cross training skateboard slalom...

[Guest adam]

The International Skateboard Slalom Community.

...i'm an old carver since Peter and Jean got boards out through Burton.

anyway, i also summer ski? er skateboard slalom. it's a great way to cross train, perhaps not all the same motions but definately carving.

Jon Gilmour, Vlad, CMC, Shaggy, Jani and if I missed your name while you visit this thread, my apologies.

we have a site, non-commercial on the skateboard slalom community and it's international in scope. there are some carvers amoung our ranks and in that, i think this thread qualifies as a "off topic" posting but definately pertaining. we'll send people this way too.

Click HERE for the link.

cheers,

adam trahan

www.slalomskateboarder.com

[Tommy D]

SWEET! I got hooked on carving a slalom skateboard late this summer; now I get out to the local school lot and do it under the lights as often as possible!

[Guest Pre School Rider]

Hey Adam,good to hear from Ya!! I noticed that on ncdsa.com,there's finally a 'freecarve' forum for those skateboarders that work out their carving skills during the off season.You wouldn't have had a hand in that? Also,Hugh R put up a nifty comparison of "Snowboard Crosstrainer" boards on his site(it's in the "Links" of NCDSA,look for Hugh's Tutorial,click that,then look for the crosstrainer comparo)for those who are curious about boards like the Tierney or Carveboard.I've been doing some form of crossover training for a few decades now,as I've always skated the Hills around here.Once I started teaching at Okemo(my lordy,15 years ago?)I realized just what the similarities were,and what to work on in my riding.My older Slalom Boards (Fiberflex) were cool,fun,but not so good at 'speed control' on steeps.It's been my Turners that opened up new hills(at least without sliding)for me.Now,there's all kinds of cool stuff out,with boards that really Carve,have Camber,are stable yet manuverable,and fairly easy to figure out.Wheels have been Reborn,with new Sticky,Fast,FAT shapes coming out in the last two summers.Trucks have improved too,but the "race" models tend to be too expensive.What a great time to be a carver! All these cool toys,well thought-out,usually affordable,and even local Racing Events popping up all over.It's a true Renaissance in Skateboarding,and it fits into the carver's lifestyle perfectly. Seems that Racing does indeed improve the breed.Of course,you don't need to Race to a be a freecarver,just aquire the best goodies that come from the Racer's quiver.

[joecarve]

Hey PSR-

I've been using some of the pumping motions from slalom (well, to the extent that I understand them) on a longboard to force my shoulders to correct alignment, but a slalom deck just feels too short. Are you making nice, round C-shaped turns when you're referring to carving on a slalom deck? Slalom discipline seems targeted at (oddly enough) running a line of cones, whereas simulating freecarving is more like passing through offset gates (two parallel lines of cone pairs).

I actually just demoed a FibreFlex 44" pintail the other day and thought it felt even more like what I'm looking for in simulating snow with a traditional skateboard (I currently have a Gravity Hypercarve with Randal R2-150's). Maybe I just like my feet between the trucks...but I'd like to hear some convincin' to add a slalom deck - drop me a line directly...

joe...

[Guest Pre School Rider]

Joe,I ride a bunch of boards,and try hard to get them all to turn...Yeah,Slalom decks are nervous little pups compared to a big ol' Pintail,I guess it depends on how wide/steep the roads are where you skate. "C" shaped turns,no problem,really,just don't go too fast doing them on a shorter deck.One other cool thing that a Slalom board wil do very nicely is complete looped turns,great way to burn off excess speed,as long as the wheels stick... That's why I noted Hugh's comparo,'cause the Cali guys like big boards and they've got wide,smooth hills.The Carveboard held up well in that test,as did the Tierney.I'm over Flowlabs,though:Slidey wheels suck!With Longboards(over 1 M in length),there's a huge range of awesome product out there,much of it geared towards putting down flowing,fast,smooth turns.Take 3-DM's Banshee for example.It's a "Race" board,but made the way a Snowboard is,and it's really easy to turn,and will haul along at some pretty serious speeds.At Da Farm,I took Brian's Banshee out(set up for G.S.),and just Tucked the race hill.Duane said I clocked in at 39 mph on the radar gun.I got to the bottom,went up the opposite slope a bit,and simply cranked the board around,easily within the two-lane width of the road.I was probably still in the low 20's when I pulled that U-turn.I don't think I would've had any troubles at all pulling big fat 'speed control' turns with it.Same has been true with the Bozi longboards I've been on;Very stable,yet manuverable,with fast deep carves being easy to do.Comet just released a new 'euro' influenced high-camber+concave line of medium length boards,the "Street Slalom" series.They look like they're very pumpable,but maybe not 'racer' crisp in handling.Really,it dosen't need to be a super-crisp feel,or even all that quick edge-to-edge to give you a snowboard-like flow in turns.The muscles you use are really similar,and the overall feel of leaning (somewhat,not quite,as low as CMC gets) at speed is what Works here.If your board Turns,Carves,and is Fun,then it's fine. You don't have to go high-tech,but you can if you wish.

[Tommy D]

FYI: I took PSR's advice and got a pair of Seismic trucks. They go a long way to achieving that snowboard carving feel, and are way more of a hoot compared to traditional trucks. Of course my experience is limited to Randall 2's and the Seismics (quick turn 45 formula), but I don't think I'll be going back to the randalls unless I find a nice big deserted hill where I can gather up some speed.

[joecarve]

I've stood on (but wasn't able to ride) the 3DM/Banshee 36" deck - the length seemed ok, but that is one stiff deck! I'm 160lb, but bouncing on it a bit I didn't think I'd be able to de-camber it unless I was really, really hammering it. Not sure which flex model it was...could have been the super-stiff variant.

I'm not bombing hills by any means - just steep enough to get some nice full turns and still be able to kick my way back up at the end of a run. My usual training hill is a 2-lane - I can't quite pull a U-turn on it with the Gravity.

I've been looking at the seismics (and spring chart), actually - should I be running the 45 plate front and rear, as well as the mixed spring rate (one step lighter in front)? I'm assuming you want to follow the "longboard" category for carve-like feel. BTW, that 3DM deck I stood on had seismics with yellow springs - sure felt loose! I was wondering if it made sense to pick springs that were on the stiff side for carving...like maybe adopt a +1 approach to their weight chart . I realize you can crank them down - just want to pick something reasonable...so I'm guessing light front and medium rear steel rebounds - make sense?

joe...

[Bobby Buggs]

Boziboard makes a great all aroung street free ride board.

and Jeff is a great guy.

[Tommy D]

Joecarve:

YES. Definitely take the +1 approach to those spring rates. I'm using my board strictly for carving full 'C' type turns, slalom turns, and everything in between, and with the yellows the board is way too loose. There is one benefit: Balance will be improved! I have the tension on the yellows maxed out.

Hopefully today, two pair of purple springs will be arriving at my door. It's two steps up from yellow, but I put a lot of power into my carves, so I'm looking for more resistance.

My trucks are at 45 degrees front and rear, and this setup is great. I have not tried different spring rates yet, though I do prefer to have the rear tigher than the front.

BTW: I got my siesmics and my wheels from Gary at Asphaltplayground.com

He's very helpful, and will answer any questions you can come up with. He recommends 45 degrees up front, and 30 in the rear, but I don't think you'll get the carving effect you are looking for with that setup.

Tell him Tom Williams sent you! ;)

[tilledog]

I cross-train on a Bongo Board. I distribute them also. Check out www.fitter1.com if you don't know what they are. Good stability and core balance trainer. If you're interested in one, let me know. tilledog@yahoo.com

[Tommy D]

Yup. Very turny! Loves to carve and as long as it is 'on edge' it is happy.

Given the size of the area I get to ride in, this was the best setup. The lot isn't very steep, or long, so I decided to go for as many turns as possible at rather slow speeds. If I had a much larger place to ride, or a nice long hill without too much traffic, then yeah, I would go with Gary's recommendation of 45/30.

My setup actually feels very similar to a CarveBoard I demo'd, but without the big pneumatic tires, and at a much better price.

If anyone is in the CT area, I'll be happy to let them try it out. Also if anyone knows any good places to ride in CT, let me know!

[Guest Pre School Rider]

Yeah,definately go up in spring rates from the Yellows if you've got a longboard,a wider deck,are heavier than 160 lbs,or are not interested in ultra-quick slalom-style turns.Do consider using negative wedges at the rear with the 45* base,or maybe a positive wedge with the 30* base. 45* bases F/R will tend towards a 'pushy' rear end,and can cause a loss of traction.Quick steering at the rear IS nice if slower,tighter arcs are desired(good for silly-steep technical descents),but if you've got some 'speed' built up,or are pumping through aggressively,a front-steer bias is better. As for the Banshee,the one I rode was a "stiff" model,and it was WORK to pump it flex-wise,but the looser Slalom(Rtx/Rts) trucks made it easy to manuver.A softer flex board would've been nicer,I'm sure.Oh,and Buggs is absolutely right about Bozi Longboards- Great Product,well made,well thought out,very stylish and definately geared towards flowing,soulful turns.I'd probably favor the shorter G.S. deck they make over the pintails,but that's my style...I am hoping to convince Jeff @ Bozi to make a drop-thru wedge-nose for me this spring;we'll see!! The other ride I really want to try out is a Loaded longboard.They feature vertically laminated Oak wrapped in glass with lotsa camber and nicely cutback wheelwells.I'm not all that sold on Oak over other woods I can think of,but hey,it may be pretty nice if it retains it's flex memory decently. As for Conn. and riding spots,you'd probably have to ask Steve Prue,and his friends Lisa,Elisa and Katii about where to romp. I know they've got their 'spots',but am not at leisure to say just where they ride!

[Guest Pre School Rider]

I know this can be considered a B.S.T. item,but as I just mentioned the LOADED board,hey,Hugh R. has one (nice photos!)of one on ncdsa's BST page.No,not trying to Sell it for him-the picture's timing was convient,though.