IceCoast Posted February 10, 2010 Report Share Posted February 10, 2010 I wondering what the light weights our there are riding. What sizes and styles? Are you buying boards off the shelf or are you having them custom built to your weight? I weigh in at a whopping 125lb. I'm currently riding a 159 Prior 4wd and it has proven to be a great all mountain board. It has been my first and only carving setup for the past couple years. With a 8.5m SCR I'm kinda longing for a board I can get a deep carve with that won't give me wiplash, give me visions of high siding, or being launched into the woods at speeds that can be obtained on a moderate blue. I live in DC so the local trails are not extremely wide or long, but I take at least one yearly trip out west for something a little more real. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allee Posted February 10, 2010 Report Share Posted February 10, 2010 One of the girls I ride with all the time weighs about the same as you, and has the same board. She loves it. It's kind of tough to get into a more 'race' board at that weight. I put said friend on my Coiler PR 173, which was built for a 135lb female racer. She couldn't even get it to bend and spent a scary morning being trucked all over the hill. My thoughts would be - keep an eye on the classifieds for something that a junior racer might have grown out of. OR talk to Bruce at Coiler or Chris at Prior if you want to spend $$ and go new. Bruce builds a line of boards specifically for lightweights, and the people who have demoed them rave. Chris could do the same with a smaller WCR. The other option is something like this : http://www.bomberonline.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=28950. I've ridden these boards and they absolutely rock. If the topsheet isn't your thing, a sign shop can take care of an overlay pretty fast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zone Posted February 10, 2010 Report Share Posted February 10, 2010 I'm in at around 130lbs. Swoard is very flexy (161M for me) and it's very nice ride. Bruce made me a 3rd/final version of stubby-like (I like to call it my tongue depressor) and it's great. First 2 were too stiff and I was struggling. This one is like magic. 12m VSR but I can bend it to well below 10m when needed. He does have 2 scales, one for guys (apparently I'm at the low end of that scale) and one for girls (test drove a number of girls board). I must say I really like the flex on the girls board, so I guess for my weight that scale is better. I presume for lightweight teen riders, the girls scale would also be better. Boots/bindings makes a difference too, because at our weight, what seems flexy for most is actually quite stiff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
two_ravens Posted February 10, 2010 Report Share Posted February 10, 2010 Custom Coiler!!! As Allee said, Prior might be able to do a nice custom board for you too. I weigh in around 128 on a fat day, and my super flexy Titanal Coiler Stubette has opened up a whole new world for me. It has a 12m SCR, but easy to bend into a much tighter turn. Specs: 160cm long, 18.2 waist, Coiler flex index 7.0 + 6.5 W. Also have a 152 cm Donek slalom board that is fun, but more demanding. And a Prior that was custom made for a 125 lb woman, but it's a race horse - 171 cm long, 17 cm waist, 13.5 m SCR. This one still kind of scares the piss out of me. I'm riding Raichle 124's with BTS, yellow springs top and bottom (VERY easy flexing.) Currently on TD2's, but thinking of trying something more flexy in the binding department - would love to check out the Sidwinders! It's very hard to pick up something off the shelf that has the right flex for lightweights like us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newcarver Posted February 10, 2010 Report Share Posted February 10, 2010 Donek also makes a board for lighter riders. In both a rec and race version. Price is right too. It is called the Pilot. http://www.donek.com/pilotam_pilot.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buell Posted February 10, 2010 Report Share Posted February 10, 2010 I wondering what the light weights our there are riding. What sizes and styles? Are you buying boards off the shelf or are you having them custom built to your weight?I weigh in at a whopping 125lb. I'm currently riding a 159 Prior 4wd and it has proven to be a great all mountain board. It has been my first and only carving setup for the past couple years. With a 8.5m SCR I'm kinda longing for a board I can get a deep carve with that won't give me wiplash, give me visions of high siding, or being launched into the woods at speeds that can be obtained on a moderate blue. I live in DC so the local trails are not extremely wide or long, but I take at least one yearly trip out west for something a little more real. My thoughts as a 145 pound aggressive rider who lives with another 135 pound carver who is less aggressive. Yes, it is different. Advice from heavier freeriders on technique and equipment often does not really translate that well to lighter riders. How different carving equipment rides depends a tremendous amount on your weight. You simply cannot flex boards and boots the same amount as a rider who weighs more. Aggressiveness will also play a part. IF you are less aggressive, you will need shorter and softer boards, more aggressive, stiffer and possibly longer boards. I am only 10 pounds heavier, but cannot ride Rebecca's boards. She can ride on mine, but only on easier, wider slopes because she cannot properly bend them (although they do feel very stable for her). You will probably need a board with a custom flex. A board you can bend is a pleasure to ride. You will be able to ride many boards that are too stiff for you, but when you get on one you can bend, you will know. Occasionally you will find a stock board for your weight (like you, I could bend the stock 169 Prior 4WD), but there will be very few. At 125 it will be really hard to locate a stock board. Shorter boards are not necessarily better for a light rider without the proper flex. In fact the stiffest board I have owned was a 163 Donek FCII. It beat the crap out of me (I sold it). We had a custom flex Prior built for Rebecca but were not very satisfied with the quality control. Bruce at Coiler has proven to be very good at getting the correct flex for a lightweight. I started with bigger boards (BOL bias) and have been getting a shorter board each of the last three years. I am now on a 165 custom flex Coiler that has about a 10m average sidecut. Rebecca is similar and is now on a 155 custom flex Coiler. Bigger boards are just overkill for lighter riders and we really feel the size and weight much differently than heavier riders. You will probably want softer bindings. Rebecca and I started on TD2s and the day we tried F2s, we sold all out TD2s and bought F2s. I have tested the Sidewinders and the lateral flex is nice, they are still too stiff in other directions for me. All light riders should at least try a softer binding. Durability of equipment is not much of an issue for lightweights unless you are riding really hard or taking some really hard crashes. There are not many options with boots. Find ones that fit your feet and make sure you have a spring system to adjust their flex. Yellow spring BTS was super helpful to my early riding. I switched to blue and now I am about to test red. You will need to develop a technique (bend your knees) that allows you to absorb bumps and grooming imperfections better than heavier riders. Bigger riders can often cut through bumps that will bounce a light weight out of a turn. Enjoy, Buell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buell Posted February 10, 2010 Report Share Posted February 10, 2010 Donek also makes a board for lighter riders. In both a rec and race version. Price is right too. It is called the Pilot. http://www.donek.com/pilotam_pilot.html I would spend more money and get a better board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IceCoast Posted February 15, 2010 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2010 Thanks for all the replies. I think everyone has basically confirmed what I didn't really want to hear. I'll keep an eye in the classifieds, and maybe consider ordering a custome board next year. I bought new bindings this year, I'm probably going to have some difficulty convincing the misses I need a new board also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jp1 Posted February 15, 2010 Report Share Posted February 15, 2010 IceCoast, I just sent you an email of something that 'may' be of interest? I'll be posting it for sale as soon as I get pictures and figure out how to post them on the For Sale board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philw Posted February 15, 2010 Report Share Posted February 15, 2010 A quick imperial conversion suggests I'm another 145 pound aggressive person. I'd agree with what other people my size said above... although I found the Donek FC2 fine for what it does. I definitely boggle at the size of boards people use here; granted it's the flex not the length that matters, but even so, I like my boards to be short. And my bindings to be F2. I do find board selection hugely important, not because some boards are bad and some are good, but because they have to match my weight and style. I don't really get the custom thing - sure, if I could get someone to make me a few boards then eventually we'd get one which was perfect, but that seems like a rather expensive way of doing things. My own approach is more to ride a few stock boards until I find one I like. Inevitably I'll fall between the 158 and 163 for some perfectly good boards, but there's always one out there which is perfect if I look hard enough.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave ESPI Posted February 16, 2010 Report Share Posted February 16, 2010 Icecoast, I rode the Donek -Pilot at SES. I think you would like it a lot. Im 155#s but it is very turny and I felt it was too soft under my feet as I tend to ride the nose of a board more agressive than the tail. WHen I laid back on the tail, it was really a nice smooth ride. For your weight, it would be just about perfect IMHO. hth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobdea Posted February 16, 2010 Report Share Posted February 16, 2010 I wondering what the light weights our there are riding. What sizes and styles? Are you buying boards off the shelf or are you having them custom built to your weight?I weigh in at a whopping 125lb. I'm currently riding a 159 Prior 4wd and it has proven to be a great all mountain board. It has been my first and only carving setup for the past couple years. With a 8.5m SCR I'm kinda longing for a board I can get a deep carve with that won't give me wiplash, give me visions of high siding, or being launched into the woods at speeds that can be obtained on a moderate blue. I live in DC so the local trails are not extremely wide or long, but I take at least one yearly trip out west for something a little more real. both with coiler and donek custom flex is available with no cost, you're in the special needs department like me just on the other end you probably need a custom flex with most boards available. talk to Sean of Donek or Bruce at Coiler Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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