# Riding feedback please



## ig88 (Jan 3, 2012)

spinn3rs said:


> As posted on another thread which was correctly migrated to the "Slam Section", due to my incorrect riding *i caught a nasty edge and injured myself*.
> Here's a link to me, riding down a ski road.
> 
> Cruising down the ski road - YouTube
> ...


I thought it was a video showing you catch an edge but it wasn't. I am not an experienced rider just to declare first. But I think you rode pretty well in the video. Of course, one could argue that you could have ridden more aggressively. But if you did not intend to ride aggressively during the filming of the clip, you did great. You looked relaxed and not struggling. Especially even so as you named the run a 'cruise' to begin with. Cheers.


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## ig88 (Jan 3, 2012)

Also I think catching an edge can be an isolated event. It may not always be related to allegedly having a wrong riding technique. Your mind could have just wandered off and that happens to other people too.


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## spinn3rs (Dec 31, 2011)

ig88 said:


> I thought it was a video showing you catch an edge but it wasn't. I am not an experienced rider just to declare first. But I think you rode pretty well in the video. Of course, one could argue that you could have ridden more aggressively. But if you did not intend to ride aggressively during the filming of the clip, you did great. You looked relaxed and not struggling. Especially even so as you named the run a 'cruise' to begin with. Cheers.


ok i corrected the description. No accidents in the video.

Since it was a mellow run i had no option to ride more aggressively but even at that pace, i found myself not being stable on the board enough.
At many times i felt like i was loosing control and was about to catch edge (which i did eventually). The board would wiggle longitudinally. Also by the end of the run, my front calf would burn like hell. I dont have an experienced/keen eye on detail to spot what exactly im doing wrong hence my post.
At this time maybe it would help to describe my stance.

I ride regular as seen
with a +15/-15 angle
and the bindings set as far apart from each as permitted possible by the board inserts
The last point was after a recommendation from a local instructor. I was advised to adopt the "cowboy stance".


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## Consonantal (Dec 12, 2012)

You're extending your legs backwards unnecessarily on your toe side. You can probably lean a little bit forward into the carve to alleviate the pressure on your calves.


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## ig88 (Jan 3, 2012)

spinn3rs said:


> ok i corrected the description. No accidents in the video.
> 
> Since it was a mellow ......
> At this time maybe it would help to describe my stance.
> ...


Until you said your bindings were set as far apart as possible, I really could not have spotted it from your video. But have you measured your stance? You could be rocking something like 24 inches or more stance width if you are using the widest bindings settings. I seriously doubt you needed to use such a wide stance to obtain the extra stability you are craving for.

Your description of your board wiggle longitudinally and that you felt like about to catching an edge, could be because you were not pressing into each edge hard enough during your lapse of casual moments. As someone has said before here, if you are already committed on an edge, you shouldn't catch an edge. Were you close to flat basing when you experienced your instability? 

There will be more people spotting what might be wrong with you as this thread moves on. What's really ironic is that I ride quite like you especially on the toe edge as I 'cruise' down. I might be leaning my body backwards just a tad more than you on the heel edge, not a lot more because I don't feel comfortable leaning too much into the blind spot ...... probably a natural instinct haha. 

Fortunately I don't have all the instability issues you seem to have, even though there are other areas I want to improve on.


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## spinn3rs (Dec 31, 2011)

ig88 said:


> Until you said your bindings were set as far apart as possible, I really could not have spotted it from your video. But have you measured your stance? You could be rocking something like 24 inches or more stance width if you are using the widest bindings settings. I seriously doubt you needed to use such a wide stance to obtain the extra stability you are craving for.
> 
> Your description of your board wiggle longitudinally and that you felt like about to catching an edge, could be because you were not pressing into each edge hard enough during your lapse of casual moments. As someone has said before here, if you are already committed on an edge, you shouldn't catch an edge. Were you close to flat basing when you experienced your instability?
> 
> ...


I agree with you regarding the wide stance. I wasnt/dont feel so comfortable with it but when i raised the subject with the instructor he mentioned that it was just a matter of getting used to it and that the extra width would help with the balance while sucrificing some maneuverability. Dont know about this topic so i guess i should leave it to the experts.

About instability...i cant really recall. Didnt focus on it and only thought about it when i started wiggling.


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## ig88 (Jan 3, 2012)

spinn3rs said:


> I agree with you regarding the wide stance. I wasnt/dont feel so comfortable with it but when i raised the subject with the instructor he mentioned that it was just a matter of getting used to it and that the extra width would help with the balance while sucrificing some maneuverability. Dont know about this topic so i guess i should leave it to the experts.
> 
> About instability...i cant really recall. Didnt focus on it and only thought about it when i started wiggling.


You said you found yourself not stable. I just simply took the liberty calling it instability. My apologies. But what do you mean by you can't really recall about instability?

The other thing, yes maybe someone should chime in here on the issue of your wide stance. I just think it might be too wide but I don't have any solid facts to quote you unfortunately.


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## spinn3rs (Dec 31, 2011)

ig88 said:


> You said you found yourself not stable. I just simply took the liberty calling it instability. My apologies. But what do you mean by you can't really recall about instability?
> 
> The other thing, yes maybe someone should chime in here on the issue of your wide stance. I just think it might be too wide but I don't have any solid facts to quote you unfortunately.


No worries man, you laid it out correctly. Im not a native English speaker so it sounded wrong. I only meant that i cant really recall what i was doing to cause instability. I didnt focus on my riding (i.e. if i was riding flat or not) until i started wiggling. At that point i remember lowering and stiffening my body to a more "squat-like" stance with my upperbody leaning forward. Wrong, i know, but that was my natural instinct to avoid falling.


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## davidj (May 30, 2011)

spinn3rs said:


> I agree with you regarding the wide stance. I wasnt/dont feel so comfortable with it but when i raised the subject with the instructor he mentioned that it was just a matter of getting used to it and that the extra width would help with the balance while sucrificing some maneuverability. Dont know about this topic so i guess i should leave it to the experts.
> 
> About instability...i cant really recall. Didnt focus on it and only thought about it when i started wiggling.


Just watching your video it seemed like you had a wider stance than I would have expected, but couldn't be sure. Now this discussion...

I think you should tinker with your stance. Narrow it by an inch or two and then fine tune it (narrower or wider from there based on feel). Stance is body structure AND board type related, in my opinion. At 6 feet, I rocked a 19.5 inch stance on my old camber board which is ridiculously narrow for someone with a 35 inch inseam, but that's what worked best for me on that board - better stability and turnability, less edge catch. On my Arbor Westmark rocker board, my stance is 21-22 inches to give me the best stability and turning response.


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## spinn3rs (Dec 31, 2011)

Great responses from everyone, i couldn't expect anything less.

As a general observation, I definitely need to tune my stance width.


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## spinn3rs (Dec 31, 2011)

Snowolf said:


> Couple of things going on here that I am seeing that may be increasing your risk of edge catches:
> 
> 1) You are riding with very low edge angles consistently rather than tilting the board higher onto its edge. This is a result of very static legs. Notice how you are riding pretty tall all of the time with nor flexion and extension? Work on flexion and extension to get higher edge angles. If you are riding solidly on an edge, it is impossible to catch an edge. For now, simply focus on getting really low (bend ankles and knees) just before the edge change, then once you start the new turn, slowly extend through the turn.
> 
> ...



Thanks Snowolf much appreciated.

You mention twisting and tilting vs pivoting in point 2.
Tilting, i presume, you mean angling the board in respect to the snow. For instance the whole board is tilting more in its side, like cutting through the snow while flexing or extending the ankle, is that correct?

What do you mean by twisting tho?


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## spinn3rs (Dec 31, 2011)

Thanks for the reply, its much appreciated.

I'm riding a 2012 Ride Machete which is quite stiff (or so i think - beginner here) so i'll have to work harder to get the twist in place.


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## rwspear (Mar 26, 2012)

spinn3rs said:


> Thanks for the reply, its much appreciated.
> 
> I'm riding a 2012 Ride Machete which is quite stiff (or so i think - beginner here) so i'll have to work harder to get the twist in place.


The Machete is a rocker. I know people like to claim that rockers are more forgiving that traditional camber when it comes to catching edges, but I disagree. Yes, if you're in a vulnerable situation, traditional camber will catch quicker than a rocker, but I find that camber keeps me out of those vulnerable situations. It's more stable at speed and removes that squirrelly feeling that occurs immediately before you scorpion in front of a bunch of bunnies.

Have you always ridden rockered boards?


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