by Sarah Roarockit | Jun 15, 2018 | News/events
Today we are taking a moment to introduce Julien Fouchard: Roarockit Skateboard Europe’s Luge Team Rider.
This introduction is very overdue, as Julien Fouchard has now been riding for the Roarockit Team since 2016.
An enthusiast of the Street Luge and Classic Luge, Julien has been riding since 2012 and started riding competitively in 2013.
His accomplishments include:
Season of 2014
Photo Jean Esquerre
Photo Maxime Lassale PND Julien
- 3rd place Street Luge Championships of the South-West of France
- 4th place Classic Luge, Pyrenee Championships
- 15th place Classic Luge, France Championship (CDF)
- 9th place Classic Luge, International Championships (IDF)
Season of 2015
- 5th place Classic Luge, France Championship
Season of 2016
- 3rd place, Classic Luge France Championship
- 5th place, Street Luge, France Championship
Season of 2017
Couldn’t compete due to car problems
We met Julien back in 2014 during events such as Peyragudes Never Dies, Le Rigalet, La D35 (…etc.). So many great events out there!
Julien was looking for a Luge that would meet his needs and enable him to take part in Championships and events across the world.
Roarockit technology makes it possible to build all types of custom boards, but a Street Luge entirely made of veneer and vinyl glue with oversize dimensions and shapes had not yet been done. We were up for the challenge and launched ourselves into the making of a unique Street Luge!
After several months, the first luge was ready. Made entirely using the Roarockit Thin Air Press, Canadian maple veneer and Titebond III glue. Julien participated in several freerides to test it, see if improvements were needed and to get a maximum amount of feedback on the board from other riders. Returns were positive but some improvements could be made: a little wider and shorter.
The second prototype was then a success! A Street Luge entirely handmade with Roarockit technology, a one-of-a-kind Luge.
The making of this first Street Luge entirely out of veneer is a great pride. A successful collaboration between rider Julien Fouchard, who brought his knowledge of the discipline and Roarockit for the technicalities of the build. The graphics were done by rider and artist Thomas, aka LeGrinch, Lako – Art & Co
This coming season of 2018 Julien will be taking part in several Freerides: the Rigalet, Montaut Express, Saint Pathik…etc.
And also the IDF championships: Transylvania, Kozakov, Verdiccilio.
We are thoroughly looking forward to following his accomplishments this season and are stoked of having such an awesome Roarockit Ambassador and Team Rider!
Plus big shout out to Julien, for his input on the successful build of the Street Luge !
May it be a successful year of downhill events for Team Rider Julien Fouchard!
DREAM IT, MAKE IT, RIDE IT
Follow Julien on facebook & instagram
by Sarah Roarockit | Nov 14, 2017 | News/events
Looking for that perfect gift for family and friends? We have put together some creative, DIY and unique ideas that will put a smile on their faces for sure this Christmas!
- Build Your Own Skateboard Kits:- includes everything you need to build 2 professional quality skateboards (street deck, longboard, cruiser & 100% custom board kits available)- perfect for a family gift, build it together and enjoy some DIY family fun
– ideal for him & for her: build it and personalise it to make a 100% unique custom board! Ready to ride & or use as a custom sign, book shelf and more.
– or build the boards yourself and offer them a deck handmade by you this Christmas!
Street Deck Double Kit
Example of a finished board
Board building tools
- DIY Christmas gift pack– includes everything you need to get creative and build many unique gifts this season !- everyone loves a handmade gift and this kit enables you to make jewellery and many other small laminating projects
– or offer this kit as a gift for creative and DIY lovers
Press for laminating
DIY Christmas gift pack
- Skateboard builders- know a skateboard builder fanatic? Then do we have some cool tools and materials they would love!
– from gift cards (valid on our entire website) to shaper tools, such as the ‘Drop Through Template‘ or a good read with the ‘Handmade Skateboard‘, it will be 100% shaper satisfaction guaranteed!
The Handmade Skateboard
- Skateboard building workshops– new to board building or want to go over certain shaper techniques? Our board building workshop gift cards are the ideal gift!
Either way our special gift ideas page, is brimming with perfect present ideas for all DIY lovers!
Dream it, Make it, Ride
The Roarockit Team
And of course, please contact us if you have any questions or would like any further information! We would be happy to help!
Please note that our elfs will do everything they can to ensure orders are received in time for Christmas, however transport companies are very busy too at this time of year and we cannot control the transport once it has left us, so don’t leave it too late to ensure you receive it in time to slip it under the tree! 🙂
DIY Skateboard Building Kits
by Sarah Roarockit | Aug 11, 2017 | News/events
It is a pleasure to present to you the work of Aad Terlouw from the Netherlands and his beautiful build of a carbon-epoxy fin keel for a controlled model sailing yacht, using the Roarockit Thin Air Press Technology! Thank you Aad for taking the time to share your experience with us!
Radio controlled model sailing yacht
The wide range of applications of the Roarockit is shown with the construction of a fin keel by Aad Terlouw in the Netherlands for his radio controlled model sailing yacht.The fin with a length of 65 cm had to be light, stiff and strong and with a narrow airfoil cross section of about 6.5 mm wide.To achieve that goal he decided to go for an carbon-epoxy fin with a balsa wood core and to apply vacuum bag technology.
In spite of the availability of numerous industrial vacuum bag systems the favourable reviews of the Roarockit on the internet convinced him to purchase the Roarockit with a bag of 135*40cm.
The balsa wood core consists of 2 balsa planks of 3 mm thickness, each of them were given an one-sided airfoil-like cross section by accurate planing and sanding (photo below).After this shaping stage the two halves were glued together with epoxy in the Roarockit vacuum bag.
After consulting vacuum bagging expertise on the internet for similar projects Aad had concluded to replace the delivered breather net by a release film with closely spaced ventilation openings directly placed on the balsa fin core.On top of this film a bleeder cloth is needed to absorb excess epoxy.It is essential to keep the valve on the bag offset from your work as recommended in the user guide of the kit.
After drying the complete core was sanded down to about 4.5 mm thickness and in top and bottom inserts of small pieces of hard wood were glued for fitting the bolts for connection of the fin with the hull and the ballast lead later on.
Aad had decided to place three layers of unidirectional (UD) carbon cloth on both sides of the core.
In dry condition the combined thickness of these 3 layers carbon was 1 mm and in order to determine the final thickness of the carbon-epoxy composite he made a small testpiece using the Roarockit. This also enabled him to familiarize himself with the Roarockit for such projects.
The final thickness of the vacuum bagged and cured carbon-epoxy testpiece had remained unchanged and appeared to be still 1 mm.This confirmed that a core thickness of 4.5 mm was needed for obtaining a final thickness of 6.5 mm.
In order to obtain a stiff and strong fin Aad has applied carbon cloth of a high modulus of 240 GPA (steel abt 210 GPA) laid in three layers of different widths saturated with epoxy on both sides of the balsa core.The whole was covered again with release film and bleeder cloth and kept one night in the vacuum bag of the Roarockit with the valve kept offset from his workpiece.It was noted that the vacuum was maintained overnight quite well.
After drying the rough fin was further sanded and painted etc to the result as shown on the photograph above and the first trials with the fin in his modelyacht were completed successfully.The final weight of the fin was 185 gram.
Aad Terlouw, Netherlands
You can read more about Add Terlouw’s builds on this forum for model builders in Dutch.
by Sarah Roarockit | Mar 6, 2017 | News/events
If you are in Denmark enjoy Skate Art and want take part in a very neat project, you’ll want to check out Mzungu!
We have recently been in contact with a Danish Skateboard Builder, Casper Haugegaard. Casper is hosting a fundraiser art-show in Copenhagen from the 1st to the 12th of March 2017, at Galleri Bomhuset. The exhibited boards are made with Roarockit technology and decorated by Danish artists.
“Mzungu” is a support exhibition for skate-aid Kenya. Skate-aid is an NGO which offers free skateboard lessons for children from slum Kangemi on the outskirts of Nairobi. Since there is no opportunity to buy skateboards in the area, the idea is to create a small production of handmade boards, in cooperation with the local skaters. For this, Bomhuset and a total of 12 artists, each decorated a skateboard for the exhibition. The works are sold at 2500kr. PCS. and the sale will go to skate-aid to establish a production of hand-made skateboards in Kangemi slum. The exhibition runs until 12th March. Opening hours: Thursday: 16:00 to 18:00 Friday: 16:00 to 18:00 Saturday: 12:00 to 15:00.
So if you are in Copenhagen, drop by to check out the boards and help support their project!
Coming up…
From 19.03.17-20.09.17, Casper will be volunteering as a skateboard-instructor with “skate-aid” at the orphanage “Shangilia”.
The Shangilia association is offering street children a home in an orphanage, providing them with an education and a decent life. The orphanage is on the edge of Nairobi, in the Kangemi slum. The aim is to carefully restore the children’s self-esteem with acrobatics, music and sports.
In Kangemi, Casper will be setting up a small production of handmade skateboards using Roarockit technology, in collaboration with the local skateboarders.
Read more about Skate-aid’s work in Kenya here
We shall also post updates on Casper’s project here on our blog, so stay tuned!
Photo credits: Simon Skipper
by Sarah Roarockit | Jan 10, 2017 | News/events
This month’s shaper has kindly written his story in Italian and in English, so pick your language and enjoy!
Fabio Brambilla – a talented Italian skateboard builder, with a passion for skateboarding and custom decks, has recently launched his own brand: Broken Board Design! Read on to find out more…
A little personnal introduction…
My name is Fabio Brambilla, I live in Como, Lake Como lovely place … I am 40 years old but did not hear them, for the moment.
My work is the furniture designer, I work in a large company, and I have a passion for … Skateboard passion for punk and electronic music, a background as an illustrator and designer tshirt, pins and stickers as well as paying video experimental … in short, a small local artist.
1) YOU RECENTLY STARTED BUILDING BOARDS…
It ‘s always been my desire since I was a kid and I practiced Skateboard … to create a custom skate, and now I can do it!
2) YOU HAVE NOW LAUNCHED YOUR OWN BROKEN BOARD DESIGN….
Broken Board Design wants to be a brand dedicated to street-style, contemporary, dynamic, creative brand that keep holds skate and design !
3) WHY DID YOU CHOOSE THE NAME “BROKEN BOARD DESIGN”…
Why not ! I liked Having an “rude” logo and rough, near the punk spirit
Skateboarding, but at the time same ironic and irreverent.
Break a skateboard was a moment to celebrate.
But above all I reuse waste of veneer furniture Processing
And furniture, to give him a second chance … A Second Life!
4) YOU USE OUR ROAROCKIT TECHNOLOGY…
For my work I have heard and seen the machines that bend the plywood with the technology of vacuum … and so in a restless night I searched the internet a similar method. and I found the “Canadian doctor” that explained and showed the ROAROCKIT TECHNOLOGY … et voilà
5) WHAT WOULD YOU SAY YOUR FAVORITE TYPE OF DECK IS…
After a period of tests and tests with various forms I am now concentrating production
SURF SKATE models of style and old school. These are the models that we reflect to me
more and who marry better with my design and the veneer to broken pieces
6) ANY FUTURE PROJECTS….
In the future I see other projects not only for skateboards … I want to get hold of the technology
and implement small design objects … the limit will be my fantasy
7) ANY COMMENTS, SPECIAL THANKS…
My inspiration it’s my job as a designer and especially playing with my son Lorenzo 4 years and have stimuli with his unstoppable creativity … he’s a little ruscal !
I would like to thank all those who in this period were close to me and they really encouraged me and supported and who believe in this strange project … thank you very much!
– > a special thanks to the “Canadian Doc”
You can find and buy all of Broken Board Design Skateboards on their website
Like and follow their page on facebook
