Benefits of the Apex Race Plate System
In its debut season, Apex riders scored 12 podium finishes, 5 World Cup wins and an Olympic gold.
We explain how the Apex Race Plate works and what it can do for the already accomplished snowboard racer. Remember, that's our target application - racing. This plate is made without compromises for saving time around gates and winning races. If it sucks in pow or the moguls, don't blame us.
That being said, if it excels at an unintended application, like Euro-carving, ski jumping or as a high tech cutting board, please let us know. We're always looking for new markets.
How it Works
The Apex race plate provides the most effective isolation and decoupling of any race plate on the market. The plate offers the following advantages over existing systems:
Rider stays in a balanced and neutral posture. Since the bindings are attached to the plate and the plate is decoupled from the board, the feet will remain flat regardless of how much bend is in the board.
Unmatched decoupling. Since the plate is attached only at one end and allowed to float longitudinally on the opposite end, the board is allowed more freedom to flex and bend uninterrupted than any other system. This also allows for greater isolation from rough terrain, allowing the board to do more work and creating a smooth, less tiring ride.
"User-friendly". These are the words that Canadian coach Mark Fawcett recently used to describe our system. Apex has tuned in the right blend of response and forgiveness. This was achieved through extensive pre-season training and an entire World Cup campaign. We went through 14 different prototypes to get the right recipe. And we had over 20 world class racers and coaches providing feedback.
Board builders love our system because it maintains the natural flex and turning radius that they engineered into their boards. No dead spots. Optimal tortional stiffness so the board does not distort between the bindings. Just natural, even flex like your board builder intended. To paraphrase Jasey Jay Anderson, “It lets you make nice turns.”. As Jasey proved in Vancouver, nice turns translate into fast times.
Our Development Team
When it came to testing, we got pretty lucky. As part of Canada's "Own the Podium" programme, we worked with Canadian National Coach, Mark Fawcett and his talented team which included Olympians Alexa Loo, Jasey Jay Anderson, Michael Lambert, Matt Morison, Caroline Calve and Kimiko Zakreski.
We threw out 14 prototypes before we settled on the design that debuted at Telluride in December. Disguised under MacTac and duct tape, the Apex Race Plate scored 4 podium finishes for 4 different racers that weekend.
After the historic 2009/10 season, we continue to work with Mark and his team to refine and improve our snowboard plate system.
Insert Pattern and Fitment
The Apex Race Plate will not fit on a standard 4x4 insert pattern without an adapter (see below). A snowboard will require an Apex Standard Insert Pattern (ASIP). Since a picture's worth a thousand words, here's a JPG with the measurements. It's not to scale in case that's not obvious. If you're a board builder and need an AutoCAD file, get in touch and we will send you the file.
Click on the image to enlarge it.
Kessler, Black Pearl, Donek and Coiler are all confirmed board builders with ASIP compatible insert patterns. Some builders refer to the pattern as UPM (Universal Plate Mounting) pattern.
The Apex Race Plate will also fit on the last iteraton of the Hangl plate pattern although we don't use all the inserts. Some old Hangl insert patterns do not work so check the measurements before you order.
4x4 Insert Adapter
We do offer an adapter to mount the Apex Race Plate on a standard 4x4 insert pattern. However, because of low demand, we make this adapter in small batches. Therefore, if you need this adapter, there may be delay in shipping.
How does it all go together?
Machined aluminum and stainless steel brackets are attached to your snowboard in four places. Then the Apex Race Plate is attached to the brackets using stainless steel axles. One of the axles is fixed. The other slides longitudinally. The sliding axle is typically installed at the front of the board but can be placed at the rear. The choice is yours. All necessary hardware is included with your plate and we'll throw in a few extra, hard to find pieces, just in case.
We also sell extra hardware and brackets. Send us an email if you need hardware.
Glamour Shots and a Bonus from the Olympic Tent
Click on the image to see a larger version.
