Loaded Boards – Icarus – Deck

Description

Loaded pioneered the flexible dropthru board with the Dervish in 2007 and the Tan Tien in 2010. We’ve returned to our carving roots using many of the things learned over the past few years from our freeride boards, downhill boards, and our snowboard (with design cues from bacon). Combining wheel flares, cork, a balanced flex pattern and novel manufacturing methods, the Icarus is a milestone in our exploration of the soulful carving experience.

LONGBOARD SPECS

Length: 38.4” (97.5 cm)
Width: 8.6” (22 cm)
Wheelbase: 28.25” (71.76 cm)
Weight
Deck: 2.9 lbs (1.3 kg)
Complete: 6.5 lbs (2.9 kg) w/Fat Frees, 7.4 lbs (3.4 kg) w/Kegels

FLEX

Flex 1: 170-250+lbs / 75-115+kg
Flex 2: 75-200+lbs / 35-90+kg

Powerful Flex—Vertically laminated bamboo and fiberglass construction pair with a cambered profile and a variable concave for a lively and engaging ride. The cork bottom helps dampen out vibrations without compromising the liveliness.

User Friendly—Drop-through truck mounting positions the deck lower to the ground for easier, more efficient pushing and enhanced stability. Light weight and compact size make the Icarus intuitive and commuter friendly.

Shapely Curves—The right curves in the right places enhance rider ergonomics while contributing to a responsive and high-performance ride. Wheel well flares accommodate big wheels and improve turning leverage and control. Variable concave yields a consistent flex pattern while providing a variety of riding experiences based on foot placement.

Practical Kicks—Minimal nose and tail kicks help navigate city streets and open the door for freestyle trickery.

The Icarus: Because sometimes you need to fly too high.

SHAPE
The shape of the Icarus echoes the elegantly utilitarian outline popularized by the Dervish and Tan Tien. Its mid-sized length and wheelbase strike a balance between stability and maneuverability, accommodating a (slightly-wider-than-) shoulder-width stance for most riders. Straight rails along the standing platform ensure torsional stability, while full-figured cutouts at the tips allow for deep turns without wheelbite.

CAMBER
The cambered profile pairs with the bamboo core and epoxy/fiberglass skins (as well as the concaves and wheel flares) to create an active suspension with ungodly energy return. Pump away!

WHEEL WELL FLARES
Flared wheel wells do three things for the Icarus:

• Increase wheel clearance, allowing for larger wheels
• Stiffen the necks, creating more direct energy transfer to the trucks
• Create an ergonomic lock, letting you know where you are by feel and giving you strong leverage points to push against
VARIABLE CONCAVE
Because the flares stiffen the necks we needed to create a variable concave to balance out the flex pattern. Tighter concave in the center of the board prevents the deck from folding at the center, while more subtle concave underfoot near the flares locks you in and feels yummy. This was inspired by the flex patterning explored for our snowboard, the Algernon.

NOSE & TAIL KICKS
Minimal nose and tail kicks allow for enhanced maneuverability in tight quarters while also opening the door to exploring freestyle trickery. The kicks are reinforced with an additional layer of fiberglass for added stiffness and durability.

FLEX RECOMMENDATIONS
Flex 1: 170-250+lbs / 75-115+kg
Flex 2: 75-200+lbs / 35-90+kg

A softer flex gives you more control and tighter turns at slower speeds and makes it easier to slide, but it tends to lose stability slightly at higher speeds. Stiffer flex means more energy potential, more stability at higher speeds, and greater durability under hard freestyle riding, but it will not be as forgiving and lively when cruising. As always, our flex ratings are recommendations. Try ‘em out and see what suits you.

NAME & GRAPHICS
Drawing from Greek Mythology, this board takes its name from Icarus, whose master-craftsman father Daedalus built the Labyrinth for King Minos to imprison the Minotaur. After Daedalus himself was imprisoned by Minos, he created two pairs of wax and feather wings for himself and Icarus to use in escaping the island of Crete. Despite his father’s warning to follow his flight path, Icarus found himself captivated by the thrill of flight and ascended too high into the sky. The sun’s heat melted the wax in his wings, causing him to fall into the sea.

Moral of the story? Get better wings.

CONSTRUCTION
Epoxy and triaxial fiberglass sandwich a 5-part vertically laminated bamboo core, pressed into concave and convex cambers for liveliness, responsiveness and high energy potential. Drop-through cutouts are CNC milled for precision.

Biscuits and Gravy: To achieve the dramatic wheel well contours without cracking the core, we developed “biscuit” inserts. We machine out the cores in areas of extreme curvature (where the wild wheel flares are) and drop in four separate bamboo “biscuits” in order to mitigate the stresses. The “five” resulting cores are bonded together using our proprietary, high performance epoxy and sandwiched between triaxial glass skins to create this curvaceous beast.

An extra layer of fiberglass is applied on the nose and tail for additional rigidity in the kicks.