# First time riding a Rocker board



## mastershake (Jan 9, 2012)

Hey guys, i learned to ride a little over 10 years ago on a traditional camber board without a lot of tech. It was heavy, stiff and oversized for me...

I recently purchased a 2013 GNU Pickle, i didn't realize how much flex it really has (says 6, but compared to what im used to i feel like its a 2).

anyway, i went out to ride it and at first i think i set my stance way wide, because i could barely initiate my turns. I then moved the front binding a little back giving a stance setback (not sure if this is good on twin tip rocker)...it felt better, but the board is really not damp at all and i feel like im going to catch an edge any second :dizzy:

any tips on riding a rocker board vs a camber board that i should be aware of? or is it all in just riding it and getting used to it?


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## grafta (Dec 21, 2009)

Set it up properly, ie at reference stance. Don't set it back. Center bindings on mounting holes. If you need to come in from center because it is too wide, come in one hole on front AND back evenly :thumbsup:

I ride a neversummer with rocker between bindings, camber at the ends. Just rode my friends camber ride dh yesterday and it reminded me how different straight camber is. With rocker you have to put in work to keep an edge, especially on hardpack. Camber is easier to rail along on, you can get on edge and even riding fairly statically you can draw a nice thin line. Rocker I feel like i have to use fore-aft movement through my turns to work my edges. The raised contacts out at the ends stop catches, BUT they also need pressure to get them to lock in.

I'm sure peeps will chime in here too. My experience is fairly slim. Good luck!


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## mastershake (Jan 9, 2012)

thanks for the info. i needed a quick fix on the mtn and i just set my front binding back 1 hole just so i dont waste time, but i will center them today..i think mine is flat-rocker-flat.

you're right about putting in more work to keep an edge, im feeling a lot more sore today than i usually would feel and i think its a combination of less dampness and having to make sure im on edge at all times, which makes it a bit harder for me to ride "relaxed" as i'm always trying to make sure i don't catch an edge..


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## jbernste03 (Aug 20, 2012)

*Same shit*



grafta said:


> Set it up properly, ie at reference stance. Don't set it back. Center bindings on mounting holes. If you need to come in from center because it is too wide, come in one hole on front AND back evenly :thumbsup:
> 
> I ride a neversummer with rocker between bindings, camber at the ends. Just rode my friends camber ride dh yesterday and it reminded me how different straight camber is. With rocker you have to put in work to keep an edge, especially on hardpack. Camber is easier to rail along on, you can get on edge and even riding fairly statically you can draw a nice thin line. Rocker I feel like i have to use fore-aft movement through my turns to work my edges. The raised contacts out at the ends stop catches, BUT they also need pressure to get them to lock in.
> 
> I'm sure peeps will chime in here too. My experience is fairly slim. Good luck!


Yea I pretty same experience as grafta.. I recently switch from a full camber(custom) to a hybrid camber/rocker/camber (t.rice pro) and could definently feel the difference in how to ride it. Took some getting used to but after a couple days out i love it. I miss some of the ease and forgiveness of regular camber but the added benifits of the hybrid outweigh them. Also more squirly on flats..


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## mastershake (Jan 9, 2012)

jbernste03 said:


> Yea I pretty same experience as grafta.. I recently switch from a full camber(custom) to a hybrid camber/rocker/camber (t.rice pro) and could definently feel the difference in how to ride it. Took some getting used to but after a couple days out i love it. I miss some of the ease and forgiveness of regular camber but the added benifits of the hybrid outweigh them. *Also more squirly on flats..*


yes!! this x1000 

this is exactly when i feel like im going to catch an edge


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## grafta (Dec 21, 2009)

You will find that you will catch less edges, not more.

RC tech is more forgiving, that's the point.

It'll feel more squirrelly at first for sure, you'll get used to it.


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## jbernste03 (Aug 20, 2012)

grafta said:


> You will find that you will catch less edges, not more.
> 
> RC tech is more forgiving, that's the point.
> 
> It'll feel more squirrelly at first for sure, *you'll get used to it*.


yea very true.. i got used to by about halfway through my second day riding it. At first it was definently fucking with me though. 

I didnt know that RC tech was more forgiving than regular camber.. but makes sense.


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## Dakota.D (Feb 17, 2012)

Im in the same boat. Although after the first couple of runs it was night and day difference. Gotta love new technology!


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## mastershake (Jan 9, 2012)

i agree..i definitely was feeling a lot more confident toward the end of the day, but still everytime i got some speed i'd have this feeling that i gotta make sure im on an edge otherwise im gonna bust my ass..haha..so im thinking i need more time with the board.

on the other hand i know its a bit more forgiving than TC boards, but what about on icy conditions or hardpack?


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## jojotherider (Mar 17, 2011)

RC is less grippy on ice, but the magnetraction on your board will make up for some of it.


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## grafta (Dec 21, 2009)

jojotherider said:


> RC is less grippy on ice, but the magnetraction on your board will make up for some of it.


Yeah, i feel like this is about right too. I've been riding hardpack for the last couple weeks on a neversummer evo. Feels like i have to work pretty hard to not slide out sometimes. Gotta go straight more 

The couple laps i did on a camber deck reminded me how stable they can feel.

I do like my RC deck though. Where I ride there are a ton of natural features that have strange angles on take offs and landings. The RC def helps when you don't get it _quite_ right and land a bit off.


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## mastershake (Jan 9, 2012)

grafta said:


> Yeah, i feel like this is about right too. I've been riding hardpack for the last couple weeks on a neversummer evo. Feels like i have to work pretty hard to not slide out sometimes. Gotta go straight more
> 
> The couple laps i did on a camber deck reminded me how stable they can feel.
> 
> I do like my RC deck though. Where I ride there are a ton of natural features that have strange angles on take offs and landings. The RC def helps when you don't get it _quite_ right and land a bit off.


this is one thing i understand from the different type of boards

TC - better edge hold (ice and otherwise) but less forgiving and more catch
RC - worse edge hold and has to rely additional tech (magnetraction, frostbite..etc), but a lot more forgiving doing freestyle, meaning less edge catch.


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## grafta (Dec 21, 2009)

mastershake said:


> this is one thing i understand from the different type of boards
> 
> TC - better edge hold (ice and otherwise) but less forgiving and more catch
> RC - worse edge hold and has to rely additional tech (magnetraction, frostbite..etc), but a lot more forgiving doing freestyle, meaning less edge catch.


So TC is traditional camber right?

RC doesn't have 'worse' edge hold. It's not quite that simple. I should've mentioned, you do need a slightly different technique. I think snowolf explained it somewhere, fore and aft movements to engage the cambers at the tip and tail.

Yes, the idea is less edge catch, but also things like better float in pow.

Also there are many kinds of alternate camber tech... i've ridden just the one so take what i say with a grain of salt :thumbsup:


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## mastershake (Jan 9, 2012)

grafta said:


> So TC is traditional camber right?
> 
> RC doesn't have 'worse' edge hold. It's not quite that simple. I should've mentioned, you do need a slightly different technique. I think snowolf explained it somewhere, fore and aft movements to engage the cambers at the tip and tail.
> 
> ...


yep, i think its all about getting used to a different board.

and yeah TC is traditional camber. thanks for your input.


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## Extremo (Nov 6, 2008)

grafta said:


> Yeah, i feel like this is about right too. I've been riding hardpack for the last couple weeks on a neversummer evo. Feels like i have to work pretty hard to not slide out sometimes. Gotta go straight more


How fast are you going when you feel like you're going to slide out? 

I've been on the NS for a few days now and I find that it holds an edge pretty well on hardpack (dust on crust) but at higher speeds it tends to let go. I've been attributing this to the light full-length detune I gave it, but now I'm thinking it may just be the limitations of the CRC profile.


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## grafta (Dec 21, 2009)

Extremo said:


> How fast are you going when you feel like you're going to slide out?
> 
> I've been on the NS for a few days now and I find that it holds an edge pretty well on hardpack (dust on crust) but at higher speeds it tends to let go. I've been attributing this to the light full-length detune I gave it, but now I'm thinking it may just be the limitations of the CRC profile.


No real idea how fast... but it is def those moments where you hit a patch that's been scraped out and you aren't expecting it. Nothing to push against if you know what i mean. I did clean up my edges the other day, but they are by no means sharp... not detuned though.

I suspect it's my riding technique too, i think i throw my body weight out away from my edges a bit too much perhaps.

I think you've gotta know how to pressure the cambers at the tip and tail and really _work_ them to your advantage. Push your knees outwards to help engage them, and also use good fore-aft movements through turns. ie: get forward initiating turn, move aft/back towards turn completion to really drive your edge into the snow so you don't skid (much).

^ I think I just quoted snowolf right there. Dunno where that thread is though :dunno: Credit where credit is due :thumbsup:


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## hktrdr (Apr 3, 2012)

grafta said:


> So TC is traditional camber right?
> 
> 
> mastershake said:
> ...


I think by RC he means Reverse Camber (i.e., Rocker), not Rocker-Camber...


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