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Shinn Monk or Street

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MikeBirt
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Re: Shinn Monk or Street

Postby MikeBirt » Mon Oct 01, 2012 7:48 am

It used to be a lot more clear cut for the heavier guys..
they preferred the bigger tips of the SS and street, but the Dundee started to creep in there as a beautiful board in 44 wide, for focussed freeride, but when the Monk had a redesign Mark built a lot more low end into it without effecting the top end..

We are seeing a lot of good feedback on the new Monk F from a number of heavier riders... The older monks did not review as well for the heavy riders as they did with the light. I suspect he has tuned the flex to match the heavier loads that bigger riders produce on the larger sizes, he has certainly increased the progressive nature of the tip flex.. The outline has also shifted to bring more low end power without cutting into the top end control..

So I think we may well find that unless you are unhooking a lot the new Monk will be eating into the sales of the other ranges a bit more.. The heavy rider appeal and low end drive was always the absolute justification for all the other boards in the Shinn range, but the Monk has now eaten into their niche a noticeable amount, which is a concern for them, as the Monk really is a phenomenal board when you start to pour power and hooliganism into it.

jespin4845
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Re: Shinn Monk or Street

Postby jespin4845 » Tue Oct 02, 2012 1:17 am

MikeBirt wrote:It used to be a lot more clear cut for the heavier guys..
they preferred the bigger tips of the SS and street, but the Dundee started to creep in there as a beautiful board in 44 wide, for focussed freeride, but when the Monk had a redesign Mark built a lot more low end into it without effecting the top end..

We are seeing a lot of good feedback on the new Monk F from a number of heavier riders... The older monks did not review as well for the heavy riders as they did with the light. I suspect he has tuned the flex to match the heavier loads that bigger riders produce on the larger sizes, he has certainly increased the progressive nature of the tip flex.. The outline has also shifted to bring more low end power without cutting into the top end control..

So I think we may well find that unless you are unhooking a lot the new Monk will be eating into the sales of the other ranges a bit more.. The heavy rider appeal and low end drive was always the absolute justification for all the other boards in the Shinn range, but the Monk has now eaten into their niche a noticeable amount, which is a concern for them, as the Monk really is a phenomenal board when you start to pour power and hooliganism into it.
i forsee my gorilla monk going on sale soon, need to demo a forever first thou

Baz
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Birubi Beach.
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Re: Shinn Monk or Street

Postby Baz » Tue Oct 02, 2012 9:16 am

Thanks for the informative feedback, I will be ordering a Monk Forever :idea: . Unfortunately we are still waiting for the shipment to arrive in Australia. :cry:

John-B
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Re: Shinn Monk or Street

Postby John-B » Tue Oct 02, 2012 10:14 am

I have had a couple of sessions on the Monk Forever now and the last one was on one of those days when I’d go from being overpowered to underpowered on my 9m as the wind was up and down more than the proverbial lady of the night’s knickers!!!

Meet the new Monk, same as the old Monk…. well yes in all the good ways as is still feels ridiculously fast and can still take a huge amount of power with what seems like unending edge bite. In fact if anything it feels like it has even more grip with the retuned flex at the tips allowing even more bite and control which lets you accelerate like a scorched cat when you need it and pull the trigger for some big jumps.

However, the magic in the new slightly stiffer flex pattern, that you can feel underfoot but unlike the Street is not any less comfortable at high speed in chop, is that there is definitely improved mid-range. It has affected how you get unhooked pop slightly in that before you could use any speed and the flex to ‘ping’ off the water but the new layup now means you can get more of a progressive load at lower speeds and once you get used to how to break the grip then it will deliver the goods.

All in all I’m very impressed with the Monk Forever as I think Mark had to tread a fine line to improve these things without detracting from the ‘Monkness’ that people love about it. It was these things (high speed aggressive riding) that always drew me back to the Monk and the fact that it now has some of the other qualities that would temporarily tempt me away is a very welcome additional bonus.

The Monk, one board to rule them all… the only place it won’t work is in the fiery pits of Mount Doom… just don’t call it precious!!!!

Westozzy
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Re: Shinn Monk or Street

Postby Westozzy » Wed Oct 03, 2012 10:56 am

Wow the forever sounds awesome. Good review john. Makes sense. Was out today at 76kg on my sector 54 on a 12m bandit and the wind kicked in the 18 to 20, couldn't be bothered putting another kite up as the kids and wife were doing the kids and wife thing, lets go thing.

So got out the monk. Now I was powered to the proverbial nines, yeh the monk would not, could not lose its edge. The more power, the power it did bite. Yet so comfortable at the same time. Tis board makes no fucking sense, and I come in bewildered after every ride. It just doesn't seem bloody possible. And yet when ever you want you can let off as much edged Load as you need.

Again it defies bloody logic. The board doesn't look much different to some others, ....but it is.

So if the bigger guys can experience this, I say go for it. For me the original monk does just fine at the moment.

So glad I listened to those who know what they are talking about, a few retailers here bagged them. Even someone I highly respect and has been in the game for many years since the early days. So if you do hear this just smile and say thanks then go and try one.

It has got to the point I can't wait until the wind hits a point that it near the by top of my kites range. I used to be wary and almost scared of this. Now I wait in anticipation licking my lips for some monk action. Still works in medium winds like all TT, but at the top end, that's when it comes alive.

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ryanroberts1983
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Re: Shinn Monk or Street

Postby ryanroberts1983 » Wed Oct 03, 2012 8:59 pm

They are both good boards, try googling for some reviews. Or try, http://shinnusa.com/blog/ the blog there has a couple


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