Critique my riding

[Gremlin]

17 hours ago, Beckmann AG said:

Any guess on the hippos?

Because they're good at it.

Excellent thread everyone.

[Colozeus]

7 minutes ago, Gremlin said:

Because they're good at it.

Excellent thread everyone.

Quote

The Common Hippopotamus has a plump, bulky body which balances on four short stumpy legs. These ‘stumpy’ legs are quite versatile. Each hippo foot has 4 toes and although they are webbed, for water usage, they are evenly sprayed enough to support the hippo when it is on land.

A hippos skin is usually greyish-brown 

 

This was taken from https://animalcorner.co.uk/animals/common-hippopotamus/ My guess is that it has to do with stumpy legs. lol

[icebiker]

@Colozeus if I could ride like you one day I’d die a happy man. Smooth and stylish, seemingly effortless.   A pleasure to watch  

out of curiosity what was the pitch of that slope?  I assume it was a modest blue but down-slope camera perspectives often create the illusion of a flatter slope than it really is. 

[Colozeus]

8 minutes ago, icebiker said:

@Colozeus if I could ride like you one day I’d die a happy man. Smooth and stylish, seemingly effortless.   A pleasure to watch  

out of curiosity what was the pitch of that slope?  I assume it was a modest blue but down-slope camera perspectives often create the illusion of a flatter slope than it really is. 

Thanks! It's a modest blue at the beginning then gradually flattens out to a more mellow blue. If you go to this video(not my video) at about the 8:10 mark, you can see the pitch at the beginning. This is where most of my vid takes place. 

 

Edited February 7, 2019 by Colozeus

[jburk]

On 2/6/2019 at 11:35 AM, Beckmann AG said:

"Why don't we see more hippos hiding in trees?"

Because no one looks for them there, and they’re really good at hiding. 

[pow4ever]

On 2/6/2019 at 1:14 PM, AcousticBoarder said:

It is the "C" that a pirate truly loves! 

I C/see/sea... English is hard; as Ralph Wiggum:  Me fail English that's unpossible. 

Erik is a great teacher; but Colozeus is a great student as well.  Able to articulate what's wrong/not working is critical
It's a 2 way street.  You will be a session royalty in no time  

[Beckmann AG]

12 hours ago, Colozeus said:

but i end up slamming my hips and hands into the ground before the carve is fully established. And it's not a reaching for the ground first kind of slap, it's more of a angulating the board way too fast and falling down to the ground in a sitting position and then recovering the carve from all the lost speed and getting way in front of the board. Does that make sense?

You're 'falling' into the turn faster than the board can stand you back up. In practice, the tilt of the board may lead the bend in the board by a very small increment, but when the tilt gets too far ahead of the bend, you'll bounce off the snow. 

In order for the board to bend, it needs some form of resistance. If you're 'falling' away from the topsheet, there's not much resistance, therefore no bend until you stop falling long enough for the board to catch up.

 

12 hours ago, Colozeus said:

Front boot: my front leg is up against the back of the cuff.

Rear boot: my back leg is pulled in towards the center and up against the right/front of cuff

 

This

11 hours ago, BlueB said:

Try a bit narrower stance with existing settings? 

But first, so as to avoid twiddling hardware:

Stand on your footbeds in the empty shells with your feet parallel to each other, approximately hip width.

Look down, and note the gaps on either side between boot cuffs and leg. Cuffs should be at least buckled on the loosest setting.

If the gaps in this situation are similar to the gaps in your photos above, tip your rear boot cuff inward,  then replace the liners and see how that feels.

Canting the binding inward can compromise ankle mobility, whereas moving the cuff will primarily change the leverage ratio from toeside to heelside. Granted, these variables overlap a little, but moving the cuff will take less time for the sake of this exercise.

If this feels intuitively better, without adversely affecting solid footing, then move your rear binding forward one increment, advance the forward lean of the front boot slightly, and check again.

If your stance is too narrow on hill, you'll feel 'twitchy' and both of your legs will become overly tired for no apparent reason. (As opposed to having one quadriceps group on fire).

 

Returning to the rear foot dorsiflexion limit:

How much rear knee flex does it take to go from 'solid' to 'gap under the heel'?

->almost none

->a few degrees

-> a noticeable amount

->from here to eternity.

 

Further, do you have the same situation on the front foot?

Further still, do your hamstrings tend to get tight during normal activities?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Beckmann AG]

8 hours ago, Gremlin said:

Because they're good at it.

->Because they're so damn good at it.

It's all to easy to bypass the question asked, and answer the question we assume we're being asked.

Movement analysis goes awry when viewers look for assumed answers/outcomes, rather than simply taking stock of what's being presented. 

"When geese fly in formation, why is the formation uneven?"

[lonbordin]

3 minutes ago, Beckmann AG said:

"When geese fly in formation, why is the formation uneven?

Because there's more geese on one side of the formation.

[Colozeus]

i'm in the process of trying out some of these changes on my local carpet. @Beckmann AG With regards to my back ankle dorsiflexion, the most forward i can bring my knee without my heel lifting is just barely past the tip of my toes. 

[Colozeus]

ok, i made two changes

 

1. i loosened the nut on my dgss springs on both boots which basically caused both my boots to have more forward lean and feel a little bit looser. 

2. Canted both boot cuffs inwards about 2-3 degrees (best guess).

 

I now feel more centered and relaxed on the board while standing on my carpet and the gaps that i posted in previous pictures are almost eliminated. I feel like my back leg is still fighting a little bit to come closer to my front leg, which probably indicates that i need to shorten my stance width maybe by an inch or so. 

I will get to try these settings out tomorrow and report back. I will also test shortening my stance width by an inch and see what effect that has. 

Last on my list will be to try 6 degrees heel lift vs 3 on my back leg. (i have a feeling this will make the biggest difference in mobility due to my janky left ankle.) Wish me luck. 

[Beckmann AG]

8 hours ago, Colozeus said:

With regards to my back ankle dorsiflexion, the most forward i can bring my knee without my heel lifting is just barely past the tip of my toes. 

By comparison, I can get the front of my kneecap about 5" beyond my longer second toe. I don't know how that compares to the greater population, but I'm neither hyper-mobile nor restricted by classification.

What kind of range do you get on the other foot?

When you shorten the stance, maybe first move the rear binding forward, then repeat splitting the difference to see how each option affects (or doesn't affect) handling characteristics beyond your postural 'comfort'.

When you try the six, maybe loosen the springs on the rear boot to remove some of the levering effect of the boot cuff. Then, if it feels good from the soles of your feet, gradually add tension until you have 'just enough' cuff support.

If you get solid underfoot, but can't get the cuff to feel right, consider increasing heel height inside the boot.

 

Thanks for the update.

[Colozeus]

On 2/14/2019 at 10:16 PM, Beckmann AG said:

By comparison, I can get the front of my kneecap about 5" beyond my longer second toe. I don't know how that compares to the greater population, but I'm neither hyper-mobile nor restricted by classification.

What kind of range do you get on the other foot?

When you shorten the stance, maybe first move the rear binding forward, then repeat splitting the difference to see how each option affects (or doesn't affect) handling characteristics beyond your postural 'comfort'.

When you try the six, maybe loosen the springs on the rear boot to remove some of the levering effect of the boot cuff. Then, if it feels good from the soles of your feet, gradually add tension until you have 'just enough' cuff support.

If you get solid underfoot, but can't get the cuff to feel right, consider increasing heel height inside the boot.

 

Thanks for the update.

 

I got back from riding at Eldora last night. Conditions for the first two days were soft with 1-3 inches on top of groomed. The last day had the best "carving" conditions. I didn't make any other changes to my setup since the conditions were very variable from day to day and i was also focusing on showing my friend how to ride and carve in his soft boot setup.

I will say that the changes i made to the springs and cuff canting had a positive effect. On the flats, i feel more centered on the board and a lot less pirate legged. My rear leg still fights the board a little bit. i also focused on keeping my front leg bent during heelside carves. I was able to do it but it required a more forced crouching before initiating my heelside turn. (possibly due to muscle memory that i've built with a more straightened out leg.) 

I'll most likely be riding again in two weeks, hopefully in better conditions. I'll play around further with stance width and heel lift. 

I would say that my other foot can get to about 2-3 inches forward of my longest toe. 

[lafcadio]

You'll want to avoid being hit. Especially from your videographer.

Difficult to tell from the video, but some of those shots looked dangerously close. Make sure you and everyone you're riding with is communicating. You don't want to be on the injured list and you definitely don't want to get there by being taken out by a riding buddy. 

[Colozeus]

6 hours ago, lafcadio said:

You'll want to avoid being hit. Especially from your videographer.

Difficult to tell from the video, but some of those shots looked dangerously close. Make sure you and everyone you're riding with is communicating. You don't want to be on the injured list and you definitely don't want to get there by being taken out by a riding buddy. 

Yes, he was a little bit close, but he's also a very good rider. (better than me) We did talk beforehand and i did mention that i wanted some close up follow-cam footage. We will be more careful next time. 

[Beckmann AG]

11 hours ago, Colozeus said:

I'll play around further with stance width and heel lift. 

I would say that my other foot can get to about 2-3 inches forward of my longest toe. 

Will be interesting to see what happens.  

If you like the forward flex on the front boot, but the rearward springs allow the cuff to 'straighten out' on a heelside, maybe make a solid spacer to replace the spring, at least for a day or two.  A hardwood dowel or block of wood with a hole drilled through it should do.

Or a big stack of washers.

That should take some of the tension off your front leg.

[Colozeus]

So i just swapped the dgss spring system and installed the stock upz spring/lean system. Honestly, i'm not even sure why i went with the dgss springs. I don't even EC. That spring system was severely limiting my setup and the way i drilled the holes, my back ankle was stuck in too of an upright position. 

Now with the upz system, on my carpet, i locked my rear boot into the most forward click which gives me quite a bit of forward lean. My front boot is locked in the second position I believe. This has almost eliminated all of my back leg wanting to fight the board. I'm at an 18" stance width now. 

I tested motion on my back ankle since it's locked in such a forward position, and I don't feel this will be a problem. The springs on the upz system still give me plenty of travel. I actually feel like they give me more than the dgss green springs. 

I think I originally installed those springs because i was hell bent on EC'ing and I read somehwere that you needed these to EC.  oh boy. 

I'm gonna leave this as is until next weekend when I get to try these new settings again. That being said, I'd appreciate people's thoughts on how far forward they lock the rear foot. I think I have even read of some folks just riding in walk mode. 

@Corey Didn't I hear you once say that you ride with your rear fully locked forward? I know you ride with 6/6 lifts. I might also have to do the same. 

Edited February 23, 2019 by Colozeus

[pokkis]

Sorry but why you drilled holes with DGSS?

[Colozeus]

2 minutes ago, pokkis said:

Sorry but why you drilled holes with DGSS?

For the very first iterations of the dgss you needed to drill holes to secure the middled plate and bottom of the threaded screw. It's not like the latest designs. This was a system sold by a guy that goes by druppi

[pokkis]

OK, clear, i just thought it was either of standard DGSS's available., due that i was confused

[lonbordin]

28 minutes ago, Colozeus said:

That being said, I'd appreciate people's thoughts on how far forward they lock the rear foot. I think I have even read of some folks just riding in walk mode. 

I like the ability to ride in walk mode and locked mode. I ride walk in very soft conditions and locked the rest of the time.

I ride second hole from the bottom most of the time.  If I'm racing I might go third hole (more lean).

My only modification to the stock boots, other than bootfitting mods and a Booster strap, is the stiffer orange spring for forward lean.  I like the stiffer spring over the stiffer tongue.

Mahalo.

 

[Corey]

3 hours ago, Colozeus said:

@Corey Didn't I hear you once say that you ride with your rear fully locked forward? I know you ride with 6/6 lifts. I might also have to do the same. 

I'm one click forward from 'center' on my rear foot on groom. 

I'm interested in the transition from one to other as I just picked up some DGSS from Ron's group buy. 

[AcousticBoarder]

I just made the opposite switch from stock to dgss. I liked the or second to forward most lean setting  usually on the upzs (I also ride 6 and 6), but it also felt too limiting. Half the time I would ride in walk but I was not comfortable when I did. I didn't have enough travel in them for my liking in locked and there wasn't much response in walk. 

I installed the dgss with green springs and it didn't feel good for me. Way too soft and too much travel. I then switched out after a few runs to the blue springs and it felt way better, both compared to green springs and to the stock mechanism. I don't EC so I wasn't looking for that, but rather some more range in motion. The other thing the spring system has done is the "resting" lean is more forward than the upz, which feels a lot better too. I want to look at moving the lock nuts to perhaps adjust the resting forward lean to be a bit more on the back leg and maybe a tiny bit more upright in the front, but I need a bit more time on them in different conditions before playing more. 

Dgss isn't for everyone of course, but so far I am liking them. More range in motion while still retaining responsiveness for me atleast. It is a bit contradictory, but it honestly feels like the boots now have more flex when I need it but they aren't any softer/ the stiffness is still the same if that makes any sense. 

I also know @daveo replaced the small back travel springs with blue which may be another thing I eventually look at. I believe @DRUPI even has red springs which are even stiffer. 

[daveo]

27 minutes ago, AcousticBoarder said:

 

I also know @daveo replaced the small back travel springs with blue which may be another thing I eventually look at. I believe @DRUPI even has red springs which are even stiffer. 

Spoke to Robi about this, actually. No red springs avalanche when I bought them. But you can buy them yourself from a hardware store. They're standard things, I believe. Someone like @pokkis knows a lot about this stuff I think. 

[Colozeus]

18 hours ago, AcousticBoarder said:

I just made the opposite switch from stock to dgss. I liked the or second to forward most lean setting  usually on the upzs (I also ride 6 and 6), but it also felt too limiting. Half the time I would ride in walk but I was not comfortable when I did. I didn't have enough travel in them for my liking in locked and there wasn't much response in walk. 

I installed the dgss with green springs and it didn't feel good for me. Way too soft and too much travel. I then switched out after a few runs to the blue springs and it felt way better, both compared to green springs and to the stock mechanism. I don't EC so I wasn't looking for that, but rather some more range in motion. The other thing the spring system has done is the "resting" lean is more forward than the upz, which feels a lot better too. I want to look at moving the lock nuts to perhaps adjust the resting forward lean to be a bit more on the back leg and maybe a tiny bit more upright in the front, but I need a bit more time on them in different conditions before playing more. 

Dgss isn't for everyone of course, but so far I am liking them. More range in motion while still retaining responsiveness for me atleast. It is a bit contradictory, but it honestly feels like the boots now have more flex when I need it but they aren't any softer/ the stiffness is still the same if that makes any sense. 

I also know @daveo replaced the small back travel springs with blue which may be another thing I eventually look at. I believe @DRUPI even has red springs which are even stiffer. 

I'm going to try the stock upz setup this weekend. It definitely has more travel than the springs i had on there. Perhaps i set them up wrong. Actually, what i have might not be the dgss, i remember now that i ordered them from some guy in italy on the EC forums.