Rome demo day today at my local mtn - Bluewood, WA. I was pleasantly suprised to see that all the boards were new 09 models. Most boards had never been ridden before. The rep took each board out of it's factory sleeve and took the stickers off the base before I mounted them.

Conditions: Sunshine, soft groomers, 10+ inches of leftover pow in the trees, warming up in the afternoon, some runs in the sun were slushy by afternoon. Really the perfect spring day.

I took 2-5 runs on each board. More time on each pair of bindings. Runs included groomers, trees with pow, cattracks and natural jumps. A few park laps were made. For comparision, I am 180 lbs, size 9 boot, 5'9".

Mod 56 w/United bindings: This board blew me away. It was super light especially with the new all plastic United binding. Tons of pop, very fast, rode really quick in the trees and floated in the powder really well. This board was a nice easy medium flex, yet it felt really quick and responsive and held an edge really well. This board made my ollies 15% higher. At the top of my wish list for next season for sure.

Agent 56 w/United bindings: I rode this board with the same bindings, boots, stance, and runs as the Mod, but somehow I just did not like it. It felt damp and unlively to me. I took it on extra runs just hoping that it would click and I would like it but that never happened. I can say that it carved well and felt really solid and stable on edge. I was really surprised that I didn't like this board. It felt way different than the Mod.

Graft 60 w/United bindings: I wanted to ride the 55 or 58 Graft, but the one they had was out all day. Rep kept telling me that the board was really really soft. Turns out that it was but the extra length made it good in the pow and really stable when carving even though it was pretty soft torsionally. Took this board through the park 3 runs too and it was really fun. Very forgiving and a nice big platform to land with. Very poppy and lively. I was surpised at how fun this board was everywhere. Easy to butter and press even in the longer length. Also on my wish list for next season.

Machine 57 w/390 bindings: The Machine was a little too wide for me with my size 9 Ions, so it did feel a little sluggish edge to edge. I was suprised that this board felt a lot stiffer than I expected, more than the Agents stiffness. I rode the pow well but just felt too stiff so I took it back after just 1 run. Surprisingly felt like the stiffest board of the day.

Artifact 53 w/390 bindings: Rep said that the preproduction Artifacts were stiffer than production Artifacts (maybe the same was true of the Machine). Still the board was pretty soft. It felt like my Capita Stairmaster Extreme. I took it through a powdery glade and it floated much better than I expected. It was really poppy and fun to dork around with. Pretty much everything you have already read about it.



United bindings: Rome's new all plastic binding. I rode this binding for 3/4ths of the day and really liked it. It is a really minimalistic, super light binding. It has tool free strap adjustments, really comfy gel-like straps like the 390s and a flexible highback. The highback is really comfy and allows for a nice range of side to side movement. Think Mission binding with P1 straps and a nicely padded baseplate.

390 bindings: No surprises here. Really comfy straps and good feel. No pressure points even with straps cranked down tight.

Bottom line: I loved the Mod, Graft and United bindings. One thing I can say about all the boards is that they were really fast. Bases wore the factory coat of Bluebird wax and all had really great glide, especially the Mod and Agent.

Thanks mang! I´m checking out the Graft for my park stick next season.

Posted by arild_harboe
Thanks mang! I´m checking out the Graft for my park stick next season.

It was really really fun man. I think you'd be stoked on it.

hey man,

Posted by LiveOnTheMountain
hey man,

i dont know if you have ridden this years graft

but how is the flex compared?

any new tech involved?

I have not ridden the '08 graft, but construction and Rome flex ratings are all the same. I don't have the '09 specs to compare, but my guess is that the specs are also the same.

It is a really fun board.

I have the 08 Graft, it is SUPER FUN !!!!!! This board is as soft as the Artifact, but just that Rome added a carbon at the tail and nose to make it more poppier than the Artifact !!!! so the part between the bindings is same as Artifact !!! My best board ever, it hold edges extremely well on ice as well !!! no problem carving with that board !!! definitely go for it

Was the mod ridiculously soft in the center like the agent? And how easy was it to butter with?  Since they are making a wide mod next season I want to get as much info on it as I can.

And with the machine, I feel that the center is way stiff on that board, so I am guessing they didn’t change any tech for 09.

Nice Bimmer, good write up! 

Posted by drenmaster

Was the mod ridiculously soft in the center like the agent? And how easy was it to butter with?  Since they are making a wide mod next season I want to get as much info on it as I can.

And with the machine, I feel that the center is way stiff on that board, so I am guessing they didn’t change any tech for 09.

I didn't feel like it was really soft in the middle. Just a nice medium flex with tons of pop. I also didn't feel like the Agent was really soft in the middle either. Mod was easy to butter, but not a noodle at all. Like I said a medium flex for me.

Also take into consideration my specs. I am '5"9, 180 lbs, size 9 boot.

The wide Mod is called the Riff. By buddy who wears size 12 boots rode it an the Slash (wide Agent) and prefered the Riff hands down. It is just much more lively and fun that the Agent.

Posted by bimmerman

Posted by drenmaster

Was the mod ridiculously soft in the center like the agent? And how easy was it to butter with?  Since they are making a wide mod next season I want to get as much info on it as I can.

And with the machine, I feel that the center is way stiff on that board, so I am guessing they didn’t change any tech for 09.

I didn't feel like it was really soft in the middle. Just a nice medium flex with tons of pop. I also didn't feel like the Agent was really soft in the middle either. Mod was easy to butter, but not a noodle at all. Like I said a medium flex for me.

Also take into consideration my specs. I am '5"9, 180 lbs, size 9 boot.

The wide Mod is called the Riff. By buddy who wears size 12 boots rode it an the Slash (wide Agent) and prefered the Riff hands down. It is just much more lively and fun that the Agent.

Interesting.. Will the Riff be available longer than 158?(like on the mod)

Posted by arild_harboe

Interesting.. Will the Riff be available longer than 158?(like on the mod)

Riff comes in a 155cm, 158cm, and 161cm.

same graphics on the riff and mod? or slash and agent?

[Edited by snowvols on 4/8/2008 at 2:57 PM]

Posted by snowvols
same graphics on the riff and mod? or slash and agent?

[Edited by snowvols on 4/8/2008 at 2:57 PM]

Pages from the catalog that show the graphics for each one, not up close but good enough for right now.

Page 1
Page 2

Posted by shayboarder

Posted by arild_harboe

Interesting.. Will the Riff be available longer than 158?(like on the mod)

Riff comes in a 155cm, 158cm, and 161cm.

Hmm. 161 is just enough for an all mountain stick. Interesting..

i wantthe new artifact so bad but my feet are just too big =[

the new machine looks wack.

You sure it wasn't 14.99999% higher?

I know the mod is suppose to be pretty smooth with jumping but how was it for jibbing, i know its not a noodle like a artifact but did you still feel comforatable and have some play with jibbing it? Ive been riding a agent for years and love the fact i can play around with it on rails, boxes etc but still handes well jumping it all over the moutain. so basically im looking for something like that..