# Help needed with switch riding degrees!



## SAddiction (Feb 21, 2009)

Rocking a duck stance is best for stability, spinning and definitely switch riding. Most pros out there rock 12-15 in the front and 9-15 in the back (I ride 12 & 9).

As long as your board is set up to be a true twin (the measurement from the tip to binding and tail to binding) is the same, a few degrees difference here and there won't really make a difference in feel. Your stance is all about what is comfortable for you with your set-up (board and bindings). Some guys love 15 and 15, while others couldn't imagine going that duck.

Try out a few different stances and see what you feel more comfortable with. I recommend staying in the 12-15 in the front and 9-15 in the back range.

Good luck!


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## BluntRider (Dec 31, 2010)

SAddiction said:


> Rocking a duck stance is best for stability, spinning and definitely switch riding. Most pros out there rock 12-15 in the front and 9-15 in the back (I ride 12 & 9).
> 
> As long as your board is set up to be a true twin (the measurement from the tip to binding and tail to binding) is the same, a few degrees difference here and there won't really make a difference in feel. Your stance is all about what is comfortable for you with your set-up (board and bindings). Some guys love 15 and 15, while others couldn't imagine going that duck.
> 
> ...


I've been considering increasing the degrees on my stance, and i've also been working on spins. How does increasing the degree of stance help spins?


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## kysnowboarder (Oct 28, 2009)

I am riding 16/-15 . duck I started out with something more along the lines of 20/5 it if I remember correctly. I remember that I did that because the shop that I bought the board recommended that for a beginner and also read online that beginners should have the rear close to 0. I remember that it felt incredibly awkward. I road like that for a year and I think it set me back. I originally dismissed the awkward feeling of it because I was new to the sport, everything could be expected to feel awkward right? no not true if found out. Once I switched to duck it felt really natural.

SA Addiction: so why do some instructors/shops recommend 20/5 for beginners? Is there anybody reading this still riding this way and feeling comfortable with it? Maybe duck stance just worked for me.


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## GavinHope (Jun 14, 2010)

I ride +15/-15.

I like it to be exactly the same both directions, because my aim is to be able to ride switch as well as I can regular.

I think the post above said that duck would help with your spinning, not necessarily, increased angles. The duck part feels right to me - but I don't have a good explanation as to why 

Like the others said, try things out and see what is comfortable. I you want to ride switch the same as regular, having equal angles seems like a good place to start...


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## lisevolution (Sep 20, 2007)

I know a lot of people who ride with a forward stance...most shops and instructors will recommend a forward stance for beginners because it helps you get comfortable facing downhill and linking turns while riding regular. It does however make learning switch more difficult later on as my wife is now finding out. Every time I try to switch her bindings to duck she can't stand it and has me set it back to 15/5 like she's been riding for the last 5 years.


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## Leo (Nov 24, 2009)

I went from 15/-15 to 18/-12. Switch really doesn't feel all that different other than that I have to turn my head a little more to the right now.

Like someone said, a centered twin board makes more difference than slightly forward angled duck stances. Something like 24/-6 I can see getting to be more of a difference in switch.


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## rasmasyean (Jan 26, 2008)

I started in the "beginner" forward stance...
...adjusted my stance to... 

*Forward Riding: somewhere between +15 0 to +45 +30...
Switch Riding: 0 0 to +15 -15*

What I found was that the more forward and narrow allows easier carving and high speed stability.
The more duck and wider allows easier spinning/pressing.

So if I was to race someone, it would be +45 +30 ideally with a directional stiff board.
If I was to show off to girls or whatever lol...I would be +15 -15 ideally on a softer twin board.

I imagine that most of the "pro stats" you see are because these are the competition setups...of which most pros prolly use direction boards for most cases because in essense, a direction board is "better". You can ride a lot faster and then throw your big air and land switch. The key part is that you CAN perform better in ONE direction at least...and that's the edge you need...but you can still be versatile and do a switch related trick for extra points. If you look at the full racing boarders, they are forward because you don't race switch. Also, directional boards are softer in the tip and stiffer in the tail. So even if they are in a centered stance, they can still take advantage of this increased forward performance with a slightly overall forwardish angle rather than full duck.


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