BTS springs

[Chouinard]

I have been using blue springs top & bottom front boot and blue bottom and yellow top for the rear boot.  After first day of riding the top of my rear foot quad is sore [once again] which begs the question of whether or not the forward lean is too soft [yellow] making me excessively bear down to engage the edge.  Should the forward flex of the rear boot be soft for range of motion or stiff to engage the edge? The boot is already in a forward lean bias.

[dredman]

This sounds like a very personal issue and solution.  
I would suggest trying a few different combinations in your living room doing some carped carving. 
 

It may also be a case of moving your bindings back or forward to get your legs working evenly. 
 

Or adding or taking away lifts/cants…. 
 

oh so many possible solutions…..and causes. 

[leeho730]

It’s a possibility. Changing the spring is very easy to do.

 

Other possibilities are canting of the boots (not binding), boot fitting or binding angles…

[Carvin' Marvin]

First day of the season? I'd be surprised if you DIDN'T have issues in your tissues.  The yellow are probably perfect for when you legs are stronger but lack support for early season noodle legs.

[Chouinard]

I will quote myself and inquire again.

 

On 12/18/2023 at 6:19 PM, Chouinard said:

Should the forward flex of the rear boot be soft for range of motion or stiff to engage the edge? The boot is already in a forward lean bias.

 

[Pokolikrat]

I preferred softer spring on back boot. You can get any stiffness for example from Lee Spring company.

[Corey]

42 minutes ago, Chouinard said:

I will quote myself and inquire again.

 

 

The answer is yes. 

It's a dumb answer, but it is VERY subject to personal preference. Some people like extremely stiff boots that are locked so any lower leg movement translates directly to edge movement. Some people like more ankle motion so their feet control edge angle. 

Anyone that says one way is the only way doesn't understand that everyone has different goals in this recreational sport. 

The best thing you can do is try the two extremes of stiffness and see which one you like more. New springs are pretty cheap compared to the rest of this sport! 

[Chouinard]

7 minutes ago, Corey said:

Some people like extremely stiff boots that are locked so any lower leg movement translates directly to edge movement. Some people like more ankle motion so their feet control edge angle.

With this in mind my next step was to

10 minutes ago, Corey said:

try the two extremes of stiffness

in order to contrast and compare. 

 

[Pat Donnelly]

When I rode Deelux/Raichle boots, I had the rear boot in WALK mode for free range of flex.  Then I changed up to BTS and now I ride UPZ with DGSS.  It's a personal preferrence or goldilocks thing, not too stiff and not too soft.  

[Chouinard]

Tried the red springs for a few hours and noticed some new pressure on the bottom of my rear foot heal which may indicate the softer spring was consuming some of the downward force AND the edge felt more engaged without excessively squatting down. Next step will be to try a blue spring. 

Started with yellow @ 96 lbs/in

Switched to red @ 360 lbs/in

Next up is blue @ 144 lbs/in which is 40% of the red. I will preload the spring to push the reaction point another 10%, midway between yellow and red @228 lbs/in.

 

 

[SunSurfer]

On 12/21/2023 at 2:28 AM, Chouinard said:

I will quote myself and inquire again.

 

 

IMHO spring setup depends in part on the technique you use to tilt the board onto its edge and to control and maintain the edge angle.

Heel & toe

OR

Sides of the feet

I tilt my board by creating a sense of putting my weight onto the left or right sides of my feet. For me the springs are acting like the suspension system on a mountain bike, helping my quads muscles absorb the bumps in the riding surface and allowing my lower legs to move through a safe range of movement to facilitate that shock absorption. My front lower leg needs a smaller range of movement than my rear.

If you ride more using heel and toe weight distribution then your goals for your springs are likely to be different. Because I don't ride in that way, I won't make comment about how to set the springs for that technique.

[Odd Job]

Boot tongue/spring flex matters less the more you use your feet. 
It's really hard to use your feet right though.

If you have a style where you "get low" by bending your your knees, and also use that to power the tongues over for toeside, a stiffer boot tongue/spring helps a lot. And if you use this style, lower binding angles are better for this.