Weight distribution - snowboard

[damian 0]

I have a rule that if something feels right, it is probably not the best way to do it.

 

My body instinctively transfers weight to my back foot when boarding - particularly when the slope gets steeper. The increased backward lean and pressure on the back foot feels 'safe', but is it the best approach?

 

Should I puit more pressure on the front foot. Will learning to the front of my board give more control when things get to steep for me (on a groomed hard run)?

 

Like I said, instinct causes pressure on my back foot, but as a result I seem to slide the tail out very often in an attempt to control the speed. In turn I find that sliding the tail out makes it harder to control the board.

 

Am I thinking about it to much?

 

I really want to take a lesson.

 

cheers

[Ocean11 0]

Definitely gotta lean forward and carve in that situation.

 

For the whole of last season I had a horror of making the frontside turn on steeps as I hated the moment when my board pointed straight down the hill. But this time, I've been yelling at myself "Make the turn! Make the turn!" And it works. If you keep making small turns you can control speed too. But you'll never do that leaning back.

 

Also, if you really bend your knees a lot, the urge to lean back disappears.

[damian 0]

Thanks ocean.

[Raury 0]

Have a read through this thread on ski.com.au

 

bawbawbel is our resident pixie, but has a lot of good advise when you cut through it all.

[damian 0]

Thanks Raury, that is a good thread.

 

cheers

[enderzero 0]

Hey deebee, did you get what I was talking about with the rudder action of the back foot/leg? I think if you can learn to control that back leg sliding out then you will have a good control mechanism.

 

I'll show you what I mean in a month ()

[jstepp 0]

ya definately, the less weight you have on the back of the board the easier it is to carve, and like Ocean said its scary at first but you'll get used to it very quickly and start carving like a pro, try to carve quickly no more than 5 feet apart from left to right, i find that to be the best control when going down a steep run (no moguls)

[Ocean11 0]

They have some mighty technical discussions on that Oz site. Is that because the snow's so crap there I wonder?

[Raury 0]

 Quote:

Originally posted by Ocean11:
They have some mighty technical discussions on that Oz site. Is that because the snow's so crap there I wonder?

Oohhhh, fightin' words.

You found technical discussions?

There are some good discussions about, but then we get good snow sometimes( just the last couple of years have been rubbish). We make do with what we get, and enjoy it too.

There is no such thing as bad snow

[Will Lee 0]

Well, put it this way...when the muscles on your front leg feel more sore(sorer?)than the ones on your hind leg you`re probably boarding the right way. When I first started most of my muscle pain came from my hind leg and as I got better I noticed the transfer. It probably does sound a bit nuts to you Deebee but like Ocean said you`ve gotta lean(when things get too hairy just make a turn). A tip my good boarding friend gave me was to put your front hand on your front thigh as you go down the hill(was doing that all day at Tanbara while practicing fakie and it worked).

[damian 0]

 Quote:

Originally posted by SnoboYaro:
Well, put it this way...when the muscles on your front leg feel more sore(sorer?)than the ones on your hind leg

My dog has a hind leg. So did an ugly girl I "meet". I have a back leg

This thread really turned things around for me. I gave over all of last weekend to front leg weighting and man, what a difference. I think my form may have been a bit hunched and funny looking, but you could almost attack the gradient rather than pulling back from it (back leg).

My front leg certainly hurt much more than my back leg by the end of the day.

has anyone ever tried putting a 1" plate under the rear binding so as to naturally lean you over the front of the board on a downhill slope?

[enderzero 0]

It seems to me that if you put a plate under only one foot it might throw your hip off and cause some problems. At least a sore hip. Then again most people have one leg that is a little longer than the other (my right). I wonder if this has something do with if someone has a tendency toward goofy or regular. I ride regular.

[oddis10 0]

Deebee, manipulating you back foot like that would only cause you problems when incountering other riding (weight distrabution)situations. There is however cants on the market which elevate at a selectable angle either foot and are mainly reserved for plate setups where the boot binding combo is to stiff to allow leg flex and knee movement. Just keep practicing exspecialy in the morning on the courtery (sp) when can look back and analize your line.....and in no time you'll be carving like a euro... If you want any info on cants feel free to email me.

[Ocean11 0]

What's this thing about euros carving? Is it like black folks and rhythm or something? Well, I'm European (technically), and my carving is not particularly beautiful.

 

So where does that come from then?

 

oddis10, it's 'corduroy' - the thread of kings. Being European we know all about kings and their threads.