04 cwb absolute vs. 05 cwb absolute

for those that's ridden both the 04 and 05 absolute, what's the difference in design and ride?

thanks!

Haven't ridden the 04 but compared to my old 03' it's night and day. They gave it a lot more rocker which slowed it down a ton. It took awhile to get used to it but now I like it. It still lands soft and the molded fins are bigger making it hold a little better.

I should have my new Flame (same as 04 absolute) in a few days so I'll let you know then.
The 05 has more of an emphasis on huge rocker and big molded in fins, alot of pop and really good finless (even though every absolute is good finless).
If you have a chance ride the Transend, I love this board its just so smooth and controlled, just needs to be a touch looser on the heelside (personal opinion though)

(Message edited by kristian on January 24, 2005)

What are the size of the molded in fins on the 05' Absolute? I bought a premier last year and took it back. It had too much grab for me.
I like to ride finless.

I can get an 05' Absolute Platinum w/ Zues bindings for 500 + shipping.

(Message edited by jdavis4 on January 24, 2005)

Joe what size absolute did you ride and was it foam or platinum??

i have been demoing a bunch of CWBS of late and rode both foam and platinum 135s and also i had the 138 Trancend all weekend and until the last set sunday thought it was too slow but started feeling the board pretty well..

i am buying one of them soon but cant decide between the 141/135 platnum or foam or the Trancend..

i may ride both a few more times before i decide...

Anybody else offer their oppinons between these three choices??

i thought after demoing this would be an easy decision but its not ..i can get better deals on the foam Abs and trancend but theres something about the platnum i like besides they look cool as hell

i got two weeks to decide..

BTW MIkeD where are ytou getting such a deal on that combo??

Joe:

CWB made a few changes in 05. The center spin was taken down a bit because they were breaking on rails. The molded in fins are a bit larger, so riding it without a center fin is a must. I rode it with and without one. The center fin makes the board super sticky. For the most part, the biggest difference is the larger molded fins. It tracks way better than last years board.

Bill, my friends Dad works for Bayer Chemical and he gets a discount on all CWB products.

Alright are you ready for the break down? Major differences are as follows...the molded fins are now deeper & longer they also removed the parallel channel that made last years molded fin more "two tiered". Also removed was the subtle 3rd & 4th molded fins that had slowly been done away with over the boards progression. The center spine depth was very slightly reduced while it was lengthened to the beginning of the molded fins. They added a very slight concave outside of the molded fins that add a little grip. They also removed the rail channel so the board tracks more off the tail. Rocker was obviously increased significantly. It also has less of a "bat tail" profile & the molded fins are more full shaped than last years which tapered significantly before the end of the board. With the stock center fin it is a rocket ship just too grippy. With a small fin it has a nice balance. Finless it is pretty slow but extremely fun to pop W2W & makes tick tock landings look good.

As for the three boards mentioned above I'd go with the Absolute because it's a little more user friendly and has the abiility to be customized to your preference for the day. Hard charging or nice & smooth, just remove the fins.