CODA V-O XL Sidecarve

[oldvolvosrule]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v357/nailknot/sb_v0_straight_XL.jpg

On Sunday, Dec. 20, Chad from CODA snowboards brought down to our local resort some of his offerings that he makes for the alpine snowboarder. Two boards that he brought were of interest to me. V-O Sidecarve 170 cm and the V-O XL Sidecarve

The board that I had the most interest in was the one shown V-O XL Sidecarve. According to the CODA website this board measures 185 cm, 19.5 cm waist and a 10 meter sidecut. The dimensions of this board, especially the sidecut were the things that interested me the most. I normally ride longer boards as I am a bigger guy, 6' 02" 190 lbs. so the length wasn't a concern.

I mounted my Cateks at 63/58 angles to eliminate boot out, tightened everything up and made for the ski lift. There were a smattering of comments while walking to the lift with this unique looking board. For the first run I wasn't pushing the pace much, just doing some smear turns to get a feel for the board. I tried a few hard carves on the first steep pitch I encountered and the board responded well, easy turn initiation without jumping on the nose at all. Once up on edge, the board took a set and stayed there until my turn out of the fall line was completed. It was very predictable, felt good.

We changed to another run on our mountain where it is less crowded and you can open things up a bit. With just a few turns on the previous run that felt comfortable I decided to give her a testing on this run. Look over my shoulder to see if anyone is coming and I let her go. The board responded well under my feet. I rolled it over on its edge and let that 10 meter sidecut do its thing. I normally ride a 185 cm board with a 16 meter sidecut, the V-0 with its much smaller sidecut radius carved much tighter than what I am used to but didn't surprise me at all. A confidence inspiring board so far.

I have never ridden a splittail design board before so I didn't know what to expect out of the tail. Chad, uses a design where the split goes up to approx. where the rear mounting plate of the binding ends. To keep the tails from scissoring too far apart, Chad uses a cable to limit the deflexion of each tail. Though I couldn't see the tails of the board while I was riding I knew that they were definitely flexing back there. One thing I did notice, my boards seem to have a bit of pop exiting the turn. The V-O with its splittail design reduces some of that stored energy, not that it's a bad thing just something I noticed.

Every run I took the board just seemed to get better, now that I had a few more runs I started changing my COG to see if I could make the board hiccup. An exaggeratd forward weight shift to see if I could make the nose hook didn't upset the board at all, just turned a tighter radius is all. The tail going through the same arc that the nose just did. I was never able to get the tail of the board to slide out, although another rider on the V-O 170cm spoke of having this happen to him.

There is one particular run at our resort that is a narrow (60 feet wide) chute that I have trouble carving with my 16 meter scr board. I wante to see how this board did down that run. I was able to complete 12-15 carves within the space of that run. Edge change was very quick and the drop off and embankment on either side of the run was not a concern.

I rode this board for approximately 2 1/2 hours and was pleasantly surprised by its performance. This board was built with CODA's standard layup (no metal) and it felt very damp. The other board that Arclite and rus 11 used was built with metal(titanal) but only in the front section of the board. I will be eagerly awaiting try out that model.

I hope others here can ride one of CODA's boards, I think you will be impressed, like I was after riding this board.:biggthump:biggthump

http://www.codaboards.com/

Any questions, ask away

[Loc]

Was there any powder around where you could test how it floats? I assume the V-cut allows the back to sink when the snow is fresh. Do you think it would perform better as an all-mountain board or more carve specific?

[oldvolvosrule]

There wasn't any powder to be found that day at Summit, just mostly hardpack. Chad said that with the tail design that it also makes a great powder board, enabling the tail to ride low while the tip points to the surface. If you want to do powder, the V-2-10 might be the better choice, 170 cm long and 21.5 cm wide. It would probably provide some more float due to its additional width. As for carving specific or all mountain I would say it would be a great choice for both. Most all mountain boards from the other three mfrs come with nearly the same sidecut, they all seem to be around the 10 meter mark

[Wun]

Any questions, ask away

Can I touch you?

[oldvolvosrule]

Can I touch you?
would you care to add some clarification??

[Steve Prokopiw]

plain cool! That's one of the coolest shapes I've seen.Like the idea of a long board with a short sidecut.
Thanks for the review!

[Arclite]

The one that started the Coda snowboard line.

the VO is 170cm long, 19.5 wide, with a 10m sidecut.

Was an amazing ride!
Lots of pop and spring to the board.
Would hop between carves if you let it.
You can really lay down your carves and make some deep ruts!

[Wun]

would you care to add some clarification??

Because of having used a cool board, some of that board's coolness rubs off on you. Transitively, my physical contact (in a nonsexual way, mind you) with you would make me cool, too. One of those little elementary school nonsense :)

[Steve Prokopiw]

Because of having used a cool board, some of that board's coolness rubs off on you. Transitively, my physical contact (in a nonsexual way, mind you) with you would make me cool, too. One of those little elementary school nonsense :)

My wife must be wondering what effect riding my 210cm Diablo Composites board will have on me.:0

[bobdea]

what boards are you on usually and how would you compare?
lets say you are riding a current board from kessler and you saying you like a coda is much more useful than if you're riding a checker pig.

[Sultan Guy]

Wow, that looks like a really neat board. I have been riding a Prior 4WD 174 that also has a 10 meter side cit and like the tighter turning radius on a more crowded slope. Would love to hear how that board handles in some powder and if you need to move the bindings back or not.

[Mr.E]

Not a lot of room to move the bindings back. On the site it shows some of the inserts pretty darn close to the split tails. That said, I imagine the tail would drop fairly well- considering the boards are 19-21mm wide.

[mohouck]

Thanks to Aaron, Julian, and Robert for coming out and testing the new CODA Sidecarvers.

Here is some video shot with my helmet cam (a vholdr ContourHD). The compression took away some of the quality and there was snow on the lens for some of it (I got a little snow on me while carving ;);) )

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[Loc]

Great footage! Now who's who :D

[oldvolvosrule]

Loc, I'm the one in the green jacket. Julian, (arclite) is in the dark blue? jacket.

[Shred Gruumer]

I haven't seen a split tail stay together for very long... So whats the gaurentee? looks like one wrong landing and the tails are gone!!!

I would be very tempeted to get one and ride it... so whats the report on durability please!!

Right Said Shred:biggthump

[mohouck]

That is a good question/concern about the tails on the CODA Boards.

To date, there have not been any broken tails in over 5 years of hard riding in all conditions. If a customer breaks a tail under reasonable riding circumstances, I want the board to learn from and I will make a replacement.

Unlike the the other split tail boards you have probably ridden, the tails on the CODA Boards are not profiled. The flex is created by the depth of the V and the tension in the tail cable.

[tex1230]

To date, there have not been any broken tails in over 5 years of hard riding in all conditions. If a customer breaks a tail under reasonable riding circumstances, I want the board to learn from and I will make a replacement.


Have you been making the snowboards for 5 yeard or does that include mostly monoskis (I think the stresses will be very different)?

[BlueB]

Chad was at Cypress today and brought his toys!

185 wasn’t available, but I played for about 3 hours on the V0 170/19.5/10, one of Chad’s first prototypes. I rode it with Snowpro bindings and about 18” stance (biggest I could get). This was narrower then I’ve ever ridden, but this early proto was built for Chad himself, who likes super narrow stance.

Conditions were sunny and warm, frozen cord in the morning, then later thin melted layer on top of solid base, then some portions completely softened with mini bumps.
I rode it mostly on a wide blue run, except for one run down a black diamond that had so many exposed rocks that I just couldn’t let the board go fly.

Board proved to be very versatile, holding nice edge on hard surface, cruising slush with ease and almost effortless to do small quick cross-under turns through baby-bumps. I wish I had some pow to test the float too!
Initiation is more abrupt and snappier then on my metal boards (I’m spoiled), but finish can be quite nimble of the tail, when wanted. Then, I could also get wild pop for 1’ airborne transitions when I pushed hard and let the energy release.
Edge hold is very good. I noticed the tail and nose not carving the same arc all the time, but not skidding. This was probably due to me not being used to the split tail design and struggling a bit with weight distribution. Nose is just a tad too stiff for real EC, it would start skipping a bit on full lay down. However, that’s really nice when you just want to hammer on it race style!
Board would do sweeping arcs, but I loved it way more in the “wild” mode, rushing the turn as much as possible, combining with few unfinished zig-zags, few cross-unders followed by big cross-over-pop transitions. I thought that kind of riding was more in the spirit of 10m SCR. I had a sneak preview of videos taken by Roy, boy oh boy, was my riding ugly with all the arm flapping, but I had huge fun! Chad was really smooth on his monoboard. He took some “follow” vids, too.
I tried one run with freestyle elements, a bit of spinning and switch riding. In the beginning I was worried about the cable on the tails catching something, or split tail digging in and braking, but nope, board happily carved switch. Apparently, the newer ones have a bit more tail upturn, so they should perform even better.

Structurally, it looked very sound. Capped construction with relatively thick core, tapering at about 45 towards the edges, in transverse direction. Longitudinally, the nose has traditional core taper, but none in the tails – they get their flex pattern from the widening of the split towards the tail.
I did one really high airborne transition, changed the direction of travel about 15deg towards the fall line in the air and landed into hard hooked carve, more of the tail. Board just happily picked up carved a beautiful sharp arc. It certainly passed the tail durability test in my books. Now, if someone wants to freeride this thing and tail-land the cliff drops, that’s his own problem…

As for the possible improvements, I would love to see gentler nose rise, even if it ended lower to the snow and a bit of nose de-camber. Metal version is already in existence, but I can’t comment on it as I didn’t ride it. I didn’t feel need for the taper – the split tail seemed to take care of the similar role.

Zipper graphic is simply coolest idea for the split-tail design!

Well, big thanks to Chad for visiting our neck of woods and lending his toys. Keep up good work buddy! I’m looking forward to riding with you again and trying the metal versions. I hope that we would have more snow in the spring, to show you whole Cypress instead of just one run.

I attached few screen shots from Roy’s videos. I’ll post the vid too, once I edited into one.

[BlueB]

More pics...

[Shred Gruumer]

Chad check you mail... I had so additional questions in regards to you product.

Thanks for your time.. Nice graphics...Love the chicks! Need more.. with less!:1luvu:

Right Said Shred

[Bullwings]

Ahh, you guys are making me so bummed that I missed the demo day at summit last week. One of these days... I really wanna get on a monoboard and try that out.

[mohouck]

Bullwings, I will be back at Summit for the Jan 3 Session, and I will make sure to bring some demo monoboards as well :biggthump

Gruumer, I got your message. Lets make a board.

Here is the short TR video from Cypress yesterday. Boris was tearing it up!
http://www.bomberonline.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=27105&page=4

[BlueB]

From Roy's clips:
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[BlueB]

From the link above:
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[Bullwings]

Bullwings, I will be back at Summit for the Jan 3 Session, and I will make sure to bring some demo monoboards as well :biggthump

Gruumer, I got your message. Lets make a board.

Here is the short TR video from Cypress yesterday. Boris was tearing it up!
http://www.bomberonline.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=27105&page=4

Ummmhh,

You wouldn't happen to have some poles too, would you? :o

I'd really hate to have to rent if i can avoid it, but I will if necessary. Hey Aaron, maybe you have a set of poles I can borrow for the demo monoboard?

[Terryw]

I have some poles you could use. I have been carrying them lately as the patrol training requires us to have them so the snowboarders can stand just like the skiers when we are on the side of the slopes. Pain in the a$$ if you ask me.

[Bullwings]

Cool

If you're up there this coming Sunday with the rest of the carving contingent, I'd like to borrow them for an hour or two if they're available for demoing Chad's monoboards.

[Terryw]

I be there! Got to make at least one of these gatherings.

[Sinecure]

I have some poles you could use. I have been carrying them lately as the patrol training requires us to have them so the snowboarders can stand just like the skiers when we are on the side of the slopes. Pain in the a$$ if you ask me.


Say WHAT? That's just wrong. But funny.


Chad, come do a demo day at Alpine Meadows so I can play too. Saw a guy on one of your mono skis here the other day and chatted with him on the chair. Ended up talking about 333skis as well.

[Terryw]

I also think it is unfair. While the skiers are resting, we are forced to brace ourselves as best we can with poles. That takes energy and muscle tension in our lower bodies. So we end up using way more energy and not getting the rest the skiers get. Just makes us tougher :cool:. Some time they will allow us to unclip if we are getting a longer lecture, but it can be tricky to clip back in on the steeper slopes. Oh well, it is still fun and interesting. Any day on the slopes is a good day!

[big canuck]

What is the max width you can run you bindings on that board? Turnaround time frame when order is placed?

Thanks.

K

[Arclite]

Loc, I'm the one in the green jacket. Julian, (arclite) is in the dark blue? jacket.

purple, mind you. :biggthump


What is the max width you can run you bindings on that board? Turnaround time frame when order is placed?

Thanks.

K

I believe 19" is pushing the limits of stance width on the original board, don't know about the XL version.

[BlueB]

I couldn't get more then 18" (binding shift included) on the original board. However, I belive that newer boards have the tail split slightly shorter, allowing for more space for the rear inserts. Also, I do not think Chad would have problem setting the inserts a bit wider if you ordered like that.

[mohouck]

Since each board is handcrafted, I can get the stance wider. The issue is the tail which is a signature part of the CODA Sidcarve :D

Send me an email with what you are looking for and I can see what we can set up.

The turn around time is no more than 2 weeks.

Incidentally we have just added a bunch of new CODA Graphics
http://www.codaboards.com/graphics_select_all.php

[big canuck]

Mohuck, email sent.

Thanks.

K

[Gtanner]

Like the pizza topsheet....the ground beef one makes me a bit squemish...looks like worms

[bobdea]

Say WHAT? That's just wrong. But funny.


Chad, come do a demo day at Alpine Meadows so I can play too. Saw a guy on one of your mono skis here the other day and chatted with him on the chair. Ended up talking about 333skis as well.

what ski area you at terry?

I agree with sinecure and I must add that at a few of the california ski resorts I've been to they really hate the idea of snowboarders as patrollers and either just don't allow them like mammoth to making dumb rules just to make it harder for snowboarders.
it's really lame in most cases, fitting though for the local skiers in some areas though. lots salty old telemark types that grew up on the coast and moved to the sierra in there 20s and now feel they have local cred in their 40s they've been skiing for longer than snowboards have been in existence and they wear lots of wool. these types can also be found in the summer months on the John Muir Trail talking about how the AT or any other longer trail in the world is not as extreme as any of their day trips they take are.
at mammoth patrollers do a lot of things the hard way not just in regards to their attitude for snowboarders as patrollers. they do lots of things in the old school manner that I don't think is positive for the patrollers.

[Terryw]

I am training at Summit in Big Bear. You know, so cals favorite resort! I don't think that they are trying to make it more difficult for the snowboarders to train, I just don't think they get it. They don't really understand the nuances of out style. Then you add a carver to the mix and they really don't know what to think. My saving grace is that one of the co-directors of our patrol is a hard booter too! Over all the people in my patrol are very good people. Some of them just need to be "educated" a bit more :biggthump. I am working on it.

[carvingchef]

it was my turn to try a CODA BOARD today and i'm glad i did, very nice board, not to mention the cool factor between shape and graphics, anyway the model i tried is the V-2-10 (the wider version) 170 cm. long 21.5 waist, the demo model only allowed me 18.5" maximum stance (i normally ride 20-20.5) and that felt a little weird at first but as i got used to it i actually forgot about it, with each run it felt better and i pushed it harder, mind you i'm not a very aggressive rider and i'm an intermediate at best but i am 220 lbs and the board handled my weight easy and the edge hold was great and the snow was pretty icy, very quick edge to edge and easy to cross-under (one of my favorite things to do on not so steep runs) the board can turn very tight but you can also let it run and make bigger turns, you can slide out of the carve if you need to or let it carve uphill if you want to, easy to handle and confidence inspiring, a couple of time i thought i was going to loose it (due to my not so perfect technique) but the edge engaged and held me through the turn, at the beginning of a day when i tried to turn too quick or too abruptly the tail bounced a couple of times and then it dug in and it was smooth sailing, that's because the cable in the tail has to engage to hold the edge like it's supposed to, i guess if you start the turn gradually it build tension in the cable (i think it makes the tail stiffer but ask Chad to make sure) and that's what gives you the insane edge hold
personally i would like a wider stance but the board likes to be ridden in the middle (no need to drive the nose so much) and that was a prototype that he made a couple of years ago, don't worry about the stance if you think of getting one Chad can build it to your needs, if you have a chance to try one you should, be ready for a lot of questions on the lift lines and every time you stop
overall a great board from a local board builder, Chad himself makes every single one of them, thanks for coming to snow summit next time i'll probably see you in mammoth

[GeorgeS]

I also got a chance to try out the Coda V-O Sidecarve(3 yr old proto). I'm 125lb 5'7"(lightest of our group to try the Coda).
My boards that I have been on this season are a F2 Silberfiel, a Madd 158(newer one), and a Generics 156. Besides looking cool the Coda just works. The tail had incredible edge hold that made it feel like I was riding on hero snow all the time, It made riding on hard snow easy. I switched to my Generics at about 10:30 and found the snow not too forgiving and I had to work much harder on my turns. The Coda is not as fast edge to edge as the Madd and may have a little less pop but works better on hard snow.
It was fun with 3 or 4 of us on these boards in the lift lines. I may have to be one of the 1st to buy one of these!

Thanks again Chad!

[mohouck]

Thanks for the reviews and feedback guys!

CODA would like to wish everyone on Bomberonline a happy new year.

As a way to promote the new Sidecarve line of CODA Boards, the first 10 boards purchased in 2010 will be discounted 15%. Simply create an account on the CODA website, put together your board options, and then use the coupon code: 2010Sidecarve

(I would put this in the vendor section, but until I sell a few boards, I can't afford the vendor status :o )

I am uploading the short video I put together from the footage on Sunday to youtube right now, and I will post the link in the morning.

Love the Mountain, Carve it Deep.

[mohouck]

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[JohnO'Brien]

Heading there this weekend and that looks like a great snowboarding run. Do you know the name of it so I can head over there.

[mohouck]

I think it was Midway. I would suggest you check out this thread though before heading up to Cypress:
http://www.bomberonline.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=27105&page=4

[BlueB]

Heading there this weekend and that looks like a great snowboarding run. Do you know the name of it so I can head over there.
Sorry John, we've been washed away :( Mountain is closed right now and there is no snow on forecast. It would be really funny if they reopened for the weekend...
Couple of guys might be heading to Whistler/Balckcomb this Sunday, you are welcome to join in.

[JohnO'Brien]

That's not good! I am traveling with a colleague, so thanks for the offer of a ride.
Guess we will head up to Whistler instead. What are the conditions like up there? Can you rent alpine boards at whistler?
Thanks,
John

[BlueB]

Your best bet would be renting a demo from Prior's workshop at Function Junction. It is on the left hand side about 10-12km before the Village. After turning left by Function Junction sign, take 2nd road to the right and drive almost to the end. Prior is on the right hand side.

Whistler is getting snow constantly in the upper mountain. 10-15cm on forecast for Sunday. So, get a bigger and wider board from Prior, like ATV, 4WD, or wide version of WCRM or FLC.
Or, simply put the plates on a big freeride board - you should be able to get that in at any rental shop in the village.

We will probably ride at Blackcomb. If you wanted my cell number, to find us, drop me an offline message.