What will the pros ride?

General Discussion
1

Okay, so Clark is no more. PU, may be, history. I’ve already stated my concerns about popouts taking over and killing the custom board. Refining my thinking, I still believe that is the direction most newbies will take, especially if that’s all that’s offered in the retail shops. As for experienced surfers, my opinion is, they’ve always (at least in the last 10-15 years) been driven by what the pros ride. They either want to emulate those who they feel are at the pinnacle of the sport, or they figure, “If that’s what the pros ride, it must be the best.” Maybe that’s why EPS/epoxy, and other technologies have always been a hard sell, because none of the pros rode them. So what WILL the pros ride? And who’s going to sell the alternative technologies to them? I believe that is the crux of this whole issue. If the domestic industy, and custom boards are to survive, we gotta get the pros on our side.

Any other thoughts or opinions?

2

I believe some pros won’t surf Clarkfoam boards anymore, so the next thing will be to say that Clark foam wasn’t the best foam as they’ll be riding something else. That doesn’t answer your question, but what will be percieved as the best foam will change for sure because the pros will be using something else (PU or other)… Anyway, they have to ride what their sponsor shaper can sell to the general public afterwards, depending on what they can put a hand on, next year might be interesting. Maybe we will see a profusion of new constructions techniques and materials. After every extinction a bloom of new species always apeared before natural selection would keep some and make other disapear. That sufboard-construction bloom might be interesting next year if pro surfers can ride very different types of boards depending on which options their shapers took. That might give a chance to different technologies to emerge as the best thing as there can be room for them now. Wait and see what will eventually happen.

3

The way “THE PROS” will be encouraged to move to the Epoxy/ EPS technology, will be a function of DOLLARS. If someone pays, someone else will ride. I’m not saying it’s bad, just a way to get the message out. Did I just describe what some of the Asian mfgrs. have done? You get the picture.

4

The pros, being whores, will ride what they’re paid to ride. As they always have. You/we don’t have and won’t have enough money to bribe them. Their endorsements are based on the size of the check they just cashed.

Though the actual board they use may have little or nothing in common ( beyond the sticker) with the production models their corporate masters peddle to the masses. Any more than, say, a NASCAR ‘stock car’ has in common with the one you can buy at a dealer.

But…the newbies are the masses. Not somebody who has been out in the water 10 years plus. They are the sheep who follow what the pros do, read the latest issues of the magazines religiously and care about what’s in 'em. They will buy popouts in droves, as they do already, if it’s endorsed by their particular media heart throb. They come into surf shops and won’t be dissuaded from what’s fixed in their tiny, empty heads, even if it’s better.

A more sophisticated buyer has been through all that and, if he or she has the money, will opt for something a little different than the 6’10" Hooker Special that is endorsed by latest magazine-feature prostitute. That’s your custom market, right there, and always has been. Especially for the small, local shaper/glasser who has some quality control over the whole thing.

Forget the pros. Maybe somebody well respected and local who will be surfing with and talking to the sufers in your market, but that’s about it.

doc…

5

It is rumored that Andy Irons are riding EPS/Epoxy boards. They don’t like shaping it on the machine because thaey have to reset the cutters from PU to EPS blanks. The cutters heat up and causes melting on the EPS blanks thus a change in cutters is required. This is just what I’ve heard in passing and did not confirm any of this. I am not in any pro shapers inner circle. If so, this could be the break through for EPS blanks. Can anyone confirm or deny this?

Mahalo,

D

6

Another question: how will the judges judge boards of “different” materials?

If they ease up on materials, then fins are next, then volume, then riding styles.

Hey, things can only get better…

7

The ones who don’t want to change will be on Walker foam. The ones who try EPS for whatever reason may stay on it or go back to Walker foam. Once their up and running in China, PU sourcing won’t be a question again.

8

UncleD My machine cuts EPS so nice and I don’t change the cutter from PU. Two blanks cut at a time, By the may I have plenty of PU blanks forsale for the Pro’s to use, over the next 6 months you’ll find that PU blank will be everywhere as we all make more moulds and employ more people to blow blanks. I know my factory will go from 30 each day up to 300 a day as more moulds come on line, Just need some time and money, PU blanKs are not dead Peter

9
Quote:

The pros, being whores, will ride what they’re paid to ride. As they always have. doc…

I completely disagree with that you. The pros may pose in ads, but they’ll dump a board the minute it doesn’t ride well.

They will wear pink shorts, ugly shades, and even drive stupid cars, but they will ride whatever they want. Kelly Slater is riding stuff other than Merrick, and Merrick knows it (and doesn’t mind)…(latest Surfing Magazine).

The pros will definitely paddle out for pics, and they’ll even give EPS an honest try, but I suspect most already have and aren’t interested.

10

Howzit UncleD, I can find out if that is true by just asking his Dad. Bruce rides Aussie made boards so he is OK. Maybe try watching the Pipe Masters and see what Andy is riding. Aloha,Kokua

11

This is interesting…I have to agree with fairmont that Pros will dump a board the second it is not perfect. That is the benefit of having a quiver of boards so extensive.

It seems to me that Pros favor familiarity. They each have a certain type of board they like…from a design standpoint it can vary, but generally a board feels good to them, or feels different. And different equals bad. So I’d imagine that those pros that venture away from PU are going to go towards EPS or XTR, depending on which one feel most familiar.

However, the pros will get catered to. If they want PU, which many might due to its familiarity, they will get it. Think about it…if there is 1 PU blank left, who gets its, Slater, or your neighbor.

Thus, it seems to me that any revolution of EPS is going to happen from the bottom up. This due to the fact that everyday shmoes like us are willing to take some design “chances” since we dont have a paycheck depending on every surf, where pros are always too busy to be “experimenting”

12
Quote:

As for experienced surfers, my opinion is, they’ve always (at least in the last 10-15 years) been driven by what the pros ride. They either want to emulate those who they feel are at the pinnacle of the sport, or they figure, “If that’s what the pros ride, it must be the best.” Any other thoughts or opinions?

Not this Turkey . . . . he rides what he designs from first principles because he finds the pro boards and their clones to be lacking.

.

13
Quote:

As for experienced surfers, my opinion is, they’ve always (at least in the last 10-15 years) been driven by what the pros ride.

bleh… I ride whatever puts a smile on my face…

(not saying i’m as experienced as the older guys, but I don’t chase after the latest and greatest corporate bs… I ride what is fun… you need to ask yourself… why are you surfing?)

14

the pros go where the dollars are …

if your a professional tennis player , your not going to use your mates wooden racket he made in his backyard , when nike is offering you big dollars to use there latest composite racket …

that being said , if you played better tennis with your mates wooden racket , you would buy it for a fair price , paint it black and put a nike sticker on it , take the money and get the results with the racket that works …

the comments about riding whats familiar is to true …

the contest season runs for 10 months , that gives a pro 2 months at home to try and get his head around new equipment , if there are no waves or he didnt get something new organised on time , then the next season will start with exact duplicates of last years boards …

this might sound crazy , but i know some solid surfers who travel and who go through a lot of boards who even tho they have never competed , have there equipment so worked out and know exactly what board to ride when …

and i know pros who seem to chase there tail with design , because of having limited time to get there boards sussed out …

alot more alternate stuff is being put under the feet of pros these days …

slater rode epoxy all this year , p/u epoxies …

sunny won a world title on an eps/ epoxy/bamboo combo …

theres a whole heap that will front with epoxy boards next year …

the pros will ride what works , and what they can win on …

ive seen situations where whole groups of contest surfers will ride a particular brand or style of board , yet those boards arent even mainstream and even tho people really want to buy them , they cant get one , because the crew building them are to busy just servicing contest surfers …

if merrick made it common knowledge that slater was riding a p/u epoxy , then everyone would want one …

so theres part of the story …

the consumer only sees the brand …

not the tech behind the brand …

its easier to put your formula one driver in a ferrari and then sell look alike ferraris to the masses rather than a real one with all the fruit that was harder and more expensive to make …

more pros are riding epoxy boards than we think …

its just the board builders , who want to keep things simple and not change how they do things , they dont like building epoxy boards if they dont have to …

it will be interesting to see what happens with the american pros ??

it wouldnt surprise me if many just get there boards done in oz or france or south africa and then just slap the american sponsors on …

or whether the few blanks left remaining , are saved for the pros …

more things we will have to wait and see to get the real answers …

regards

BERT

15

I sincerely hope that next year at the goldy contest Slater , Curren , munga , margo , fanning , parko , or someone like donovan frankenferter or dave rastovich

[at least ONE of these guys …my money would be on Tom ]

get to ride a shortboard surfburger of yours Bert …and get filmed ripping on one .

cheers !

ben

16 
Howzit sbvfive, You are so right about the pros and what they like to ride. I do repairs for a friend who buys used  boards from one of the pros. Every one of the boards he has brought me are exactly the same, because they are computer shaped. Aloha,Kokua
17

Kokua, that is what I figured. The computer can duplicate shapes far more realistically than a human…

seems that with someone who travels 10 or so months out of the year, you want something familiar under your feet. I guess paddling out at Pipe or somewhere heavy is not the time to experiment. Its like golfers who use the same putter for 10-15 years, even though it is outdated. They never want to waste a putt figuring out a new putter…

Bert…very interesting comments about the # of pros who ride epoxy. I figured that more of them had to be on epoxies, whether it be PU/Epoxy or EPS/Epoxy or XTR/Epoxy, than they were letting on. Hearing it from someone in the know like yourself is good. You make alot of sense about the pros pushing a label, not a type of board construction. Wouldn’t make sense for Al to sell alot of Epoxies, because he is set up production wise very comfortabley to produce polys, with his glassers and all. It seems that Kelly pushes Channel Islands, and Al sells what makes that most sense for him? Makes alot of sense…doing a quiver of Epoxies for just kelly is easier than doing a quiver of epoxies for everyone in the world who rides an Al. As long as those customers know that Kelly rides an Al, and nothing more, they will happily ride a PU/PE, which equates to big dollars for Al.

Anyhow Bert, maybe some day I’ll get to have a surf on one of your surfburgers. I probably couldn’t do it justice, because I am no pro, but you are an inspiration to alot of us who enjoy seeing the new technology come into its own. I’ll trade you one of my sandwich construction boards for one of yours, aye?? haha, anyway, thanks for posting here, I have learned alot from you.

18

Basically…

…Man made pieces of shit…like before the hysteria.Herb

19

This isn’t even that big of a deal.

PU foam is everywhere. You can buy it, premixed at Home Depot, in an aresol can.

Now, that doesn’t mean that you can actually take ten cans of expanding foam and make your own blank, but it simply means people will keep using it. Heck, it’s what they use for some potted plants to hold water and support the plant stems.

Clark did everyone a favor.

A year from now we’ll be able to order a PU blank from a variety of companies.

And Clark’s blanks WILL be duplicated. And molds will be made.

If I’m willing to buy PU blanks, many others will. I mean, name a better blank than the 6,2c or the 9,1y. Those are epic. Someone will make more, and we’ll buy them.

We shouldn’t have to fight over EPS or Polyurethane. We can have both.

And the backyard shaper will live on.

We will gladly pay 100 bucks for a 6,2c, rather than 50 like Clark was charging.

PU will remain.

Clark Foam is gone. Let’s see some other companies produce PU.

The hole will be filled by next Christmas, for sure.

20

Is it not a case that blowing PU foam is so environmentally destructive, that sooner or later all developed countries will ban its production. So China will take up the slack. Seriously is it reasonable to expect the third world to destroy their environment just so we can have a surf ? I cant in conscience go along with that.

Incidentally I recently read a report of factory operation in China held up as a flag ship. This is the working week of the staff

8:30 am to 10:30pm Mon to Fri, 2 X 30 min breaks per day

8:30am to 6:00pm Sat and Sunday.

1 day off per month.

This is a worker friendly factory.

Back to PU, times are changing, in 10 years I cant see extensive PU production.

The pros will probably continue with PU until someone start to take the comps apart on eps/epoxy. Then like the invention of the thruster, things will change rapidly. If PU becomes harder to come by/ expensive then the young guns will become more experienced on eps boards hastening the general acceptance of it.

Whats the bets in the next 12 months one of the big shape factories (Rusty/ CI) start to push EPS.

Thats my 2c, feel free to disagree