Today was the first time this season that we got a 25 -30 knot NW wind. I had to take my Magic Ride 111 Pro Edition out to see how it would perform in that velocity of wind. Magic just keeps begging for more. I had my 5.3 sail on it today which seemed to be a perfect match for the wind. This board just loves to get up and go. The board was totally in control as Magic took me flying across the water. I was jumping waves all day and what a rush it was. If anyone is contiplating about what board to buy in the low 100 liter range, the Magic ride is the way to go. This board does it all!!! I have been on this board so far about 10 times and I still haven't found Magic's top speed. It keeps surprising me every time with more excitement, more magic and more speed. I am totally hooked on this board...

What worries me about these new school super wide thin boards is how well they'll hold up long term. I have a rocket wide 108. I jump it only involuntarily. OTOH, these boards have been out for 2-3 years and I've only heard of fanatic geckos having problems - I think they were the first such boards.

Just curious to ask why they would be any weaker. They are thinner but that would mean less foam...not much strength in foam, so if the same amount of cloth is used then I would assume that the intent strength would be much the same for a similar board.

The new "ride" boards like the gecko, magic and atomiq are all pretty cool concepts dreamed up by the fanatic crew a few years ago and we all thought he was just another crazy german, but what a great concept , wide round outline stable as, planes early, Gybes like a thin marshmallow.....sooo cool

These are the new generation windsurfing boards now, yes they are making them lighter, wider and thinner. It won't be long until this concept catches on through all style of windsurfing boards. I chose the Magic Ride Pro Edition because the fantastic test results in the Pro Edition carbon sector. Yes it has some wood and regular fiber glass mixed in, but the outer top and bottom layer is layed up with carbon fiber. These carbon boards are stiffer than the FSW and ES construction models. Like everything today, production is key and unfortunately craftmenship tends to lack. Carbon will puncture the easiest, but its stiffness will hold up better due to the stronger carbon tensil strength added to the board.

Hey Greenleader that place you're sailing at is amazing. Can you tell me where it is and I'll add it to my bucket list ?

Narrower boards are nicer to gybe and are more nimble. The new wide boards work OK, but there are better experiences to be had in that much wind.

My thoughts exactly! I have had narrow boards in the past and loved them, but I was in the market for a new board and didn't want to go wide at all, until I did more research and found that the newer boards are going wider, thinner and shorter now and perform amazingly better than the older generation boards, so I ended up getting the Magic Ride hoping for the best, and I now enjoy this board way more than the narrow boards. Night and day between the two.

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Tinlyds said..
Hey Greenleader that place you're sailing at is amazing. Can you tell me where it is and I'll add it to my bucket list ?

www.google.com.au/maps/place/Gold+Coast+QLD/@-27.9561228,153.4155891,284m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m2!3m1!1s0x6b911a472b5d60b7:0x302a35af3deaf70?hl=en

No Panda, don't give away the secret.

Magic Ride: I've always wondered what they will be like. I know a lot of people complain how uncomfortable the wide short JP wave and FSW boards were when they came out a few days ago. I concluded that they wouldn't work at the average local. Still, I would like to have a go one day. There's plenty forsale.

MrCranky: You only have to look at a Gecko and the nose will break, so doesn't count

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Tinlyds said..
Hey Greenleader that place you're sailing at is amazing. Can you tell me where it is and I'll add it to my bucket list ?

Hi Tinlyds, i have been windsurfing at "The Train" since the late seventies......a bit gusty due to the Surfers Paradise high rises and certainly not the biggest run on the planet , but it is the best little run on the Gold Coast with the friendliest bunch of windsurfers around.

Hi JN1,

Maybe you can demo the Magic Ride and see what you think. The 111 is 72cm wide, and the 104 is 68cm wide. It's not too extreme in my opinion. The 111 Magic Ride Pro I know for a fact will work in winds from 12-30 knots comfortably. That is a huge range of conditions for a board to sail in. That really says a lot right there. Plus the board is even freestyle friendly. My after market MFC K-One Freeride Fin really enhances the liveliness of the board with a tighter turning radius as well.

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MarkSSC said..
Just curious to ask why they would be any weaker. They are thinner but that would mean less foam...not much strength in foam, so if the same amount of cloth is used then I would assume that the intent strength would be much the same for a similar board.

Thickness makes a difference. If you have 2 beams of different depths with the same top and bottom skins the one with more depth will be stiffer and stronger in bending. ie the thicker one will bend less with the same load and fail with a higher load. It's the skins of boards that do all the work. The foam just keeps the skins in the right place.

In normal everyday sailing the most severe loading condition seems to be due to downward pressure at the mast foot and the foot straps and upward pressure between them. It's not unheard of for a deck to fracture in tension right across from one side to the other somewhere between the mast track and the front foot straps. It's just due to pounding along over chop at speed.

If a board breaks across from one side to another, common sense would say it was caused by a manufacturer defect or extreme hard core riding. Manufacturers have boards tested pretty thoroughly to help prevent such occurances from taking place, but like anything, if you push something beyond its limits, it's vulnerable to fracture. Craftmenship is not what it used to be.

I've got a '14 JP Allride 96Lt. it's not super wide at 60.5cm, but it's by far the widest board I've ever owned. It's more of a freeride board more than anything else, but I only ride it in the surf with light wind conditions only, 5.2 and up, couldn't be happier. It turns out to be very surfy once you put on a surf fin, which I've done, and works on small to very big (mast high) surf, but I don't do big air on it, bunny hops only. It's so light weight that I don't have the guts to take it as high as my strictly wave boards, which I have to think are stronger, and they are heavier. But it's strong enough, been riding it about a year and a half and have had zero problems with it.
Here's a pic of me bunny hopping it on a small day (the only pic of me I've got on that board). I'm a fan of the "ride" boards.

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Mastbender said..




I've got a '14 JP Allride 96Lt. it's not super wide at 60.5cm, but it's by far the widest board I've ever owned. It's more of a freeride board more than anything else, but I only ride it in the surf with light wind conditions only, 5.2 and up, couldn't be happier. It turns out to be very surfy once you put on a surf fin, which I've done, and works on small to very big (mast high) surf, but I don't do big air on it, bunny hops only. It's so light weight that I don't have the guts to take it as high as my strictly wave boards, which I have to think are stronger, and they are heavier. But it's strong enough, been riding it about a year and a half and have had zero problems with it.
Here's a pic of me bunny hopping it on a small day (the only pic of me I've got on that board). I'm a fan of the "ride" boards.

Is that a big fish on the leeward side of the board???


speaking of which, I heard that GC chnnels and canals were full of narky big fish!

I also have Magic Rides, a wood 104 and a carbon 118, they are both about 2 years old, I got the 118 first to help with Gybing and as I wanted to get a new board. I totally love it. It is a great light wind board , I use it with an RS 6.7 and Hell Cat 7.7, I did find it becoming a bit of a handful when the wind was getting up around the 20knt mark. I then bought the 104 which I use when its windier, ie above 18knt. This board I really love, it feels the same but different, not as easy to gybe as the 118 but I am getting better gybing it the more I get used to it. The 104 totally rocks, I sail it in the river and ocean and it feels great. Either with the Neil Pryde RS 6.7 or my Neil Pryde Fusion 6.0 I am yet to really let it have its head in the ocean as I am still learning the bump and jump technique. It goes plenty fast enough on the river. For what I use them for , which is basically freeride sailing I could not be happier.

I started with JP FWS MR 118 and it was pretty good. I wasn't! Matched with NP Rydes 5.5,6.5. I have since moved to JPSS124 which I like more. Have Ryde 7.5 now too. Seems easier to gybe on the SS. SS is only 73 wide vs MR at 76. I feel the reduction in width is good and extra length (+5cm) helpful in non planing situations. I'd be keen to try the MR again. I heard that the MR118 was pushed to 36knots! Wide must work given that speed.

The 104 is my dream board or a rocket or a firemove. Currently the mortgage is getting in the way, and renos etc. Lets see what the tax man gives me in July.

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Magic Ride said..
If a board breaks across from one side to another, common sense would say it was caused by a manufacturer defect or extreme hard core riding. Manufacturers have boards tested pretty thoroughly to help prevent such occurances from taking place, but like anything, if you push something beyond its limits, it's vulnerable to fracture. Craftmenship is not what it used to be.

That is not the point.

NotWal mentioned that a thicker board is stronger. That's an engineering fact.

I'm not sure where you got your info about carbon in the pro construction, but there isn't any. The only carbon magic rides are the full carbon which are textreme carbon on the deck and bi-axial carbon on the bottom. Be happy with the pro construction, it's the best compromise of light weight and durability.

Well said Paul, I have had two magic rides now the 104 and I have got the 111 now in Pro construction, really great boards.

Hi Geoff,
Between us we've got decades of sailing, in competition and as sponsored sailors, and we know an exceptional board when we come across one. The Magic Rides are exceptional boards and better than the competition in that market segment. Incidentally I had thought that the smaller boards were the only ones to have, but a friend who is 120kg just bought the 2016 154 litre Magic Ride and he's enthusiastically reporting the same board performance that I get out of my 111 for my weight of 78kg.

PD - The website tells me nothing but every JP pro edition I have seen is carbon/kevlar or carbon/innegra ? visible thru the deck at least.....

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PD said..
The Magic Rides are exceptional boards and better than the competition in that market segment.

What other brand/model did you compare with?

Read the tests

You're right. JP don't say what Pro Construction is because it varies with the model and size. My JP Slalom 80 is biaxial carbon deck and bottom, my 68 and 66 are carbon deck wood bottom, the 60 is wood top and bottom. My JP Fusion SUP is Pro Construction and it's S Glass. JP says that they select the construction for weight strength and ride quality. The last few years the finish has been opaque, but previously they made a feature of the construction. Two of my JP FSWs were carbon Kevlar (perhaps the strongest and lightest construction they ever used) and you could see it. I was told by a JP retailer who knows the facts that the Pro Construction Magic Rides don't have any carbon in them. The two MRs in Gold Construction for 2015 have a Textreme carbon fibre deck and biaxial carbon bottom.

Interesting - and annoying that the website does not tell you. It tells me there is 4 constructions and not a skerrick of info about what each one means. Not a good marketing strategy...