ISSA - International Slalom Skateboarding Association

...this is interesting stuff...I'd like to know what some of you fellow slalom brethren have to say on what is fastest...wood or Foam?


Let's get this going bros...

Dave, I'll go first........what the hell.

This is something I've been trying to answer or at least "grasp" since I started doing slalom
2yrs. ago already....

My experience has the stiffer wood ply decks faster through straight-ish TS type courses...
I think Mr. Maysey may have proven this already... Lighter than a plank, yet as stiff=direct drive....

I have a custom carbon skinned foam core that is stiff yet has some dampening quality to it which I've switched to over the wood ply deck because it's at least half the weight
and has the afore mentioned dampening thing going on...maybe helps keep the high
frequency chatter outta the mix...better road feel through the board?? I've given up trying to quantify it, I just like it better. And it seems to work also into the more offset Hybrid- smaller GS realm.

I can comment on decks in the Pocket Pistol range in so far as the few I've ridden I've come away knowing why alot of guys use them for BIG GS....every one I've been on has been very soft feeling and it's hard not to notice the way these decks glide big fast turns right to the limit of traction and beyond.... Might be the reason we get to see guys like Mollica, Cbark, Racer-X et al, drift wheels with such composure, yet not go into full on wheel chatter... and I'm fully aware of the kind of talent I'm talking about here too....
It's just my opinion that this could be a case of talent meeting materials and a building technique that that talent can be best shown through....

I want a PPS........... it's just that,

my wife doesn't.......



Decks maybe the most subjective subject of all.....who knows.......??

Later, Tod

Doesn't it depend on the rider?!

rmn

yep dave....
some go for foam,some for wood.


that poll seems a bit strange as far as i can see it.

ramon is right.that it depends on the rider and his own personal preferences and abilities to determine what works best for him.
you chose the way,as a label-owner,to go for wood,since this is the easiest and most cost-effective way to produce a board.
your boards look nice,some of the shapes would not work for me or anybody else i know.
the reason:the shapes don't reflect what's popular here in europe(too narrow in the nose-section).
also it would be of great advantage if you would consider in the near future to improve/change the optics of your decks.
formica bottoms are nice,but always the same might get a bit stale over the time.
i took a different road to produce decks and i'm mainly doing foamcore decks.
most of the stuff i do is stiff as hell,some flex a bit.
totally different from pps.
my team was the first to come up with kicktails on foam-decks,we have the first board ever made,which is not derived from a surfboard shape.all this has happened with a solid rider/knowledge base to deliver good stuff.

mayseys board looks good,nice shape-effective.

just some thoughts i would like to share openly in this forum and on which you can reply also.

before anybody gets anything wrong-i like dave's stuff,ok?


whats faster?

a good and experienced rider or an unexperienced rider?

Hello Friends...

I probably should have listed fibreglass and carbon as other options...can I change or add to it? Does anyone know how to do that? If not...no prob...

I personally prefer stiff wood/lams for all forms of slalom...that's just me. I believe they are faster for me...that is why I made them.

The narrow nose of the CK's allows the rider (beginner to Pro) to dip, dive, or steer into the cones...I tend to hit more cones using wider noses...same goes for Mike and UR13.

And, it's obvious that our decks are surf-inspired...regarding the pointy nose and tails...they don't bother me at all...I have grown up surfing with pointy tips and tails...and I know what they are for and how they work for me, most of all, I know to be aware and careful with them...for general safety reasons.

Everyone is different and stands on a board differently and turns differently...AND no deck can be everything to everyone.

Thank you for you comments, I respect and appreciate your input.


Dave

Wood is good! For the most part....but it is totally up to the rider.

I've been on my own little trip for the past three years, post Turner, of riding wood. I started with birch ply, moved to solid Oak and making my own decks and eventually eneded up with a hybrid of sorts made by Roe/Insect...my own shapes, Insect wood cores and Roe carbon. Those boards worked well and I learned ALOT making my own decks. I realized at the farm this year that my boards rocked for ultra tight/tech courses....which you rarely see anywhere. So that made me look for another alternative as far as decks.

I had seen skaterbuilts for a while, always thought that they would make nice slalom boards...then I saw the CKers and was stoked. I ended up winning a CKGS at the farm, which was ironic because I was going to order one the following Monday. That week I ended up buying the Hybrid and TS models as well and began to test out the Skaterbuilt CK decks...

Needless to say after a few days I was hooked. The boards feel "right". They aren't as dead flex as solid wood but they also aren't a cambered foam deck either. One reason I like wood is that it has amazing dampening, compared to foam...it feels solid under foot, ultra solid. The Skaterbuilts feel rock solid stable. I think the formica ads to the feel as well, making the entire deck feel stiffer? I cut down a standard maple ply flipper deck a few years ago and made a TS shape out of it and it didn't feel anything like the Skaterbuilts....

The other key to the Skaterbuilts is the nose/tail kick combined with the concave. I'ver never been a huge fan of concave but the SK mold feels right. Just enough to hold your feet in...but at the same time allowing feel on the rails of the deck. The tail kick creates a pocket for the ball of your rear foot while the concave in front along with the slight nose kick do the same. I was riding with toe-blocks for years but found I didn't need them on the SK's at all. My front foot has never moved.

The shapes....well they have grown on me. They look evil...I sorta like that. They are very functional as well, especially the TS and GS models.

I have been riding narrow decks with tall trucks the past 3 years. Decks no wider than 6.75" tops. So I developed a pump that was very linear and I cut very close to the cones. The biggest problem I am having with the SK's is their width. They aren't wide compared to normal slalom boards...but they are wide to me. The noses are narrow, especially on the Hybrid model...which allow me to turn in close...problem is the waist of the decks are much wider and I am hitting cones with them.....

That is more my problem and needing to adjust my pump and form to the new decks....that I will do this winter.

So ya...the Skaterbuilt CK's rule! I finally feel I have three solid setups that will be dialed and ready for any course. I see the SK CK's as the middle ground between my little Euro decks and a standard Roe/Pistol shape....but made out of rock solid wood that gives amazing confidence to charge a course.....

I'm looking forward to racing again next season...it's been a long time coming!

I thank Dave for finally making these kick-ass decks!

----

Here is how I see the break down.

TS - wood is very good, direct power transmission and excellent control for breaking and sliding the deck around hard offsets. In courses with high cone count per/second flex actually gets in the way IMO...it creates a slight lag.

Hybrid - I like wood here...BUT...this is the one chink in it's armour I think. You typically see hybrid courses set requiring a good low to mid range pump. A foam/cambered/carbon/glass deck will work better in the low to mid end pump as you can load the camber up and accelerate out of turns. Wood takes a bit more effort to pump up from the lowerend than a cambered deck.

GS - Depending on the course wood is good here. For a tighter more hybrid GS see above...but for a real GS/SGS I like wood because of it's mega high end pump and stability. A softer/cambered deck feels sketch to me at higher speeds...too chattery. A wood deck like the SKCKGS is ultra stable and it's high end pump, due to the direct energy transmission is sick....no to mention it's traction at high speed due to it's torsional stiffness.

But hey...thats just me!

C-81 airflow or Cone killer by S-B are my favorites decks, no flex, as stiff as possible.....

Got concave?
Got kick?
Got Skaterbuilt?



More here.

(you can also see the Roe/Insect decks I was riding and contrast them to the skaterbuilts to give my above post some context....)

I've got concave.

I've got kick.

But mines an AXE......

Marty Schaub wrote:I've got concave.

I've got kick.

But mines an AXE......

You know what... I got the same, and it comes from Germany!
P A V E L

...This is really great discussion...as I said before-I made my decks to accomedate myself and the way I ride...then I met Maysey, sponsored him as my premiere slalom rider, he won the BLR Pumpstation Series on my GS deck and won the Worlds' on my TS deck. I love the guy for it. Mike REALLY wished Luca had been there to race at the Worlds'...would have been cool to see...maybe in 06'...

Thanks UR13!

And thank you Pavel, AirFlow, and Marty...your input is appreciated.

Dave

I got two SB's in the mail today, a CK TS and Hybrid.

They look great, and I've been walking back and forth to the living room to stand on the boards on the carpet all afternoon, just loving the concave and the way the tail cradles the back foot.

Now it's time to get them set up and ready to ride... It's full on practice down here getting ready for the Australian National Tight Slalom contest in December. Knock on wood a SB will podium!

Good luck with that Haggy-Long time no see!...It'll be interesting to see if Eddie Spearing comes over from NZ to give you a run for your money!

Dave, I remember meeting you in the pre-qualifying at Avila Beach...You were super nice to me and deserve every success you get! Well done on your Morro success!

so far my experience with them can be summed up in two words...Direct Drive...

Really sorry I missed skating cones at SSS in HB with you last Sat...oh well, I quess I'll have to wait to race with you again...you brought the best outta me at Avila 03'-thanks again and take care Martin!


Dave

One the lost members of the Texas Outlaws known as Danny aka Turtle heard Gumby and I are heading up to the Texas Outlaws Slalom Series. He shows up at our hill. We have a tightish Hybrid set up on one side of the hill and on the other 25 6ftrs going down the other side. Danny gets on the 32 inch SkaterBuilt after a few runs, he starts running the course clean. " This the best slalom board I have ever ridden" he exclaims. I believe he and Gumby are going to fight over that board at the Austin race next weekend. Eddy Texas Outlaws.