158 madd settings

[Frank Morales]

I just received my new 158 and was wondreing what settings work best for these little buggers. I used the forward setting on my 170 and it worked well.

I've been useing a 60 58 angles .

[nekdut]

Im using the middle set of holes, with the front foot shifted one hole forward on the bindings themselves. 65/63 with 6 deg rear 3 deg front, all toe/heel lift.

They're serious when they say weight forward on this little beast. You can almost feel the board camber up and lose edge grip if you take it easy. You really need to push it 110% all of the time when riding the 158. No crusing allowed =).

[jim_stoll]

Since you're talking about a 158...

I just got a Donek 158 SL board this winter (coming from 8 yrs on a burton alp 156, which followed 5 years on an my first ride, a Checkered Pig 164 GS board). I've been out on the Donek 3 days so far, and it is absolutely daggone thrilling! Like nekdut says about the Madd, you have to actively ride this board, non-stop, and making tight turns every 20 or so feet is a serious workout. :-) (and that's not even factoring in the calesthenics involved in the transition between turns...) What an incredible ride though!!

Anyway, its going well on the new board - I'm not having any particular problems, but am definitely seeking some advice/experience from other SL riders about setup, technique, etc.

I'm using the inner-most set of mounting holes on the board (centered), but find that I really have to concentrate on the nose of the board when initiating turns, then need to center once into the turn if I've got any real speed (and if I get on the tail toward the end, there's a pretty serious pop in the transition :-) It is amazing the turn that this thing will hold though - I spend half my time laughing about the turn that I've just 'survived'. I'm running a mild lift/cant on the rear foot (don't have numbers), and am running the front foot flat. Not sure on the exact angles at this point, but its a 19cm waist board, and I have size 9 boots, set with the boot edges right over the board edges. I get a bit of toe or toe bail drag on the toe-sides - you can see a little line in the snow just inside the arc the board carves (which is pretty surgical BTW - not too many huge trenches, which surprises me given the tightness of the turns), but this small amount of drag doesn't seem to be hampering the turns at all, and I want all of the edge control that I can get, so am reluctant to steepen the angles. (The current setup is the result of some on-hill tinkering, so I haven't actually measured anything aside from the 16.5" stance width, and I know I've got the rear foot either 3 or 6 deg (1 or 2 clicks on my raceplates) shallower than the front foot.

I'm also finding that a bent-knee, flexible-leg riding style is key on this board - it doesn't tolerate stiff legs very well. I'm not the EC, body-dragging type, but I've found myself scraping my knees on the snow on several occasions - from the combination of the insanely tight turn and the bent knees needed to drive/control the board.

At any rate, any input, thoughts and/or suggestions from anyone out there who rides an SL style board would be welcomed - I'm loving this beast, and am having about the most fun I've ever had on a board, but definitely want to learn to use this board to as much of its potential as I can manage (its way more capable than I am! :-)

Thanks!

[bobdea]

he will steer you in the right direction with your stance and Madd is his specialty

next winter if he is doing the dialed in sessions I highly reccomend going to one

it made huge difference in comfort for me as well helped me deal with those narrow decks

[Tim Kienitz]

Frank,

I can't ride my Madd 158. I'm not good enough yet so when I try to turn I hook up and get thrown. I'll stick to my pure carve maverick.

By the way are you and Terry going to the vintage snowboard races organized by Don Bostick on Mar 26 at Donner Ski Ranch honoring Tom Sims, Chuck Barfoot and Jack Smith?

Tim

[Frank Morales]

Thanks for the replys I guess I'll just have to mount that little rebel and take it for a test ride . Tim have you been going to Mammoth ? I'm going up the weekend

with Terry to June . I just heard about the vintage race and it sounds like it good be a blast. I still have my first sorels and old sims race boards. But back to this little demon 158 MADD.I always love a challenge and didn't think it would be a the problem child.

[Tim Kienitz]

Hi Frank,

I've been going to Mammoth but I've had to take it easy because of a chipped heel spur that keeps bothering me. I was just kidding about the Madd. It sure is tiny but I've been saving it for some really icy conditions although out here in Cali that may never come.

I might be in Mammoth this weekend if I don't go to a Skateboard giant slalom race in San Diego.

Say Hi to Terry.

Thanks,

Tim

[Bordy]

Frank. that little thing can be interesting My advise is to ride it centered on the pack with you favorite stance width and when you first get out on it keep your weight equal on both feet in till you feel comfy. While the sweet spot may be smaller on the 58 its still there.

[Frank Morales]

Bordy,

Sounds good love that sweet spot I'll keep my wrench on hand.

Frank

[jim_stoll]

Thanks for the info Jim - I can't actually feel the toe drag, but there is most definitely a small line in the snow inside of the edge arc, and I'm guessing it has to be my toe bail . I'll try moving another 3deg step steeper and see if that takes care of it. I need to measure the angles, just so I know what they're at, but I'd guess its somewhere in the upper-50's currently (I can't carve worth a darn at shallower angles!)

I hadn't considered moving the boots more to the heelside - is that a pretty standard practice? I've always ridden smack over the centerline of the board. What would be the effects of this? (clearly more heel-side control, but any other side-effects?)

Yeah, the pressuring the nose is definitely a fine line... :-) I haven't folded this one up yet (I used to do so periodically on my Alp). (I also weigh all of 140lbs fully dressed for the slopes, so that helps... :-) There have been 2-3 close calls on the new board in terms of going over the handlebars, but this board is defnitely less prone to ejection than the softer Alp and its responsive enough that you can feel it happening and back off a little bit. At lower speeds though, its still amazing the turns this SL board will carve if you really work the nose. At higher speeds, there's definitely nose involved in the initiation, but you can't stay on it long or you start losing edge. So it sounds like staying at my current centered stance (ie, front-to-back) is probably the best plan (vs moving forward)

Thanks for the info and tips Jim - I'm having a blast on this board. Its definitely breathing some new life into my riding!!

[Frank Morales]

Jim ,

Boot out is like dragging a anchor. sorry I didn't respond to your thread when I first read it . Like I last posted wrench on the hill until you get it right. It's like finding the right placement for a surfboard fin. Moving the fin completely changes the way a board rides. But when you find that sweet spot it make the effort all worth it. How sweet it is.

Frank

.

[jim_stoll]

Thanks Frank - the advice sounds unanimous - get rid of the drag, whatever the source.

Thing that scares me is that I'm going fast enough as it is, even w/ this 'anchor' dragging... ;-)

Thanks!

[jim_stoll]

Well, the other thing to consider in this though (ie, the drag on the toe, but not the heel) is that I don't know about everyone else, but I'm much more aggressive in terms of the amount that I rail the board over when I'm on toe-side than when I'm on heel-side, so its possible that I'd get the same effect if I had the board as far tilted up when I'm on HS as TS. (added to that, I have more hardware on the toe, what w/ the flip up lever and the fact that the toe bail sits out more from the boot than the heel bail, which sits right up tight against the boot heel).

But, all of that aside, it certainly won't hurt to try it out, and I'll definitely do so.

Thanks!!

[lonerider]

Originally posted by jim_stoll

Thanks Frank - the advice sounds unanimous - get rid of the drag, whatever the source.

Thing that scares me is that I'm going fast enough as it is, even w/ this 'anchor' dragging... ;-)

Thanks!

Dude... stop making excuses and just do it already :) After increasing my angles on my Madd to avoid boot drag... suddenly the board doens't feel as fast I was before because I have more control over my turn radius and consequently my speed. I think you will experience the same thing.