Camber fatigue.

[photodad2001]

Any ways of stopping or reversing the loss of camber?

[tex1230]

1) lose weight

2) don't turn. ever.

3) take up bowling. snowboardng sucks anyway.

camber will decrease over the life of any foam or wood core board. add carbon fiber or metal to the equation and it might help.

[b0ardski]

That reminds me of good idea I'd forgoten about. I rented an apartment from a long time skier turned alpine boarder in '90. He always stored his Skis for the summer strapped at tip&tail with a 2x6 block between the binders, claimed this revitalized the camber every season. he did this w/boards too. His well used 10 year old skis still had camber. I'll remember to do that with my skis & boards this year.

[Dave ESPI]

I hang my boards upside down some with the boots in the bindings for a while, and a few of my "paperweight" trophies sitting on the center of them suspended off of a simple ladder rack, and it has helped my boards retain the pop.

EDIT: just want to add that once a board is "flat", and ridden to the point that the board is a "noodle", there is no way to return the life to it except to give it to a jibber and watch him nose and taill press and manual it into bananaville on rails and boxes.

[photodad2001]

Along with the weight would the addition of some heat help speed up the process? Say a heating pad, electric blanket, or hairdryer.

Tried the bowling thing, too technical. I'll stick with something easy and less challenging like snowboarding.:D

[csquared]

Williamblake is right about applying heat: it can easily do more harm than good. However, it is true that the epoxy can be loosened slightly and reset with very careful application of heat. The problem is that it is virtually impossible to apply the heat uniformly enough and allow it to cool uniformly afterwards. And, as I can confirm, the effect is not durable.

It is worth remembering that most board cores start life flat on one side and are pressed into their camber so that the composites are fighting the memory of the wood even when the board is at rest. Until he started building Titanal boards, Bruce Varsava built his Coiler boards without a press and part of his methodology (even with the press) is to cut the camber into the core. This gives the camber slightly better durability because the composite overlays are not fighting with the wood and vice-versa.

I did manage to decamber a Coiler in a crash once by bending the nose over so severely that composites and wood core went past their elastic limts. Bruce suggested that I might want to try over-cambering the board and heating it to see if I could re-develop the camber. It did recover momentarily but quickly lost it on the hill. Now it just provides an interesting answer to what a board without camber would be like and the answer is that the board is very difficult to control riding flat and hyper-aggressive with turn initiation.

[Gleb]

only thing I know that would work is a conshox or something similar.

My Madd BX is a noodle now and I'm gonna try the conshox on it when I'm not lazy.

[pebu]

As everyone else is saying, you can't stop or reverse it, but something you can do is slow down the degradation of it simply by storing it in it's relaxed state.

[tex1230]

someone a couple of years back had experimented with storing identical boards in different positions over the summer. IIRC there was no difference in camber between the boards after storing one upside down, one flat on the base, and one leaning against a wall.

Somebody less lazy than me could do the search...

[MUD]

You could build a carbon fiber butterfly. Build it with a camber so when you bolt it on it forces the board into shape.

And as far as board storage goes. As long as the board does not go through extreme temp changes causing accelerated aging, what orientation it is stored in is not relevant compared to the beating it takes on the hill.

[C5 Golfer]

someone a couple of years back had experimented with storing identical boards in different positions over the summer. IIRC there was no difference in camber between the boards after storing one upside down, one flat on the base, and one leaning against a wall.

Somebody less lazy than me could do the search...

I was the guy who did the experiment.. I think this camber thing is way blown out of proportion. I believe the board response and ride qualities are more a function of the spring rate of that particular board. That is to say a 190 alpine board with 3 “ of camber could still be a wet noodle when ridden and a different 190 board with no camber could ride like the stiffest board one has ever ridden. I would speculate, if a given board measured when it was new had a 2” camber and now has no camber, that this snowboard may have exceeded its elastic limit at sometime in its riding life, but it was not due to storing it flat. Storage method does not affect camber life. You can hang them upside down with a pile of rocks in the center it will still be the same camber come next winter. - Let the games begin!

I forgot -- the answer to your question on stopping Camber Fatigue-- do not exceed the elastic limit of the board you are riding.

[yyzcanuck]

... I think this camber thing is way blown out of proportion. ...

I park my car upside down at night to keep the weight off the springs. I'm pretty sure that's helping extend the life of my springs. However, it's drastically reduced the life expectancy of the car's paint job and roof rack.

[pebu]

You'd still have the weight of the wheels (and possibly axles, depending on vehicle) if you parked upside down...

But seriously, alot of car guys will suggest if you're going to be leaving your vehicle in the garage for a while (over the winter or the such), put it on jackstands so the wheels are dangling and take the pressure off the springs.

[yyzcanuck]

... alot of car guys will suggest if you're going to be leaving your vehicle in the garage for a while (over the winter or the such), put it on jackstands so the wheels are dangling and take the pressure off the springs.

Yep... and a lot of snowboard guys will suggest hanging your board upside down with weights on it to save the camber.

[C5 Golfer]

You'd still have the weight of the wheels (and possibly axles, depending on vehicle) if you parked upside down...

But seriously, alot of car guys will suggest if you're going to be leaving your vehicle in the garage for a while (over the winter or the such), put it on jackstands so the wheels are dangling and take the pressure off the springs.

Right you are -- that is why I store my cars on their side.

Gotta remember to tell Jay Leno and the also the Lemay auto museum of this idea.. Cuz I am sure those guys go thru a lot of springs storing their cars right side up.

[MUD]

I know it doesn't make a difference, but I still store my boards upside down, on a rack that "helps" the camber. It sure doesn't hurt!

[Derf]

You'd still have the weight of the wheels (and possibly axles, depending on vehicle) if you parked upside down...

But seriously, alot of car guys will suggest if you're going to be leaving your vehicle in the garage for a while (over the winter or the such), put it on jackstands so the wheels are dangling and take the pressure off the springs.

Actually, it's to prevent flat spots on the tires, it's not about the springs.

[Derf]

someone a couple of years back had experimented with storing identical boards in different positions over the summer. IIRC there was no difference in camber between the boards after storing one upside down, one flat on the base, and one leaning against a wall.

Somebody less lazy than me could do the search...

Maybe these threads:

http://www.bomberonline.com/VBulletin/showthread.php?t=1762

http://www.bomberonline.com/VBulletin/showthread.php?t=7030

[C5 Golfer]

Actually, it's to prevent flat spots on the tires, it's not about the springs.

Agree - and I think it applies to the nylon tires of the 60-70s. Todays tires are not affected by flat spots - :);):D:sleep: