Gecko's first release from their new “Superlight Series” is the Slalom Limited Edition (The Gecko S.L.E.).
The board was publicly previewed in its pre-production form at the Cadwell Race in the UK in early February with its sub-zero temps where it was incredibly well received, many calling it 'the best-looking slalom board they had ever seen' and 'potentially the board of 2008'. The comments we received by those who rode the Demo boards the following day were nothing but complementary, the majority of them resulting in firm orders.
It will officially be launched in its production version at the World Indoor Champs in Gothenburg, Sweden on the 24th February 2008 where it will also be available for demo and purchase.
The shape comes via Martin Drayton's Turner Eurofighter design and a custom built by RoeRacing for him on which he won the 2005 World Champs Amateur Tight Slalom event. He also called on inspiration from Richy Carrasco, Paul Price and J-Lo (for the wide rear-end!). Design elements of the Gecko Street Slalom model ridden in the successful Guinness World Record 50 cone attempt were also used.
Dimensions: 30" long, 8.75" at the widest part, 7.75" at the waist and a nice fat 8" at the tail. The board is drilled at 18 & 19" wheelbases to suit Pro and Amateur courses on both sides of the Atlantic however challenging they may be.
The board weighs in at around the 600 gram mark, its light weight making it super manoeverable. It is an extremely strong board despite this and is built to be ridden by slalomers up to the 240lb mark. Wheel clearance is not a problem either with the generous wheel wells.
It has awesome acceleration in part due to its torsional stiffness, which is in turn due to a special feature that we are not prepared to divulge at this time. After years of very expensive R&D in the Carbon Fibre Industry we don't want to make it too easy for our competitors.
Both these features make the board very responsive . This is a by-product of the nose shape too, resulting in a deck that is lively without feeling tippy when mounted with a normal slalom-width truck. Fuller nose shaping can result in a board that is noticeably wider than your track width (measurement of trucks plus wheels) which in turn means that you can 'overpower' the truck even to the point where the unweighted wheel leaves the ground – test this with your own set-up statically. This can normally be rectified by using spacers and widening the track, or by moving the front foot rearwards, but then you lose board agility.
The body of the board is waisted removing unnecessary width , and therefore weight, whilst allowing you to get closer to the cones for a more precise and faster line through the course.
We believe Gecko are also the only manufacturer currently to use nylon inserts in all of the truck holes (I think Turner were the first with their Hybrid mass-produced model). These inserts mean that you can mount the trucks onto the deck without the need for pressure distribution washers and crank them down getting your hardware flush without fear of damaging the carbon. Also damage from water ingress can be completely avoided. And such is our attention to detail that we even supply two holes, with inserts, for the mounting of a single point toe block (for reg or goofy) or for a TNR foot stop.
The tail is generous, and is wide enough to suit a variety of styles and foot sizes and gives you the ability to apply plenty of down force over that all important rear truck.
Looking more closely at the rear end, you will notice one of the innovations that we could not hide under the MD SLE's sleek carbon fibre skin – the built-in tail wedge.
Several individuals have pioneered this feature on home-made decks or as add-ons, notably Jonathan Harms/Paul Graf in the US and the UK's Mick Reiss, but up until now, no-one had done this on a production board.
A simple idea beautifully executed.
Quality and performance of this level unfortunately does not come cheaply. The decks will retail for:
-$260 in the US,
-175 Euros plus VAT = 206 Euros,
-130 Pounds Sterling plus VAT = 152.75 pounds or
-1,912 Swaziland Emalangeni!
Basically if you are outside of the EU or have a VAT-registered business you are exempt from the nuisance tax!
This represents great value for an outstanding deck that
we feel has set a new benchmark in finish, features and performance, many of those who saw the deck at Cadwell thought that they were being sold too cheaply for what they are. Unfortunately for Jeff at Gecko, they are, but that's his choice. This board is NOT a mass produced commodity, but a Limited Edition board of incredible quality and several unique features.
We are planning to make a few Demo boards available at certain areas or at particular events in the UK, the USA and mainland Europe – details to follow. Try one if you get the chance, you will be amazed.
There will also be news soon of exciting new Team Riders, watch out for them on podiums all over the globe this coming season.
Please feel free to contact
martindrayton@yahoo.co.uk with further questions or Jeff at
jeff@geckodecks.com with orders.
Martin Drayton.
Thanks Munchh for the outdoor shots.
