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Fresh new MBS gear unveiled at Bugs MBS Product Launch & demo : 21st & 22nd March 2009 @ Bugs Boarding Centre, Gloucester, England. Words & pics by Daz Dirt-monkey
After scanning through the ATBSports forum, I realised the coming weekend had an event too sweet to miss, the MBS 2009 product launch and the MBS demo team practising on the legendary 'big ramp' before their busy season of making it look easy for the general public goes ahead. And best of all it was at bugs boarding so you would be assured the chance to see the best in UK jibbing and fooling about on the numerous features.
Saturday saw perfect weather and for the first time this year a pair of shorts were donned. I didn't think things could get any better until after the first obligitary M4 traffic jam when we were treated to the sight of a Porsche 911 convertible that had turned turtle after losing it on the gravel in the central reservation. Every body panel was bent.
We arrived at bugs to find not much had changed there since our last visit, which isn't a bad thing as there's plenty going on already. One thing you couldn't fail to notice were the grass sleds screaming and bouncing their way down the main hill at alarming speed.
The new boards were laid out by the demo ramp setup at the bottom of the hill by the big quarter pipe so we headed there to have a look. The first thing to catch the eye was the new board graphics which on the whole should please more than in recent years. Most have a punk feel to them and are pretty loud. From a photographers point of view it's a welcome change from the duller colours of recent past. My only criticism is that each deck still only comes in one graphic. Also being shown on the new range were the latest F4 bindings. Much like the F3 but with more of a snowboard look to them, they seem more padded and generally a bit more substantial, they're available in black and a very white, white. One thing that was a surprise was the binding pillars for the F4s are plastic instead of aluminium. This seemed an obvious point of contention and soon started a heated debate. I think the end result was that if you're putting enough force in that direction then you'll probably have more broken that just a binding, like a foot. How well they stand up to everyday knocks and bashes, only time will tell. I did hear that people that had used them had preferred the old F3's but not for any specific reason so I'd put that down to what people were more used to. The F2 velcro bindings have also been updated and were well talked of by the pros.
I'd not seen the Vector Ti trucks or the Twiststar hubs that hit the scene last year before and I was impressed with them. These are fitted to some of the decks and the weight saving potential is massive. They also have a nice bling factor. The Twistars seem like one of those inventions you can't believe hadn't been done before. I have a shed full of Rockstars with punctures that I can't get apart and this is so easy with the Twistars. I can't see it being fun like their marketing will have you believe but if you want to use swap to airliners for a skate park session it's no hassle and most of the failures I saw with the rockstars were because the hubs were not tightened up together properly. A lot of the rockstars strength comes from the way the two halves interlock, this shouldn't be an issue with the Twistars. Conversley, I'd be interested to see how strong the Twistars are when running lower tyre pressures. They do have the option to use bolts as well, I guess for this reason.
Find out more about the MBS 2009 range here. The focus of the day then moved to the demo setup where the guys had begun laying down some gnar. The setup itself is impressive and watching the likes of Tom Kirkman and Ollie 'Bomber' Morrison style it up is just mind blowing. Big 5's and flips thrown with such ease. As the sun got low in the sky the MBS pro team each took one of the new boards to get some shots for the 2009 brochure. Watching Tom Kirkman ride the Core90 with all his usual agression is something I'll never forget. I was surprised how well the deck took his weight, yeah he's filled out a little, and the board never seemed to struggle even though it was clearly too small for him and it showed that the Core90 would make a good jib ride for most people.
It was a great day and basically, if you ever get the chance to see Tom Kirkman, Bomber, Tuai Lovejoy, Joe Dixon or any of the other MBS Pro team just riding for the fun of it, do it! It's the masterclass you can't afford to miss.
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