Review Shinn Speedball

[KYLakeKiter]

Does anyone have the actual dimensions of the board? I see the two sizes W16 and W 18. I am guessing that is width in inches, so about 41cm (ish) and almost 46cm. I also saw one of the flex explainations on the site showing a 130cm length. Just curious.

[bigwave]

Does anyone have the actual dimensions of the board? I see the two sizes W16 and W 18. I am guessing that is width in inches, so about 41cm (ish) and almost 46cm. I also saw one of the flex explainations on the site showing a 130cm length. Just curious.

SHINN SPEEDBALL W 18 LENGTH 132 WIDTH 47 FINS 58MM CONCAVE 55MM OUTLINE FIN TO FIN RAIL 100MM 2X STANCE WIDTH 3 X OPEN CLOSE STANCE 2 DIMENSIONAL 3.5 MM THICK RAILS WEIGHT 3.6 KG FULLY DRESSED

http://www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Kite ... rom-Shinn/

Now off to take it for a spin!!!

[KYLakeKiter]

SHINN SPEEDBALL W 18 LENGTH 132 WIDTH 47 FINS 58MM CONCAVE 55MM OUTLINE FIN TO FIN RAIL 100MM 2X STANCE WIDTH 3 X OPEN CLOSE STANCE 2 DIMENSIONAL 3.5 MM THICK RAILS WEIGHT 3.6 KG FULLY DRESSED

http://www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Kite ... rom-Shinn/

Now off to take it for a spin!!![/quote]

Thanks for the details. Sounds like a very interesting combination. Wish I was wherever you are today to try it out as well.

[valdez]

Have taken the Speedball W16 out for some full day sessions in powered 9m wind and lighter days , waves and chop recently...

Jumped on, (85kg) and going straight away, bit more of a rough and ready ride compared to the creamy smooth SS but I liked the feedback it gives you, solid in the water but still agile. Stiffness wise it feels like a Street..
Smooth out through the chop and benefits from popping the wider nose up over the rough stuff, upwind is no problem, sort of tempts you to go those extra few degrees into the wind.

Great fun in the waves, turns nice and drives along, it loosens up when you get used to it and you can soon slide and skid it around which surprised me....carving is real nice, get it wrong and the extra drive from the design keeps you going and gives you some breathing space for correction and you are back on it.! Very user friendly..

Flies off wave ramps like a bullet and landings are comfy, powered jumps felt a bit sticky at first compared to a Monk, but it will sharpen up your technique to get airborne nicely.

Previous comments are right, you cannot label this board, coming off Monk, SS and Street I found it a refreshing ride suited to my local conditions,(S Wales UK) and it leaves you wondering what you can get out of it next time, a little different "all terrain four wheel drive FUN!!"

[Westozzy]

Well this is going well gentlemen!

Well, I am one of the original reviewers of the Shinn Speedball a month or so back. I was not going to respond to this post. First off, I have told everyone who is interested( yes I sell Shinn boards) that the Speedball is a board you want to try before you buy. Unlike the original OP, hopefully you will ride the appropriate size,powered up and for more than 15min to get a good appreciation of the board.
As for some of the assumptions the original poster says about riders abilities, please, you dont know my abilities or background to question anyones riding. When we were an OR dealer I rode a Mako for over a year(when the first model came out) and have no issues riding that style of board. I admire the love and loyalty to the Mako that the riders have.
Try a Speedball if you can, specially if you ride a Mako(or any TT), Hopefully you will enjoy it and have what everyone on the water wants ...FUN!!!!

I agree definetly try one. We did two 3 hour sessions riding back to back with my bro and I swapping between the mako and the speedball. If I rode shinn boards and or was really into TTs this board would be a sweet compliment to your board quiver.

In summary we found the following (was riding a 140 and a 150 mako and the W16):

Upwind/planning ability: The speedball goes really early. At times when I was on the 150 and once on the skim board on my 14m cat my bro was going well on the W16 and I've ridden longer than him. The speedball loves a high aspect efficient kite.

Speed: the Speedball was faster my brother felt. The Mako can get a little squirrelly at igh speeds.

Ability to Slide: Above is correct, when you get used to it you can slide the w16 out while the mako doesn't like sliding across its concave...again with technique this is possible but the speedball easier.

Load and Boost: Now been riding a while the makos, and the ease of boost (loading up) I found similar. My brother felt he would be able to load better on the speedball given time and I think I agree.

Feel: The speedball feels more alive underfoot, some may say the mako feels a duller. I tranlsate this into the mako is smoother and goes through the chop better. Although the speedball can be ridden flat, it doesn't come close to the mako. But yes if you like heaps of feedback and aliveness the speedball is for you.

Dryness: Yeh this wasn't great for us on the Speedball. We both came in after the first day saying what an awesome design the speedball is, but then my bro made the comment that water was hitting and splashing up the back of his legs just where the tip starts to curve in. Right on it. I said yeh I noticed the same. In my mind it needs to taper sooner. The mako is super dry. People bang on about the dryness of shinn boards (now I use to own a monk just for the record, awesome baord by the way), but the mako is a truly dry board as you don't have to lean so far into the rail for it to bite and of course the crazy round tips.

Carvablity: The mako is the closest I have found to a SB feel in the waves. It's ability to be ridden flat, then rail to rail is outstanding. The speedball while an imporvement on TT feel in this regard, really is still just another traditional TT design with some obvious differences...but in the end it still feels very much like a TT in the surf and needs to be ridden as such. The mako has it's own feel altogether.

My main objective for the Mako is the last aspect. That over rides all the others. I have a more traditional squarer tipped freestyle/freeride TT for the flat and when the ocean is flat. Hence I tend to differentiate. I have moved away from 'allrounders' as such.

I feel the speedball as I have said would be an awesome addition to a regular TT dudes board quiver if you really want that TT feel with a difference. Say a Monk and speedball would be an awesome combo for instance or even a street/supershinn and a speedball. If you had a Dundee then this board is already designed for similar riding (although is rides very different).

That being said I will be demoing the W18 as a light wind alternative for me at 75kg.

A short wide board that technology has allowed to be explored again!

I think this board will be a winner for a lot of riders looking for this sort of thing.

[Manuel V]

The W18 looks like a light wind TT option for me at 73kg.

Right now I have a Epic Oxygen (135x47) for light wind and the Oxygen
Needs to be ride with more pressure in the back foot and likes to be run more flat.

I'm more comfortable with board that the foot distribution is 50/50

My normal TT is a 132x41 Monk and I love it.

I know The speedball is a new board on the market but I would like hear comments or reviews
Of this board as a lightwind board............

Bad news is I can't demo one here in Puerto Rico.

[L0KI]

.Right now I have a Epic Oxygen (135x47) for light wind and the Oxygen
Needs to be ride with more pressure in the back foot and likes to be run more flat.

I'm more comfortable with board that the foot distribution is 50/50

I've got an Oxygen also and the back foot does get worked a bit with the 47cm width.

[Séb]

The W18 looks like a light wind TT option for me at 73kg.

Right now I have a Epic Oxygen (135x47) for light wind and the Oxygen
Needs to be ride with more pressure in the back foot and likes to be run more flat.

I'm more comfortable with board that the foot distribution is 50/50

My normal TT is a 132x41 Monk and I love it.

I know The speedball is a new board on the market but I would like hear comments or reviews
Of this board as a lightwind board............

Bad news is I can't demo one here in Puerto Rico.

Last year I had an Epic Oxygen as my LW board. I tried the Speedball W18 for few hours in March and it is not a LW board (at least in my definition of LW...less then 10knots). I can almost ride in as little wind with my Monk Forever 134X42 than the Speedball W18! The speedball is a fun board that is really quick to turn, I mean you can really make very aggressive turning. It perform also very well in chop and waves. For the rest I prefer my Monk Forever. I think the Speedball could be a good first board because it have a very large wind range...or a third one for someone who already have a LW board and small TT but want something different. Because it is very different in all aspect. You really need to try one for 1+ hrs before you can say if you like it or not.

If you want a real LW board, take the King George! It is a good combination with your Monk 132x41 by the way.

[MikeBirt]

If you want a real LW board, take the King George! It is a good combination with your Monk 132x41 by the way.

I ran a demo today in Dublin at a big festival, with all the Shinn boards. It started really light - and built to maybe 20kt at peak..
First board twin to go upwind in the morning in stupid light wind on the 18m Lithium Zero was the King George 46 (not the 50), then it was the Red 141x44, then the Speedball W18. The Speedball felt tiny by comparison though, and had a far higher cruising speed.

Interestingly, the Sector 60 was so much more efficient than all the twins that I was using at least half the de-power compared to the King George which was making stady but underpowered progress.

Throughout the day the W16 and W18 were in and out. Consensus is that as a one board does all the W18 is standout for heavyweight riders. It does a great job of giving a 90kg+ rider the physics and feel normally reserved for a 75kg rider.

[Westozzy]

If you want a real LW board, take the King George! It is a good combination with your Monk 132x41 by the way.

I ran a demo today in Dublin at a big festival, with all the Shinn boards. It started really light - and built to maybe 20kt at peak..
First board twin to go upwind in the morning in stupid light wind on the 18m Lithium Zero was the King George 46 (not the 50), then it was the Red 141x44, then the Speedball W18. The Speedball felt tiny by comparison though, and had a far higher cruising speed.

Interestingly, the Sector 60 was so much more efficient than all the twins that I was using at least half the de-power compared to the King George which was making stady but underpowered progress.

Throughout the day the W16 and W18 were in and out. Consensus is that as a one board does all the W18 is standout for heavyweight riders. It does a great job of giving a 90kg+ rider the physics and feel normally reserved for a 75kg rider.

been on the W16 getting the W18 soon for a demo.




Mike did anyone at or under 75kg try the W18 in some light wind? Would it be a good light wind option for someone say 73kg do you think on a 17m kite??