Guest Armon Posted August 28, 2004 Report Share Posted August 28, 2004 Hey guys, real nice website here.. It's nice to see a snowboarding site with actual articles explaining things out. I'm somewhat new to snowboarding in general (19 y/o) and never really knew what carving was about. I've never really been into the parks and tricks that most kids my age are into. My roommate wakeboards for example, where all you do is work on tricks. When it came time to buy a new board he told me not to get a directional incase I decided to do tricks and learn to ride switch. But to be honest, I just want to freeride. And after reading around here, I want to try carving too. I just got a Never Summer Premier.. not a carving board but at least a somewhat stiff directional, with somewhat stiff freeriding boots/bindings. Will it be hard to learn how to carve with this equipment? I'm familiar with the g's and centrifugal force associated with tight turns from riding my motorcycle, and think it's a great feeling. I guess the hardest part will be waiting until winter to try it.... Anyway, bottom line here is good work on the website with the info, article, forum, etc. Keep up the good work and more and more people will notice Armon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack M Posted August 28, 2004 Report Share Posted August 28, 2004 Armon, thanks for the kind words, glad you're enjoying the site. Stick around. Sounds like you found the Welcome Center? It won't be all that hard to learn how to carve after you've gotten confident simply turning your board consistently, smoothly, and at moderate speeds. At that point, you want to find a carving instructor, or if you can't, read the article on "The Norm" and try that. Heck, try that anyway. In the mean time, here's a sick video to keep your stoke going over the summer: http://www.swoard.com/films/2003/wmv/stoked1.wmv This is a style-driven form of carving that these guys have named "extreme carving". Don't take it as a teaching aid, but it sure looks like fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baka Dasai Posted August 28, 2004 Report Share Posted August 28, 2004 Originally posted by Armon Will it be hard to learn how to carve with this equipment? <p>As long as your toes and heels aren't poking too far out over the edges of your board then this setup should work fine for carving turns. If you have this problem, you can try rotating your feet to a more forward facing stance. Soft boots/bindings will usually still work fine with your feet at angles of about 30 to 40 degrees. I think carving can be easier to learn on a soft setup like yours because it will carve fine at slow speeds, whereas a typical alpine board needs to be going a bit faster. FWIW, I first carved turns with an all soft setup, then progressed to hard boots on an ordinary freeride board, and then hard boots on a proper alpine board. Worked for me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Gendzwill Posted August 28, 2004 Report Share Posted August 28, 2004 From what I've heard, your Never Summer is an excellent board to learn softie carving on. Just make sure you've got enough angle on your bindings so the boots aren't hanging off the ends and have at it! Jack's article should help you out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest AlpentalRider Posted August 29, 2004 Report Share Posted August 29, 2004 the key for you is going to be finding others who freeride and do it well. The best teacher is actually going out there with guys who can rip it up and practice, practice, practice. They will quickly be able to give you instant feedback and advice to try each run, so your progression will be much faster then by yourself. Of course this is assuming they know what they are doing. I ride soft setup most of the time on a Burton Johan 163 with Salomon Malamutes, and I run stance angles of 33/30. You might want to start there, and when you feel comfortable you can experiment by varying the angles a few degrees up and down the range to find what works best for you. The key like one of the guys said is to not have boot overhang. It will cause you all kinds of problems with your technique. Good luck and have fun :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joecarve Posted August 29, 2004 Report Share Posted August 29, 2004 Originally posted by Armon ... I guess the hardest part will be waiting until winter to try it.... Actually, you can start now - on asphalt. Poke around on NCDSA, particularly in the "slalom" and "pumping" forums. You'll also find several threads here on longboard skateboarding. It's a great way to train offseason - when winter rolls around, you'll be dialed in... joe... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kjl Posted August 29, 2004 Report Share Posted August 29, 2004 Hey, I've got a Never Summer Premiere, too. It is a great, stiff board, with a more reasonable sidecut than most of the trick boards out there, so you should be able to learn carving on it OK. When I was freeriding all the time, I rode 39/21 on the NS Premiere. Like Baka Dasai, I also started on softies on a freeride board, progressed to hardboots (also on the Never Summer), before finally getting an alpine board. Of course, after two years of hardbooting, the Never Summer feels like a short, wet noodle, but it is still a quality board. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NateW Posted August 30, 2004 Report Share Posted August 30, 2004 he told me not to get a directional incase I decided to do tricks and learn to ride switch. I'd wager that he's either never tried riding switch on a directional board, or if he did, he gave up trying much too soon. I have an all-mountain alpine board and it doesn't stop me from "doing tricks" or riding switch. I've heard of people riding switch on full-on alpine boards and I'm sure it's do-able, I just feel a bit more confident with a bit more tail. It takes a little adjustment, but only a tad more adjustment than riding switch with a symmetrical board. It kinda makes sense to ride a symmetrical board if you literally spend 50% of your time in reverse, but personally I like the fact the switch is actually different from standard. It makes my regular riding more comfortable, and it makes riding switch more fun because it's more different. Get yourself a directional board, just work on switch riding whenever you go through the smooth mellow spots in your runs, and you'll prove him mistaken pretty soon. Keep your stance angles forward, too, just to rub it in. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Armon Posted August 30, 2004 Report Share Posted August 30, 2004 Thanks for all the replies. That video is ridiculous... I've never seen anything like that. Didn't even know it was possible. Looks like more fun that going back and forth in a halfpipe if you ask me. Anyway, I'm looking forward to this winter and a chance to try out this Never Summer board. Quick question about binding angles.. I've gotten used to riding 15/0. Do I need to "ease" myself into the more extreme forward angles, or should i just go for it and see what happens? I don't want to make it too hard to adjust, b/c I'll be on a new board/bindings and will have to adjust to that as well. I think I actually have carved a few turns by accident. It was only on one run, actually.. it was a little icey so I was trying to stay smooth, rocking from side to side.. but I got a little too much speed and a skiier turned and went all the way across the run.. right across my line. Anyway I ended up doing about 3 cartwheels and got to hear the guy's kid exclaim "WOW I bet that HURT!!" Guess I'll have to watch out in the future! I mosied on over here from snowboard.com. I'm surprised they don't have any sections on alpine snowboarding. Or in mags and stuff. Not all teenagers and 20 somethings are only into freestyle riding! Definitely glad I found the website though. Seems like a good group of people on the forums too. Keep it up guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike T Posted August 30, 2004 Report Share Posted August 30, 2004 Originally posted by Armon Looks like more fun that going back and forth in a halfpipe if you ask me Hell yeah. And the best part is, you can do it all the way down the mountain :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baka Dasai Posted August 30, 2004 Report Share Posted August 30, 2004 Originally posted by Armon I've gotten used to riding 15/0. Do I need to "ease" myself into the more extreme forward angles, or should i just go for it and see what happens? <p>Unless you have boot overhang issues, I don't think you <i>need</i> to change your binding angles in order to carve turns. BUT, most people find it easier to carve with a bit more angle than 15f/0r, and unless you have very small feet or a very wide board, you are likely to have boot overhang issues with those angles.If I were you, I'd do a bit of experimentation in your living room to see what sort of stance angles allow you to have between 0 and 1 cm overhang (on both heel and toe). Whatever stance angles you get from that should be your goal. I'd then move up to those angles in whatever increments you feel like. A 3 degree change is barely noticeable, but you'll definitely notice a 6 degree change. It doesn't really matter though - you'll get used to new angles pretty quickly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joecarve Posted August 30, 2004 Report Share Posted August 30, 2004 Originally posted by Armon Quick question about binding angles.. I've gotten used to riding 15/0. Do I need to "ease" myself into the more extreme forward angles, or should i just go for it and see what happens? Ease into it. Start by bringing your back up to get it more in line with the front - most people ride with a 0-10 degree split between F/R...all depends on what feels comfy to you. Take a few runs, then start bumping them together in 3-6 degree increments. Don't go higher than 45 in front with softboots - you won't have enough lateral support. When you want to make that next increment beyond 45, you'll want to go to hardboots and the transition will be pretty seamless. (btw, you can switch to hardboots earlier, of course). I'm serious about the skateboard thing - borrow anyone's deck (typical freestyle board or whatever) and get a feel for riding higher angles. Start off slow, on flat or slightly uphill smooth asphalt...wristguards are a good idea. joe... (hmm, looks like Baka and I are typing at the same time :D) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy D Posted August 30, 2004 Report Share Posted August 30, 2004 Originally posted by Mike T Originally posted by Armon Looks like more fun that going back and forth in a halfpipe if you ask me Hell yeah. And the best part is, you can do it all the way down the mountain :D Hey, you can do it in the pipe, too! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest lonecarver Posted August 30, 2004 Report Share Posted August 30, 2004 Amon Welcome, this is one of the best site for information on carving or just any type of boarding. About your riding, first be honest with yourself about your riding skills. Get someone to video you while your're learning how to carve or ride. If possible pick a run around the chairlift, this way you can see if you're carving a line or doing skidded turns. When you're riding back up the lift take at good look at where you've been this will tell you alot. As far as equipment goes, you can ride switch on a race board. Just make sure you do it in the right condition. I carve switch on a full on race board, it took alot of practice, practice, practice and nasty falls to to master it. Once you can do this it's alot of fun and you can show anyone that tell you it's impossible to ride switch on an alpine board. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FTA2R Posted August 30, 2004 Report Share Posted August 30, 2004 Amon, I, too, am a registered user on that site. I post every once in a while just to see what my fellow twenty something riders are up to, etc. I've posted enough and read enough of that site's posts to reach a few conclusions. That site is for kids. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but if you are more concerned with if your clothes match and debating attitude laced teens, then that's the site to be on. Lot of trash talking and use of the word "beyotcch." Not that stupid stuff doesn't happen here on BOL, but people here are generally much older and wiser, and MUCH more concerned with riding. People here actually care about technique. Second, there are a lot of attitudes on that site. Probably 3/4 of those punks don't even know what alpine snowboarding is, and a number of them who do know what it is bash it. (Although there is some 18 year old on that site who preaches the alpine gospel and manages to really piss a lot of people off.) My most recent post was in a thread entitled "get drunk and ride?" So you can see the mindset. To the sites's credit, it may be a good place to meet female riding partners =). Welcome to the dark side... Barry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-Sub Posted August 31, 2004 Report Share Posted August 31, 2004 beeyotch, eh? fckin sad to see how "hip hop" culture has so permeated every aspect of modern youth culture nothin against hip hop, more against the lemmings that have to bastardize everything Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NateW Posted August 31, 2004 Report Share Posted August 31, 2004 I went from something like 15/0 in softies to 45/30 in hard boots (on freeride boards with 24-25cm waists), and rode that way for years. Then I switched to 45/40 to make some knee pain go away (on a board with a 23cm waist), and I've been riding 55/50 for the last couple seasons (21cm waist). If I could do it over again, I'd probably go straight from 45/30 on freeride boards (to get used to the boots) and then 55/50 on a wide (21cm waist) alpine board. When I was riding 45/30 on freeride boards, I didn't know that all-mountain alpine boards existed. I bought one shortly after I found out. This year I'm getting boards with 17 and 19cm waists. Dunno what the angles will be. I don't know if that's easing into it or jumping into it, but it worked. Like Jim C said above, it took a day (ok maybe two) to get used to the new setups, but each time I was happy I made the change. Funny thing is, I found it easier to ride switch at 55/50 than at 45/40, and at least two other people found the same thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest stoked Posted August 31, 2004 Report Share Posted August 31, 2004 great that you're getting into freecarving hm softboots I guess whatever gets you closer to the feeling is a step in the right direction :) keep going + best carves to you!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ghostrider Posted August 31, 2004 Report Share Posted August 31, 2004 Hey Armon, Yet another suggestion for you (a bajillion answers to a single question are a common thing here) As one of the 20-something riders, if you are in college, check out your school or the schools around you. You might be surprised to find out that they have snowboard racing going on. Those people are always out riding and there are quite a few of them that are carving softies and also a handfull that have converted to hardboots. Its a great way to meet up and join the club of us carving kids. Check out www.uscsa.com, there is a short list there in the snowboard section of some of the schools that have snowboard programs. not all are listed there..but you kinda get an idea. heh...that was the definition of a shameless plug.:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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