Two weeks after we met, we had out first prototype. It was pretty good, but Mike wanted something with a bit more of a foot platform, especially for his rear foot. We continued making prototypes, tweaking the wheel base a bit, overall length, amount of concave, width and also some pretty cool top and bottom features and contours. Yea we tweaked and played with just about every aspect of the board.
Throughout this prototype process, I quickly realized how easy it was to make these minute changes in the board because I was using hardwoods and not a tradition press. Its pretty simple for me to add some length or width to the board, but if you were to do that with a traditional longboard you would need a press for every change in width, amount of concave, etc. I also realized how much of a difference these small changes had in how the board actually performed. Which gave me the idea of offering a fully customized downhill speedboard. While we will have a stock deck (Mike's preferred ride) we will also offer customization for a very reasonable price. All of the things we were tweaking in our prototypes the rider will now be able to tweak on his own board. Change the overall length, width, wheel base, amount of concave, where the concave actually starts as well as the top contours of the board. I'm not positive, but I don't think anyone else offers that much customization in their boards.
I guess now I can talk about these top and bottom contours on our downhill board. First off we have "The Speed Egg". Its a hump just behind the front truck. It allows you to know where you foot placement is on the board. As well as allowing you to be a bit more locked in with you front foot. And finally it allows you to let the board fall behind you while you are kicking. This increases your stride and hence increases your speed off of the start line.
Next we have "The Ridge line", which is essentially a V or a ridge coming off of your rear truck towards the center line of the board. This combined with a pretty wide tail allows the rider to use The Ridge line to dictate exactly where the tail is while in a turn, predrifting, or in a slide. More control means a safer more predictable ride.
On the bottom we have essentially removed material. With this we have created rails down the bottom of the board, which come in pretty handy to grab onto while cornering. It also significantly reduces the weight of the board.
Since we have taken away so much material I decided it was a pretty good idea to start introducing some composites into the board. Here again we have an option for the rider. While the bottom of the deck will certainly have layers of bamboo fiberglass, the trip of the deck can either be layered with the bamboo glass or a carbonfiber top sheet. Either option will make the board virtually bomb proof
So there you go, our fully customized hardwood downhill board. I am still doing research on pricing so I am not entirely too sure of the price. I do know the stock board is going to be within the same price range as other downhill decks out there. And the customization is not going to be a ridiculous add on, I'm going to keep it at a reasonable price so more people can enjoy their own custom ride. I am hoping to have this board fully released by the end of the winter so everyone can gear up for the upcoming season. As soon as I know more, I will let everyone else know as well.
Love life,
Tom
Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®
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