# Keeping the board straight



## nitrousape06 (Jun 24, 2013)

Ok so I went out this past weekend and let go of my fears of going fast! I tried to keep the board flat when I could to pick up speed. 

I would like to know should keeping the board straight downhill be a slight struggle? 

I had to lean back towards the tail, put pressure on the balls of my back foot just to fight what seemed to be the natural movement of the board. It felt like my board wanted to not be directly under my body. 

During my run I changed my angles from +21/-21 to +19/-19 and it seemed to keep my board more straight downhill. 

Should I keep playing with angles until I find the right one where I don't have to fight my board or go for what feel natural to my feet and use foot control to keep my board straight?


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## Faru1004 (Jan 29, 2013)

im not an expert but i'll give you my opinion. 

Im guess you are a beginner? 

A. Flat board to gain speed = no
B. Learn to ride on edge(heel or toe) 
C. speed means nothing if you don't have control.
D. Changing angles won't change anything unless you start riding on edge

There are tons of videos on youtube.


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## triumph.man (Feb 3, 2012)

flatbasing?


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## Faru1004 (Jan 29, 2013)

http://www.snowboardingforum.com/tips-tricks-snowboard-coaching/24603-flat-base-help.html


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## Mystery2many (Aug 14, 2013)

It can be a lot of things. 

What board are you riding? Is it a rocker 
Is your boot centered over board with even over hang?
Are you knees bent and body loose centering your weight?

Your angles are a bit extreme duck. If you've learned some edge control and are starting to bring your turns together it's time to go -15/15 or somewhere in there that feels comfortable. 

If you have a rocker board you will have trouble keeping it straight.


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## nitrousape06 (Jun 24, 2013)

Faru1004 said:


> im not an expert but i'll give you my opinion.
> 
> Im guess you are a beginner?
> 
> ...


I not a complete beginner. But I know how to control my board. Thanks for the link I looked over it quickly I think it will help.


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## Faru1004 (Jan 29, 2013)

nitrousape06 said:


> I not a complete beginner. But I know how to control my board. Thanks for the link I looked over it quickly I think it will help.


maybe i misunderstood your question lol enjoy the season :laugh:


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## KIRKRIDER (Mar 18, 2008)

nitrousape06 said:


> Ok so I went out this past weekend and let go of my fears of going fast! I tried to keep the board flat when I could to pick up speed.
> 
> I would like to know should keeping the board straight downhill be a slight struggle?
> 
> ...




Try also both positive angles if you like to go fast.... like +23 + 18 see how that feels.


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## nitrousape06 (Jun 24, 2013)

Mystery2many said:


> It can be a lot of things.
> 
> What board are you riding? Is it a rocker
> Is your boot centered over board with even over hang?
> ...


I have an all mtn board with camber between the bindings and rocker at the tips. My board is also a set back directional board (Rossignol Templar 156MW). 
I have a wider stance then the boards reference (it felt more natural and allowed me to bend my knees more). Yes I bend my knees a lot at times. No I don't have much over hang. I wear a size 11.5 Nike Vapen.

I was going to changed my angles up again to see if there was any difference but I began to learn how to keep my board flat by maneuvering my feet.
This weekend I will give +15/-15 a try and see how it feels. Thanks for your suggestion.


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## readimag (Aug 10, 2011)

21 and 21 and 19 and 19 are some crazy angles to be starting at first. Second go take a lesson and have someone tell you what they see so you can fix it on the spot. Or you need to post a video so we can tell you what we see you doing wrong. The only reason I can think of that loose board feeling you get is cause you lean back way to much. You need to have more weight on you front foot so you can engage that edge when starting a turn. So in conculsion it is not the board it is you’re riding skills that need to improve, cause if the ETT guys at signal can ride a 2x4 board they made you can figure this out with a lesson or two.

Got Wood? Pinewood Derby Snowboard: Every Third Thursday - YouTube


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## nitrousape06 (Jun 24, 2013)

KIRKRIDER said:


> Try also both positive angles if you like to go fast.... like +23 + 18 see how that feels.


I started out with positive angles and it just felt so wrong. I changed them after my 1st run.


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## KIRKRIDER (Mar 18, 2008)

nitrousape06 said:


> I started out with positive angles and it just felt so wrong. I changed them after my 1st run.


 It depends on the kind of riding you like.... should help your carving stance, and generally they are easier on your knees. But yeah, riding switch sucks.


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## nitrousape06 (Jun 24, 2013)

readimag said:


> 21 and 21 and 19 and 19 are some crazy angles to be starting at first. Second go take a lesson and have someone tell you what they see so you can fix it on the spot. Or you need to post a video so we can tell you what we see you doing wrong. The only reason I can think of that loose board feeling you get is cause you lean back way to much. You need to have more weight on you front foot so you can engage that edge when starting a turn. So in conculsion it is not the board it is you’re riding skills that need to improve, cause if the ETT guys at signal can ride a 2x4 board they made you can figure this out with a lesson or two.
> 
> Got Wood? Pinewood Derby Snowboard: Every Third Thursday - YouTube


I just spoke to a coworker who boards and he told me the exact same thing you just said. He's taking me out for a lesson this weekend too. Thanks for your help. I'm going to give 15/15 angles a try and put more weight on my lead foot.


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## Fewdfreak (May 13, 2013)

Second what everyone else said--pick a mediumish stance and like 15's in angle to get started and you will know when it feels right. I used to be so scared to go fast because I didn't feel in control so I used to lean back and rudder. Once you get out of this habit and start riding forward on the nose keeping parallel with the board and slope you will feel so much more in control and be okay with the speed. Don't fight it and just go with the movement. You will find your sweetspot-I prefer going hard and weighting on the front heelside edge of my front foot no matter which way I am traveling and I feel like I will never catch an edge like this even when I bomb hard. Also you may get different results when you press your knees together or apart to control board differently.

Sent from Verticalsports.com Free App


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## SnowDragon (Apr 23, 2012)

nitrousape06 said:


> During my run I changed my angles from +21/-21 to +19/-19


Changing your angles during a run will definitely add to that unstable feeling.:laugh:


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## nitrousape06 (Jun 24, 2013)

GreyDragon said:


> Changing your angles during a run will definitely add to that unstable feeling.:laugh:


Lololol ok wise guy:laugh:


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## RiderWise (Dec 4, 2013)

@nitrousape06

Nice work on stepping out of your comfort zone and going for a bit of speed. Keeping the board straight downhill should be no problem as long as you have a good stance and are confident enough to hold it. Relaxing the ankles and knees will allow you to position your body right over the center of the board which is what you should be looking to do. I personally like to always be moving from edge to edge just in the very slightest so that I can keep control of the board by constantly moving and avoid locking up, especially at higher speeds where the smallest bump can throw you off. 

In terms of leaning back towards the tail, this in most cases will reduce your ability to manouevre and lock your body up, causing you to lose control of your actions. If done in a certain way, keeping your weight back can provide more stability but is only recommended for very experienced riders as it is not easy to implement.

I would encourage you to keep playing with your angles of your bindings because the only correct angles are the ones which feel right to you. However, more than 35 degrees of separation will put stress on the knees which can strain them, so try to keep it below that angle.

If you want any clarity or more info, feel free to hit me up and I'd be happy to help.


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

nitrousape06 said:


> I would like to know should *keeping the board straight downhill be a slight struggle? *
> I *had to lean back towards the tail, put pressure on the balls of my back foot *just to fight what seemed to be the natural movement of the board. It felt like my board wanted to not be directly under my body.


Blasting straight downhill should not be a slight struggle....it is because ur leaning back towards the tail. Get in the front seat and stay there! If ur in the backseat...leaning back towards the tail...it will feel squirrely and difficult to control....because ur weighting the tail...thus it wants to swing around...to stop the squirreliness....shift your hips sideways/forward toward the nose to weight the nose and keep your body/hips/shoulders stacked, aligned and parallel with the fall-line and the board....u will be rock solid blasting straight...AND there will not be any edges to catch. Ur probably just too chicken shit to go fast and bomb...thus leaning back...a newbie/intermediate thing to do. and if you need to move abit just rock back and forth.


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## nitrousape06 (Jun 24, 2013)

RiderWise said:


> @nitrousape06
> 
> Nice work on stepping out of your comfort zone and going for a bit of speed. Keeping the board straight downhill should be no problem as long as you have a good stance and are confident enough to hold it. Relaxing the ankles and knees will allow you to position your body right over the center of the board which is what you should be looking to do. I personally like to always be moving from edge to edge just in the very slightest so that I can keep control of the board by constantly moving and avoid locking up, especially at higher speeds where the smallest bump can throw you off.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the post!! I went out to Bristol Mtn this past weekend, changed my angles to 15/-15 and killed it!!! My confidence was there so I took small jumps landed about half (my 1st time trying). Then I took my confidence over to the park and thought about doing a rail but stopped myself lol. All in all I think I found my angles. 

However, when I started out my lead foot and lower back were sore but the feeling went away after the 3 run. Is this normal or should I do more angle tweaks?


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## nitrousape06 (Jun 24, 2013)

wrathfuldeity said:


> Ur probably just too chicken shit to go fast and bomb...thus leaning back...a newbie/intermediate thing to do. and if you need to move abit just rock back and forth.


Me chicken shit to bomb a hill?! NEVER! My leaning back is due to only having one lesson and figuring everything else out on my own or from the lovely folks in this forum.


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## Fewdfreak (May 13, 2013)

I would say if your back and front leg being sore went way after a few runs you were just getting warmed up. My first few runs are the worst feeling after being all cramped up in the car forever... but it might help if I stretched first... If your front leg is feeling the burn you probably are figuring out your weighting the front as well, it also gives you an excuse to learn switch when you get wore out riding normal!

Sent from Verticalsports.com Free App


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## RiderWise (Dec 4, 2013)

nitrousape06 said:


> Thanks for the post!! I went out to Bristol Mtn this past weekend, changed my angles to 15/-15 and killed it!!! My confidence was there so I took small jumps landed about half (my 1st time trying). Then I took my confidence over to the park and thought about doing a rail but stopped myself lol. All in all I think I found my angles.
> 
> However, when I started out my lead foot and lower back were sore but the feeling went away after the 3 run. Is this normal or should I do more angle tweaks?


Great to hear. Confidence and a good mindset is hugely important so good to hear you were in the zone. It's always good to push yourself but at the same time you don't want to get ahead of yourself so good idea on not hitting the rail  If the pain went away then that's likely the muscles just needed to be warmed up and you just needed to get adjusted for the day.

In my experiences, 15/-15 is a good place to start for beginners so just stick with it for now and change it up later if you feel the need. Keep working on that stance so that you can build some good foundations to keep progressing. Other than that it sounds like you're smashing it :yahoo:


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## nitrousape06 (Jun 24, 2013)

Just an update... Now that I found my angels and width, I HAVE BEEN KILLING!!! I downloaded AlpineRelay to record some of my stats and each time I go boarding my max speed increases (I love going fast). With that my carving has def improved. Only thing I need to do now is put more edge in each turn. Been riding switch whenever I can, got my FS 1 down. I'll make a new post soon. Cheers!


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