Bruce Varsava

Holy S#*t! Where can I get a similar one for same price and in 2 weeks? I'll take a day off and just buy one:lol:

I have done quite a few metals at sub 19cm. Mostly last year as things have gone up a bit in width as the boards ride so smooth you do not get punished by a bit more width. I just like the added boot clearance and never really change my angles a whole bunch. Even on my 188 x 23 Monster I ride 53/49 and thats as low as I go. Leaves me about 1/2" per side of boot clearance so I can cruise over a lot of soft clumpy snow with no boot out. On 19 wide I 'll go 58/55 at the higher end and don't go any more than that. My current building technique allows me to easily tweak dimensions and I have done so much of it I have data for most sizes to adjust for flex pattern and stiffness. No secret that I have been getting pretty popular so am already booked into Nov and really do not plan to increase production which is a bit of a hassle but your board is built entirely by me and when doing custom stuff, this is definitely a good thing. BV

Take a long piece of wire from something like a mig welder, draw a bunch of different radii and cut them out as accurate as you can. Then take a few of those radial sidecut templates and lay them over each other to get the desired result. Use a router to copy that to the new template and blend in the sections with a bit of block sanding. Trade secret is secret no more:biggthump VOILA! I know this next info is not really valid as we tested actual boards with actual riders of various skills so the results by no means are meaningful:lol: Had 11 boards to test last weekend and the conditions were a bit of granular over real hard with dark mega hard patches, surface softened up during the day. No real surprises and each type of board worked for different riders. The higher sidecut race models were not too loved by many, edge hold was good but the acceleration needed good control to harness so they were not too popular. Had a tighter turning soft multi sidecut board and most liked that if they had solid carving ability. If the rider needed to slide it a lot, they found it too demanding as it was quite grippy. Of course a flex pattern change could have helped with that but then a bit of grip would surely be given up. . Radial boards gave up a bit of grip but offered a nice predictable turn and many said they felt most natural on those models. My favorites on the day were the multi sidecuts as they had great grip but that is a bit of a skewed view as they were quite soft and it was a day you really could not push the board hard due to the loose surface and the hard ice. Just showed me I need a real soft board for those types of days. Still totally enjoyed the Classic and Stubby and others did too as they were out the most. Just a great day of testing with a handful of riders of all abilities which really is what testing is all about. BV

I'm reserving comment but this should be a good one:boxing_sm

Just a heads up that due to popularity and me not wanting to really speed things up I am already booked till almost November. I figure that within the next few weeks or maybe days I'll be booked till the snow flies once again. Still doing customer boards for late season and then I can get to a few protos that I have been wanting to get at including the 160 ish Zamboni that will smooth out all ice. I hope:) BV

OK OK do I have to straighten all you jokers out! I still consider raceboards as specialized boards. The occasional rider will like them for everyday use but they do have some limitations. The GS boards with higher sidecuts can easily be turned tighter if the snow is good but in some types of snow where you cannot trust setting a hard edge they will just keep accelerating which is not ideal. This makes them a board I would not really recommend as a daily ride. Tighter turning models with the multiple sidecuts would be much more user friendly and as you know I am working on those now. If you think the sidecuts are super precise high mathematical equations, ummm, I doubt it. Working with racers we still were breaking it down to different radii on different parts of the board and blending them together. The other reason I say this is many times each side of a board are different even when new. I have personally seen a board which did very well at a high level race and both sides were quite different due to production tolerances, warpage etc. Asyms are back:) When checking various other boards in the shop you can always match very closely the boards sidecut with the array of templates I have in stock. Usually pretty darn close to match the front, mid and rear sections with 3 different radii. The multi radii boards are really sensitive to flex pattern design. If you put a new sidecut on an older flex pattern the boards will take about 1 mile to turn or will not bite properly on hard stuff. Great potential with these designs but they need to be precisely designed to get the all around usage. So what I find is you may know the sidecuts but if the flex pattern is not working in unison with them, turning will be unpredictable at best. Usually you get the mile long turn or a really on /off feel where its all or nothing in regards to rider input I feel radial sidecut boards will be around for a long time yet as they do have certain characteristics which many riders find user friendly. Predictability in a turn and speed scrubbing as dictated by the flex pattern are very favorable for a lot of riders as we are not all super heroes on the hills, we're only super heroes in the forums:)

The website will be updated in the not too distant future. No worries as I may well be able to do it myself. Lets just say if you have a 20 yr old computer, you should still be good to browse it:) Cutting the excess to save you dough:biggthump Line for 2010 All Mountain: 172, 176 x 12m x 21.5 Waist changes usually no charge Stubbies: 171 , 173 x 20 or 21. Either with 13.2 or 14.2m Monsters: 182, 185x 14/15m , 188 x15/16m. 20, 21.5 or 23 in all lengths. Classic: almost any of the glass designs up to 180 cm tweaked for metal. New School race ( NSR) 182 and 185 x 20 x 13.7/17m Possibilities are pretty unlimited at a very reasonable charge. Testing the newer stuff this spring. BV

Sorry but I just built a Chubby! I'm afraid the name is here to stay as it will be one of the 5 and soon to be 6 lines of boards I will make. No I won't let you know what # 6 is yet. Jack, just order a few more boards so you can mix it up a bit and not get bored. I just say they be called Stubbies as it is less to type in. BV

Once the metal came out and started to get more refined I knew the short board long sidecut was the place where it would really work well. One main thing about these designs and not really easily seen is the flex pattern is somewhat different from traditional stuff. It is a bit softer in the mid and rear with a bit more meat left up front to prevent stuffing the nose at the higher speeds. This makes the boards quite safe compared to older flex patterns and while at OES, rode and saw other ride them with great success in really adverse conditions. The AMs, Stubs and Monsters all utilize this theory and all work very well in almost any type of snow. They get pop from riding them centered and getting the board to bend farther beyond what a glass board would bend then rebounding from that. If you lean too far back , the boards will not pop off the tail which IMO is a very good thing. Its fun if it pops when you want to do it but many occasions you can get launched when not wanting to. When you are centered and on the board, it has good energy but if you are off a bit it does not punish you too readily. Also not much pop when leaning forwards with a slightly stiffer nose = no launching over the bars. So nose shape etc is all very noticeable but does not really indicate what a board does in the grand scheme of things. The flex pattern and flex type really are the big difference in those boards. I try to match the boards carbon/glass percentage to the end use in all of those as they all are unique due to length, sidecut. More interesting stuff still to come;)

First I ever saw anything like it was on a Swoard. BV

Does it come with an axe and a blowtorch to get all the snow out of it?

Thats about the same amount of info I get from Mr. Gruumer:lol: The amount of royalties also indicate that:lol::lol:

That one was a 171 x 121 x 13.2m tuned for 190 lbs. I did not get a chance to ride it but it is already in Oregon so will be ready for OES. I think Allee has a secret gravitational field around her or something to that effect. Just shows how important it is to get to try out stuff for a baseline to work from if having a custom board built. BV

It will be coming home with me from OES so Les can try it and then you can have it for Quebec. Unless I get an offer in OES I cannot refuse! BV

Have to change the name of the 161 Stub as a few male riders on the lighter side were also liking it. Sorry to say it is in Oregon now for OES and may return mid March to a hill near you if you live in Ontario that is. BV Oh yeah, the new rule for building boards for ladies is Build 2 cores as the first board is never right so at least you will have second one started(-: BV

Monsters are very well received! Had a lot of riders testing the 20 wides at SES as I had a 182 and 185, All I have to say is there were a few people waiting to buy each of them at the end of the session! Really was a good test to verify stiffness of these per given weight as I needed others feedback to confirm findings and get more data. My fav was the 182 x 20 x 14/15m. Quite versatile and just long enough to smooth out the ride nicely. The flex is super user friendly and some take a few runs to get used to it as it is a bit different than the norm. When you stomp on it in softer snow you will get more flex near your rear foot which is super safe and dumps speed nicely. If you want to pop out of turns, just ride it centered and it will respond. Both the ones out there had the new " west coast lamination" approx 30% less rubber for more response without any noticeable loss of dampening . I did not tell anyone this and waited for response but no one noticed and even testing back to back against full damp models it is barely to not noticeable on hardpack and still seems to add just a bit more liveliness. BV

Alright enough BS, here is the actual end use of that monstrosity . No you can't use your kite but you can still use a sail. I built several sets of these over the years. Build it as one piece and then cut it down the middle as sidewalls are already in. Never did the sport myself but they hit 50 MPH which could get pretty exciting. This is a set I made a few years ago but the platform is made by the riders themselves. Tried slight sidecut but straight with a bit of toe out apparently works best. The only need one edge per ski and next ones I do will have ptex sidewalls as they do ride a bit on the sidewalls. Titanal version coming soon as I got a few samples of thicker metal in 270 length BV

Coming soon, split tail NSR to conquer the deep pow. Nah, forget it just use another board:lol: No I won't make you a split tail NSR:nono: Unfortunately the 20.5 one I was riding was a customers board and he was at the race but using my demo model which was 19.5. I liked the bit wider for all around performance. We switched boards after the race and now I am stuck with the 19.5 for Aspen which is a bit narrow for me. Thats OK, I have a new Generation 3 All Mountain to test for softer snow. Slightly shorter nose, less rubber and a small change to flex pattern for more liveliness and better turn initiation( I hope). Maybe my next favorite board? Too bad it also is a customers board BV

Pokkis: I now understand!!! I got to test a 182 x 20.5 NSR in a race and was freecarving it all morning on all types of slopes. Was a winner in both:) Have not tried one in softer snow but if you say it works I believe. Its still is a board for those who like to go pretty fast and was unique in that I was just having so much fun on it freecarving but then went to the race and it was a pretty serious tool for that job. BV

SHHHH, that ones secret!

If I ride it farther back any impacts are absorbed better, It has crumple zones for emergencies. BV

I take it out when riding with people I don't like and let them go first:eplus2:

So you wanna get a smile eh! Take this one out for a spin 264 with 244 effective tip 20 waist 20 tail 20 Thats right , sidecut of inifinity:eek: No magnetraction either. Wimps on the 200 and 230 with sidecut, blah blah blah Shes pretty thick too at over 1", thats 25+ mm for you on the other side of the lake. Better be eatin your Wheaties!

Either one is good with me as they have the best burgers I have ever tasted. Hills, who cares, give me a slab of rare ground beef and I'm happy as a Madd 158 on a double black diamond after a rain and freeze cycle:lol:

I try to get out on any new stuff and even proven designs as I can verify stiffness and with my system it is adjustable at the end which is a huge benefit. I can pretty much tell right away if a design works or not with a few simple runs. If the design is proven and meets my bench tests then no on snow testing is done. I also have a "test team" of riders I really trust and they can sometimes test when I cannot. I have so far tested well over 100 different metal boards and not too many lemons but the odd one does creep up and in that case I can sometime readjust or replace. However if you ask for something really off the wall of course the risk factor is up. BTW every board ever made is custom to a certain degree, unless you know of 2 trees which are clones:) Wood density , even using the same species, can massively change stiffness. My latest batch of wood is stiffer and I have to compensate on core dimensions to adjust. Its no fluke I am getting good press as of late! I have put in many many hours in the shop , on the hillls and had the benefit of working in the early stages with some very good riders testing the designs BV