Artec / Elan Gabe Taylor - 2010
Ride the Gabe Taylor at your usual all mountain size and you’ve got an incredible freestyle weapon. Lightening quick edge-to-edge, unbelievably easy to maneuver switch, tons of edge grip and buckets of pop. Ride 4-5cm shorter and the Gabe is a little twitchy and gets a bit of chatter at high speed.
Manufacturer's Description:
The Gabe Taylor has a slightly narrower waist than the Cipher, giving it a bit more aggressiveness for all terrain freestyle riding. Gabe and his riding can be summed up by the statements on his board, Cursum Perficio, and Invincible. He is the man, and this is his board. With all of the features we put into this board, and Gabe’s endorsement, this board is the best value in snowboarding.
“As my snowboarding progresses so does my snowboard. I need a snowboard I can trust whether I’m standing on top of a Canadian peak or taking park laps until the lifts close. This year my board is a further refinement of design ideas that work for me. It has a perfect combination of flex, shape and art I’m stoked on. Most importantly, it does what I need it to do, when I need it done.”
Gabe Tylor
Recommended for park riding.
Recommended for halfpipe riding.
Recommended for rail riding.
Medium cost $
Available in Wide.
Camber Construction.
Twin Shape.
Year: 2010
Available Lengths (cm):
147, 151, 155, 159, 163, 154W, 158W, 162W
Riding Style: Freestyle/Park
Specifications:
IsoTEC Wood Core: Vertically laminated Aspen
DiTEC Sidewalls: Dual density 30 degree sidewall for damping
NorTEC Fiberglass: Stronger reinforcement for thinner/lighter cores
DeltaTEC Base: Ulta high molecular sintered base
Similar boards: Option Mirror - 2010 Ride DH - 2010 NFA Thrasher - 2010
Snowboard Review:
The first thing to point out is that I rode the 155. As fun as it was to ride, personally I don’t think you should size down on the Gabe Taylor, ride your usual all-mountain board length. I’m 75 kg and even though I’m well within the 155’s weight range, I think the larger 159 would have been a better match. The Gabe Taylor is an all-mountain freestyle board, so simply sizing it down won’t make it suitable for riding mini shred and park.
Charging down on the piste the Gabe Taylor held a great edge, however, on slightly harder corduroy I did experience a bit of chatter. Switching from edge-to-edge was done in the blink of an eye due to the narrow waist, and the deep sidecut meant powering through carves felt explosive. Riding switch there was absolutely no difference to riding regular so I think Gabe’s board would be perfect for anyone with a bit of switch riding experience under their belt who wants to start hitting small to medium sized jumps switch. Flying off kickers the Gabe Taylor felt stable enough, but if you’ve got feet any bigger than a UK8 / US9 you might find it a bit twitchy.
With Gabe’s name on the board I was expecting a firm to stiff flex, what you actually get is a medium longitudinal flex and stiffer torsional flex so that you get good edge hold carving and playability in the park and the ability to ride super tight natural transitions. Off kickers the Gabe was like any other high end freestyle deck, light with snappy pop, quite similar to the Rome Agent.
To summarise, the Artec Gabe Taylor is great fun to ride, plenty of pop and impressively fast edge-to-edge not to mention effortless switch riding. However, don’t size down even if you intend to freestyle solely in the park, you’ll definitely get more out of Gabe’s board if you ride you’re usual all mountain size. Sizing down the Gabe can get a little bit chattery and twitchy at high speeds, stick to the right size and this board will happily fly off big jumps and tight natural transitions alike. If you’ve got feet any bigger than UK9 / US10 consider the wide option.
Posted by Rich Ewbank in • Artec / Elan
User Snowboard Reviews
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on March 20, 2011 at 07:57 PM
When I got this board it was a little to big for me so I had to set my bindings closer together for it to beel comfortable and with the bindings closer together I found that the board still had good pop but the flex wasn’t soft enough for me. Eventually made my stance wider and now the board is perfect to me. It’s soft enough to do presses and tailblocks, but it’s not so soft the turns are hard. The board also has amazing pop. R the board is meant for carving and jumps but it can turn into a jibstick if you set it up right