ShortcutToMoncton Posted March 3, 2023 Report Share Posted March 3, 2023 I’ve been playing around with Gecko Carve plates on my Coiler Contra AC for the last three rides. I know these are older plates, but is annyone else running them? Any experience on using them with Contra boards or other mid-tight sidecuts? I set the plates up with red bumpers and positioned asymmetrically (toe side plate more forward). First day was a fun disaster. It was my first day of a Banff visit to Lake Louise, hill hadn’t had snow and was unusually icy af, and for some reason we started straight on some steep blacks and I was too excited to think about first sessioning easier runs. I could not get a feel for the board and was all over the place, a rider flying out of the woods almost killed us both in the middle of a carve, it was a friggin mess and I switched to soft boots at noon and had a great time. Second day out I wasn’t an idiot and started with easier greens/blues (this was Lake Louise, so they are still steep), made a few boot/binding stance angle tweaks throughout the morning, suddenly felt a lot better and I started to dial in again. Third day out at my local hill and I nailed it. Grooming was real choppy by noon on a busy Saturday and on our easy blacks I felt I was crushing my snow enemies and hearing the lamentation of their women. It was a great day. However, the one thing I felt was that the board didn’t seem to want to tighten up carves when I cranked it. My turns were super consistent and smooth no matter what, and it seemed to stay that way even when I got more aggressive and started pushing, almost like it wasn’t letting me really yank the board around. I chatted with Bruce and he wondered if these plates might be stiffening the mid-tight section of the board a little, where the Contra sidecut is smallest. That might effectively lengthen the narrowest sidecuts through the midsection. It also made me wonder if it contributed to my first day at Louise, when I was trying to come around quickly on very steep runs and maybe not getting tighter turns. Any thoughts/comments/experiences on the Gecko Carves? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeoffV Posted March 3, 2023 Report Share Posted March 3, 2023 I don’t recommend them on a Contra, they go against Bruce’s design of the Contra, and his point about stiffening up the board under foot is true, I experienced that . I tried them last season on my Contra and didn’t like it. However they work great on my F2 WC SL. Contra’s don’t need anything fancy, slap some bindings on it, lean over and let the board do all the work. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gossamer Posted March 4, 2023 Report Share Posted March 4, 2023 I second GeoffV's comments, put the Contra on edge and trust what you have done several thousand times before and all is good. I do ride Gecko's on my Donek Ax177, my original all mountain carving board and it does take some of the chatter out of that beautiful chunk of lumber. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShortcutToMoncton Posted March 4, 2023 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2023 I will say, I did like how they worked once I got used to them. I don’t think I slipped out of a single carve on my third day despite a choppy hill. It felt kind of effortless. It sure if that was the plates or Not. I’m not married to them, but I’m definitely going to try the softer yellow bumpers and see if I notice any difference in how the board flexes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShortcutToMoncton Posted March 6, 2023 Author Report Share Posted March 6, 2023 (edited) So I switched the dampers to 6 yellow, 4 red but conditions were so slushy and spring-like it was too hard to take anything from the day. I still felt it was hard to tighten my carves, but going back up the lift it looked like I was cranking them OK in spots, especially on toeside. It might be logical that you can flex the board the same but you just need to work harder…I don’t know, I need to do more riding and do some with/without testing. I do seem to feel that the plates are a little easier on the legs than without, but it’s hard to know whether that’s real or not. Unfortunately they do just end up reminding me of a bowl of cherry tomatoes. And the unintended consequence is that it looks like I’m carefully colour matching my accessories with the red board and yellow boots, which is pretty ****ing lame. Edited March 6, 2023 by ShortcutToMoncton 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slabber Posted March 25, 2023 Report Share Posted March 25, 2023 coordinating colors isn't all bad... did your geckos come with the extra bumpers? I recently got a set but they only have the red bumpers and no extras. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShortcutToMoncton Posted March 25, 2023 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2023 Yep, red and yellow bumpers. I don’t notice much difference to be honest. Going to finally take the Geckos off halfway into my next time out and see how much of a difference they make. I still get the distinct feeling that the Contra is harder to flex with them, but it may just be the different snow feel. They are definitely easier on the legs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjnakata Posted March 25, 2023 Report Share Posted March 25, 2023 6 minutes ago, ShortcutToMoncton said: ...I still get the distinct feeling that the Contra is harder to flex with them, but it may just be the different snow feel. They are definitely easier on the legs. When I used them I felt the same way. They really affected board flex, making turn radius longer with a some improvement in ride comfort, but not that of a plate... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slabber Posted March 25, 2023 Report Share Posted March 25, 2023 I can definitely see how they will affect the ability to bend the board as they effectively reinforce the board with the fingers extending out to tip and tail. Depending on board and desired ride characteristics, that could be either good or bad. I don't think I want to use them on my Contra due to Bruce's design. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShortcutToMoncton Posted March 25, 2023 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2023 Definitely worth trying out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjnakata Posted March 25, 2023 Report Share Posted March 25, 2023 I believe it was @bigwavedave who has successfully experimented with removing the outermost bumpers to preserve board flex... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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