Advice on how to stiffen a Vanguard Loaded deck without carbon fiber UPDATED

ESK8 Builds
1

Hey all what do you think on how to stiffen up a super flexy deck. its a flex rate of 3 ( I wish they sold a stiffer model for the 38" but they dont) im thinking a layer of carbon fiber?

Thanks

2

Yea do a layer of carbon. And do it with my new roarocket vacuum bag and it’ll look good and be lighter! Spam spam. I’m everywhere. Selling for less than half the cost.

3

do you have a link to it? and can you link me to a carbon kit?

4

Shipping was insane with some tariff. I’m pretty sure I have this size. I know I have the larger size. 60$ plus shipping

The carbon part all u need is. carbon and resin. And a bit of research.

5

Actually I wonder why you would like to stiffen an electric longboard? Isnt it nicer to have flexy type of board for riding as it acts like suspension?

6

Until you start going faster. 20+ mph and you’ll understand why a stiffer board is better.

2 Likes
7

yeah, stiff board all the way! a mate of mine had a bamboo board and it was so flexy that I had trouble making it turn at low speed, and at high speed it wobbled all over the place!

1 Like
8

Yes I do like flex board but my build required me to drill a bunch of holes about half way they my board which made a super flexy board even more flexy. So some carbon fiber should do the trick to bring it back to original.

Side note What is the best way to apply carbon without a vacuum bag. I’m broke and don’t have the machine or the bag etc

9

you can just use a paint brush. it wont be perfect though…

just a plastic bag and a vacuum cleaner will do at a pinch. I have used a garbage bag in the past. it wasn’t awesome but it worked.

10

Thanks I can do that I have a strong shop vac and some painters plastic(thick stuff) plus it’s gonna be covered with grip tape so I’m not so concerned with look

11

Do I need cloth? To soak up the resin? Or should I just not over apply

12

so if you were going to do it real budget…

  1. mix up your resin
  2. use a brush to paint the surface of the board in the resin (id probably rough up the surface with sandpaper beforehand to make sure you get a good bond)
  3. lay the carbon down on your board and press it down flat as you can. (use gloves or a sheet of plastic)
  4. us a brush to carefully wet the carbon from the top, be gentle as not to disturb the fibres. try to avoid putting too much resin on. brush off excess if need be.
  5. let it dry.

this isnt the best way to do it. but it will work. the trick is not to put too much resin on. just enough to wet the fibre.

3 Likes
13

Thanks a lot man. I’ll update with results

14

Try to trim it just before it dries with a sharp blade or it’ll be difficult to remove. It’s a delicate job and if you approach it as such it’ll be a lot easier. Maybe use tape to hold the edge of the carbon all the way around while its dry and remove the tape at the end as you cut it off. The fibers are easy to get bunched and then with holes in spots if you mess with it. Best to lay it all out smoothly and not attempt to push or pull it when it’s wet or even dry.

I’ve hard of people using tape with pin prick holes in it to wrap at the end to squeeze out the excess resin when they don’t have a bag. Sticky side up

Choosing a weave that holds its shape helps a lot

1 Like
15

Well I got to say better tested on a piece of wood first. Practice 2 - 3x till you really get the hang of it.

1 Like
16

To correctly stiffen your board, carbon must be applied to the underside of your deck, not the top. Why ? Because carbon is used for its tensile strength and when you flex your board by standing on it, the tensile stresses run lengthwise along the bottom. Putting carbon on top will have much less effect and you’ll even risk buckling the layup.

1 Like
17

Dude at roarocket said either side will work. Top or bottom. Maybe not as effective on the top as you say but the carbon has strong compressive strength he said. I wanted to do layers of carbon inside the wood so I’d have what looked like to be just a thin wood with some black lines and saw it nowhere so called. I thought it’d be easier. But he said that won’t work and will destroy the wood. That guy I’ve talked to for at least an hour on the phone about vacuums or boards…he’s an interested guy. Better than nice.

18

im gonna do it on the top. Im way too far along on my build to change that. plus ive seen builds and talked to people whove done it on top and it worked fine

19

Btw I found this http://www.trampaboards.com/11ply-flex-bridge--stiffen-your-deck-by-adding-a-flex-bridge-to-your-deck-p-11543.html

Seems to be an easier option to stiff your board.

20

thanks for that. pretty cool concept but theres no room for it to be installed under my board