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From Banana to C2 BTX

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Hey guys, just after some thoughts from boarders more knowledgeable than myself.  I have been riding a 159 skate banana since last season and it’s an awesome board, my only issue with it is a little instability at speed, doesn’t feel as locked in as my old camber board when belting down runs.  With that in mind and some spare cash I was thinking about getting onto one of the T Rice C2 BTX Blunt 157 models. 

The addition of the C2 tech seems like it might help, has anybody gone from a straight banana board to the C2’s dual camber and banana tech?  Anyone ridden a C2 board at all?  ANy thoughts on them?

 
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I rode the 2010 trice (161.5) and it felt really good. I didn’t notice the c2 much when riding groomers (it feels like a cambered board). I did notice it in powder though - it felt friggin’ awesome. It had a bounce to it similar to reverse cambered boards but not so extreme. It just made the pow feel more fun without compromising stability or speed. If you have the cash I would def go for it.

 
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Dropped into RPS round the corner from home and had a squiz at all the suspects,  Lib Tech T Rice C2 BTX and the Gnu Riders Choice, the T Rice is a sick looking board, still not sure what to do!

 
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I’ve been wanting to ride these boards for a while now.
I was close to buying a banana last NoHe season, but kind of glad I diddnt.

I’ll be considering buying a board come October / November, but not sure if the money will be there or not.
I may pick one off a friend to save some cash.
I’ve been riding the same ROME for too may years now. Anyway….

I’d think that the C2 would be a more stable ride than the banana.
What year banana are you riding? I think it has changed a bit from it’s first season they made it.

I cant tell you that I have had any experience on these boards, but I would believe that the C2 would be more stable at high speeds, and you’d have a lot of the same desirable features that you like about the banana.
I wonder if the shop will let you put your bindings on the C2 and strap in on the carpet and see how it feels when you flex it under your feet. That could give you a little idea of how it may be different.

 
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snowslider - 03 July 2010 04:42 PM

I wonder if the shop will let you put your bindings on the C2 and strap in on the carpet and see how it feels when you flex it under your feet. That could give you a little idea of how it may be different.

likelihood of 0 percent

 
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Hey Nthnbeachesguy.  You should check out the Signal Omni.  Regular Camber between your feet and rocker on tip and tail.  Means you still have stability at high speeds, edge to edge response and control plus the benefits of rocker.  RPS are getting some by the end of this week.  Check them out.

 
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I have last years banana 159 (its not a wide) that I bought in early august if memory serves me correctly.  From the conversations I have had with the guys at RPS the C2 boards are rock steady at speed without sacrificing to much of the stuff I like about the banana.  Have also been told that I’m probably a bit heavy for the banana so the flex I can put through the board might also be a cause of instability.  Im over 6’2” and around 100kgs with US size 12 DC Methvin boots so might be onto something there.

I actually swapped with a mate through the week who was riding my old board, 161 rossi wide directional and despite the fact I was riding it switch it felt more stable but it did need much more effort to change rails.  Not sure if I want to go much longer than 159 but maybe the additional stiffness would help or maybe go to a wide board, dunno if that will provide extra stiffness or just make it that little bit harder to change rails.

 
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It’s the reverse camber that makes the board turn faster edge to edge (looser). A cambered board definitely takes more effort to initiate a turn. By the sounds of what you’re saying, I think you would be much better off with a mix of rocker and camber, and a wider/stiffer board would help too (you need to be on a mid-wide).

There are quite a few boards on the market that now combine rocker and camber; either rocker between the feet and camber under the feet (to nose and tail) i.e. C2, or camber between the feet and rocker in the nose and tail i.e. Signal Omni. If you like the easier turning or rocker, my personal opinion would be to get a board with rocker between the feet and camber under the feet. I will say though, that really depends on what you like about rocker and what you dislike about rocker. A board like the Signal Omni would have more stability at speeds and during turns (carving etc.) due to the mid board camber, but you will sacrifice *some* of the looseness of rocker between the feet. It really depends how you want your board to behave.

 
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Just keep in mind that the banana and the TRS have the same C2 shape.  So the banana you have been riding is the same shape that you are looking at getting.  The major difference is the TRS is stiffer.

 
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Trav Laird - 04 July 2010 07:10 AM

Just keep in mind that the banana and the TRS have the same C2 shape.  So the banana you have been riding is the same shape that you are looking at getting.  The major difference is the TRS is stiffer.

I thought the banana was a solid reverse-camber-rocker, and the TRS / C2 was a variety of camber and reverse camber.

 
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The C2 shape was initially roled out in TRS but now is standard across all Lib Tech and GNU boards.  Overall rocker (banana) shape with camber under your feet.

 
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Trav Laird - 04 July 2010 02:04 PM

The C2 shape was initially roled out in TRS but now is standard across all Lib Tech and GNU boards.  Overall rocker (banana) shape with camber under your feet.

so this year’s banana has c2 (rocker and camber)?

 
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Yeah mate.  The camber is under each binding.  Personally I prefer camber between my feet

 
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From all accounts my current banana does not have C2, even a cursory inspection of the board doesn’t show anything other than rocker and when in RPS the C2 rocker camber combo was visible to the naked eye on all the C2 boards.  Pretty set on the T Rice C2 BTX but not sure if I should go 161.5 or 159.  My current board waist is 25.5 and could probably do with a bit more.  That or the Gnu riders choice 158 or 162 wide boards.

 
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Trav Laird - 05 July 2010 10:41 AM

Yeah mate.  The camber is under each binding.  Personally I prefer camber between my feet

not sure what year you’re talking about but the 2011 lib banana does not have camber. It has BTX, not C2, which is flat under the bindings. I just looked at the catalogue
The Trice comes in both a btx and a C2btx version

 
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I have all the past years catalogs from libtech, I believe the past 3 - maybe more, it would take a moment to dig them out, if I really have to I will.