# Going straight downhill...



## Guest (Nov 9, 2007)

Well I rarely thought about what's the best way to position the weight when going straight downhill. I'm used to keep the weight on my toes, not totally on the toes tho. I feel more secure that way but sometimes the board starts turning. I read somewhere that if you go straight flat based it is much faster and if practiced you can feel comfortable in that position too. So, when going straight downhill what way do you people do it, keeping the weight on the edge or flat based ? Thanks.


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## Snowjoe (Jul 3, 2007)

I and the majority of people always keep a set edge. Ride flat based and the board can slide in weird directions and its easy to catch your edge and go ass over tit.


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## alaric (Aug 28, 2007)

I put a slight pressure on one edge. As joe said, if you go flat based, you may catch an edge and enjoy a nice meal of snow.


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## Guest (Nov 10, 2007)

its fun to put your entire base down and point every once and a while but its not a smart thing to do if there are scattered people because you don't have much control and yes you do catch some gnarly edges when you do it. when it comes right down to it I usually only do it when im aproaching some flat so I don't have to strap out and I don't do it for that long. Just a little nudge you know.


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## Guest (Nov 10, 2007)

Yeah I know what you guys mean. When I just started with snowboarding I tried to go flat based, thinking it will give biggest stability and then I noticed that the board goes in weird direction by itself often making the edge dig in. But I also noticed that when in those moments when you can maintain stability flat based you go much faster. So I've heard from some people that they ride flat based with no problems, so I was wondering if I'm making a mistake and should try more to learn how to ride flat based or that's not the way to be done.


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## PaoloSmythe (Aug 19, 2007)

well i dunno what hills you're used to but (at the risk of generalising) euro hills seem to have more cat tracks and the like, for us to motor down to link up the pistes etc.

coz of this, there is plenty of practice for flat basing. i grew up with a bias to toe edge, but then i learnt to swip swap, but now i generally try to go edge free, but for this, you need speed to maintain forward momentum as the dominating force of motion, and a flat camber path is pretty useful too.

but yar, practice makes perfect, flat footed with a low stance is fastest, but use an edge if you sense any lateral motion.


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## Guest (Nov 11, 2007)

Yeah there are lots of flats here where I go snowboarding. I'll be practicing flat based riding this winter, hope it will work out good. Damn I wish that damn snow starts falling


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## Guest (Nov 12, 2007)

I'll see how stabile can I be with flat based, if I become good at it, I'll try to go flat based as much as I can, or at least flat based with just a bit toe pressure.


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## swmike (Aug 16, 2007)

I don't think going straight is necessarily a downhill thing. But I'm old fashioned.


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## PaoloSmythe (Aug 19, 2007)

flat base is defo a skill worth getting comfortable with.

without getting technical (coz i lack the grapes for such) if you are applying an edge, then you are using friction. if you use friction then you slow down. if you are riding on flat, you need all the speed you can get.

more flat = need more speed = want less edge = go more flat

_control _ain't worth shit if it means you have to unstrap and walk, as the _dicks with sticks_ whizz past, pushing away with self-assurred grins. bar stewards!


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## Guest (Nov 14, 2007)

Thanks for all the update people, I hope I'll be able to practice it this saturday. The only thing that saved from those dicks with sticks was that I before the falt part of the track gained alot of speed by going straight downhill with no carving(still on toe edge, which gave me some pain in my legs for a short time). I'll try your advice snowolf. Mike altough I did type ''downhill'' in my topic name I mean't about going straight in general, doesnt matter if downhill or on flats.


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## Mr. Right (Sep 27, 2007)

PaoloSmythe said:


> flat base is defo a skill worth getting comfortable with.
> 
> without getting technical (coz i lack the grapes for such) if you are applying an edge, then you are using friction. if you use friction then you slow down. if you are riding on flat, you need all the speed you can get.
> 
> ...


Yes in deedy. It took me some time to ride the board flat at all without getting hurt, and all in the ultimate goal to go a little faster. You can definitely ride a board flat but you need to be real comfortable with where you place your body weight and how you react to your edge catching. When I ride my board flat I do catch my edges a little bit but usually with a little persuasion I can get the board under control at the same time. Knock on wood, I haven't taken a hard hit from catching my edges in some time now. I've been spending the past 2 seasons getting as proficient as possible going fast because I feel it will provide me a solid platform for big spins etc. I kind of like it because all my friends can ride the park, but they can't catch me lol. I know the flatter I keep that board, the faster I go but it may be different for others.


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## PaoloSmythe (Aug 19, 2007)

the best place for unavoidable flat base riding practice, is the poma; aka button lift.

with one foot unstrapped, it is hard enuff as it is to apply a constant edge, but then if you are edging, then you are in a tug of war with the pully system of the lift, with the pole around your bollocks being the rope!

the real practice however, comes from your flat board catching and nicking the carved snow that has been created by days of relentless ski tracks going up the drag path.

oh yeah! good times! but practice makes perfect!


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