Trampa, (http://www.trampaboards.com), also make a thermoplastic board, which are reasonably light, (4-5KGs) and are reputed to be indestructable. These boards have insane amounts of pop and flex and are great for most applications.

MBS Matrix and MBS Matrix Lites are top of the range Channel trucks, marginally heavier than the Revos, need some maintainance but are easier to adjust on the fly and available here in NZ, (NZ$200-$280 a pair). Ground Industries & Dirt Theory also make Channel trucks which are available here in NZ.

Skate Trucks are light and cheap and generally found on lower-end/beginner boards.

Bindings come in 2 major types, Freeflex or Ratchett, and are really a personal choice for most boarders.

My current board of choice is a pimped-out 14ply 89cm Trampa 30 degree kite deck, MBS F3 bindings, Matrix Lite trucks, Rockstar Pro Alloy hubs and T1 tyres.

The only thing I would change may be to a 30 degree carbon deck with all the above components, but only because to make it more 'bangin'... But I guess if you were a world-class freestyler you might go for the Revo's to save weight...

Anything else...?

You might also wanna check out Custom KiteBoards, (http://www.customkiteboard.com/), which is Jim Cambello's custom Carbon board business. His site has some great information regarding the construction methods andf processes used and some technical stuff about flex.

Additionally, do a message search for usernames 'SpikeJ' and 'CKB' at the flexifoil forums, (http://community.flexifoil.com/index.php), and read a ton of great info about carbon board manufacture.

hey thanks thats good info.

hey Guys,
Cheers Spig... Yep Our D-ex decks are definately out there in front.
Be carful with the foam core in the deck though bud. We have made and tested countless foam core ideas and 95% of these didnt work. They squeak and creak and the foam is the first layer to go. Unless of course youre a guru at this sort of thing, then go hard! Stick to carbon and glass if youre new to it. That way you stand a good chance of getting a sweet rideable board out the end...
I have a couple of early Jim Cambello carbon decks, and a couple of carbon D-ex Genesis decks as well. We are definately getting somewhere with all the testing, but if i told ya id have to kill ya.

Good luck with the project.

Che

Butch

hmmmm....

i have made some (or been involved with) foam core glass/carbon yatchs and aircraft components but have not made any mountain boards by this construction. I have made ply core carbon and or glass longboards with good results. i did notice on your and other sights there wasnt many foam core boards. i may take that advise and stick to carbon/glass or maybe a slim ply core.


ps how much for the D-ex trucks

What levels of dynamic deflection were the foam core glass/carbon yatchs and aircraft components subject to..?

Carbon fibre is generally used as a lighter but stiffer replacement for other materials not usually expected to experience high levels of deflection. An additional problem with small-scale foam core carbon board construction is that mounting components through the board can overload and stress/compress the foam layer, and form an area of internal weakness. This can lead to the sqeaking and creaking that Butch talked about when the carbon/foam layers are put under high multidirectional load, (the up and down involved in flexing), and even lead to cracking and failure. This is not good...

I believe that the above is the reason that D-EX may be experimenting with multi-part adjustable flex panels/stiffners to build in some level of mechanical flex into a board. This would mean that they would not be relying on the inherent propeties of uni or multi directional carbon weave... I could be wrong...?

My understanding is that the D-EX trucks are a progression of the Revo trucks, (both developed by SpikeJ), and would therefore be in the same ballpark cost range, ie NZ$350+ That is if you can get hold of them, I was told by Mark Daniels of D-Ex that there would be no availability until April/May 2007... [Rumours abound about D-EX being under contract to design and build a high-end board for a big kite manufacturer, but I dont pass on rumours.... :evil: ]

If I can be of any other help Mr Plumtree, don't hesitate to give me a holler.... I would be very interested in helping out in any attempt to produce a NZ Carbon landboard.... Let me know...

The foam core composite yatch and aircraft parts were not subject to any dynamic flex. vibration and torsional loads but there were not expected to flex by design.

the longboard skateboard decks on the other hand which were fijian kauri 10ply core with a combination of 200gm plain weave carbon matt and 300gm carbon uni 10mm thick in total i designed to be torsionaly stiff yet laterally flexible. so.... good flex for carving but little twisting.

i am very impressed with the ply core carbon longboards with the flex and strength i can get with carbon reinforcment.

of course a longboard skateboard is subject to a lot less load as your only charging down smooth streets and not getting any air.

ill make a ply core mountain board to start with probably 7.5mm total ply thickness with carbon uni and plain weave on the bias and just and just add more reinforcement were needed till i get the desired characteristics.

bloody hell just ride any board / carbon wood what ever ahhhh PAHHH

hehe it does get abit heavy.

your right thats exactly what i'm doing.

i've decided that maybe i need more kites and kiting experience before i make a deck. as the type of deck i want to make will change as my skill level progresses

but the design process is continueing in the background.


maybe in a few months time i'll make one.




40/60 carbon glass is my latest thoughts.

HI

HEY BUD i was taking the piss if i had any idea on how to make my own boards and or kites i would be better off.

keep at it there would not be a better feeling than to ride ya own board that you made your self.

A ply core is a great way to start bro, go with that and youll be surprised how easy it is. Good Luck.
There will be no more Genesis trucks going out in the near future im sorry to say. We have new fish to fry now... And bigger terrain to schred.. The lucky few who own them will be holding on tightly im sure...
Board shaping of any kind is an art, and if youre good enough to make your owjn board, then give it a go. Kites on the otherhand i think are a different story.

Che

Butch

your right butch a ply core board isnt that hard to make. i've made about half a doesnt longboard skateboards by this construction.

as for the shape. i have my ideas.

kites on the other hand i have no intention of making......

your also right kiter. it is a real good feeling shreding on a board you made yourself. even better when it out performs boards you can buy off the shelf.

i need another kite first i've decided and also im setting up a vacuum bagging system that will greatly advance my ability to make lighter stronger boards. thats gona take a little while too...

but watch this space it may not happen tomorrow but it will happen.

plummet good on you mate' give it a go some of the new boards you can buy say $500 or more are not all that flash . board makers started somewhere.

:wink:

Ah, but kites are the best parts to make 8)

construction has started on the mould for my carbon glass landboard deck.

ooohhhhh.... can you feel the excitment build.
of course you cant but i can.

layup is going to take place tomorrow....... ooooohhhhhh.

well my carbon glass creation is made.

still some testing and detail work to go.....

anyway check out the pics on the flexifoil forum

community.flexifoil.com/showthread.php?p=1434077#post1434077

Very sweet looking board mate, now tell us how it rides...?

Plummet mate.

Hows the deck going?