Has anyone else tried the shinn speedball?
3 mates and I demo'd one and we all said the exact same... What an absolute bucket of ****.
My poor mate was on it for the first hour, excited to try it. His smile quickly turned upside down the entire time he was on it and he had little fun until he switched to my cardboard.
My other 2 mates said the same..
Then they made me try it. I couldn't get off quick enough. It's a cumbersome, skatey, pig of a board that holds an edge like the kardashians hold there knees together - not at all!

I'm sure someone will defend this board but myself and my 4 mates agree, we'd rather ride a 500kg woman with head lice, scabies andl leprosy rather than the speedball.

If it does have a place it is in the sulo bin, or buy one for someone you despise this Christmas only so their excitement can turn to confusion and misery when they hit the water.

It's been a harsh review, but that's how it went. 0/5 stars.

I love it ...

Its a love/hate board, really one to demo first. Lucky your mate did

love the kardashian reference haha my girlfriend wud b devo lol

Must admit my bro and I didn't get along with it that well either, but it has its place. If you ride it like a normal TT then yes you would find it a tad confusing. Luckily we had makos at the time and could adjust to its needs. We still had fun on it...but as I said not for us. I wouldn't cancel it out altogether though, demo as eastcoast has said and you guys did, well done.

I have had 2 short rides on the speed ball over the last 2 days ,I thought it was pretty good ,kinda playful and skatey

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ChiroTrev said..

Has anyone else tried the shinn speedball?
3 mates and I demo'd one and we all said the exact same... What an absolute bucket of ****.
My poor mate was on it for the first hour, excited to try it. His smile quickly turned upside down the entire time he was on it and he had little fun until he switched to my cardboard.
My other 2 mates said the same..
Then they made me try it. I couldn't get off quick enough. It's a cumbersome, skatey, pig of a board that holds an edge like the kardashians hold there knees together - not at all!

I'm sure someone will defend this board but myself and my 4 mates agree, we'd rather ride a 500kg woman with head lice, scabies andl leprosy rather than the speedball.

If it does have a place it is in the sulo bin, or buy one for someone you despise this Christmas only so their excitement can turn to confusion and misery when they hit the water.

It's been a harsh review, but that's how it went. 0/5 stars.

Not harsh at all...It's a pile of aids...

But I guess there will be some lame'O' retailer chime in defending the board and brand. Can you guess who it will be.. I can...

Yo - its me - chiming in on cue.
As eastCC says its a love hate board.
Maybe a little less harsh - Id say a love/dont like board.
Even Mark Shinn rates it as "not the board for everyone".
He developed it as a bit of a fun board.
Its something different. Something bw a TT & a skim board.
A new toy that some will appreciate - but not if you are chasing a regular TT.
From demo feedback Id say its going roughly 50/50
50% simply not for them 50% 'like' to 'love' it. Only one who found it that much fun he swapped it for his TT.
I suspect he will play with it for a while then start thinking a TT is also needed.

Im already finding that my guess was probably right. The ones who will be sure to appreciate the Speedball are big guys who have to ride huge regular TTs as their only option. These guys are loving it.

Be a sad world if all we were ever offered was more of the same.

Each to their own I guess...
My mates and I are in their with NoBS.... A pile of aids. That was the first shinn I've ridden so at least they (hopefully) can't get any worse.

Just curious Chiro, was it the the W18 or W16, and you/your mates weight?

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ChiroTrev said..

Has anyone else tried the shinn speedball?
3 mates and I demo'd one and we all said the exact same... What an absolute bucket of ****.
My poor mate was on it for the first hour, excited to try it. His smile quickly turned upside down the entire time he was on it and he had little fun until he switched to my cardboard.
My other 2 mates said the same..
Then they made me try it. I couldn't get off quick enough. It's a cumbersome, skatey, pig of a board that holds an edge like the kardashians hold there knees together - not at all!

I'm sure someone will defend this board but myself and my 4 mates agree, we'd rather ride a 500kg woman with head lice, scabies andl leprosy rather than the speedball.

If it does have a place it is in the sulo bin, or buy one for someone you despise this Christmas only so their excitement can turn to confusion and misery when they hit the water.

It's been a harsh review, but that's how it went. 0/5 stars.

awsome review, wind, conditions, type of riders, rode the speedball flat out for weeks to get a proper feel, at 1st i was a bit confused to what its about, then the conditions dictated it, its a wave orientated board which excells in normal onshore swell, it holds an amazing edge if you know how, it has a scatey feel to it which is great if you know what thats for, it refuses to bog down in lower winds and rides over white wash like nothing else, it doesnt pop well, but its not meant to, honestly unless you live in the above mentioned conditions it isnt a one board quiver, generally a dislike of a board comes from a lack of board riding skill as its stepping out of the norm for most, also kite choice and brand go hand in hand with board choice, if you take the time to challenge yourself itll make you a better board rider, thats how it is 4/ 5 stars in the correct conditions and hands, doesnt edge hey, bollocks

I'm with you Cauncy, it's a sick board, you gotta give it a bit of time to get it in your bones, fun fun board, and something a bit different.

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ChiroTrev said..

Each to their own I guess...
My mates and I are in their with NoBS.... A pile of aids. That was the first shinn I've ridden so at least they (hopefully) can't get any worse.

Still loving my Supershinn two years on! It's a keeper for me, but for sure I'll add to it in the future. I doubt the Speedball is anything at all like the rest of the Shinn range.

I've been riding the Speedball 16 in varied conditions over the last few months and really like it. I'm 73kg using it in waves and chop with Rally and Reo kites. It edges well, cranks carve turns beautifully and the short length makes it super light, quick and responsive to redirect on a wave and in the air. Also agree with Cauncy that it is best I've owned for dealing with whitewash.

I've found it more sensitive than most boards to weight forward/back trim and maybe this is what some are taking time to get dialled.

Overall I rate it highly. A great board for me, but obviously not for everyone.

ChiroTrev your commentary is comical. You had me laughing. But like Donald Trump always says, there's no such thing as "bad publicity". So now I'm curious to give the Speedball a try, if not out of out morbid curiosity. Like the OR Mako, I too at first didn't like that board. In fact for a variety of reasons I hated it. However, once I tuned into the board's unique character, I discovered the perceived weaknesses was its greatest strengths. Now the Mako is one of my favorites and a "keeper".

Speedball - can't wait to try one!

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ChiroTrev said..

Has anyone else tried the shinn speedball?
3 mates and I demo'd one and we all said the exact same... What an absolute bucket of ****.
My poor mate was on it for the first hour, excited to try it. His smile quickly turned upside down the entire time he was on it and he had little fun until he switched to my cardboard.
My other 2 mates said the same..
Then they made me try it. I couldn't get off quick enough. It's a cumbersome, skatey, pig of a board that holds an edge like the kardashians hold there knees together - not at all!

I'm sure someone will defend this board but myself and my 4 mates agree, we'd rather ride a 500kg woman with head lice, scabies andl leprosy rather than the speedball.

If it does have a place it is in the sulo bin, or buy one for someone you despise this Christmas only so their excitement can turn to confusion and misery when they hit the water.

It's been a harsh review, but that's how it went. 0/5 stars.

Sounds like your having trouble remembering just how many mates demo'd the speedball. How can 4 or 5 people demo one board in one session and give an accurate account of its performance?

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windtzu said..

ChiroTrev your commentary is comical. You had me laughing. But like Donald Trump always says, there's no such thing as "bad publicity". So now I'm curious to give the Speedball a try, if not out of out morbid curiosity. Like the OR Mako, I too at first didn't like that board. In fact for a variety of reasons I hated it. However, once I tuned into the board's unique character, I discovered the perceived weaknesses was its greatest strengths. Now the Mako is one of my favorites and a "keeper".

Speedball - can't wait to try one!

Ditto windtzu. The Mako is another niche board. Wont be everyones scotch&coke; and probably no-ones 1 board quiver; but it is an awesome board for the right reasons in the right places.
Build defies all logic (at first) and it does take most who demo it a few rides to dial in to its way of doing the job.
It doesnt ride like your TT & needs different input than your surfboard. And between those 2 is where its strength lies.
Long downwinders - preferably with lots of wave riding along the way.
Choppy onshore sessions in messy short ride waves. (hmm sounds like somewhere close by)
etc etc.
Mako is also Mutant and TT in the one board - bonus.

Makos & Speedballs both available for demo - anytime.

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puppetonastring said..

scotch&coke

Sacriledge!

Im a big fan of the shinn speed ball .I like to free ride ,carve ,ride waves ,boost ,roll and do this over and over again on downwinders.I bought the w 18 because I wanted something that is going to work in light wind and work well for down winders for boost and wave sessions..Took it out with my 17 m ozone edge in 11-13 knots when I took it for a demo and was amazed with its light wind capability straight away .Usually I would be going for my sector 52 in such light wind ,but the speed ball w18 was giving me good speed enough to pull of some smaller jumps and I was able to do some nice arial transitions in such light wind.I did not have a problem edging with this board and I have ridden many twin tips .Switching to do a turn the other way only took an hour or so to dial as it does require a bit more powerful body movment and you need to lift the fins out of the water more so than a normal tt to make it switch fluently.
I am quite happy to put up with this because of its powerfull carving and wave riding ability.You can dig the heals in on this board and grip and it will not slide when carving a wave up.As I come off a wave and go back out I like to carve and this will do a perfect u shape carve that you just cant do on a normal tt.Definantly more surfboard like
When it's 20 knots and above I can get on a 7 m kite and be nicely powered as I wiegh 85 to 90 .I love this board ability to get to full speed quick when you see nice kicker forming and in an instance you have the speed to hit with pace.
This board does require you to ride it with power and you need to be aggressive with it.Not for everyone I agree.I think its a fantastic concept on what I have need over the past 4 years of kiting .
If your into freestyle or wakstyle just tacking back and forth poping your manouver then it wont be for you. To say its a bucket of poo is just your view!

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Kamikuza said..

puppetonastring said..

scotch&coke

Sacriledge!

Na, not if its the cheap'n'nasty night club stuff.
but good scotch needs to be straight.

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kitcho207 said..

Kamikuza said..

puppetonastring said..

scotch&coke

Sacriledge!

Na, not if its the cheap'n'nasty night club stuff.

Then it's whisky. Scotch, by definition, is quality

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Kamikuza said..

kitcho207 said..

Kamikuza said..

puppetonastring said..

scotch&coke

Sacriledge!

Na, not if its the cheap'n'nasty night club stuff.

Then it's whisky. Scotch, by definition, is quality

So what your saying is "Shinn Speedball - What a bucket of Scotch"

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bigtone667 said..

Kamikuza said..

kitcho207 said..

Kamikuza said..

puppetonastring said..

scotch&coke

Sacriledge!

Na, not if its the cheap'n'nasty night club stuff.

Then it's whisky. Scotch, by definition, is quality

So what your saying is "Shinn Speedball - What a bucket of Scotch"

I'm not saying anything about the Shinn cos I've not ridden one

get on one of these chirotrev itll give you and your mates the ****s big time

Chiro, did you have the macked out surf fins on?
I did and found it a pig to turn.
I agree this board is a little finniky to set up and get into but once you do, it's pretty fun.

I replaced their surf fins with some 45mm north TT fins (not the s-bends) and it went sick.
Shinn has 43mm fins the same as the old norths so no probs.
I also had to keep the pads set on the inside setting as I found there was zero feel and pop on the outside ones.
You can roll & pop this board easy, an' like many are saying it turns fast and floats the foam sick.
I went for Shinn Red in the end but this board was defo fun.

Id like to see a review of the Red.
And your reasoning behind choosing it.