Was buying or riding a Plate worth it for You?

[lowrider]

Now that plates have been available for a while now i thought it would helpful to gather comments on peoples experiences good or bad about their own personal experiences riding, trying, building or abandoning the prospect entirely. Were the plates you tried too stiff, too soft, too difficult to dial in etc. Under what conditions did you find riding a plate most helpfull. Did the plate you buy fulfill the claims of it's maker Did or does it retain it's value for resale. If in the market for a new board does that decision include ordering with UPM mounts?

[Mike T]

I started taking plates seriously 2 years ago. I borrowed a friend's Donek plate in December '10 and did some plate demoing at SES '11. My thoughts at the time: http://www.bomberonline.com/VBulletin/showthread.php?33637-SES-Subplate-reviews. I wound up buying a Bomber 4mm plate. My reason for buying it was for better riding on ice and choppy or uneven grooming. It did the job, but at the expense of making the board a little unwieldy. I wound up selling the plate and keeping the hardware after riding a Coiler Magic Carpet at SES '12. I was able to demo/test another Coiler Magic Carpet in May 2012, and Bruce built me my own Carpet in the fall of 2012. The Carpet fits on Bomber hardware.

I demoed the 4mm Lite Bomber plate and the Donek AF plate at SES '13, back-to-back against my Carpet/Bomber UPM mount combo. I feel that this year's crop of plates is superior to previous years'.

Donek AF plate: As-advertised. Adds some dampening, better board flex, and a more stable stance. The effect is subtle but noticeable. Improves edge-to-edge response when ridden aggressively. Natural, board-like feel, except that you lose some ability to pedal. Having said that, low-speed handling was not an issue for me.

Bomber 4mm Lite plate (UPM mount): Adds a lot of dampness and isolation, and very pedalable. Does have a "carbony" feel that is familiar from the older Bomber plates and the 1st-gen Apex plate. More user-friendly than the original 4mm plate in that less effort was required to make flowy turns of different shapes and at different speeds. However, making two very quick, very hard turns back-to-back was a little sketchy, in that the board felt like it needed to "catch up" on the 2nd turn. Stance was stable in that my knees were not coming together like on a naked board but the amount of flex in the plate made it a little random. I feel like I'm a shade heavy for this plate at 178.

Coiler Magic Carpet (Bomber UPM mount): Halfway between the first two. Slightly more pedalable than the Donek AF, much less pedalable than the Bomber 4mm plate. Natural feel. Higher and heavier than the other two but this doesn't affect handling, responsiveness, stability any. Handles well at all speeds, lots of dampening and isolation. Helps quite a bit on icy patches and choppy/uneven groom.

All three plates were ridden on my Coiler NSR V-Cam 183, obviously all UPM mounted.

The Coiler is my favorite plate so far, given that the main thing I want out of a plate is to improve grip on ice and tracking on chop/uneven groom. On better snow where I want to enhance the stability of my stance and get a more natural arc from the board, I'd give the nod to the Donek AF plate.

My current and future GS boards will all have UPM mounts, as will my current and future SL boards. I suspect a Donek AF or even F plate would be my choice on SL boards regardless of snow conditions... the axle-based systems just seem overbearing... I've tried the Coiler/Bomber combo on my SL board as well as a few demos and it was too much. My FC boards, don't and won't have UPM inserts as I just don't see a need for plates on them.

[TLN]

Can you share any info on Coiler Magic Carpet? Photos at least.

Sounds promising, but i cannot find anything about it.

[Corey]

Last year I rode the Bomber 4mm and the Donek (now called A-plate) versions. I didn't like the low-speed maneuverability of the Bomber one; I found it really isolated the rider from bumps but was too numb for my liking. The Donek was more flexible and fun to ride, so I bought one.

This year, I first rode the 2nd gen 4mm after Fin told me how different it was - he was right! It was much easier to ride but still isolated the rider quite a bit. Then I got on the 4mm Lite and fell in love. I would describe it as 'invisible'. Board feel was there, but bumps were still being isolated from the rider. It's the best plate I've ridden yet by far! The flexibility wasn't noticeable at all other than when stepping in - even when your Fintec pins were fully engaged there was enough bending in the plate to make me nervous that I wasn't clipped in. I just learned to wiggle my leg a little harder to be sure. This picture shows me on the 4mm Lite on an NSR that's a little too soft for me.

I tried the new Donek AF plate as well, but I wasn't getting along with the board it was on so I can't give an unbiased opinion. Unfortunately my favorite Coiler NSR has a stomp pad that's too thick to fit the AF, so I couldn't do a fair comparison. It still sucked up bumps, and the simplicity of the hardware is bordering on genius.

I'm of the opinion that if you have near-perfect grooming and quite hard conditions, you're better off without a plate as you don't need any bump/ripple isolation and you get more information about what the board is doing underfoot. If your snow gets tracked out or is poorly groomed, the small trade-off of snow feel of a plate is completely worth it as you can ride longer without getting tired as quickly. I'm still kicking myself that I left my Donek plate at home for SES; it would have been on my board 5 of the 6 days I rode if I had remembered it.

FYI: I'm 205-210 lbs.

[Ernie00]

I have tried a few plates over the years. All fun to ride but nothing I would ride all the time, the main reason was the lost of snow feelling and inability to change flex the plate.

That was before my apex race plate V2. It's just amazing in all aspect. It's been on my board since December and I do not leave home without it. My detail review can be read in the forums.

More expensive but definitaly worth the extra cash.

[Mike T]

Can you share any info on Coiler Magic Carpet? Photos at least.

Sounds promising, but i cannot find anything about it.

Bruce has only built a handful of them. It's more or less constructed from the same materials as a Coiler board, but using a more skateboard-like layup. The top sheet is carbon fiber. 4x2 inserts, mounts on Bomber hardware only (so far). Total height is about 27mm.

Photo courtesy of Riceball (and Trent?):

Edited February 19, 2013 by Mike T

[piusthedrcarve]

Has anyone ridden K-Plate (monoplate)? Seems like VIST or Donek's F-Plate. Any riding difference?

[big canuck]

Hey Mike T, what stance width are u using? Any idea max width of the coiler plate?

Thx

K

[Steve Prokopiw]

Great pic Mike T. and Riceball !

[Miltie]

Lowrider, Excellent post and questions……

Due to lack of access to power tools and a workshop of over the last 5 years or so, I have not dabbled in the DIY aspect of plates. You could say I am a consumer.

I weigh about 160 (no gear) and sit at desk or meeting table roughly 10 hours a day – not in the same shape I was 25 years ago. Have 25 years experience on alpine gear but less leg strength than I did when I was 22.

Plates I have tried:

• Bomber Boiler 5mm (4x4 and UPM hardware)

• Bomber Boiler 4mm Lite (UPM hardware)

• Donek A Plate (1st gen 4x4 and UPM hardware and 2nd gen 4x4 aluminum hardware)

• Surfeye Active Flex Carbon medium flex (available in Japan only - 4x4 hardware)

Were the plates you tried too stiff or too soft?

• Boiler 5mm – stiff - great at high speeds but can be a handful on cat-tracks or at low speeds

• Boiler 4mm Lite – right on the money for my weight and riding – improved turn initiation and lows speed handling

• Donek A Plate – feels just right for my weight – not too stiff and not too soft

• Active Flex Carbon – this plate is made of laminate sheet carbon (no core) – a little too soft at my weight – designed for lighter Japanese riders. Lacks torsional and longitudinal rigidity since it has no structural core

Were the plates too difficult to dial in? Note: I run my axle spacing with Front axle under the ball of my front foot and the Rear axle under my rear heal

• Bomber hardware is the sh#t – no muss and no fuss! Usual Bomber quality and bulletproof design. I prefer the UPM hardware as it easy to set up. The Wunderbar is definitely helpful for 4X4 set up.

• Donek – 1st gen hardware was challenging to get the axle spacing I needed with certain boards. 2nd gen hardware is a huge improvement for axle spacing.

• Active Flex Carbon: Hardware is relative easy to set up. Plate also has more placement options for axle outer side bosses.

Under what conditions do you find a plate most helpful?

Great in chopped up mush after the yobos and open-coaters have destroyed the groom.

Longer Boards – 170 cm and up. Need lots of room to let the board run. Typically find myself going faster than normal with a plate. Great on weekdays or when slopes are not crowded.

Shorter Boards – 158 to 168 cm – pretty much found that I did not like a plate on shorter boards. Prefer a little more maneuverability. Usually ride shorter boards early season or when I am with my kids. A plate is usually too cumbersome under these situations.

Did the plate you bought fulfill the claims of its maker? Simply… Yes. Think each plate has some positive attributes and maybe some trade-offs (engineering is the science of trade-offs… right?). Once you get everything dialed in and you have some solid runs on a plate, I think you can feel the positives. Will they work for everyone – probably not. For me, I like the added leverage and Cadillac ride.

Did or does it retain its value for resale? No. Think plates are like personal computers or cell phones. They become dated as newer versions are released. This doesn’t bother me as I am more into the engineering/technical aspects of the plates.

If in the market for a new board does that decision include ordering with UPM mounts? Yes - definitely. Have been ordering boards from Sean at Donek with UPM inserts since 2010. Would not order a new alpine board without UPM inserts now that I have tried UPM.

Bindings: Initially ran Sidewinders on my plates but eventually went back to TD3-SI. Felt a little too isolated with a plate and flex of Sidewinders. Much prefer the TD3-SI. Also use the BP lower cant assemblies to reduce stack height.

Could I ride longer with a plate? No. Found myself pushing the envelope harder and thus burning up my office chair legs at about the usual rate. Can’t say a plate allowed me to ride any later in the day.

Overall: My personal preference of the plates I have tried so far is the Boiler 4mm Lite followed by the Donek A plate. Think plates come down to personal preference and where/what you ride. If I am out on a weekday and can let the board run, will have a longer board with a plate mounted.

Would also like to try the Donek AF plate sometime to get a feel for Sean’s new hardware.

Hope the evolution of plates continues and the manufacturers keep the innovations coming.

Thanks! Tom

[pokkis]

Hey Mike T, what stance width are u using? Any idea max width of the coiler plate?

Thx

K

I'm on 54cm stance on it with F2 Intecs, and could get 1-2 cm more if needed.

ANd mostly on 59cm axel space.

Edited February 19, 2013 by pokkis

[D.T.]

I have the JJA plate on my JJA Cypress. The plate is comparatively soft at least compared to the other plates that I have handled.. The combination has the ride and float of a '70s vintage Cadillac with the performance of a modern Ferrari. It absorbs and floats of all of the crap, yet when tipped on edge will rail a turn so tight that the g-forces will make you high-side if you are not paying attention. Slow speed feel is a little muted, then again, I have not spent much time playing with the plate mounts to see they alter the feel and performance. The way I see it, this GS board was not made to give me a warm, fuzzy feeling when riding at a turtle's pace...

[lonbordin]

Did a review of the Bomber plate here:

http://www.bomberonline.com/VBulletin/showthread.php?36963-Haven-t-been-to-Colorado-(to-board)-in-a-long-time&p=374663#post374663

I've since bought the Gen 1 4mm plate.

I mentioned it recently here:

http://www.bomberonline.com/VBulletin/showthread.php?32130-Bomber-Boiler-Plate&p=393573#post393573

I'm 6'4" and ~245 so I'm on the extreme end of the engineering curve for most equipment.

The place I really see the plate shine is the everyday non-groomed conditions at my local resort and in the rutted race course.

Oh, and in my knees/legs. It really does soak up a lot of the chatter (yes, loss of feel) but a necessity where I ride due to the conditions.

I'm noticeable less fatigued after riding with the plate than without. Really slow speeds your movements have to be exaggerated but I'm fine with that trade-off.

My 2 cents, YMMV, keep arms and legs inside the ride at all times...

[Hans]

Rode a 4 mm Bomber Plate on my Coiler VSR 168 for a few days. Only in soft and icy conditions. They did the job well, snowfeel is fague on this combo, soaked up all the bumps, sold them both anyway. Now I have ridden a JJ Interface on my JJ Prototype SL board for 4 days in a row. In the morning on good fresh snow, in the afternoon on icy fresh snow conditions, also on (very) steep terrain where most of the skiers slide of the pists (red and black pists, Zillertal, Mayrhofen, Austria). I can tell you, this combo drives you over the ice with a lot of confidence. You just can give full on ice no probs. Pedalling: the base of this board is so fast, you don't need to paddle, the board goes by itself. Even after three days of non waxing, the base is fast. I am gonna think about another custom JJ interface for my JJ GS board, Jasey Jay is gonnna make for me. This tested one, I'll keep for my short boards. Snow feel is very good with this stiff plate. Won't ride this board without this plate, superb combo.

[scrutton]

I have purchased a 4mm Boiler plate and a 5mm Boiler plate. The 5mm feels like too much isolation for me; the faster you can run it, the better things get though - I can see it being quite usable out West, or on a large fast race course.

I prefer the 4mm plate which seems to have the right amount of flex for me. I weigh 225-230 lbs.

I have the 5mm plate listed in the classifieds.

Paul

[zoltan]

I was going to start a new thread, but I'll just post here instead.

Before last season I bought v.2 of the Donek plate and mounted it on my Coiler VSR 172. I rode it all last season (as much of it as there was) and most of this season. Several weeks ago I removed it, and am not planning on putting it back on. While the plate did help smooth things out, I just felt really separated (for lack of a better word) from the board and had a harder time getting the board to do what I wanted. It was faster, but it wasn't nearly as fun.

I may try the plate on my Donek Razor with my soft boots, but I'll probably end up selling it. At some point in the future I'll probably try a plate again, but for now I'm just going to enjoy the Coiler as is.

I'm 160 pounds without gear, and ride mid-Atlantic.

[skidad62]

I am in the queue at Donek to get an A plate for my 171 Coiler stubby... great info everyone - can't wait to give it a try. They're out of stock - so I have my fingers crossed that I get it before the season is over or too mushy.