Just picked up my sample of the NEW Bic 14' Tracer Race/Touring board for 2014/15. My first impression was how good the finish and the aesthetics are on this board (not to mention ALL this is going to retail at under $2300) At 28" wide and weighing under 13.5kg's it looks amazing. I couldn't wait to get it in the water to try it out. Straight down to SUP Gear Australia to show Mark & Keiran my new board & to put some rail tape on it so i could get it in the water at Long Reef. What started off as a wet & dreary morning turned into a beautiful sunny offshore day. As soon as I jumped on the Tracer it felt super stable & just wanted to glide along effortlessly. I cruised up to South Narrabeen & caught a few runners into Collaroy & then out to Makaha just enjoying the glide & feel of the board. After driving back up to Terrigal I had just enough time to get a few quick waves at the Haven before dark. The board picked up the runners easily & surfed confidently across the rights on the Point. Beautiful board at an amazing price. Hopefully I'll get to downwind it tomorrow :)
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one board i've never paddled and would like too
. looks nice, 13.5 kgs is acceptable but nothing special these days
cheers
No not the lightest (Bic's Race-Tec are only 9kg) but for a 14' x 28" & the price one of the nicest boards on the market :)
Select to expand quoterobg1703 said...
No not the lightest (Bic's Race-Tec are only 9kg) but for a 14' x 28" & the price one of the nicest boards on the market :)
yeah, that is a very good price
Select to expand quotelaceys lane said... robg1703 said...
No not the lightest (Bic's Race-Tec are only 9kg) but for a 14' x 28" & the price one of the nicest boards on the market :)
yeah, that is a very good price
And with Bic's board design and construction pedigree, you would think it would also be very well built and designed for that price. I read an article a while back forecasting that the entrance into the sup market by Bic, Hobie and Mistral was drawing near
Thanks for the post - what a great looking board. Similar in weight to the 14' Naish glide carbon and about $500 less. I am looking forward to having a close up look when it hits the stores. It appears that it would make a very good touring board?
Hi,
did you get to downwind it yet?
I'm interested in knowing how well it goes in open ocean.
The board looks super cool and could be the sort of compromise I'm after. I'm mainly paddling inland waters but am very interested in doing an open ocean race at some point.
br
HI Everyone, sorry i haven't looked at my post for a while (too busy working or paddling my Tracer) glad people have read it though :)
I've now paddled it in all conditions and even raced it at our Central Coast Sup Club flatwater race over 10km's, and even though I'm not exactly race fit after my hip op I was only a few minutes behind everyone else on their Falcon's etc. As an all-rounder and at a fantastic price with a beautiful finish I don't think you can beat it.
Select to expand quotejannik said..
Hi,
did you get to downwind it yet?
I'm interested in knowing how well it goes in open ocean.
The board looks super cool and could be the sort of compromise I'm after. I'm mainly paddling inland waters but am very interested in doing an open ocean race at some point.
br
HI BR, goes unreal in the ocean, picks up runners easily & really forgiving, soooo stable
Hi folks
anybody else has tried the 14x28Tracer in the Ocean?
Rob, any comparision with other more common ocean boards (AllStar, Naish Glides -2012, 2014-, Bullet NSP DC ...)? so we can have a reference for your stability comment?
Now that Naish has decided to discontinue the Glide 14x29.25 Carbon 
, it seems a good alternative as an intermediate all around board, not very expensive and not very heavy!
Cheers, and thanks for your time!
Marc
The 14' x28 tracer is very flat (no rocker). Much like the old JP sportster flat water. Works great on very flat water. I wouldn't pick it for a downwinder.
Hi yugi, thanks for your input, I assume you have paddle it, so it s very valuable. In the side section picture from the manufacturer it doesn't seem so flat, at least compared to the photos I have seem from the 2014 glide or SB all star. But those images can be deceiving, I guess.
Any other one with similar consideration? Anybody have used in a downwind or rough conditions. Robg you seem to like it in the ocean ...
Thanks!
Select to expand quoteyugi said..
The 14' x28 tracer is very flat (no rocker). Much like the old JP sportster flat water. Works great on very flat water. I wouldn't pick it for a downwinder.
Having paddled the 14' tracer this was my impression as well. It was quick in the small bumps but a bit tippy for my 6' and 89kg in the ocean.
Select to expand quoteMarcCSup said..
Hi yugi, thanks for your input, I assume you have paddle it, so it s very valuable. In the side section picture from the manufacturer it doesn't seem so flat, at least compared to the photos I have seem from the 2014 glide or SB all star. But those images can be deceiving, I guess.
In flat water the nose will ride touching the water.
Select to expand quoteyugi said..MarcCSup said..
Hi yugi, thanks for your input, I assume you have paddle it, so it s very valuable. In the side section picture from the manufacturer it doesn't seem so flat, at least compared to the photos I have seem from the 2014 glide or SB all star. But those images can be deceiving, I guess.
In flat water the nose will ride touching the water.
Thank you guys for your first hand comments. Unfortunately, here in Spain we rarely have the chance to try before buy, even less with new models, so the forums it is all we have to decide
Cheers
HI Guys,
Sorry again as I don't get much time to check the forums.
I've now since done a downwinder in 25 knots & had a ball beating both an Ace & All-Star. The board surfed the runners with ease & was so stable. You knew exactly where to stand to keep the perfect speed on the runners so you didn't outrun them or drop off the back.
I don't think there's a better all-round board on the market for the money. Yes there's lighter & faster but it just really depends on your budget.
I know someone who has pre-ordered a 14' Tracer from biclife.com.au so he doesn't miss out when they come in. Not a bad idea.
I've pre ordered mine in Melbourne . SHQ in Sandringham will be the distributors in Vic I believe.
Good. I bet you can't wait to get it. What size did you go for?
You can even buy Bic gear in Hobart now at Hobart SUP & Surf. Bic are very popular in Europe and America too. For some reason it's under rated here in Australia. Maybe some of the other brands have more money to spend on Team Riders and sponsorship to push their brands.
I've got a 10'6 Ace-Tec which is a good all round board. It's not shiny like some of the others but it's tough and paddles really well on flat water and I've had it in small surf too. You can catch the smallest lump on it which is great for starting out. You can also feel it being pushed along on the sea breeze.
It's a nice board.
It looks like a lovely board.
From a business POV BIC fascinate me. Why would you attach the BIC name to an expensive product like a SUP? BIC is synonymous with cheap disposable biros. IMO they'd sell twice as many if they'd just market them under some other name, like Toyota did with Lexus for instance. Who wants a 2000 dollar biro? It's such a shame because the SUP range look like just what is needed. Can anyone with a business or marketing background explain BIC's strategy to me? I'm baffled. Do they hope to take the BIC/biro name upmarket by associating it with expensive sports products or something? Or dissociate the BIC and biro names or something? There must be some clever marketing psychology behind it somewhere because on the face of it, it doesn't make much sense to me. The sports division must make peanuts compared to the pen one.
Select to expand quoteArea10 said..
It looks like a lovely board.
From a business POV BIC fascinate me. Why would you attach the BIC name to an expensive product like a SUP? BIC is synonymous with cheap disposable biros. IMO they'd sell twice as many if they'd just market them under some other name, like Toyota did with Lexus for instance. Who wants a 2000 dollar biro? It's such a shame because the SUP range look like just what is needed. Can anyone with a business or marketing background explain BIC's strategy to me? I'm baffled. Do they hope to take the BIC/biro name upmarket by associating it with expensive sports products or something? Or dissociate the BIC and biro names or something? There must be some clever marketing psychology behind it somewhere because on the face of it, it doesn't make much sense to me. The sports division must make peanuts compared to the pen one.
Aside from the family's abiding interest in cool toys, going back a decade or three BIC saw windsurfing as a device to get the BIC brand out there to sell more biros. The fact that it made some money for them from time to time was a bonus (I have references for this somewhere, I research sports economics as part of my day job). There were also some spillover benefits in plastics molding technology that came about from scratching their heads about how to make boards. I suppose the rightness or otherwise of that strategy is a matter for BIC but it makes a pretty interesting marketing/economics case study.
I'd hazard a guess that the same idea is at work with SUP.
Thanks very much. That makes sense. So they may be able to undercut other manufacturers since the margins can be smaller (ie. since the SUP business only really has to "wash it's own face" to still be worth doing)?
They've come a long way as a SUP brand too. I've got one of the early BIC adjustable paddles. It could be used as a barbell.
Marcel Bich was a real sailing buff funding many French Americas Cup campaigns in the 70's. He saw the windsurf as a democratization of sailing and wanted to be part of it. He saw it as the "bicycle of the seas". Much like what he saw as the democratization of pens when he bought the Biro patent I guess. He bought Dufour sailboards which were growing like crazy in Europe. (Dufour were cheap but downright ugly - I never liked that rounded hull at the back and I am proud to say I have never had a SUP with a rounded bottom either. Even their sail was an ugly cut).
BTW Dufour, and thus Bic, were paying royalties to Windsurfer (Schweitzer and Drake). Wanting to reduce costs as much as possible Bich funded lawyers to look into how to reduce the royalties. The lawyers found a few cases of sailboards prior to the Drake & Schweitzer patent and so BIC successfully wriggled out of the royalties to Windsurfer. Pretty significant precedent for patent law apparently. Schweitzer then spend years trying to defend the patent, and losing. What followed was a huge opening of the market and designs. As much as I feel for Schweitzer (I raced Windsurfer class) the opening of the flood gates for windsurf designs really progressed the sport.
Jules,
I have ordered the 14x28 . I bought my first board last year a Hobie 11' ATR.
If it looks and smells like a pimp-fest, it is a pimp-fest. This would be a much better forum if people were more open about their affiliations and motivation for talking up product.
I have no affiliation with Bic. This board seems to tick all the right boxes for me and at $2300 it represents good value for those whose budget doesn't stretch enough to afford the best 14'ers on offer at the moment. I was looking at the, just superseded, 14'x 29 naish glide . Same weight (which is an issue for me) . The Naish is a beautiful board without question but it was $550 more. Bearing in mind I have to buy a new cover and want a decent new carbon paddle it was just out of reach. But yes I agree that commercial affiliations should be declared. I always assume that anyone who gets to test a pre sales sample of one has some sort of affiliation to the product. I actually chose the hobie ATR 11' as a first board , weight was a factor over boards like the 11' Bic Wing. I ran in to a guy on the bic last year paddling in Mornington. He liked the board very much. He was bigger than me and weight wasn't an issue for him. It is always a risk buying something untested -I did with the Hobie and didn't regret it. The Hobie will be retained because, funnily enough , my daughter has decided to try SUP and loves it. I also think that 2015 has been a great year for SUP design. We are spoilt for at the moment. I hear the 2015 Starboard touring models are very nice this year as well. I have no affiliation with them either.
Select to expand quoteRedskeg said..
If it looks and smells like a pimp-fest, it is a pimp-fest. This would be a much better forum if people were more open about their affiliations and motivation for talking up product.
Pimps under the bed, Red?
No pimp from me, although I almost bought a BIC windsurfer in the early 80's...and I've owned a slew of BiC biros. As I indicated in my post, I get into a bit of sports economics in my day job and the BiC/Boardsports story is a pretty interesting case study (that gets pretty juicy around the the Schweitzer patent challenges).
Select to expand quoteRedskeg said..
If it looks and smells like a pimp-fest, it is a pimp-fest. This would be a much better forum if people were more open about their affiliations and motivation for talking up product.
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