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Sound Off: Custom Coilers?


Mark.Andersen

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182 AM

157 edge length

12.7 sidecut

19.5 waist

Standard construction

Nose more upturned than standard AM

A little more torsional stiffness than standard AM but still very friendly flex betwwen the feet.

Designed for carving in spring snow and chopped-up fresh-over-hardpack, both of which are all to common in Oregon.

I have only gotten to ride it three times with our crappy season but it was love at first carve. I probably need more milegae on it before I say this but I think I would do it exactly the same given another chance. I felt downright invincible on choppy slush, it is even easier to ride in that stuff than my Axis 172 and that is saying quite a lot.

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Mike

I just picked up an Axis 182 from Trikerdad and it has treated me well in the 5-6 days I have been on it. It was unreal in powder and carves just as well as my Volant GS 172. It could use some help on ice, but is a great board. If you say the Coiler did that well for you in the slop, I may throw Coiler into the hat in a couple years for a custom. Thanks

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Mark, I had Bruce build me a custom 178FC that I received in February. I went with the 21.5 waist with stiff tortional flex but a little softer in the longitudenal (?) flex (7.4) than he would normally build for someone my size. It rides very similar to the 182 Axis I sold to Chubz except for it's turning radius. I love the 10.5 meter side cut. I can't believe how quick I can bring it around without it ever feeling too soft. I wanted the width because of my big feet but now realize it makes it work great in powder too.

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Originally posted by Chubz

Mike

I just picked up an Axis 182 from Trikerdad and it has treated me well in the 5-6 days I have been on it. It was unreal in powder and carves just as well as my Volant GS 172. It could use some help on ice, but is a great board. If you say the Coiler did that well for you in the slop, I may throw Coiler into the hat in a couple years for a custom. Thanks

I think the flex pattern is the key difference between my Coiler and the Axis. The Coiler has a rather stiff nose and a very friendly flex between the feet. The Axis is softer in the nose and stiffer between the feet and is more torsionally riigid than a lot of "pure" alpine boards - and I'm talking about my 172, your 182 is definitely stiffer between the feet (I had a brief demo) and I think more torsionally rigid as well.

Both boards blast through chop and crud very well - but I feel like I have to be more careful on the Axis. I can get into trouble by burying the nose easier, due to both the shape and the softness. The Coiler on the other hand is designed specifically to not have that problem. I am sure I could busy it if I got lazy but it hasn't happened yet.

The extra length and bigger sidecut help keep it from over-turning - something that I find easy to do in slush or choopy fresh - but the friendly flex between the feet makes it work well at lower speeds to.

I am really glad I have the Axis 172 as opposed to a 177 or 182 because it flexes enough to carve it at low speeds, but I did find myself wishing it were longer / bigger radius in slush and fresh-over-hardpack, all of this went into the design of the Coiler.

Overall, my Axis 172 is a fantastic, versatile board. I could have just as easily gone to Donek and worked with Sean on a customized Axis - and I'm sure the results would have been no less than stellar. But individual customization is Coiler's specialty so I went there, and also Bruce's "default" AM flex pattern is honestly closer to what I wanted for this board than that of the Axis.

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My PR 188 is a totally "stock" 18 cm waisted model, no customization except the "stock" customizations - flex index (6.6), construction (Superboard w/ moderate TPL), etc. It works every bit as well at carving groomers as my totally custom AM 182 does at carving slop.

Mark, if you go for a FC/RC/PR stick, especially a longer one, I can't recommend the Superboard construction enough. The superboard construction provides a whole lot of added dampening over the standard construction, if almost feels like you're riding on a suspension, and those spring mornings of frozen corduroy become a lot more fun. In addition, the Superboard tracks better than anything I've ridden over variable snow and uneven grooming, so even in the absence of ice it's a worthwhile upgrade. Unless the weight of the board means something to you - Superboard is rather heavy, which is why I didn't get it on the AM - I wanted it to be usable off-piste as well.

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Bruce has templates from past custom designs. Go here and click on the word 'Custom' at the bottom of the page for spec's:

http://www.coiler.com/main.htm

If you have very broad experience with a lot of boards and know some of Bruce's designs then you may have enough of a basis to begin thinking through a custom shape and construction. In general though, it would be better to tell Bruce what kind of a ride you are looking for, what conditions you ride in, your physical particulars, riding ability, etc. and let him lead you to the appropriate board. Even when Bruce is working with Jasey Jay on developing race decks, the dialogue is not as precise as you would imagine and Bruce needs to read between the lines quite a bit. The least successful boards that come out of the Coiler shop are for people who think they know more than Bruce.

By all means go for features like Superboard construction or a custom topsheet that do not fundamentally change the design. But try working with Bruce to find a board design that makes sense. You wouldn't tell your brain surgeon where to cut or what knife to use would you?

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Originally posted by csquared

In general though, it would be better to tell Bruce what kind of a ride you are looking for, what conditions you ride in, your physical particulars, riding ability, etc. and let him lead you to the appropriate board. Even when Bruce is working with Jasey Jay on developing race decks, the dialogue is not as precise as you would imagine and Bruce needs to read between the lines quite a bit. The least successful boards that come out of the Coiler shop are for people who think they know more than Bruce.

Good points - in fact I should fess up and admit that my 182 Slushbuster's design was much more Bruce than Me ;)

I was looking for something to carve slush, corn and fresh-over-groomed, and based on my quiver at the time I knew 3 things:

1) More overall stability and longer feel than my Donek Axis 172, but still an easy-going ride

2) Wider waist than my 18 cm alpine boards but not too much wider

3) A sidecut akin to my PR 184

As I recall the only number that I picked on my own was the waist width; the sidecut and edge length were something we talked about, and the construction and flex were "do what will work best". I didn't actually know the overall length until it arrived - I remember guessing it would be a 180 and it showed up a 182. (The chosen edge length was 157).

I was and still am amazed at Bruce's ability to "read between the lines" as you say. I only wish we had a better season, 'cause there have been precioous few days where I've dared take out my Coilers, for fear of damaging them on the rocks!

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all my coilers are stock. as previously mentioned, let Bruce build something for your needs.

no complaints with any of his boards. although I'm seldom on my PR184,188 boards now that I have my AM172 with 21.5 waist.

I put my name back on the list for another AM172 exactly the same. I'm been riding mine everyday for two winters now and want to make sure I've got a replacement in the works. I told him no rush its still outperforms me.

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Originally posted by ARCrider

I put my name back on the list for another AM172 exactly the same. I'm been riding mine everyday for two winters now and want to make sure I've got a replacement in the works. I told him no rush its still outperforms me.

How long is the list? I don't plan on getting another board for at least 1-2 more seasons... but if that's how long the wait is for Coiler, I might as well get on the list now. I would probably go for a All-Mountain or a Coiler EX (Swoard Clone) if I'm feeling exotic (who knows what I'll want in two years).

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Originally posted by lonerider

How long is the list? I don't plan on getting another board for at least 1-2 more seasons... but if that's how long the wait is for Coiler, I might as well get on the list now. I would probably go for a All-Mountain or a Coiler EX (Swoard Clone) if I'm feeling exotic (who knows what I'll want in two years).

The Coiler site says "sold out through 05/06, will accept orders for 06/07 again in January 2006".

You can always place an order with model and details TBD later, in fact I've only done it that way.

Coiler EX? Do tell! Although I bet my AM 182 wouldn't do too badly as a Swoard proxy - a little long on the edge length but the widecut and width are in there ;)

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Originally posted by Mike T

The Coiler site says "sold out through 05/06, will accept orders for 06/07 again in January 2006".

You can always place an order with model and details TBD later, in fact I've only done it that way.

Coiler EX? Do tell! Although I bet my AM 182 wouldn't do too badly as a Swoard proxy - a little long on the edge length but the widecut and width are in there ;)

So yea, does that mean 06/07... that would be two seasons away... yea I guess I ought to put myself on the list (do I just email Bruce?). From what I can gather on the TC forum, the Coiler EX is basically a Coiler built with the exact same template as a Swoard. 2-3 TC'ers have one like that. Basically I really like my Madd 170 and I don't plan on getting any other like it - but it is a bit narrow at 18 cm (and for some reason I keep booting out < 60/55 even with size 24 feet!). I was hope to go for a wider board so I could ride lower angles for off-piste. Plus I'm told my Madd's 10.5m sidecut is small... so I want to try something with a longer sidecut, but soft in the middle (as I'm told the Swoard is while also being incredibly torsionally rigid) so my small weight can still bend into tighter turns if I want to (while I'm not particularly afraid of bombing... I find it not particularly fun...)

Anyways... so yea I'm just looking for a wider board with a longer sidecut that isn't super stiff. From my understanding there aren't many of those....

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Mike, can you elaborate about the nose of your 182? By "more upturned" do you mean it's taller? Or does it curve more tightly to give a longer effective edge?

Lonerider, I'm sure Bruce can build what you have in mind, and yes you can just email him. It worked for me. :)

The first board I had him build was a 174, based on the 169 AM mold, but with the nose tail tail extended to make them a bit taller. 21cm waist, 13m sidecut. I've been very happy with it.

For this season, I got basically the same thing, but with an 11.5 radius and 17cm waist. Unfortunately I have yet to ride it, we haven't got enough snow here in the northwest.

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Originally posted by NateW

Mike, can you elaborate about the nose of your 182? By "more upturned" do you mean it's taller? Or does it curve more tightly to give a longer effective edge?

It's taller. And longer too, I think. I wondered if it might have been shaped using the mold from one of yours.

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fricken rock

I got a couple of them

190 PR custom 20 cm waist 15 m sidecut

this board is really versitile for its size

its a board that is happy making the super wide arcs or slaming quick turns at any speed

what I really enjoy on it is carving at lower speeds where it becomes hard to balance

on steeper stuff doing that I will end up laid out at times

173 AM custom

the AM has a 20 cm waist and I forgot the other specs other than the flex is a little different than a AM

after I got the AM my other boards started to gather dust it just does everything so well

both boards ride super "quiet" and are very easy to ride

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Originally posted by NateW

That sounds pretty cool.

What's the tail like? Standard squared like a race board, or rounded like his AM boards? Was that extended too?

The tails is rounded - all the way around - but not extended and quite low. Both nose and tail shape were left up to Bruce - he mentioned he was doing the more rounded tails on AM boards for aesthetic reason as much as anything else. I'll take some pics of the board from a few different angles later if you're interested in seeing them.

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Originally posted by ARCrider

I put my name back on the list for another AM172 exactly the same. I'm been riding mine everyday for two winters now and want to make sure I've got a replacement in the works. I told him no rush its still outperforms me.

ARCrider,

I have an AM69 that I enjoy, but was wondering how stable do you find the AM72 on hardpack and groomers?

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