So its time to shed some weight on my Trampa, short,13 ply, 35 deg deck ;-) Currently the complete board is just under 7kg.

Any advice from those who have been down this track ? Does everything have to come off and if so can the Vertigo trucks be unbolted from the board and left assembled?

I will follow the example of other Trampa customs in the board but I guess I do not know how narrow I can make it in the middle - my weight is 77kg.

Trucks and bindings should be removed before you start trimming. The deck should be cleaned too.

Pics got orphaned during one of the website changes, but there is a tips and advice section on the Trampa website about modifying your board. The top of the page is a pain to read because of the white text on the grunge background, but selecting all the text (CTRL-A in most browsers), makes it easier to read.

Threads worth reading:
chopping up my trampa!! by carltb. The photo gallery referenced in the thread shows the various stages of the mods.

custom trampa!! by Rich (Trampa team rider).... very extreme board trim.

Keep in mind that the recommended weight range for a 35° 13 ply short board is 63-76 kg to yield a "firm" ride.

Of your 7kg. the deck is 2.325 kg... factor that in when you are calculating how much material you are going to remove and how much weight it will really save you.

Your riding style should be factored in too. If you have a tendency to boost high and land hard.... something to thinking about when it comes down to deciding how much you want to trim, as the center of the board sees the most flex.

You can trim deck material, but you can't put it back. You can always start out with a conservative profile, ride it for a while to see how you like it and the trim some more, if you haven't made the deck too flexible.

According to Ted, you only need a minimal amount of deck where the trucks and bindings are mounted. Holes can be incorporated into the footpad areas to reduce weight.

The Pimped Board Thread on the KiteCrowd forum can give you some ideas about the various deck profiles people have used.

Hope that helps.

ATB,
Sam

Thanks Sam. Great advice. I forgot to mention that also I want to pimp my ride for the heck of it !

Sigma

hey sigma, let me know how your board trimming goes. i may eventually want to do that for my own board. just be careful not to trim off too much. I also have a 13 ply deck and its already quite flexible, I can't imagine what would happen if i cutt off some of the mid section.

Here is the first cut. Took off the tips and the void in the middle of the vertigo baseplates - I know some will say this compromises teh structure but there is enormous stiffness and strength provided by the plates. I took away just on 500 grams but could take out more around feet.

Flex: I only removed 15mm from each side of the middle section. The board has more flex but there is no way I can get close to bottoming it out. I feel that I could take out more but I am not sure if there will be a loss of stability at high speed. Proably will tweak the angles and overall aesthetic.

Hopefully will have enough wind to give it a proper test soon.

Pics are are hyperlinked thumbnails.



Looking pretty good. Look forward to hearing a ride report.

ATB,
Sam

I managed to get out on my cut-up Trampa in terrible gusty wind and bad overgrown weeds today.
In summary the board suited the conditions better than its pre-modifications. The tough terrain, that I often have to deal with (thus the trucks), was better absorbed by increased flex apparent in the board. I could definitely take more off my first cut but will wait a couple of months to see how it rides in varying conditions and locations.
For my style, weight, and terrain this has been an improvement in the performance of the deck. I have not had the chance to hit the fast sand yet so higher speed handling may be a different situation.

I think it is fair to summarise that the high-end decks of leading brands are 'blanks' intended to meet most riders needs for both kiting and ATB downhill but provide plenty for room for customisation. My advice would be to not commit until you have seriously determined any benefits from no return.

Although my weight gain has only been approx 15% which could be extended to 20%, it is a noticeable change. Oh and I like the new shape better!

Sigma