MBS Mountain Boards - Old vs New

Typical scenario, you want to buy a mountain board but don't want to pay a fortune so buy a second hand MBS board (other manufactures available).  You have a great time and spend all day riding and all night dreaming and so decide to buy a brand new board; but wait - the new boards all have different names and constructions!??! How to compare?  The simple advice is either to a) visit a centre and try out a few different boards that they have on offer, b) ask for advice through the forums, or c) check through the tables below and try to figure it out!

Before we go too far, it should be pointed out that the old MBS naming convention of Comp 16 or Comp 26X referred to the approximate overall board length, i.e. 118cm and 134cm respectively; whilst the new MBS naming convention of Comp 95 or Pro 100 refers to the deck length of 95cm or 100cm respectively.  In a sense, the new naming convention works better than the old as a Comp 26X deck wouldn't be 10cm longer than a Comp 16 deck as a Comp 26X would be issued with 9" tyres as opposed to the Comp 16's 8" 'ers.  Or something like that.....  Confused? Heres a fun table:

Old Board	Length (cm)	Weight (kg)
MBS Pro 16 (Leon Robbins)	118	6.7
MBS Comp 26X	134	10.5
MBS Comp 16	118	6.8
MBS Comp 6*	106	6.5
MBS Core 16	117	7.4
MBS Core 8	108	5.4
MBS Core 1*	98	5.1
Jeep Renegade	108	7
Jeep CJ-5*	91	5.7
MBS Atom	106	5.4
MBS Atom Lowrider	99	3.3
MBS Longboard	112	3.8
New Boards	Length (cm)	Weight (kg)
MBS Pro 100	119	7.26
MBS Pro 95	109	7
MBS Pro 90	104	5.2
MBS Comp 95X	120	9
MBS Comp 95	116	6.5
MBS Comp 90	108	5.9
MBS Core 95	110	6.2
MBS Core 90	104	5.4
MBS Atom 95X	110	7
MBS Atom 95	110	6.9
MBS Pro 95*	109	7
MBS Pro 90*	104	5.2
MBS Comp 90*	108	5.9
MBS Core 90*	104	5.4
MBS Atom 80X*	91	5.4
* designates junior boards

Maybe the following will help.  Below are the 'Board Chooser' tables as supplied by MBS back in the day.  I don't know which day specifically so I'm going to guess at pre '07.  The two tables show similar information but neither are exclusive, so I've included both.

 

This can be compared to MBS' newest range by going straight to the 'Product Selector' here.

I've got a bit of the old literature originally provided by MBS with their original boards and intend to gradually post the interesting bits here (assuming MBS don't mind???).  I'd have thought its all good publicity.

Edit: Edited sections where I was being an idiot-hole 

Edit 2: Confirmation of MBS naming conventions clarified here!

Egg Shocks verses Trampa Dampas

MBS Egg Shocks (Left) and Trampa Dampas (Right)

MBS Egg Shocks

From the website:

The MBS Eggshocks are the small plastic/rubber dampers that fit inside the springs on the board to dampen vibrations such as speed wobble. They do wear over time and are worth replacing after about a year of use. Also heavier riders or riders wanting higher speeds would be worth upgrading to stiffer shocks.

Yellow Eggshocks - Medium - set of 4 - Intended to add stability.
             For a stiffer ride than springs alone - Yellow for a GS feel. (GS??)
Orange Eggshocks - Hard - set of 4 - Intended to add stability.
             For a super-stiff ride - Orange for downhill and Big Air.
Red Eggshocks - Hard - set of 4 - Intended to add stability.
             For a super-stiff ride - RED for Speed and Big Air.

£10 per pack of 4 + p&p from ATBSports here!

Trampa Dampas

From the website:

The Trampa Dampa is a specifically designed elastomer which due to its special shape fits perfectly into the cap of most spring designed or Channel / Matrix truck.

The design incorporates 3 Balls which are stacked ontop of each other, sligtly larger in overall length and width than any other Egg shaped elastomer, the result gives a more progressive compression allowing confident high speed steering for the rider

Yellow 65shore Medium
Green >75 shore Hard
Blue 85 shore Super stiff

£10 each (pack of 4) + p&p from Trampa here!

Edit: Noticed that Red (80 shore) and White (90 shore) are now available

Definition of 'shore' here

Comparison

My original board came equip with yellow (medium) egg shocks. I was advised by Nathan of Team BAD (Bristol and District group) to upgrade to Trampa Dampas of which I bought a set of yellow (mediums). To prevent speed wobbles, I then changed to a set of green (hard) Trampa Dampas.

Trampa Dampas have the advantage of being longer than egg shocks that result in less cranking down of the springs required before damping starts when turning. This in turn puts less stress on the springs so I guess in theory the springs should last longer.  I imagine (though cannot back it up) that given the length of the dampas, there is less chance of them popping out accidentally.  I cannot understand why MBS made their egg shocks require so much cranking in order to become effective?  In reality, it takes me less time to set up and get riding much quicker.

For me the green Trampa Dampas run great in all types of mountain board disciplines, except for freestyle and big air in which I am openly rubbish.  I reckon its been a couple of years since original instillation and they still look absolutely fine, if a little grubby.

It should be noted that I weigh around 13-14 stone at present and lighter / heavier riders and riding style will have an effect on what damping system (if indeed used at all) is preferred.