GOYA CARRERA 130L 2014 TEST REVIEW
Goya Carrera 130L 2014 Test Review Report
THE LOW-DOWN
Goya sensibly like to keep things nice and simple and their entire range consists of just the ‘Custom’ Quad wave line, ‘ONE’ FSW shape, the ‘Air’ freestyle board, the Carrera – and a family /learners’ board, the ‘Surf’. The Carrera 130 comes with a 42-cm. G10 KP RC Powerbox fin, quality MFC straps and pads and a nice brushed carbon finish on a full carbon sandwich layup – a rare specification in this segment of the market and pretty good value for money.
BRAND CLAIM
‘The Carrera shapes cover all bases from rough seas to lighter winds and calmer lake conditions. The most distinguishing differentiation of these new boards is the incorporation of the most advanced carbon weaves, literally changing the DNA of anything a Goya Freeride or Freerace board has ever been… the Carrera turns every little gust into forward acceleration. Still, through the double concave V bottom it remains neutral and easy to ride through even heavy chop. These boards have the widest range of possible conditions of any board in our range. They are literally the technologically most advanced boards we have ever created.’
PERFORMANCE
On the beach the Carrera definitely felt lighter than the rest of the group, but the quoted stats have them all around the 7-7.5-kg. mark, so, without weighing them all accurately, it’s hard to tell who’s produced the most featherweight shape. The nice brushed carbon construction is certainly crisp and precise though. The ride in general also feels particularly refined and connected with a nice flat deck – mixed with some handy rail curve for when pushing from outboard. The comfy pads and straps also allow you to concentrate on having fun rather than constantly trying to settle in once up-and-running. As we mentioned in the intro, as the trend for wide-and-thin gathers momentum, we think length – or higher aspect ratio – still has a major advantage for improvers. The Carrera certainly planed early and easily, despite being significantly narrower than rest of group. The slimmer profile does help with passive planing and will be forgiving to intermediates looking for an easy, less active-technique-oriented shape. There was a slight element of board slap up front in the very rough seas at the test location, but this water state is pretty extreme in context of this board and its target market. However, do take note if moving the track forward to settle the board in rough seas that you might not need to go as forward as you think. Otherwise the ride over swell and chop was pretty smooth and easy all things considered. That said, the rails do prefer smoother water for initiating gybes and the parallel outline really works to your advantage for keeping upwind both on and off the plane – something that those learning to gybe will appreciate as they look to safeguard from losing too much ground. All-in-all a positive ride that’s heaps of fun for just about all levels.
THE VERDICT
The Goya Carrera delivers excellent pointing and early planing benefits to improvers with a crisp, connected ride. Light and exceptionally well built, it’s cool to see that a relatively stretched outline still offers intermediates a ton of advantages.
Other boards in this test:
JP AUSTRALIA X-CITE RIDE PLUS PRO EDITION 135