55/60, 60 for the rear?

[1xsculler]

Do any of you carve with a bigger angle at the rear?  I feel that is something I need to try based on how my legs and feet feel torqued.  I'm at 55/55 now.

[Mike T]

Do what makes you feel like you're in a balanced, athletic stance... 

... you might also find this to be a good read:   http://www.bomberonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Separate-Zee-Knees.pdf .  If you are a "knees together" type of rider, separating them may alleviate some discomfort.    

FWIW, I probably take the "separate zee knees" thing to an extreme... several people have commented during past SES's LOL!

 

Edited December 27, 2016 by Mike T

[1xsculler]

Thanks for that article, Mike T.  I'll forget 55/60 and start thinking about my knees and body position.

[Beckmann AG]

I ride 60/63.

It's worth noting, however, that my left (front) knee tracks in such a way that, when the joint is slightly flexed, the tibia rotates a few degrees clockwise.

I've evaluated this both qualitative and quantitatively, and have incorporated those findings into my telemark binding mounts as well as my cycling shoes.

Splay angle preference can be affected to some degree by the quality of foot support, and to a lesser degree by boot cuff alignment.

 

Regardless, I'd put more emphasis on what my joints are telling me than I would on internet advice.

[1xsculler]

It seems that angles more like 60/55 or 60/50, or 55/50 or 55/45 might be more conducive to keeping ze-knees apart.

[b0ardski]

13 hours ago, Beckmann AG said:

Regardless, I'd put more emphasis on what my joints are telling me than I would on internet advice.

One of our local hardbooters uses negative splay, says he's always been pigeon toed and it's a more natural position for him.

experiment with minor tweaks at a time to dial in YOUR comfort zone.

[1xsculler]

Reading the article about keeping ze-knees apart really struck a chord with me.  I remember giving up carving about ten years ago for several reasons and not being able to carve on bumpy and steeper terrain was one of them.  I had found a sweet spot in an upright position but it was useless when steeper and/or irregular runs were encountered.  I now have to go back to the drawing board and learn how to get down and dirty with some shock absorbers in my bag of tricks.  Thanks again.

[queequeg]

I used to ride like this back in the day on my Ride Kildy 159. It worked for me at the time but I was riding some very flexy burton raceplates and megaflexes. Also: riding with your knees together was all the rage and this stance certainly helped to facilitate that (particularly without cant plates). I agree with what other say in terms of "do what your body tells you to do" but yes: this is pretty far from typical in terms of modern alpine snowboard stances. As others have said: I would be less concerned about the numbers on your bindings and more concerned about your body position, range of motion etc ... do what feels good.

[jtslalom]

1xsculler,
I ride with my back angle 3 degrees greater than my front angle. I ride softboots now but still ride rather steep angles. I think my back angle is about 60 degrees and the front is 57 degrees. I do this so to make my back knee drive into the back of my front knee. I ride with my knees together. I don't think you need to seperate your knees and prefer not to. I feel that having my knees together helps me round my turns more especially when riding steep slopes.

Good Luck

Jt

[OhD]

Consider setting your back binding so the boot sole and most of the shell is entirely inboard of the edges.  Then stand on the board in your boots with a small block under your front foot to match your binding height.  Stand there and flex naturally as though soaking up bumps or dropping into a turn.  Watch and feel what the front boot is doing relative to the board.  Mount the front binding as close to the angles your feet naturally want to assume. If it is possible with your bindings, rotate the cant plate and the upper structure independently until you can keep the boot sole on the binding while doing the flexing, without feeling that the boots are trying to rotate your feet or push your knees into unnatural positions.  The closer you can get the cant (pure toe/heel lift at 0 orientation angle), cant orientation, and foot angle (angle of the boot axis to the centerline of the board) to what will allow your foot to stay stationary with respect to the board while you flex, the better.

Another trick I learned at a softboot instructor clinic is to simply jump straight up and land in what feels like a natural stance and freeze.  Look at the angles your feet have settled on.  Start there.  For softboots, I found +12/-5 (where I landed) was in fact much better for me than the +15/+5 I had been riding.  This technique might be modified with cants taped to your boots, as they may influence your foot angle.

Here's Mike T and his cowboy stance - looks weird but it suits his body and works great!

[Neil Gendzwill]

I don't recall Mike looking all that weird when we rode together a few years ago. That's a picture of a transition, misleading imo.