pavedwave longboarding

pavedwave · Joined: 22 Oct 2007 Posts: 1120 Location: seattle wa usa

A buddy who lives in the city of Vancouver WA has quietly revolutionized the modern day longboard. With one simple, unique idea, he makes it:

1. quicker and easier to tweak and tune for different terrain,
2. even more portable for travel on airplanes, in cars, etc.,
3. just as high performing as other high-end longboards on the market.

The "Cambiar" as Mark Groenenboom calls it, is a tweaker's dream.

When it first arrived at the office, I shot a quick pic with a phone camera to show the size comparison against the 38" Mermaid.

I'm testing it over the next couple months, adding to a stream of feedback that a few other guys all over the country have been sending into Mark. The board just asks to be tinkered with. The brackets are sturdy, the machining is top notch, the functionality is fast and easy to use. Right out of the box, you can mount the brackets to the deck with 8 wing-nuts and be ready to roll in just a couple minutes.

So as I get more mileage in I'll try to keep updating here.

=== Thursday 2/14

Finally a dry day in Seattle. Rode the 12.5-mile Burke commute both directions on the Traveller version of the Cambiar.

24" deck
28" wheelbase
76mm BigZigs Lime+Lemon
Randal 150s
- Front: GreenStim bottom, Orange Khiro barrel top
- Rear: Yellow Khiro barrel bottom, Red Radikal top
Front wedged 10-degrees
Rear dewedged a few degrees

The deck is thin and light - springy somewhat like a Loaded flex 2 or 3, at my 165 pounds. With this truck setup, it makes an excellent hybrid carver-pumper, and on the slight declines, I could keep a strong pump going. I drove it really hard and could manage the slightest rail-bite in doing so, not something I would expect in typical usage however, as I was really investing a lot of downward force, cranking each pump really hard for just a minute or so. The springiness you get from it makes it a breeze to hop from one foot to the next, switching stances and switching push foot. I'd like a little more deck length, to be able to cross-step with more ease when shifting stances, and personally I'm into a little more deck width, but actually this deck is quite ample for most riders at 9-1/4" in the middle.

=== Friday 2/15

Spent another day on the Traveller, this time a shorter ride, just some smooth carves down a local hill. Quickly changed up the rear truck to wedge rather than dewedge (a total truck tweak taking about 5 seconds!) and carved a while. Nice, sticky turns. Didn't really crank it past 15mph, turning hard, even trying to carve back uphill before leaning into the next turn. Will try more of this on this board later!!

=== Saturday 2/16

Hacked up a Roe Blem, very rough cut, this is definately not the finished shape, but just wanted to get something functional onto the other set of burlier brackets to test out a longer wheelbase. This platform is wider, longer, stiffer, and the resulting feel is the kind of snap I'm typically looking for in a pumper. I'm amazed how versatile the Cambiar brackets are!

Longer deck (length and shape not final yet)
32" wheelbase
75mm Purple Skunk Avilas
Bennett front, SplitFire rear on Randal DH plate
- Front: Orange Khiro barrel top, Orange and White Khiro bottom
- Rear: Blue/Red Khiro combo in the Split
Front wedged 10-degrees
Rear dewedged a few degrees

=== Sunday 2/17

Brought the two boards to the garage and had a few other guys check them out. I played on the bigger deck for almost an hour before everyone showed up, a lot more plank to walk on, this is nearly the size I want, but the length might be creating a wheelbase that's just a tad too cumbersome to pump. Will plan on trimming the deck back another inch or so and redrilling.

Three of us ate some concrete due to wheelbite, actually "lever-bite", where the adjustable lever bit into the soft 72a Avilas. That was completely my fault, these were the first Bennetts to be mounted on the Cambiar system and running big wheels. Although I did check the turns by hand beforehand, it was the extra torque of the rider that pushed them just far enough to bite. At least Jackman and Corey had a slower fall and both rolled out of theirs gracefully. Mine came last and I was going at a pretty good clip, and slammed. Very Easy solution: moving to 5.0 Bennett hangar (fits this big a wheelbase better anyway), changing the bracket to the thinner one on the Traveller version, and changing back to BigZigs from Avilas, since the Zigs are more center-set, not as much "meat" on the inside of the wheel.

The ride is awesome. I'm already starting to ponder that this might be THE setup for some long distance cross-state rides already (STP anyone!?)

Off to Canada tomorrow for some R&R so I'm packing it along!

jat. · Posted: Mon Feb 18, 2008 1:16 pm Post subject:

... Genious.
How available will these be for the public? .. if at all?
I would love something easy to pack... and that actually works.
_________________
Gawd

camel · Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2008 9:21 am Post subject:

I am testing the Cambiar right now. This thing is cool. He says he may develop a top mount version of the system as well. Very fun ride...

edp_swakakin · Joined: 19 Apr 2008 Posts: 189

How did I miss this!!!! I KNEW IT - I looks perfect!!!

I'm used to the extra height of the Cross Step already. (I feel I could push the ultra on it if I had too)

Even if I have to put a raiser on it - it will still be lower.

The big question for me is will the flex be too much. I see what you mean by a stiffer deck and tighter trucks now for a true ldp pumper.

2:25 am Gawd I have get some sleep....

pavedwave · Joined: 22 Oct 2007 Posts: 1120 Location: seattle wa usa

Tinkered a bit more with the board shape.

Maximized the width at both nose and tail for best pumpability, and still finding the balance between getting max turn on the front Bennett, and yet avoiding wheelbite with that front notch.

The drum sander is coming in really handy now.

lone_deranger · Joined: 05 Oct 2008 Posts: 3 Location: Oxford, U.K.

I am very interested in the development of the Cambiar. I am looking for a travel rig that would complement my lightweight hiking kit for unsupported distance travel. At present my kit weight is around 12-15kg. Ideally I would like a robust, lightweight longboard that can be split into deck and running gear enabling me to pack the board WITHIN the pack and balance out the weight when the roads run out, as well as a lowered platform to minimize the stepdown when having to push big wheels while lumbered down and having my balance shifted. Over on SVF I noticed that Subsonic were drafted in on one of the earlier prototypes. I love the work and care Scott puts into his decks and would very much like one of his custom creations of my own. I'm planning a trip through southern Asia at the beginning of next year and was wondering as to the feasibility of such a setup having drawn much inspiration from Rob Thomson and his epic journey. Any advice would be most appreciated. Spread the stoke.

mrgumdropman · Joined: 06 Aug 2008 Posts: 26 Location: Sea Girt NJ

but Cambiar means a bad word in spanish just saying. Soy un gavuacho pero yo hablo mucho espanol

egret · Joined: 18 Jun 2008 Posts: 84

pavedwave · Joined: 22 Oct 2007 Posts: 1120 Location: seattle wa usa

As for availability, I've pinged Mark again on this for you guys, it's been a while since he and I have chatted. The plans for the bracketed-deck "Fathom" are somehow tied in with Loaded, so it keeps the timeline a wee bit more mysterious and he may not be at liberty to divulge. I'll let you know if I hear anything back or maybe Mark will stop by here. Oh and it's gavacho Razz

egret · Joined: 18 Jun 2008 Posts: 84

How does the wedging feel on the front truck? The brackets in the pictures look like they are better for dewedge than wedge. The front looks like it only wedges about 10 degrees. The brackets are designed with the needs of downhill in mind not LDP, am I right? Maybe a poormans version could be made without the adjustments. Just the bracket and then wedging could be done traditionally. The only advantage would be portability, though.