Boards concave bottom

[Capi]

There are diferent aproaches to the concave bottom:
- single concave bottom (LF element)
- double concave bottom (undergroud flx)
- asymetrical concve bottom (north Jaime 2007)
- quad concave bottom (cabrinha custom 2008)

Can anybody explain the diference between boards behaviour/dynamics with diferent concave bottoms??

Greetings,
Capi

[kytesurf]

Not sure I can add much on the technical front, but I've ridden boards with:
1) No concave - this board doesn't edge as well and therefore doesn't seem to hold ground as well, but does get on the plane quickly
2) Single concave - this board edges nicely and flies upwind, but has less rocker that the first board, so it can be a little "slappy" on landings and in chop
3) Double concave - this board edges nicely and also flies upwind, but handles chop and landings better than the single concave board (probably due to the boat-like bottom displacing water outwardly)

[Adrian Roper]

There are diferent aproaches to the concave bottom:
- single concave bottom (LF element)
- double concave bottom (undergroud flx)
- asymetrical concve bottom (north Jaime 2007)
- quad concave bottom (cabrinha custom 2008)

Can anybody explain the diference between boards behaviour/dynamics with diferent concave bottoms??

Greetings,
Capi

This is my experience with concaves, 4 years ago we built the first FLX with a flat bottom. It worked great but was quite skatey. The second year we built the FLX we tryed 19 different configurations of single concaves. We ended up with a single concave in the centre flattening towards the tips with a planing flat towards the rail. The centreline is flatter than the rail line and the board drove upwind better and tracked nicely. It was more powerful and we had to soften the tips to make a nice ride. The next season we experimented with double concaves. The spine in the centre seemed to track nice when carving and it also split the chop a bit like a speedboat hull. It was also smoother in choppy water.The actual concave we use now is a single concave with a spine down the centre. Seems like the best of both worlds.
always lots to try.
See Ya Adrian
Underground kiteboards

[kytesurf]

Hey Adrian,

The single and double concave boards I mentioned above are actually your '05 and '06 FLX boards - I own one of each (142 and 132 respectively) and they're sweet!

Cheers,
Shaun

[Herbie]

What's happening with 2008 Undergrounds?

When are they available?

[Frank Rosin]

@Herbie

watch this interview video for the 'strange' answer of your question (in the beginning of the video):
http://www.kiteforum.tv/component/optio ... Itemid,30/

Frank
http://www.famousfrank.com
UNDERGROUNDkiteboards Germany

[Herbie]

Thanks for the link, I saw that earlier. Ryan had lots of interviews to watch, generally very informative. Have not seen any info, anywhere, on Underground 2008.

Adrian hope you can give us some insight into what your doing for the boards in 2008. What is in the final phase of testing, what are team riders saying about your 2008 boards, major changes or minor upgrades?

In other words, "we" are out buying are 2008 stuff right now. Can you give us some reasons to wait for 2008 Underground....

[Frank Rosin]

hehe... Underground is not about hype, but if you want a reason I will explain a bit:
The summer is just about to kick in in NZ and that is when Underground is starting to test new prototypes, then when they found what they are happy about for 2008 they can start to build these boards the same day in their own factory right next to the main testing spot.
So when the first 2008 boards will be available in early 2008 it is the newest design available on the market.
Not much more to say really... maybe Adrian will answer too.

Frank
http://www.famousfrank.com
UNDERGROUNDkiteboards Germany