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Messages - ukgm

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391
I’ll bet sales of the Blitz will bomb in the UK.

But maybe in Germany they will be keen.

Very subtle.  ;D

392
2019 Fanatic obviously have the new Strike, the Falcon (which is now a clog) and finally the new 'Blitz'.

https://www.facebook.com/fanaticsupaustralia/

393
Gear Talk / Re: new Fanatic strike
« on: July 03, 2018, 12:19:58 AM »
ukgm you might be surprised.

The AS24.5 has some roll and the AS23 definitely more.  But if you can balance ok on the AS23 powered up then you should be ok on the dropped 21.5 Sprint.  The difference in tip is noticeable but not much more.  Was able to go max speed on flat with no balance checks.  But again technique needs to be on point.  Your size may make the 21.5 Sprint too far a stretch -> but the 23 Sprint might work.


Yep, you're right. I'd be more likely to go for a 23 width and if stability was still an issue, I'd probably install a small ventral on it.

394
Gear Talk / Re: new Fanatic strike
« on: July 02, 2018, 03:42:48 PM »
Well, it’s only really old farts like me and you who worry about stability. The kids coming through just want fast, have energy to burn, and could balance on a log. Their parents will be buying them these boards.

Give it up, old man. You were born too early for this sport :)

At least if racing dies, we won’t have all the nonsense that will come from entry as an Olympic sport. Then maybe the ICF will lose interest too, and we won’t all be forced by them to have a SUP licence (costing 500 dollars) and wear inflatable armbands, pfds, drysuits, and carry spare flashlights plus first aid and bicycle puncture repair kits. :)

True, true. I'm actually going to try a 21.5 at some point soon just so I can talk myself out of racing any more.

395
I have heard about the new Starboard sprint today. Similar but more rounded off edges to make it better in rougher waters.

396
Gear Talk / Re: new Fanatic strike
« on: July 02, 2018, 12:25:39 AM »
1) How do you feel about racers getting off their boards and pushing their boards round the inside buoy? It looked like that gave some competitors a distinct advantage over staying standing up. I know it is within the rules, but should it be?

2) Are ocean brands like Fanatic going to build boards designed for ICF-sponsored inland waters pure flat water races?

3) I can’t see it happening right now- even the FW designs like the Sprint and Strike have one eye on the ocean.
1) That's one of my old surf lifesaving tricks. We used to sometimes have 1 or 2 turn cans in the breakers and I could do the same and gain major distance back. It's legal but the loophole on it should be closed.

2) I think it will take 2 or 3 years of the ICF to attempt to get traction before we'd see that. The ICF will need to take SUP seriously. However, I do know that Nelo are going to have a major presence and PR promotion effort at this years champs (EDIT: I see in the entry list they are now sending their entire team to it). They see an opportunity and being a sponsor, may well help shape future formats (now where have we seen that before ?!).

3) They certainly have one eye on chop and they are merely playing the general condition averages for most paddlers I think. The 2018 board is depowered on the pure flat a shade over the 2017 version but its still fast enough. The other brands have realised this and there seems to be a scramble to copy the concept. Whether they get the stability right though is a big question. I've seen two new narrow boards out that haven't paid much attention to stability at face value and that's basically putting board design back 5 years.

397
Gear Talk / Re: new Fanatic strike
« on: July 02, 2018, 12:16:45 AM »
Just to add to the mix, Tim Cyprien won the Queensland State Title Technical Race on a 2019 21.5 Strike.

Granted the swell was small but buoy turn racing on a FW board?? Pretty special.



It's not FW in the purest sense though as the board was reconfigured with a wider tail and volume in 2018 to handle light chop. Personally, I think that's the one board quiver racing concept that the brands are going to head towards in the short term. It makes a lot of sense and the sharper edges and aesthetics are good for marketing. The only anomaly is Naish who dropped their FW Javelin entirely and went for what is an excellent ocean racer but not great on flat stuff.

398
Gear Talk / Re: new Fanatic strike
« on: July 01, 2018, 12:32:51 PM »
With so many dropped decks the advantage to SB will be cut back.  So makes sense they will push the envelope once again in 2019.

The promo blurbs are quite a joke looking back.  Every year it is the latest and greatest -> with faster this and faster that.  Then the next year it is better again -> but now more stability this and more stability that.

Seems like a never ending cycle to push product and keep consumers wanting something new each year.  We gave up on that -> after testing a bunch of boards and concluding that what we have is already near perfect.  With no need to change anything.

Actually SUP race design has kinda progressed as suspected.  Bit by bit -> narrower and narrower especially for the top elite.  But if you have no need for that just get the wider board option and carry on.  Unfortunately you will not be able to catch the leaders on their super efficient low drag boards.  So makes sense ukgm is now looking to greener pastures.  C'est la vie.

Well to be fair, I’m not an international standard paddler anyway (hardly any in the uk are). As a result, the race fields are shallow enough here that I can dip in and out of the sup scene and not really lose out much as most of us are the same age. It just means I’m not that motivated to go back to the sponsored team/paddler route and I’ll cherrypick my events.

399
Gear Talk / Re: new Fanatic strike
« on: July 01, 2018, 08:23:37 AM »
Mo Freitas and Travis Grant are coming to my local beaches this week. Will be interesting to see if they are on 2019 models. Mo’s balance is off-the-scale so I wouldn’t be surprised to see him going sub-20... come along, ukgm, and be made to feel like a hopeless old man like the rest of us :)

Are you racing in London next week, ukgm? I might go along to watch, but there’s no point me taking part in any racing. These days you could just look at the boards of the racers lining up and award the medals on the basis of them, and save a lot of time and commotion :)

Sadly I couldn’t fit London in (although it sounds like the turnout should be decent). I’m double booked with other events in other sports I’ve got going on.

I’m really curious to see what Starboard will do for 2019. I’ve seen nothing yet. I’m hearing whispers a 21 inch wide board might be on its way.

400
Gear Talk / Re: new Fanatic strike
« on: July 01, 2018, 03:50:42 AM »
It's a bit 'me too' but the JP looks interesting.

401
Gear Talk / Re: new Fanatic strike
« on: July 01, 2018, 01:28:55 AM »
And most of us agree - but it’s still happening. WHY? What is driving this sprint towards obsolescence and irrelevance?


Because commercial interests and sport development don't generally work together. Starboard don't realise they are actually destroying their own sport in the long run by having race boards too high in price, 12 month development cycles and widths that 95% of the sport can't use.

402
Gear Talk / Re: new Fanatic strike
« on: July 01, 2018, 12:38:54 AM »
We have gone over this ad nauseum.  The pointy end of the elite racing spectrum are ok with 21.5 wide for certain races.  ukgm noted this even in his races.  Many dropped down from 23.  Robert is much heavier and older racing on his custom 21 in 11 Cities.  These narrow boards are designed to be used by a specific sector of riders that can balance on them.  Pretty sure the Brands do not expect to sell a lot of these each year.  They are a big promotion tool.


The key thing for the UK is that the majority of its regular racers are 35+ and no more than a dozen in number. This means that the number of us migrating to sub 23 inch width boards is probably not going to change much more now without any growth, there is now a relative polarisation between the regular racers and the occasional speculator too and whilst the fast paddlers are going narrower, I suspect the rest are not really. The sport here is frankly stagnant and unlikely to change in my view. The actual racers at our national series rarely exceed 20 per class. I agree that the narrow race boards are really floating billboards (often sold as a loss leader) to team riders and I'm not going to keep racing in a sport that isn't growing and whereby I can't move up the standings much more.

A few of the older SUP hands are also migrating to other paddle sports (OC1 is getting increasingly popular - although still niche). Personally, I've only done a couple of board races this year and have spent more time on my surf ski of late. I may well do some of those races next year instead (I also trialled and was selected for the GB Dragonboat team this year but I couldn't make the date of the european champs - I may go for the worlds next year though).

My current opinion is that the fears that Terrell, West and myself all raised is now coming to fruition. The only saving grace may be the more inclusive racing formats/classes the ICF is piloting at their worlds this year (probably to get one up on the ISA) such as age groups and inflatables.

403
Gear Talk / Re: new Fanatic strike
« on: June 30, 2018, 06:20:52 AM »
Competitive for who, and in what race, Eagle? ukgm for instance is a self-confessed “training robot” and a highly competitive individual who is fitter than either of us ever will be. But even he won’t be able to use the 21.5”.


Yep I agree. I'd been keeping an eye on this brand (thinking ahead for 2019) but the 25 is too wide and the 21.5 far too narrow for me. I don't know why a board so specialized was made so relatively wide or narrow without something between the two sizes. A 23 or 24 would seem to be an obvious choice.

404
Gear Talk / Re: new Fanatic strike
« on: June 30, 2018, 06:18:39 AM »
Boothy has taken some spills on his sprint and lost valuable time. He's cutting it real close sometimes using his Sprint in tricky conditions. When you see someone like him struggle you know it's harder for us mortals. He's super used to his Sprint.

Things are changing though - two of the podium of our recent Icon Classic (which is a full on ocean race for surfski's, SUP's and OC1's) were on Starboard 21.5's. One of those is a teenager who has been on narrow boards from day one.

405
The new Fanatic Strike has officially been launched. The two widths are a long way apart from each other though. 21.5 is too narrow and 25 is wider than i use now !

https://www.fanatic.com/product/strike/

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