Surfing Waves

Hullo. New to the forum. I was hoping for a bit of info on Bilbo boards. There's a nice looking one on eBay for £575 but it doesn't look like it's signed by a shaper and it only says "designed in Newquay". Which led me to think... designed in Newquay, made in China...

Any info appreciated!

Thanks.

Bilbo surfboards appears to be an Australian surf shop. Some of their boards are signed in pencil so maybe very light and not obvious in a photo

Welcome to the forum, , a lot of help and encouragement is here!

Bilbo surfboards are not an Australia brand, UK whether custom,off the rack UK made or Chinese imports UK!

I have heard they are Ok , Chinese models well, check it personally if you can

What is YOUR determining factor in what makes a board “Good” ? Build quality, easy paddle / take off, speed / maneuverability ?

Vice-Versa, what factors determine a “Bad” board in YOUR opinion ? What surfboard maker puts out a “Bad” board ( other than dept./toy store brands ) ?

waikikikichan wrote:What is YOUR determining factor in what makes a board “Good” ? Build quality, easy paddle / take off, speed / maneuverability ?

Vice-Versa, what factors determine a “Bad” board in YOUR opinion ? What surfboard maker puts out a “Bad” board ( other than dept./toy store brands ) ?

Good question. Of course there are many variables, but in this case I'm interested in reputation and build quality. It's a used board with little information available so if possible I want to find out what a reasonable price is and if people generally like them.

What is £575 is $usd ?

People with lower than average surfing skills WITH too high expectations of the board usually aren’t happy with their purchases and generally don’t like them ( blaming the board for their own lack of technique ). On the other hand, a skilled surfer knows the board is just a tool, if it last for x amount of time and gives him pleasure, they’re stoked.
They are many surfers that I know who totally rip on Wavestorm sponge boards.

If you’re worried about reputation, I would limit your search to name brands like Al Merrick-channel islands, Lost , Hayden shapes , etc. so you feel better about yourself and your quality board.

Reasonable Price ? Well like you said information is sparse, so try find similar category boards in the same construction. Rule of thumb at my shop for used board is half of half for us to buy. Half of new is what we would sell at. Of course, you work up or down depending on the condition ( dings, pad, fins, leash, case ).

waikikikichan wrote:What is £575 is $usd ?

People with lower than average surfing skills WITH too high expectations of the board usually aren’t happy with their purchases and generally don’t like them ( blaming the board for their own lack of technique ). On the other hand, a skilled surfer knows the board is just a tool, if it last for x amount of time and gives him pleasure, they’re stoked.
They are many surfers that I know who totally rip on Wavestorm sponge boards.

If you’re worried about reputation, I would limit your search to name brands like Al Merrick-channel islands, Lost , Hayden shapes , etc. so you feel better about yourself and your quality board.

What are you chatting about mate . None of your passive aggressive replies make any sense. Coming from an area of the UK with some really excellent independent shapers one gets the opportunity to see their work and even at times try them out. From the little information I've seen, Bilbo surfboards has a long but not wildly well known history in the south west of England. From what I can gather their boards were shaped in the back of the shop by a shaper with a good reputation (I know you don't like that word) until production eventually moved to factories overseas, with just a few boards being shaped in the store. This is where details become less clear, hence my original post. So, if the board in question was indeed shaped in the UK then that's pretty cool and the price is probably more justifiable than if it has come out of a factory. But mainly I just want to know more about the company and if people like their boards.

Unrelated question, is your shop still in business or did it have to close after too many people came in and browsed until you talked down to them and they left?

Perhaps wkk took your 'I'm interested in reputation' as 'interested in my reputation when I surf a particular board'. As he said, that is fundamentally an irrelevant issue, although image can mean a lot to certain people.

You have clarified that you mean 'reputation of the company that made the board'. I assume you are using 'reputation' to really mean 'quality' (of construction, of design, of quality control). Whether the actual board in question is a 'good board' for you is a different question to whether its a quality board. There are shapers out there who make absolutely wonderful boards that are terrible for me.

So I suspect wkk is pointing out that you are asking the wrong question, or perhaps have not provided sufficient information. If you consider the board (shape, dimensions etc etc) is one that works for you but you want to know if its likely to be a quality board, then that is a good question to ask. But to ask 'is the board good quality' misses the primary issue - it doesnt matter if the board isnt suitable for what you want.

But lets assume the board itself is 'good' for your needs. Is Bilbo a quality board ie likely to have a good design, good construction, good quality control at the factor? Asia manufactured boards can be good (eg: firewire) and small shaper boards can be terrible. Your research suggests Bilbo was/is quality shaper, but its not clear whether that translates to quality when it comes to overseas manufacturing - there are plenty of famous shapers who have sold designs and names to overseas companies and regretted it eg see Geoff McCoy; there are others who have done well (I imagine Robert August and most of the Firewire shapers, and plenty of others). So probably your first issue is whether its a local board or a chinese board

£575 seems high, but I dont know what the new price of the board is, or the condition of the board

Oops did I say Australian? I meant British ....one of those funny speaking countries. I doubt the board is worth £575 used. I bought a used longboard for $500 usa dollars and it was worth it to me but made by my longtime shaper to relearn surfing on. That board is about $750 usa dollars so would need to be well made longboard and in good condition to be worth it in my opinion. If it is a shorter board probably not worth it. But I guess it depends on what you want but since you don't seem to know then it's not worth it. My current boards (7', 7'6", 8') cost me about $600 to $700 brand new.

My apologies Braddah, if you're taking my honest attempt to help you and give sound advise as talking down to you. I am not. Where in my comments have I talked down to you or been passive aggressive ?
The part I say those with less than average skills reviewing boards that they're not meant to be on anyways ? That's not directed at you, that for all those Yelp, Youtube and Amazon comment trolls.
The part I said you should look for Al Merricks, etc. ? Answer this then, who has a better "reputation", Al Merrick channel islands or Bilbo ? Who has a better reputation, Lost or Bilbo ? But I'm not putting down Bilbo, depends on the shape of that particular board. Doesn't matter where it's made, USA, England , China, Thailand, Eastern Europe ( Yes, original Boardworks used to be made there ) if the board works, it works. How will we know, sometimes you just got to take the risk and buy it, ride it.
The part about a Good vs. Bad board maker ? Yugo's were bad cars, you don't seem them for sale in the US anymore. If a company puts out "bad" products, usually they're not around anymore. Bilbo's from your finding, seems to have been around quite awhile.

So if 10 people chime in and say they "like" Bilbo boards, you get it and end up not liking it, then what ? Were those 10 people all liars ? What if 100 people chimed in ? A 1000 ? It's still up to your eye, your hands, your past boards you've ridden to truly discern if you're going to like or not. Understood, if 10 people chime in and say the glassing was junk or the fin boxes popped out or the board snapped in two on the first day, then that good info to take in. But asking if a board is "good" has too many variables.

elbarto wrote:Unrelated question, is your shop still in business or did it have to close after too many people came in and browsed until you talked down to them and they left?

That shop is still in business and has a "reputation" in the community for great service and honest advice. So much so, that they would rather not sell you an improper board thus losing a sale. While other mall shops will sell you anything, they won't. ( plus we know how to pre-stretch out leashes and adjust the leash rope ). I have never talk DOWN to any customer (no matter how newbie they are). However, I have talk them OUT of buying a wrong board. It about sharing the stoke for surfing and having them come back telling how well the board work for them after getting totally miss-lead from another place. I'm not at that shop anymore because I moved away, but I can still share my advice ( be it brutally honest and taken the wrong way sometimes ) here on this great forum.
Again my sincere apologies, I hope you can find a great board to surf the waves on.

Bilbo boards are an english brand established in Newquay, cornwall in 1963, and still going today