Intermediate Kiwi Carver need help.

[No.2]

Hi all.

Njoying the best season down under that I can remember. : ) I'm just haveing a few issues with edge hold on one board. My Oxygen SX164. It has the sharpest edges of the lot (-2.5* and pollished all the way) but I seem to have to muscel it around so hard to get it to bite. And then it still seem to skid a bit.

On an old 153 Burton or on the SX157 I have an absolute ball. It is ever so slightly wider than the other 2 (235mm) and I have had people sugest that a take my stance back a bit (51F 51R with size 26 boots). But I'm loath to do it. I wan't to try and learn to carve like you guys not like jibbers. ; )

This has got me confusssed. Am I just not heavy enough (76kg) or not going fast enough? Or just plain too use less for the stiffer board? My boots are stiff enough (R 325s with black tounges and Booster straps on Cateks) But I just cant seem to get enough pressure on either edge.

[Baka Dasai]

Originally posted by No.2
I seem to have to muscel it around so hard to get it to bite.

Muscling a board around indicates to me that you're <i>trying</i> to skid it around, rather than letting the board carve a turn all by itself due to the sidecut.

Carving can be reduced to simply putting the board on edge, not trying to turn, and then holding your balance while the sidecut of the board makes it turn in a circle. The "not trying to turn" part can be the most difficult as it requires a big leap of faith.

I dunno, I might be on the wrong track, but if what I said sounds like it fits, I'd try going back to basics like "<a href="http://www.bomberonline.com/articles/feel_the_carve.cfm">The Norm</a>" and working up from there.

[trikerdad]

Baka is right on when he says if you're have probs, go back to "The Norm". But I'd like to go a little further. If you're practicing correctly (keeping equal pressure on both feet) and you're still losing the tail or the nose during a carve, you should move your stance back or forward a little to get your weight more centered. The same set-back doesn't work on every board and as little as 1 cm can make a difference.

[nigelc]

so just to clarify - if the tail keeps breaking away do you move the bindings foward or back?

[trikerdad]

Move back. When I'm trying to fine tune my possition on a new board, if the tail is slipping out, I'll move my back binding back aboiut 2 cm. That moves the center of my stance back 1 cm. If thats better, I'll move my front binding back 2 cm to get back to my favorite stance width and a total of 2 cm of additional set back from where I started. If that seems to be to much, they both go forward 1 cm. Don't be afraid to experiment.

[Derf]

If the tail skids, it is that you are overpowering the front and not with all the pressure on the front, there is not enough left on the back to keep it hooked. So either shift your weight to the back when riding or shift your binding towards the back.

Derf

[No.2]

Thanks guys. I wil try my stance further back as I do tend to loose the back slightly before the front. ( I have been running with 0 set back)

By musceling the board arround I mean I feel like I have to apply huge pressure to my shins or calfs to keep enough pressure on the edge and then it still seems to rattle arround the turns. It bugs my how the old soft (but narrower) Burton is super smooth and quite with untuned edges after I spent almost a week putting a -2.5* side edge on the Oxy' and pollishing them up with three daimond stones.

My riding ability is at is the point where on Blue trails I can agressively do cross under, cross through and cross over carves, leave clean lines and get a bit of air between turns. But only on the shorter softer boards. I just can't seem to hang on to the stiffer one. May be I'm just not strong enough to handle the Gs required to get the board to flex into a nice arc?

If I do turn my stance back to around 47* to get a bit more leaverage am I going to have to change my whole style?

[Jim Callen]

I used to have the same problem finishing my turns. I felt I had to really muscle to get the board to finish a turn. I found that a slight weight shift near the end of the turn helped a ton keeping the tail engaged.

[trikerdad]

Could be you're not being patient enough with the stiffer board. Don't expect to make the same radius carves with the Oxygen. Being longer and stiffer it could take twice the distance to complete one turn in the same snow conditions.

[rikytheripster]

Firstly i would try shifting your weight back at the end of the turn as was mentioned earlier, this works great at keepin the tail nailed. Also if you physically push down on the board with ur legs when your weight is back you will induce awesome pop.

If angles reduced to 47 i feel it will be harder for you on heelside to avoid sitting on the toilet syndrome and thus harder to effectively pressure the edge of the board. Get someone who knows about carving and what sitting on the toilet looks like to watch you, firstly beforer angle changes and after, it i slikely your butt will b out more with lower angles but u never know.....

[No.2]

Cheers guys thats all good stuff. I've set the bindings back about 15mm and I'll focus more on the tail loading part of the figure 8. I'ts true I probably am being a bit impatient with the board. I'll try and let it find its own way a bit more down the runs (hopefully I can make speed my friend)

I was going to be going today if I could find a partner in crime for the 8 hours of driveing for a one day mission from where I live but no such luck. : (

Oh well next week.

Thanks guys.

No.2