# high backs aligned w/board edge????



## slyder (Jan 18, 2010)

Hi gang,

I have seen this, and was wondering?? 
Do you need to align high backs to board edge?
What does this do performance wise or body mechanic wise?
If I'm comfortable should I mess with this?
Trying more park this year, again is this needed for park?

I ride goofy, duck and angles are like 12*-12* if I recall correctly
I am sporting Flow NXT atse's if that matters on the hated banana :laugh:


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## NWBoarder (Jan 10, 2010)

As far as I understand it, the highbacks get aligned with the edge so that when you are driving into them for a heelside turn, they are evenly pressuring the effective edge. You don't have to have them this way, but in theory, it should help make your riding more controlled and your turns easier to initiate.


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## Bones (Feb 24, 2008)

It just gives you more high back to press against with your boots and in turn a little more torque on your edge.

Put it this way: when you push back on your high back to get up on heel edge, you want to be pushing back perpendicular to the edge of your board, not perpendicular to your binding. The more extreme the angle of your bindings, the less of the high back you have to push against. Obviously, if you are pushing on one side of your high backs, then you'll get more flex than if you were pushing against the entire high back. That will make them feel flexier than they really are. Which may make your ride feel sloppier/sluggish.

If you have stiff high backs and/or are riding moderate angles, you probably won't notice much difference. Personally, I thought it felt better, but there are so many other variables that I couldn't say for sure.


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## TofuSama (May 20, 2010)

I don't really know how much difference it makes in terms of better force against the heel edge, but it sure seems like it would make it easier for boning grabs/tail/nose grabs, since the binding won't be able to dig in to your leg. Maybe I'm just a little nuts though.


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## davidj (May 30, 2011)

NWBoarder28 said:


> As far as I understand it, the highbacks get aligned with the edge so that when you are driving into them for a heelside turn, they are evenly pressuring the effective edge. You don't have to have them this way, but in theory, it should help make your riding more controlled and your turns easier to initiate.


Shouldn't centering the boot over the width of the board be the key consideration? If so, then the ideal condition would be to have equal amounts of toe and heel overhang, in which case the high back will be a little outside of the edge. When I mount my Flow T5s using the center holes in the baseplates, my highbacks hang just a tad outside the edge of the board.

It seems to me that if the highback is aligned with the edge then there will be little to no heel overhang, only toe overhang. How would this affect one's riding style? :dunno: Comments/thoughts?


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## TofuSama (May 20, 2010)

davidj said:


> Shouldn't centering the boot over the width of the board be the key consideration? If so, then the ideal condition would be to have equal amounts of toe and heel overhang, in which case the high back will be a little outside of the edge. When I mount my Flow T5s using the center holes in the baseplates, my highbacks hang just a tad outside the edge of the board.
> 
> It seems to me that if the highback is aligned with the edge then there will be little to no heel overhang, only toe overhang. How would this affect one's riding style? :dunno: Comments/thoughts?


I think he meant highback rotation so that they're parallel with the heelside edge. At least, that's what I responded to. Definitely center your boot.


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## HoboMaster (May 16, 2010)

I've never tried messing with mine, maybe if I'm bored on a groomer day next season I'll try it out and see if it makes a difference. It's hard to tell with things that make minor differences, as sometimes the improvement can just be placebo-effect.


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## TofuSama (May 20, 2010)

HoboMaster said:


> I've never tried messing with mine, maybe if I'm bored on a groomer day next season I'll try it out and see if it makes a difference. It's hard to tell with things that make minor differences, as sometimes the improvement can just be placebo-effect.


I've got some skepticism about the power transfer part, but it should make flexing your body laterally along your board easier. It may be an unnoticeable difference though, depending on your highback's shape/flex. By the looks of it, it won't do any harm, so I rotated mine when the bindings came in last week.


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## Nivek (Jan 24, 2008)

fuh that shii, I ride no'backs dawg


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## davidj (May 30, 2011)

TofuSama said:


> I think he meant highback rotation so that they're parallel with the heelside edge. At least, that's what I responded to. Definitely center your boot.


Makes sense. Thanks!:thumbsup:


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## Cr0_Reps_Smit (Jun 27, 2009)

i always rotate my highbacks to be parallel with my heel edge, at the very least it gives more boning ability with tweaking out grabs.


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## NWBoarder (Jan 10, 2010)

I most definitely meant move the highback after the binding has been centered. I was not suggesting massive heel or toe hang. Like I said, I'm no expert and it is just my opinion, but I always align my highback with the edge.


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## MeanJoe (Jul 20, 2011)

You can think of it as a cumulative effect between binding centering, forward lean, and high-back rotation working together to improve heel-edge hold. If you've been riding without having your high-backs parallel to the board edge, you've probably already made micro-adjustments to your riding to compensate. Putting them parallel may or may not have a noticeable effect on its own, although I suspect you'd not notice a substantial "feel" difference unless your bindings/high-backs are in an extreme angle currently. Personally I always align mine when mounting new bindings or changing my stance angle. I'd not swear it is required or critical but to me it is a part of adjusting the bindings, just like adjusting the toe/ankle strap lengths, etc.

I do agree it will help with boning out a grab, etc., to have the high-back aligned to the heel edge. Definitely a positive reason to do it right there!

MeanJoe


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## chupacabraman (Jul 30, 2009)

I rotate mine parallel with my board edge to eliminate some lower leg discomfort, and that's the only reason I do it.


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## jdang307 (Feb 6, 2011)

I tried to on my bindings and they all got twisted and out of shape.Now I just leave them alone.


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## Leo (Nov 24, 2009)

I tried it this season... I'm moving them back to default for next season


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