IXO may not be a household brand yet but they definitely deserve the credit for manufacturing high-quality carbon fiber boards. The small company, owned by Pedro Sanchez, started out in 2007 repairing plastic containers and producing composite parts. They have since added to their resume, and now produce extremely nice carbon fiber skateboards and longboards.
Based in Spain, Pedro insists that using carbon fiber is so ideal, not only because of its strong and lightweight components, but it’s also extremely resistant and can take shapes and forms that metals simply can’t.
In an interview with All Around Skate, Pedro explains how he started experimenting with carbon fiber skateboards. He says that with all the leftover material they had, he had an idea to make a skateboard for his 12-year-old son as a Christmas present. When he went to a shop to buy the trucks and wheels for the board, the guy at the shop was in awe. The rest is history.
The boards are made totally out of carbon fiber prepreg with a lightweight Nomex® honeycomb core. They also polish the surface no less than six times using a very expensive varnish that allows you to have a glossy finish which people love. The biggest disadvantage to using carbon fiber for long and skateboards is its price tag. Depending on a few factors, it can cost up to four times as much. It also takes a lot of hand work so manual labor is a big part of the price factor.
Pedro also informed us that each board is manufactured per order. The board will come with an aluminum plate on the bottom, with the manufacturing date, serial number, and the owner’s name. As of now only, they only sell the decks…trucks and wheels are not included, but eight titanium screws are. The longboards are being sold for about $1,720, the skateboards are going for a little less at around $1,460 and they even offer little carbon fiber fingerboards that are going for about $80, in case your fingers need a nice little workout. Be sure to check out the video below that shows an inside look into the IXO factory and how they do their work. And if you’re interested, be sure to follow their progress on Facebook too!
[Sources: IXO, All Around Skate]