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Can a board die?


Jeffrey Day

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Yeah, I know, stupid question. Of course a board can die. So, maybe better question-

 

What would the ride characteristics feel like if a board died or didn't feel or ride right?

 

Now people, don't take this as bashing the manufacturer...cause I'm not.

 

Back in 2007 I think it was, I bought myself a first generation Donek Metal board. A GS172 I think it was. Now, I don't ride alot and I'm not a very aggressive rider these days. But it seems to me that the trails that I normally ride on, I am struggling to get this board up on edge. I also have an old Donek RC167GS that I have that I have a ton of fun on and don't seem to be having difficulty getting up on edge.

 

Is it me, or can a metal board lose it's ride characteristics and feel dead?

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If man made it eventually it can or will break. Not saying you are responsible for it's demise but anything is possible. It's always interesting to dissect things to see why but in this case I'd send it back to Sean and let  the expert determine it there is anything wrong it. After your posting this question in an open forum there's not much chance it's worth anything anyway until you have it checked out ! Are you sure it's the board. Maybe your just used to having that glass board remind you whose in charge and the metal board is too forgiving ? In my opinion metal is a much more damp ride if your just taking it easy.

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are you riding angles that are too steep on the metal board? if you have large feet you might have to ride steep angles?if your feet are small and you are angled foward too much you will  not have enough leverage to ride properly. Are you used to the glass board more because it is not as wide? If the waist is 18 cm and the metal board is 20 or 20.5 that will make a difference. Also are your boots too soft? You will lose leverage as well. I found on my Dupraz powder board that I like my stiffer boots on it. I lose too much response with a soft hard boot. I rode it in soft slush last spring and did not want to go back to softer boots. the Dupraz is wide for me with a 26 cm waist and the nose is much wider than that. I only have size 25 boots in a UPZ. Is your metal board a demo that was ridden a lot before you bought it? Some of the metal demo boards were ridden by racers maybe a lot and real hard? I would check your set up first and see if that would help? Most racers are riding flatter angles on the new race boards  to have more leverage and balance.

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howdy

yes a board can die, but there is afterlife...

i still ride my first board from 1995 a burton amp5 as the camber died a long time ago

i found that it rode better in the powder as the nose stop being catchy. neutral camber (haha)

just bought a modern softie board and looking some bindings. this year, year of the powder (hehe)

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Hoping I'm not releasing trade secrets here but  I know of one builder who measures the deflection of his boards measured by cantileavering the board over the end of the bench and measuring the deflection created by hanging a measured weight on the end of the board. Something one might find usefull if you are of the type that obsesses about such things ? As the fibres of the core degrade the deflection increases.

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  • 2 weeks later...

A 'worn out' board will generally initiate a turn easily, but will not have much snap or 'return' at turn exit. Loss of camber and torsional integrity will usually compromise grip on hard snow, but may not be as noticeable on quality groom.

Metal boards generally do not have the 'bright' signature of glass versions, and by comparison this can create the impression that the board is somewhat 'dead'. 

 

Generally speaking, if you feel like you need to stomp harder on the gear on softer snow in order to notice what's going on underfoot, your boots are shot.  If the board performs Ok on softer snow, but lacks vitality on hard snow, the camber is on the wane or the board has 'broken down' internally.

 

Unless your two reference boards have near identical flex ratings and overall geometry, your 'problem' may lie somewhere within the feedback loop.

 

A matter of perception, if you will.

Edited by Beckmann AG
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