# heelside frustrations



## tgbmurf (Jan 16, 2011)

Hey everyone i need some advice,

heres my set-up: burton operator board 161, burton custom bindings (large) and burton poacher boots(11). im 6'1 165lbs.
I ride goofy (right foot first) with a 12deg on front binding, and -9 on rear (almost duck foot). 
My problem is this: when i ride toeside, I go nice and straight down the hill wherever I aim, as fast as i like. I can transition back to heelside no problem, but when im riding heelside I have great difficulty pointing the board straight. 
My back foot always drifts forward when riding heelside and i end up traversing or sideslipping down the slope, both feet pointing downhill, or sometimes end up riding switch down the hill, without meaning to. I cant seem to keep the nose straight no matter how much weight i shift forward or backward, and i cant control the speed, usually way to slow. ....again, no problems toeside. nice and straight......I have problems transitioning from heelside to toeside, its sloppy. 
Any tips on how to fix this? do I need to change my binding angles, heelbacks, etc, or is it something im doing wrong, aka not bending my knees enough or leaning the wrong way?


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## thetraveler (Feb 24, 2010)

sounds like you are putting too much weight on your front foot and not pressing hard and accurate enough with your back foot when you ride heelside. 

you also might be twisting your body around toward the nose of the board and so not keeping your shoulders parallel to the board.

go back to the blue runs for a day or few and just do as many turns as possible when you do while paying particular attention to these things i mentioned and see if that's what you're doing wrong.

the end result is you want to be shoulders parallel to the board, even weight distribution between front and back foot, and an awareness of your toe edge and heel edge, with both feet.


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## doron (Nov 14, 2010)

It's funny, I've been having the exact same problems riding switch. Riding regular is second nature to me at this point so I can't really figure out what I am doing differently, although I've been using thetraveler's advice which helped me a bit on green trails (combined with trying to keep my board as flat as possible while still being on the heel edge).

Just to play around, I got on a lift riding switch with my right foot strapped in (I'm regular). Riding off the lift was fine but as soon as I tried skating my front foot felt like it was spring loaded and trying to whip my board around and knock me on my ass. Since I ride 15 -12 and pay attention to my upper body, I think (at least in my case) that it's just a matter of getting my right ankle used to flexing a certain way so as to not immediately initiate turns.


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## outlyr (Dec 20, 2010)

tgbmurf said:


> Hey everyone i need some advice,
> 
> heres my set-up: burton operator board 161, burton custom bindings (large) and burton poacher boots(11). im 6'1 165lbs.
> I ride goofy (right foot first) with a 12deg on front binding, and -9 on rear (almost duck foot).
> ...


Is your board rockered? I had the same problem with my v-rocker. Be sure that your boots are centered and that the foot beds are positioned so that your toes and heels get good leverage on your edges. Shift your highbacks so they are parallel to your heel edge, and consciously work on not squaring your shoulders perpendicular to your edges, especially when your riding flat on a rocker or on your heel edge.


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## alf (Mar 14, 2008)

If your problem is riding with your upper body facing forward as thetraveler and snowolf suggested, one exercise that might help is to grab the rear of your left pant leg (like right below your butt) with your left hand while you ride. That sort of forces your upper body to stay aligned with your feet, at least it does for me. Riding with both hands clasped behind your back can be instructive, too.


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## The french (Jan 11, 2021)

tgbmurf said:


> Hey everyone i need some advice,
> 
> heres my set-up: burton operator board 161, burton custom bindings (large) and burton poacher boots(11). im 6'1 165lbs.
> I ride goofy (right foot first) with a 12deg on front binding, and -9 on rear (almost duck foot).
> ...


Switch your stance to duck-foot both [email protected] 12° should help. It's the way I ride. See how she feels and go from there. Maybe a bit less on back foot like 10°, but that'll open ya up a bit for quicker maneuverability. Good luck Chuck!


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## WigMar (Mar 17, 2019)

The french said:


> Switch your stance to duck-foot both [email protected] 12° should help. It's the way I ride. See how she feels and go from there. Maybe a bit less on back foot like 10°, but that'll open ya up a bit for quicker maneuverability. Good luck Chuck!


Check the date on the last post. He may have figured it out since 2011. I don't think the OP is still around. The forum will trick you into responding to threads that have been dead for a long time. 

Stance and binding angles are pretty personal, but both duck and ++ have their advantages. Duck stance is great for toe turns. I've found that going ++ opens up a ton of pelvic and upper body rotation that has completely transformed my heelside turns for the better. Duck stance is the opposite of what I'd want for ideal heel turns. It's a versatile stance, but heelsides are it's big weakness.


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## Gsteezy (Dec 30, 2020)

I don’t understand your problem. How do you ride your edge straight? 
If I want to ride dead straight. I’ll ride flat or apply a little pressure to compensate for the fall line. I don’t ride my edge because I will start to turn. 
my best advice is to slow it down and work with your board and body position. Id guess youre not balanced and it’s throwing you off. Also... Stance angles shouldn’t matter unless it is uncomfortable.


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## Manicmouse (Apr 7, 2014)

Gsteezy said:


> I don’t understand your problem. How do you ride your edge straight?
> If I want to ride dead straight. I’ll ride flat or apply a little pressure to compensate for the fall line. I don’t ride my edge because I will start to turn.
> my best advice is to slow it down and work with your board and body position. Id guess youre not balanced and it’s throwing you off. Also... Stance angles shouldn’t matter unless it is uncomfortable.


Who are you responding to? The guy with the problem in 2011 or WigMar?

Stance angles do matter beyond comfort. It changes your body position and you apply pressure on your turns.


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## Gsteezy (Dec 30, 2020)

Manicmouse said:


> Who are you responding to? The guy with the problem in 2011 or WigMar?
> 
> Stance angles do matter beyond comfort. It changes your body position and you apply pressure on your turns.


The OP but I didn’t even realize it’s such an old post. Oops.


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