After seeing Taj destroy those waves on his board I can’t wait to get that board from you Bert.Slater is my alltime favorite surfer.He is from florida after all but Taj really handed to him.Bert do you think those rails were just painted black or was there something else going on in regards to the perimeter stringer?
Bert , any idea (or anything you can share) about what may have been or is being tweaked in Taj’s boards? And what is the story with the black perimeter? In my eyes there has been a big performance enhancement wrt his equipment in the last 12 months.
rather than adjusting the board only
it is possible that taj adjusted his surfing somewhat as well
I think TB’s style was pretty well formed b4 he started riding compsands, don’t see much change there…I’ve seen a bigger change in terms of his boards performance in the last 12 months…watch Searching for Tom Curren as he rides so many different boards some of which complement his style some of which he has to work harder on to make fit…I think TB’s boards are now really starting to fit his style. I wonder what they have tweaked to make it so.
something that firewire might of had to look at was the way the boards flex under taj’s feet. he has a pretty wide stance with his back foot along way back. they might of had to adjust the flex between his feet to be stiiffer and maybe adjust other parts to increase the flex outside this area.
whatever is happening its working.
looks like we might get an aussie champ this year.
scot
just an opinion
but if he was riding all balsa sunovas he would have started killing it pretty much straight away
firewire cant build or sell balsa boards cuz of the time and cuz of the look doesnt fit the image
balsa has way more pop then foam skinned boards
they had to brighten them up a bit with stiffeners cuz the foam ones are a bit floppy
many ways to do that
but yeah an all balsa one or a hybrid would have nailed it pretty much from the start
also he prolly had to adjust a bit
everyone i know that have switched to my boards say they have to adjust
i think its a different centre of pitch, reduced swingweight and lower overall weights
yea at J-bay my sunova 6’3 would flyyy.
“what wouldn’t” you say
a 6’3 poly
hahahah
stirring it up but there is some truth to this.
: )
Was at the US OPEN of surf watching trials on Tues. I walked right bu Luke Stedman and a bunch of other Aussies, one of the guys had a board with Carbon Parimeter stringers. It didn’t say “firewire” on it, and I counld really find a name of a boardmaker on there, but it was for sure carbon.
Haydenshapes has been doing those out of Sydney, been getting some good reviews on the realsurf forums. Looks like it might be a good way to move into the newer tech without having to learn too many new techniques.
well guys
i just explained it pretty clearly
believe what you like
carbon strips on the outside glass are pretty ineffectual at improving TWANG on a compsand
6oz tape has pretty much the same effect
and putting it on the rail seems odd to me
you need something that looks like HD foam or balsa wood underneath the glass
looks like another NEV dead end street/smokescreen that the public will lap up
if you go to the trouble of bagging
you may as well do it right
berts original post says it all right there
but anyway
thats all from me on compsand construction here ive decided
any PMs requiring info shall be referred to the co op site
if anyone wants tech updates and info they can check the co op site
its been entertaining
Congrats Bert that your tech is in high placings in the Pro Surfing world. Just curious, can you or anyone comment if Taj’s boards have been using glass-on fins?
frame grab off billabongpro.com:
Yes he has been using glass on fis.I have seen some of his other boards on some of the videos on the contest websites.
The Hayden shapes Fibreflex boards don’t have carbon on the rail, they have carbon rail stringers, like the Lost or Marko “parabolic” rail boards except with cf instead of wood. Reports are they have a snappier, slightly stiffer but less natural feel than FWs.
I guess the fin system Firewire puts on his boards, ins’t enough for Taj!! and he is a light rider…
Hi,
I’m a WCT addicted and I’d like to say that Slater has had a tough year. The dream tour has suffered of inconsistent waves in all steps this year. In the last 3 or 4 champs, Slater was betrayed by the ocean. Everybody who watched Slater’s performance in the previous heats in Jeffreys had no doubt he was in great form and focused to win the event. In my opinion, Fanning is the man to beat for while, and Taj has to show if he can keep growing along the tour. In relation to the equipment Taj is using, I guess he had mentioned something in relation to the durability of these boards in comparison to his previous boards (which broke easily under the pressure of his stressing maneouvers). Beyond this point, I just see people trying to buid boards that behave like our old PU crap…
What’s the shot at Nev? The board was painted because it’s been around an while and had some dings. Geez guys … lighten up. It’s called airbrush. Taj likes the boards and is having his best year ever , nuff said.
Yeah but that airbrush paint is filled with carbon nanotubes, right?
Finally someone from firewire talks.Questions are good for the industry after all this is a surfboard design forum.Can talk at all about the future of firewire such as board design or are you tied by corporate crap?Everyone that is on this site I hope wants to learn about new shit at least I hope so.Come on Bert what do you have to say?Later Karl
I was reading on realsurf forums that there is a shaper making carbon fiber parabolic stringers on his boards.He calls them fiberflex.The board is a higher density foam glassed with epoxy.From what I read on realsurf people were pretty positive on the way they road and apparently chilli is going to be getting invoved as well.His website is haydenshapes .com.So greg maybe those rails aren’t painted black after all isn’t firewire releasing an all carbon fiber board?Don’t be scared.Later Karl
I saw how well the firewire worked for Taj at Los Gringos