Pusher …
Hey Paul here – one of the guys who started Rome and, among other things, the person who designs our snowboards. I’m going to chime in on the blog from time to time with the intent of shedding a little light on some of the design and development stuff that we do here but might not be covered in a lot of detail in the catalog or on the website.
So to start off I wanted to write a little bit about the Pusher. The Pusher might best be understood by thinking of it is as the fun loving offspring of a ménage à trios involving a Mod, an Agent and, for a little extra spice, a Postermania.
The Mod’s shape influence on the Pusher is the most immediately recognizable characteristic you’ll notice when you first pick up the board. The nose and tail are a modernization of a shape I designed back in the day with one of snowboarding’s great talents. While this type of board shape is a personal favorite both aesthetically and admittedly a bit nostalgically, they are definitely more of a challenge to “shape” and get perfect on the computer than the more traditional radial nose and tail shapes. It takes a bit of time and massaging to get it just right but with this board being a true twin, once I get the nose dialed the tail is already done – and when it is executed right – it just feels good to look down and see this board under your feet.
The guts of the Pusher are where the Agent influence comes in and are the primary drivers of the price point that the Pusher falls:
The Superpop core matrix with it’s alternating laminates of select Poplar and Paulownia woods give the board a great blend of pop, lightness and dampening. This along with our StraightTriax 30 Carbon laminate make for one of the best freestyle oriented constructions out there.
Our Impact Plates and Impact Edges add a ton of strength where you need it – the Impact Plates resist all the compressed landings and all the (i.e. not Rome’s) sharp edged bindings you can throw at it while the extra thick profile of the Impact Edges stand up to far more box and rail abuse than normal profile edges.
The last characteristic borrowed from another board in the line is the Reverse-Free camber profile that the Pusher shares with the Postermania series. The Reverse-Free camber line consists of a mellow reverse camber profile through the middle of the board to just outside the binding mount area and straight camber profile from there to the end of the running length of the board. The reverse camber center section of the board allows for a playful, loose freestyle feeling while the straight camber sections provide for positive edge pressure and control throughout your turn as well as a solid platform for ollieing and of course just all around positive and fun tail pop. The addition of the Carbon-V stringers in the tip and tail work with the straight camber to enhance this control and ollie boost.
The combination of the geometry and technologies really make a difference you can feel and appreciate over a full season of hard riding. While you can certainly spend less (and more) for a snowboard, in my experience the materials we are able to spec at this price point result in one of the best balances of performance and value for the versatile true twin freestyle board that the Pusher is.
So that’s a little background, and a bit of editorial, on the Pusher … or rather the “Mogentia” as I am starting a petition to re-name it. Damn catchy right?
Stop by your local shop this weekend, ask to check out a Pusher, get one under your feet and let us know what you think.
[p]
p.s. I’ve got plenty to blog about that you may or may not find interesting so would be stoked to know what you are interested in so if you do have any questions or tech topics you want to hear more about, leave a comment below or email us. Put “Blog topic for Paul” or something equally clever in the subject line and we’ll get back to you on it one way or another.
November 5th, 2009 at 3:12 pm
Paul:
I’m really digging the Pusher. For some reason the Pusher’s graphics remind me of a Van Halen album cover from the 80s. I don’t know why I’m making that association, but I do. Anyway, on a different note, I’m curious why Rome didn’t offer the reverse camber profile on the 58 & 62 Notch series. I have last year’s Notch 58 and love it. It’s great for our East Coast powder days, however, I think it would be even better with some RC on the nose. I assume the RC on the nose allows for quicker transitions and the nose plane’s faster, etc. Also, I picked up a pair of Arsenals for it because I have had a problem in the past of bindings (Burton Cartels) punching through the top sheet of my boards at the corners of my bindings. I read up on the impact plate technology and so far after riding them some last year I’m a believer. So much so that I am selling my Cartels on Cragslist. So…between the 390s and the Targa, which binding is “similar” to the Cartel..if you can make that association. Thanks in advance.
Brandon
November 5th, 2009 at 5:05 pm
Brandon – damn I hope Eddie doesn’t check the Rome blog this week or thanks to your comment we could be looking at a knock down drag out lawsuit from that “jumpy’ little guy (http://hypebeast.com/2009/06/van-halen-vs-nike-sb-lawsuit/).
I assume you are referring to the Directional Tapered Notch 158 and 162 models because as you may be aware there are a couple of Notch boards with reverse camber in the line which also come in the 158 and 162 lengths – the True Twin shape Notch 1985’s have our Reverse-Mountain camber profile…just sayin’.
Anyway – as it sounds like you probably experienced yourself, the current Notch 58 performs great in powder even with Positive Camber but you are correct that even a little RC in the nose would enhance the powder flotation. This is the idea behind the S camber profile designs on the Notch Swallowtail boards and the newer Notch 155 tapered shape so… don’t be too surprised if you see the S camber used on more directional powder boards in the future.
On the effectiveness of the Impact Plates – great to hear from someone who understands first hand exactly what we designed them for.
and finally – sorry I am not familiar enough with the Cartels to comment on any similarities between them and our Underwrap technology bindings but I can tell you that our Underwrap heelhoop has dramatically different performance characteristics than a plastic unibase binding. Even though I personally prefer the feel and control I get from Underwrap, I can appreciate that different riders have different preferences and this is why the United and Shift plastic unibase style bindings are in the Rome line.
hope this is what you were looking for.
[p]
November 5th, 2009 at 11:33 pm
Paul:
Thanks for the prompt reply. Yes I was referring to the directional Notch series. And I was hoping I would here this, “…don’t be surprised if you see the S camber used on more directional powder boards in the future.” Looks like an additional Notch is in my future.
And to clarify, after riding the Arsenals last year I came to appreciate the feel and response an aluminum heelhoop provides. After speaking with some folks on different internet forums and relating my experiences it was suggested to me that the Rome’s 390s or Targas or some Union bindings would be more than sufficient replacements for my Cartels.
Thank you for designing such fun and functional boards.
Cheers,
Brandon
November 6th, 2009 at 10:41 pm
[...] Want to learn more about the pusher? Here is straight from the man who designed it here [...]