Flexibility of Snowboards
Flexibility is very important for
snowboards to operate properly. Without it, boards
would break, users would crash, and not nearly as many
tricks would be possible. The flexibility of a
snowboard is due to the materials that make one up.
There are many layers of different materials that make up a
snowboard. At the core of a board is wood or
foam. Glued to it is rubber foil and fiberglass.
On top of that there are metal edges, plastic bases, steel
inserts for the bindings, and finally the top sheet with
graphics. Every material in a snowboard has its
purpose for delivering the intended experience. The
flexibility of a material can be represented by k=F/δ, where
k is the materials stiffness, F is the force applied to the
material, and δ is the displacement caused by the
force. With constant force, the more a material is
displaced, the less stiff it is. Therefore, it has
more flexibility.
