holycow

this is my first board, so forgive me if this is common. i noticed that on the edge of the board towards the front, it's not quite smooth. almost like it could start peeling off, although for now it seems solid. i haven't used it yet and just got it in the mail yesterday. pic is below.

is this anything to worry about? i'm fine if the board isn't perfect, but i'm gonna be bummed if it starts falling apart after a season of use. returning it shouldn't be a problem.

hawaiinboarder

That looks like a defect. I have a roundhouse and it wasn't like that when I got it.

jdang307

It does look odd. If anything, I'd email Arbor not to return it, but to put them on notice. Then if that part starts peeling after a little usage, you can maybe claim a warranty.

Very fun board btw.

Kauila

Only thing about waiting is, if you want to swap the board under warranty later on, the model year you have might be sold out. So sooner is probably better than later if you decide to do so. My Cadence developed a weird divot in the base probably after the second time out riding, but Arbor said the model year was all sold out at that time and I didn't want to swap it for the next year model, so I just hung on to it. Haven't had any subsequent problems with the base though.

duh

Send it back, that board is damaged and you should not have to deal with someone else's mistake. That happens when the edge is impacted directly from the side, probably happened during shipping or by poor board handling at the shop.

If you wait until after you have ridden the board then the damage will be written off as impact damage due to rider error. That is very common damage and IS NOT covered by manufacturers warranties by any company I have dealt with.

If the shop you bought it from refuses to exchange the board then take it to a reputable shop in your area to get the edge reset and epoxied. If you ride the board in that condition water will eventually work it's way inside the core and rip your new board apart through swelling and freezing.

lonerider

That is not common, most likely a manufacturing defect. I think it is cosmetic, but if you can exchange or return, I would recommend that just to be safe.

On the flipside, I've smashed the nose of a board before (pushing in the metal edge at the nose and causing the ptex to wrinkle like a rug) and that last another 2 season before I sold the board and the damage never got worse.

holycow

thanks guys. it's going back tonight for an exchange. it was from rei, so i shouldn't have a problem.

funny enough, the damage was directly under the "quality control passed" sticker.