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TRAMPA NEWS

Trampa boards, up close & personal: the full story. part 2. from remolition.com

15/04/2011

A change was in the air again for Trampa near the end of the noughties. MBS decided it was no longer in their best interests to supply accessories and there was a recognition that the Scrub parts, although good, were not really what Trampa stood for. They still continued with the hybrids, using parts from Ground Industries and more, but started looking at developing more hardware themselves. Meanwhile, boards carried on rolling out at events, try-outs and centres.

So in 2008 (having sold his house to invest) Ted bravely steered the Trampa ship through turbulent economic waters, and started research + devel

opment into the next generation of gear, determined to manufacture all the quality components they could themselves; not only decks but trucks, hubs, tyres, bindings, bearings, nuts, bolts and everything. All with the legendary Trampa attention to detail and enviable first class quality.

In 2009 Trampa held more comps and the Rem crew got a preview of loads of the new gear while it was in testing. It was frankly incredible just how much shiny new stuff there was. There were finished hubs printed with camo or dollar bills, new prototype decks with a light, super high-density foam core, and some drool-worthy prototype all-steel trucks.

Less than a year (and more road-trips & events) later, all the gear was perfected and ready to drop, bar the oft-discussed foam-core deck and body protection gear - nothing is rushed through with Trampa! The whole range was launched simultaneously (March '10) on a new Trampa website and it almost overloaded our brains with wonderful wheelieboarding options.

The new range was rolled out physically at the Ride the Hill Vert Jam in April 2010. Ted and team brought a whole stack of colour-coordinated new product for the discerning masses to test, try-out, generally look at, critique, and drool over.

Attention to detail is a Trampa standard, and everything has a seriously nice finish. One of the highlights of the latest gear is the final versions of the new trucks. Available in basic form as the 'Infinity' and in a finer, lighter form as the ‘Vertigo’ (with upgradeable titanium kingpins no less). They're beautifully crafted bits of kit and amazingly light. There are no messy bits, no weld points (like the matrix pro for example), just stunningly-milled and precision-engineered metal masterpieces.

They’ve also made everything else you could possibly need to go with a their ‘bulletproof’ deck, in a mind boggling array of colours. Just look at the different binding options for instance- 25 ratchet variants, 22 cam-lock, 6 hybrids and 11 velcro, and that's not even mentioning heel-straps…!

Of course you can get a complete setup if you’re overwhelmed by the choice.

We still dont know for fact that the decks are “bulletproof” (maybe we should get 'Top Gear' involved…), but we've never, ever seen a broken one and they are the only company that will make you a bespoke one: Flex, pop, and stiffness are all a matter of taste and as everyone is different, the boards need to be tailored to you personally with different ply thicknesses and board shape (length, plan, riser angle etc). Obviously what style of riding you plan on doing will affect it too...

Some people say the thicker decks are quite heavy, and there has been an amount of addressing this with the Holy Pro deck (which has holes in strategic places), but the heavy boards are generally for heavier riders that may break wooden decks, so they benefit. Smaller, light riders also benefit as they get some of the lightest decks around. So Trampa probably simultaneously make the heaviest and the lightest decks available on the market today!

This is especially key to the progress that’s been made in the kite-landboarding scene; they’ve always had a good presence but now the results are speaking for themselves: The Championship standings for the BKSA (BritishKiteSurfingAssociation) nationals in 2010 saw 3 Trampa team riders on the podium after 4 rounds over the year, with Jack Elston taking1^st, Steve Smith 2^nd and Ash Garwood 3^rd. Well done lads.

2010 also unfortunately saw a burglary at Trampa HQ, but things are looking better now and Ted is looking to the future. As sales slow down due to global economic melt-downs, they're still developing. increasing the colour ranges (blues now in!), perfecting the items that didn't quite get refined enough in the first round of production (there have been a couple of minor changes to existing moulds), they’re experimenting with titanium axles in the Vertigo Hangers, and there’s also prototype protection: wrist guards, as well as new Bootie-wrap style butt-pads (developed with Diego Anderson) which are perfect for occasional riders & centres. Plenty to come then!

2011 also sees more events & comps planned; first of which is the Melbourne race series (organised by Trampa’s Ryan Slater), which is 3 comps over 3 months in Australia’s summer, two of which have already taken place- check out details here

A few facts:

Trampa have hosted over a dozen events and organised distribution for their products globally.

They have worked in true collaboration with riders, centres & companies, eg Headworx, Buff, Ride the Hill, Coastal, and more.

Each board in the Pro line-up features 206 separate parts.

There’s always rather a lot going on for Ted and this little garage industry from Nottingham.

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To conclude, we must touch on cost. Some may argue that prices of Trampa gear require a sharp intake of breath, but we say rightly so: you’re not just buying, you’re investing.

Trampa are like the ‘Norton’ or ‘TVR’ of mountainboarding; desirable British craftsmanship bought to you with passion, care, and a bit of eccentric-looking oomph!

If you wanted, you could test drive one at mountainboard centres like Ride the Hill, Bugs Boarding, Court Farm, Out to Grass, Haredown, Hales Superbole, and Wanyi Park (Belgium), or indeed wherever you see the Trampa pimp-wagon out & about, at comps or events, with a kite, at a skatepark, centre, or on a hill somewhere, from the UK to Australia...