Custom Donek 165 FC w/ Olympic Construction

[gdboytyler]

So for my custom board, I wanted a board that could EC like the Swoard 161M, ride stable at high speed like the Oxygen Proton 164 GS and handle ice like the Donek FCII 163.

So I got the following specs (it is a modified Donek FCII 163):

Olympic construction – I figured what else am I going to spend the money on, strippers and beer?

Sidecut radius = 13m for high speed stability and laid out carves. Since I could EC on the 13m sidecut of the Proton, I figured there was no reason to use 12m like the Swoard.

Length = 165 cm. I went slightly longer than the standard FC length of 163 just for the hell of it. Since Sean charges the same price for a custom job, no matter what you change, I wanted to change more than just the sidecut radius.

Tip/Tail Width = 24.8cm, to match tip/tail width of the Donek FCII

Width = 20.6 cm. I wanted to go a little wider than the standard width of 19.5cm to eliminate overhang with stance angles of 54F/51B for a mondo 24 boot. I asked Sean to calculate the width based on a 13m sidecut and the tip/tail width of the standard FCII. I thought about going to 21 cm like the Swoard 161M, but since I plan on staying with stance angle of 54F/51B, I thought I could go a little skinnier to have a faster edge to edge transition and still not get boot overhang.

Flex = same as standard FCII. At first I thought about going with a softer flex for better ice performance, but Sean said the torsional flex is what mostly determines how the board handles ice. The Olympic construction can separate longitidunal and torsional flex. So my custom would have the same longitudinal flex as the standard FCII but would be stiffer torsionally.

Topsheet is metallic blue. I wanted solid red, but most of the solid color topsheets are transparent, so they are not allowed on Olympic construction boards for secrecy reasons --- I’m serious. I didn’t like the look of metallic red on the Donek website, it looked more orange. I just recently saw a pic of Mike T’s metallic red Donek and if I saw that earlier, I would have gotten metallic red.

Here’s a photo of my stock 163 FCII (left) and my custom 165 FC (right)

[gdboytyler]

Rider: 5’7; 132 lb

Boots: Raichle SB413, mondo 24

Bindings: F2/Proflex Freecarve, 54deg front/51deg back, no cants, no lifts

Stance: 19.25”, centered on inserts

Conditions: firm hardpack, softening to slush

I was able to EC on the custom Donek better than I could on the Swoard 161M. The flex and 13m sidecut on the Donek allowed me to make a bigger radius carve when totally laid-out, which made it easier to get in and get out of the laid-out carve.

Occasionally, on my Proton 164 GS, I would get locked into a heelside carve, and not be able to get out. This made it pretty scary when on a narrow run. I don’t get the “trapped in a carve feeling” on the Swoard or the custom Donek.

I don’t know if it was the dampening properties of the Olympic construction, the board shape or the placebo affect, but I felt more comfortable riding the Donek at high speed than any other board I’ve tried.

It was harder to make small radius carves with the custom Donek. It’s much easier to carve the Swoard at slower speeds. I think that’s due to the soft longitudinal flex of the Swoard and the Swoard’s smaller sidecut radius.

Like the stock Donek FCII, I was able to skid turn the custom Donek easily when I needed to.

Unfortunately, there wasn’t much ice today to test ride on.

Overall, the custom Donek rides like a very stable, more-user friendly Oxygen Proton 164 GS. The custom Donek felt just as fast as the Proton on edge-to-edge transitions even though it’s 1.1cm wider. And now if I lose an edge while doing a laid-out carve, I can’t blame boot-out.

[alexgforce]

Good stuff,

I totaly agree with what you describe. The fact that you plan to EC on a board makes neccesary for a board to be able to pop and work like a spring. I find it a bit more difficult to transition with a swoard. You need to work your legs a lot to be able to exit a turn. So I dont think its a placebo effect.

[AaronG]

what's wrong with the tip on that FC 165, it looks assymetric?? Is it supposed to be like that??

[gdboytyler]

OVR, now I'm sorry I pointed it out to you. Everytime we ride together, you'll be hasseling me about the asymetric nose on my board.

Donek does have a 30-day money back guarantee. But since the board rides great, I think I can live with the manufacturing defect. At least it's not as noticable as the "bbam" version of the Madd snowboard.

Here's a pic the asym nose that OVR is talking about. You can't see it in my first pic. I never noticed it until I was on the chairlift, looking down on the nose.

[AaronG]

GBT, I couldn't resist but from here on out there will be no other comments emanating from these lips regarding this incident!!! You can still give me crap for looking like a giant. Are you calling me fat???

Don't make me opent his can of whoopass!!!!

[gdboytyler]

No need to cease and desist. Since the board handles great, I can handle the ribbing.

You ain't fat, just much taller than the average boarder.

[Pow]

OVR, now I'm sorry I pointed it out to you. Everytime we ride together, you'll be hasseling me about the asymetric nose on my board.

Donek does have a 30-day money back guarantee. But since the board rides great, I think I can live with the manufacturing defect. At least it's not as noticable as the "bbam" version of the Madd snowboard.

Here's a pic the asym nose that OVR is talking about. You can't see it in my first pic. I never noticed it until I was on the chairlift, looking down on the nose.

I have a similar problem with my longboard. i didnt purchase it like that, however. I chipped the topsheet slightly in the liftlines right at the tip and now it looks slightly asym. buggs me when anyone notices and i have to explain, but does not affect performance. hopefully my new wooden board reduces risk of topsheet chippage.

[gdboytyler]

I chipped the topsheet slightly in the liftlines right at the tip and now it looks slightly asym. buggs me when anyone notices ...

Luckily for me, no one actually notices the nose until I point it out. So it's very subtle.

I've already gotten 7 days of riding on my custom. I like the board so much, I don't even notice the nose anymore

So far the only conditions that I don't like riding my custom in is in deep snow and ice. Not enough float and too stiff for deep snow. I don't like the big sidecut radius for ice because I can't carve small enough turns to control my speed and end up having to skid.

I've ridden it in small, soft moguls and it rode well. But haven't taken it into deep or hard moguls.