Baka Dasai Posted January 30, 2006 Report Share Posted January 30, 2006 Here's an article, titled "Hair-raising new sport" about the addition of boardercross to the Olympics. A choice quote: <blockquote>"Freestyle is definitely the driving force behind snowboarding. Snowboard cross is more the future of our sport than alpine."</blockquote> And check the picture they use to promote it: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJ-PS Posted January 30, 2006 Report Share Posted January 30, 2006 Sounds good to me! If we get prime time coverage of guys in hardboots and more carve-specific boards, we win! I'll agree about it being the future, its much more fun watching sports if they are racing against others than if they are racing against the clock. Brings a whole new strategy aspect into the sport.We should be excited about this. After all some of the boardercross guys are doing double duty in alpine. If people become heroes in SBX they are much more likely to get people to watch alpine. For the average joe that knows nothing about our sport except that it is on during the olympics, SBX gives them an exciting chance to root for USA USA USA! Although that picture took a lot of artistic license, none of the SBX guys I know sports a "do" like that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ar(angel Posted January 30, 2006 Report Share Posted January 30, 2006 Seems to me it's the same old formula, take something that requires precision, athletic ability, skill and throw in people crashing and suddenly it's the greatest thing since sliced bread. I like the format of the Jeep King of the Hill series and seeing those guys on hardboots jump those gaps, carve those corners as well as handle those nasty rollers is impressive to me, but I guess you gotta have some carnage for the non-educated so they'll want to watch this stuff or else it won't sell. I'm not bashing SBX, those guys are talented, watched it all day on Winter X today, but I would have been more excited to see the JKH format and watch hardbooters go at it. JMHO.... Have fun, Paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snow|3oarder Posted January 30, 2006 Report Share Posted January 30, 2006 Seems to me it's the same old formula, take something that requires precision, athletic ability, skill and throw in people crashing and suddenly it's the greatest thing since sliced bread. I like the format of the Jeep King of the Hill series and seeing those guys on hardboots jump those gaps, carve those corners as well as handle those nasty rollers is impressive to me, but I guess you gotta have some carnage for the non-educated so they'll want to watch this stuff or else it won't sell. I'm not bashing SBX, those guys are talented, watched it all day on Winter X today, but I would have been more excited to see the JKH format and watch hardbooters go at it. JMHO....Have fun, Paul I concur. I could do without the crashing and bumping. Although I do some crashing and bumping on the hill myself....albeit unintentionally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gleb Posted January 30, 2006 Report Share Posted January 30, 2006 finally going to bring sbx to main stream. Alpine snowboards will defintly get recognized alot more on the slopes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ar(angel Posted January 30, 2006 Report Share Posted January 30, 2006 I coulda swore they didn't mention anything about hardbooters other than to say that "Freeride/style was the future of the sport, not Alpine" As I mentioned I watched Winter X10 today and there wasn't a hardbooter in the bunch, unless I missed them....? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gleb Posted January 30, 2006 Report Share Posted January 30, 2006 i don't understand why hardbooters aren't as common in sbx. On an alpine board, isn't it easier to turn and what not? or is it less stable moving around in a crowd? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ARCrider Posted January 30, 2006 Report Share Posted January 30, 2006 If SBX is the future then I'm going to remain stuck in the past. I prefer to be surrounded by wide open spaces. and deal with my own mistakes, not someone else's. I'd rather beat the clock. why do people enjoy the carnage? I cringe when I see crashes. maybe I've suffered enough broken bones to identify with the victim. Is it still entertainment if someone dies? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NateW Posted January 30, 2006 Report Share Posted January 30, 2006 My guess is that it's due to the the berms they put on the corners in the BX courses. That makes soft boots competitive with hard boots. Take away the berms and I bet you'd see hard boots dominating just like they do in SL and GS. Which is why I'm sure the berms are here to stay and will only get bigger as time goes on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baka Dasai Posted January 30, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2006 My guess is that it's due to the the berms they put on the corners in the BX courses. That makes soft boots competitive with hard boots. Take away the berms and I bet you'd see hard boots dominating just like they do in SL and GS.Which is why I'm sure the berms are here to stay and will only get bigger as time goes on. True, but the berms also mean that the outside line isn't as slow as it otherwise would be. You need berms when you have more than one person on the course at a time, otherwise there'd be an even smaller chance of overtaking then there currently is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Stevens Posted January 30, 2006 Report Share Posted January 30, 2006 At the X Games, hardboots and square tails are not allowed. I'm not sure if anyone has tried to run a conventionally-shaped board with hardboots and been shut down. Pack riding in alpine gear is definitely more gripping. If you watch Anderson in SBX, if he doesn't gate well and get out front, he looks sketchy in the pack. Swinging that 180+ ride of his around in close quarters probably doesn't help. If you don't get bent out of shape, and are a confident jumper (which not many alpine riders are) you can really do some damage in SBX. As soon as you're out of position, though, it becomes much harder to recover. The stiffness of the equipment and the lack of toe to heel balance can turn against you quickly. I think you'll also see, as jump faces get more boot to them, that angles will decrease and shells will get softer for those riding in alpine gear. Unless you have tree trunks for legs and can absorb pressure at a high level, the last-second kick at the lip is tricky to float with the ankles in a stiff boot, with your feet pointed in the direction of travel. Low angles allow side to side absorbtion with a rocking movement of the feet across the sole. Forward angles force you to take hits along the length of your foot and put the ankles into the formula for tip to tail control. Try this... it's fun: Get the stiffest freeride, wide board you can find with some softer hardboots and low rise plates (like the old Burtons) and go freeride stance, allowing just a touch of overhang (you're not ECing in this game, unless you're panic-recovering). You can power the ass out of the corners (berms or no) and still have the side to side and ankle flex for the puntiest jumps. I think this setup is the future of SBX. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marz Posted January 30, 2006 Report Share Posted January 30, 2006 A more moderate set up makes more sense. Jasey reminds me of David? Dowd back at the dawn of SBX over 10years ago. He was riding a skinny Aggression Stealth asym with Flexon boots. When he got the hole shot, he was gone... when he got tangled in traffic he was done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Stevens Posted January 30, 2006 Report Share Posted January 30, 2006 Bruce; I like the new direction. He should be more manoueverable and jump better with those tweaks. Would like to still be doing snowboard for CBC... I'd like to call a Canada win in SBX. Give Jasey some propers for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest toddflyingdog Posted January 31, 2006 Report Share Posted January 31, 2006 First Off... Rob Stevens you are quite an expert it would seem. As a hardbooter racing the last three years in the USASA open class I have had mixed results in the SBX. I have been posting fast time trials, but often crashing when I mix with traffic. But I think every one I race against has come to see me as a serious threat to their plans to simply walk away with the win. I am confident that I am not bragging when I say that my Donek is feared by pretty much everyone in USASA, as both fast and potentially violent. Because yes, hardboots mean you give up as much freedom, as you gain power. So I rarely crash at low speeds... and I admit that I crash more often than holeshot. There is not a growing number of hardbooters in boardercross, that I have witnessed? I normally am the sole nut. Mark out of Aspen races his TD2s and Prior (i believe). Pouge used to show, and often win. But didn't see him at Copper this winter due to the infernal online pre-registration. However, Dowd did make an appearance. Though not on an Aggression assym. He posted the fasted time trial time on a 169ish freeride deck in softies the first day (I posted the fasted open class time, 4 tenths behind him in the Legends class at 42) Yesterday, Dowd was back but I edged by him by about the same... No hardboots will not make a big charge into SBX... there are too few of us, and if I fall off, I have seen no one trying to follow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wavechaser Posted January 31, 2006 Report Share Posted January 31, 2006 Try this... it's fun: Get the stiffest freeride, wide board you can find with some softer hardboots and low rise plates (like the old Burtons) and go freeride stance, allowing just a touch of overhang (you're not ECing in this game, unless you're panic-recovering). You can power the ass out of the corners (berms or no) and still have the side to side and ankle flex for the puntiest jumps.I think this setup is the future of SBX. For hardboot freeride setup - I ride a Volkl Cross 167 with Burton Boiler (3-buckle) boots and Burton Race Plates (orange ones) mounted flat at 39F/24R. This setup is contollable for almost anything - speed, carving (non-EC), switch riding, table-tops, bumps, walls, pipe (wlak mode). I'm pretty sure this would be a very controllable and fast SBX setup, but haven't tried it this year. I'm concentrating on SL/GS and don't want to take myself out of Nationals with a hard SBX crash this year...maybe next year?!?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Stevens Posted January 31, 2006 Report Share Posted January 31, 2006 I'm sure the courses will wind up dictating the set-ups riders run. My friend, Jeff is building the course at Torino and he likes lots of jumps and big berms. He was a SBX'er himself at one time and used soft boots, so that's likely where his inspiration comes from. Will hardshell use die? If people keep getting on the podium with them, likely not. When FIS first started to have their SBX comps, there were alot of alpine boards. The courses were flatter then but it seems that use of this kind of equipment hovers around the same point, year after year. Local use is certainly no indicator of worldwide usage either. If the Banff region was a barometer of alpine popularity, you'd think it was as dead as Latin. As is evidenced by sites like this one, though, it is alive and well and the future is unknown. Due to its "blended" nature SBX probably has the most room for technological advancement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeeW Posted January 31, 2006 Report Share Posted January 31, 2006 Slightly OT, but closely related. I haven't seen anyone use hardboots in this event, too. Ive entertain the thought of usin' soft 3 straps bindings with softboots and PJ7 charging around. bad idea ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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