Forum thread: Insect Carbon Nano Firefly Proto *RevieW*

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Insect Carbon Nano Firefly Proto *RevieW* (68 posts)

September 23, 2008 9:22pm

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Wilder

September 23, 2008 9:22pm

First, let me preface this by saying I'm not the kind of person to try and hype stuff up or sell you on something. Just the opposite, I try and tell it how it is and this review is no exception.

I got the proto Firefly from Steve on Monday. The thing just looks fast! Black hole black with a mirror finish. 3 layers of Carbon Nanotech Pre-Preg, a 1/4" of baltic Birch, with another 3 layers of Nano. Total the board is 5/16" thick! Thats a little thicker than the average number 2 pencil! Also this is the new 3/4" concave, 1/4" rocker mold. This board has some minor cosmetic flaws that only Steve would notice. There some super small bubbles in the resin between the birch and the Nano and a small sliver. Both problems have already been resolved and they don't affect this board anyways.

So I got home and immediately started to disassemble my 1/2" birch/glass Firefly right after I rode it one last time for comparisons sake. Once I got it all assembled I stood on it to see how the flex was. At the 31" wheelbase setting the board has no sag under my weight. There is the slightest flex, but its a different flex than I'm used to with other types of boards. It will flex to a ceartain point and then "bottom out"; basically the flex just stops at a certain point. At this point I was a bit skeptical since my other Firefly was rock solid with NO FLEX. Oh yeah, the CONCAVE FELT RAD! A big improvement from the last mold.

Onto the antique yet very trustworthy Chatillon scale (I calibrated too).

Last version of the Birch/Fiberglass Firefly, 1/2" thick, SUPER stiff; weighed in at 6 1/4 lbs! What a beast!

Newest Nano Prototype with 42 degree Randal baseplate in front, 35 degree Randal baseplate rear with 180 hangers all around, Bone Swiss Bearings, and Orangatang Purple In Heats..................................... 8 1/4 LBS TOTAL!!!!!! Just 2 more lbs than the old deck ALONE!

Okay, so this is all great info, but not good enough. I still hadn't ridden the thing. So today at work the board just sat in my car, catching my eye every time I walked by it. Lunch time came around and I jetted of and found a rad corner by Cougar Mtn Rd and threw myself down it (proper safety gear donned, of course).

I was sessioning a steep, fast and rough wide right hand 180 hairpin. First thing I noticed, the concave gripped my feet and somehow my trucks seemed to be way more responsive. Weird since I didn't change a thing since they where on my old Firefly. I can only attribute that to the flex characteristics, concave, and the material of the board. Second thing I noticed was how smooth it felt! This is a pretty rough road and normally it seems to make the turn a lot driftier than it is, but the Nano board seemed to soak up and dampen the jitters and make it feel way smoother. Also this was with harder wheels at 83a, compared to the 80a I was previously riding on this road. But with a 1/2hr lunch I had to get back.

When I got home I took some quick runs down the smooth short hill outside my house. Got it up around 30 Mph in a straight line tuck. I felt a lot more comfortable in my tuck with the better cave' and it was stable as my last board. I didn't notice any flex while straight lining and hitting the occasional bump or manhole cover. Felt solid.

Not a ton of riding time, but first ride has proven to me that it is a huge step forward from the Birch/glass lay up of the last Firefly.

Pros:

-Light! Easier to push, carry and footbreak.

-Low. My feet are a mere 5/16" from the trucks. That makes it the same as the older fireflys (maybe now referred to as "Insect Classic". Nice ring eh?) that have the "truck wells" on the bottom.

-Responsive. The material just makes your board feel so much quicker turning!

-Concave. About time I say, haha! huge leap from the last mold.

-Dampening - hammered out the rough road no problem (I also had 1/8" gummy risers)

Cons
-Had to tighten my trucks a little. This isnt really a bad thing, but just thought I'd note I had to tune my trucks a little different to fit this board compared to the last one. No big deal.

-The stuff is slick! Makes it a little more challenging to grab rail (if your into that) with a glove on. A little griptape on the bottom fixes this. Also, the stuff was so slick, that some of the smaller pieces of grip tape I put on had a hard time sticking at first and would slide around. Havent noticed anything catastrophic, but it wouldn't hurt to sand the top a bit to rough it up.

-Torsional Rigidity - The board seems to have a little more twist than is usually preferred in a downhill board. However I'm not sure if this is a bad thing yet. Some more testing (alpi) should tell me whether or not this needs to be fixed. If it does, Steve tells me he already has a method for stiffening up the torsional rigidity without adding much more weight.

Thats it for now, but I'll be riding it a lot trying to break it and find any shortcomings.

Re: Insect Carbon Nano Firefly Proto *RevieW*

ConnorHarkey

September 23, 2008 10:05pm