Carbon fiber is showing up repeatedly in extreme sports equipment these days including the new craze ‘stand up paddle surfing’. The surfing community has always been aware of the materials ominous black color, but carbon fiber seems to be a mysterious scientific miracle that nobody truly understands.As we move deeper into the next generation of surfing materials. shapers are starting to be more open minded to its dynamic performane attributes.
Stand up paddlesurfers are using carbon paddles and Boards of the same material not only because of their fanatastic weight characteristics which for Stand up paddleboarding is a good thing (they are quite heavy!!) but for the materials fantastic secrets.
A french company ‘Galaxy of new Generations’ is producing a range of stand up paddleboards in carbon- see
www.gongsup.com
Carbon fiber is a composite material often found the construction of race cars and motorcycles, airplanes, and bicycles for its light weight and high strength properties. It is derived from petroleum pitch that comes from the processing of oil. The fibers produced contain about 85% carbon although the exact composition may vary from one manufacturer to another.
Production includes heating raw materials up to 5,500° F in an oxygen free chamber followed by a series of spinning, winding and weaving to produce what we know as carbon fiber. In fact, several thousand fibers are spun together to form a carbon fiber yarn.
Carbon fiber has remarkable reflex memory with an ideal coefficient of restoration, a property inherent in any rigid structure that allows it to return to its original state after a physical force is applied which makes it ideal for stand up paddlesurfing whether that be for the paddle or board.
Their are various shapers using this technology for surfboards and paddleboards the only downside is the price of your ‘black beauty’
http://www.avisosurf.com