Behind a boat: flex or no-flex?
 

Anybody see noticeable a drop off in flex boards behind boat? I'm an intermediate rider and just wanted to weigh the pros and cons of each bc I don't think I'm trying enough stuff to see a difference.. Cisco's cableboarder thread makes it sound like flex is horrible behind a boat.

cisco is a troll and a fool and has had nothing worthwhile to add to this forum this year. Regardless, you really need to try it. Plenty of pros riding flex now and I ride severance's myself. Kick is about the same but the landings are much softer imo.

There are still tons of guys that are killing it behind the boat on "flex boards." I don't think that I will ever switch back. I have more fun riding the Paradigm than any other board that I have ever ridden and I know that I have not compromised my riding whatsoever by transitioning to board with flex. I can charge the wake just as hard and go just as big, but the landings feel better. Plus I find that the flex allows the board to be more forgiving and playful on the water.

I have gone back and tested out prototype boards for O'Brien that have the traditional construction. The boards rode great, but after riding them I was even happier with my board. There is just something about it that feels so good.

It is important to know, that when it comes to flex, the distribution of the stiffness really plays an important role in how the board will perform off the wake. If the flex pattern on the board isn't right, then it can have a negative impact on your wake riding. However, if it is done right then there is nothing like it.

<iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/23175185?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0" width="400" height="225" frameborder="0"></iframe><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/23175185">Sean O'Brien riding the O'Brien Paradigm</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user2218525">Sean O'Brien</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>

Sean nailed it! I am riding the Paradigm and it is crazy fun. I had a bunch of reservations about switching to flex full time. But not that I have I am in love with it. Super fun on the water and easy on my knees. Still managed to bust and ankle but that had nothing to do with the board, just rider error. I can tell you pop I am getting from the Paradigm is explosive. The progressive rocker line makes it lighting fast. Dayum just talking aobut it makes me wanna go ride it!

Do yall think a severance has too much flex for wake?

Couldnt tell you never tried one.

attention: joe_crawley

Sticks and stones may break my bones but names will hurt my self esteem for years to come and potentially lead me to take my frustrations out on people weaker than me. Way to make the world a better place crawley. I'm not trolling. But I'm not gonna sugar coat the truth for people either. In the past I have been a jerk, but who hasn't? Aren't you being a troll for calling me names? Next time you put on your lip-gloss in the mirror, give yourself a good look.

Getting back to the topic, I have never ridden a flex board behind the boat, but I have ollied a Hyperlite Roam (perhaps the original flex board) behind a jetski and it absorbed most of the pop. Sean O'Brien seems to make a good about the distribution of stiffness, but he also works for O'Brien wakeboards so he is trying to sell his product and make money. We all gotta make a dollar right? No hate on him. Just no sugar coating ;)

I watch a ton of wakeboard videos on the internets, and more often than not, a person on a cableboard (cough, ahem, I mean 'flexboard') will not go very big. Or they will not go as big as I have seen them go in the past. I think companies are trying to fool us when they say a board has flex and still pops hard off the wake. my 4 cents

I just want to get this straight...

You are basing your flex board opinion on the Hyperlite Roam?

http://27.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l6...bpaoo1_500.jpg

I am basing my flex board opinion on the Hyperlite Roam.

Cuz that was the first flexboard I ever rode. That taught me that too much flex (or the wrong distribution of flex) can be a bad thing. Still tho, I'm not expecting a LF FLX or a SS board to ride like a Roam. That would be crazy. And I'm not crazy. F*ck those doctors.

Definitely not. I rode a LF Lyman prior to the Severance and didn't like it until after a few rides, but now I love it. It is stiffer in comparison to many of the SS boards.

I've ridden flex boards behind the boat, and while I still do, and very likely always will ride a stiff board behind the boat, I didnt hate the flex. It was a very different feeling for sure, and took some getting used to, but there was certainly no loss in performance. Preference FTW.

I'm a huge fan of flex boards. I bashed my friend for a little while about the flex board he had (SlingShot Recoil I believe) and then when I snapped my board, I rode his for a change behind the boat. Loved every second of it. Took a few jumps to get used to it for sure, but once I got that down I was golden. I went back to a regular core board and it just wasn't the same and I wasn't having as much fun on the water. I went through two boards and was fine with it, but then our wake club got sponsored by Humanoid. I hit up the 143 Oracle Flex and fell in love with flex again, and there's a chance I won't go back to a regular board. The fun factor of the flex along with the soft landings of the Humanoid boards are what is keeping me on a flex board. I'm currently on the 143 Oracle Stiff because, but it's still plenty flexible to keep me happy and having fun. Here's a vid of my buddy and me riding the Humanoid's...

<iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/22325100?byline=0&amp;portrait=0&amp;color=ffffff" width="700" height="394" frameborder="0"></iframe><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/22325100">ERAU Wake from the tube</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user553232">adam holdsworth</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>

Absorb olie? No boost? HaHaHa!

Rode my 09 company severance 138 yesterday. It was awesome, best part is the featureless base that makes it so loose.

Honestly I don't think you have a the first clue what you're talking about. Watch the lyman good bye video, riding flex and killing it. Yes you have to adjust to a different style of riding due to how the board responds, but that doesn't mean you can't kill it with a flex board. One try on one board does not make you an expert. I rode flex the last few year and lost a ton of pop when I went back to a normal board due to being used to how flex responded. Took me half a season to get it back. You can have you opinions, just don't preach them like they are facts backed up evidence.

it's something you just have to try and see if it is what you like. I tried it, and after a summer of going back and forth have now been solely on a flex board for a couple years now behind the boat (no pun intended). I actually haven't ridden a flex at the cable, just the "original", "stiff" boards whatever you want to call them. I wouldn't leave it up to others, try one out and give it a fair shot, then make your own decision.

As opposed to what is stated above.. For me flexboards olie higher than regular boards.

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z...81908_1971.jpg

I am currently riding the Paradigm and I love it. It flexes in the right places. Tons of pop and soft landings.

The Paradigm is insane!

Cisco- It would be great if I could make some money by posting on Wakeworld forums. I would be doing that every day. Unfortunately, every time that I come on here and write a response to a thread I hesitate to hit the reply button. It seems like any time a sponsored rider responds to a thread, somebody calls them out and says that their opinion has no merit because they have an affiliation with a company. Our opinions must automatically be discredited??? It's pretty sad that my 14 years of riding and 12 years of coaching have no value.

With all of that being said, I will be the first person to tell you that I didn't think a flex board could work well behind the boat. I was very closed-minded about it. When they first came out, one of my friends brought a couple out on the boat and we tested them for the afternoon. I didn't like them at all. I felt like I couldn't charge the wake. I wasn't getting the same pop. It just didn't feel right to me. This really didn't help with my opinions on flex. However, my friend loved it. At the time, it was exactly what he wanted in a wakeboard.

When O'Brien told me that they wanted to build a "flex board," I wasn't thrilled with the idea. I talked to Chris for a long time about what I thought we needed to do with the board to make it good for the wake. When I took the 1st prototype out of the box, I flipped it over and stood on it. It flexed all the way down to the ground. I wasn't thrilled to say the least... until I took it out on the water. It was the most fun I had ever had on a board. I didn't have to change my riding at all. I was getting just as much pop (if not more), landing all of my stuff, and everything felt great. This was all in rainy, windy, and cold conditions (stuff that most people wouldn't want to ride in). I was sold.

This prototype was only designed to see if the shape of the board would work well. We were originally going to stiffen it up even more because we thought that would be better for the wake, but after taking a couple of sets on that 1st prototype I told them what we were done and didn't need to make any changes. They said that they had it in the budget to build more prototypes, so we built a few more boards with varying amounts of flex and different flex patterns. The stiffer version of the board popped the same way as the 1st prototype, but it didn't feel as fun on the water, so I told them to go back to the original. The thing that seemed to impact the performance of the board the most were the differences in flex patterns.

Cisco, I'll agree with you on with what you have seen on videos... at least in the past. I'll take that even further and say that you really don't see many guys riding "flex boards" charging the wake and taking their tricks out into the flats. However, over the past couple years it seems like the companies have improved on their products and are really starting to figure out what flex patterns will work for the wake. That will hopefully be reflected in any upcoming videos.

Finally, as a rider, you should be on a board that works for you. If you test out a board with flex and it doesn't fit your riding style, then try out another one. If you try several of them and you really don't like them, then stick to a traditional board. Remember that every board on the market (flex or not) rides a little bit different, they all have different qualities that influence their performance. To figure out what board you like and what works for you, test out as many as you can.

Well spoken Sean!

Sean, I've got proposition: wake community collect some money for one lesson from you for Cisco behind a boat. We have to pay for your typing :)

Thanks for the post Sean
we definitely don't show enough appreciation that some of you guys spend your time with us and add your voice here.
as it is said, its easier to destroy than to build, but that was a mighty building post there! one that will last I think.

1. Sean rocks ( just like the Paradigm)
2. Cisco is single handedly ruining wakeworld
3. If you would like an example of an annoying sponsored rider continuously voicing themselves, look no further than the other team rider on this thread

^Yeah, god that Andy Nintzel dude is a real jerk, just ripping on everyone, never posting anything worth reading, and doing nothing to promote the good name of his board sponsor ;) (if anyone takes this seriously I'm scheduling them a day to sit and listen to Cisco talk for 8 straight hours as punishment).

+1 for Flex

Rode the roam for like two years (until they made it that weird snowboard shape - hated that)... when to an old byerly then ronix ibex for like a summer, then switched to slingshot and will NEVER go back.

EDIT:
Like other side - it didn't hurt my riding one bit and made everything just more fun. The feel of the board is soooo much better compared to the old style... and also Cisco is a dbag but keeps me entertained at work.

+1 for Cisco

Lyman rode flex, Oli Derome rides flex, last video I saw was Aaron rathy riding... All be hind a boat... Pretty sure Oli stomped his first w2w heel 10 on a flex board... Behind the boat...

Yes, clearly you can't go big on a Slingshot. Dylan Miller not really getting much air.

flex is best! So much more board control on my Recoil than any other boards (except for all other Slingshot I tried... they are all awesome). So cool how hard it hold an edge and how much loose it is at the same time! Just try one and you will understand! "Less poppy"... ahahahahahah! good one!

I personally am not a huge fan of flex behind the boat but my buddy swears by it. He rides a slingshot recoil and still gets tons of pop, as much if not more than he did on his previous set up (watson)

Flex and cable park however go together like peanut butter and ladies.

Dear Sean O'Brien: My comments came across as discrediting and I'm sorry about that. I saw you with a prototype at OWC a few months ago (isn't that creepy!) and by the way you were talking I could tell that you have a deep understanding for wakeboard design. You are more of an expert on this topic than me, for sure! I would love a lesson from you! But then I would have to leak my true identity. Haha! I like this. I could be anyone!

I talked to a bunch of people about flex this week. One buddy of mine rides flex behind the boat and notices that he doesn't go as big compared to a non-flex board. Now he's looking to switch back to a non-flex board. Another dude (cableboarder) said that flex boards don't pop as well for air tricks. That's probably why Fooshee rides non-flex.

In terms of Dillon and Oli Derome, I already made a distinction between Slingshot boards made before 2011 and their 2011 boards (in the other tread). Looks like ***** is riding SS's "all new Atomic C Core" in the pic above. That would explain the height he is getting. That would also explain Derome's 1080 with a flexboard, but I'm not sure what board he was riding when he hit that. That video should be online in the next week I hear.

And cuz I love all of you on WW sooooooo much, I went out of my way to test ride a LF FLX Deluxe, just for y'all. It was INCREDIBLE! Sooooooo much better on rails! I could lock into nose/tail slides (note that I didn't say nose/tail presses, there is a difference) on rails without slipping off way better than my non-flex board. Air tricks felt the same, but my buddy who said he noticed a difference has much more experience with air tricks than me. I would strongly recommend trying the LF FLX Deluxe to anyone! But definitely try anything before you buy it cuz what I like may not be what you like. The regular FLX has a completely flat bottom, so I don't think I would like that as much. Btw, I'm not sponsored by LF. I'm actually sponsored by O'Brien. Shhhhh.

I got great pop on my 07 recoil, board was damn near as flexy as my ride snowboard,it took me a while to adjust back to my LF lyman and start to pop it again. Stilll not popping as consistantly as I did on the recoil.

Cisco-

Nice jab at O'brien saying your sponsored by them.......i highly doubt that you have any affiliation with any manufacturer in the wakeboard industry, you attitude clearly would make you a very poor choice for any team manager.

Go ahead, I know its coming, freak out all you want on me.....

Andy, I wouldn't freak out on you. Others maybe, but I like it when you share on here cuz you seem to always have the inside scoop.

That was NOT a jab at O'Brien cuz I seriously ride for a company that has partnered with O'Brien. As result I'm strongly encouraged to ride O'Brien products and I get discounts below cost. Maybe I would be a poor choice for the team manager, but he barely even knows me. Guess he's not doing his job. Btw: I'm hoping to learn a Tantrum this summer, so I'm not a PWT rider or anything.

Flex is best..... Didn't like it at first..... Ended up being the best. Gonna miss you company wake.

Soft doubleups.... Great pop.....

Today run of my son. SAN. Speed 22,7. Rope 73 feet. Just W2W. Company LTD board. Bad air?

You already "ride for a company," yet you are just now going to learn a tantrum?

Huh?

This thread is slightly stoopid...every wakeboard flexes.

just like every wakeboard has rocker

"I'm hoping to learn a Tantrum this summer"

What the hell wakeboard team let's someone that can't do a tantrum be a member? Sounds suspect.

What concerns me is how Cisco is acting like an ambassador for O'brien, when he clearly has no direct "team" affiliation with them. sketchy

i feel kinda the same way except i'd remove "Obrien" and insert "wakeboarding" in general.

Agreed!

So what if I can't to a Tantrum yet? For some reason I had a really hard time with this trick in the past so I left it alone after some nasty falls. Shaun Murray cant do a HS Front Flip from his regular stance (only switch) and he was world champion! Like I said tho, I'm not that good. I'm proficient at some skills, most definitely. I havent fallen on a fashion air in years!

I don't think of myself as an ambassador for any board company. I ride whatever the f--- I want!

My team affiliation is INDIRECT, so I don't get to demo much of the O'Brien gear. I'm not crazy enuf to buy anything before I ride it so I'm still rockin old Hyperlite gear. I get discounted stuff, not free stuff. Even if I was taking a jab at O'Brien to 'big up' LF, they are both under the Kent Sports anyways, so whats the diff?

http://www.kentwatersports.com/Brands/56

If I really wanted to take a jab at a company, it would be CWB wakeboards, which stands for CONNELLY WAKE BOARDS WAKEBOARDS. That is completely redundant. How is it that no one in their marketing dept fixed that in the last 10 years? Now their website reads CWB Board Co., as in Connelly Wake Board BOARD Company. The guy below should work for CWBWBC (Connelly Wake Board Wakeboard company) Lol

http://images.cheezburger.com/comple...e8304ff7ed.jpg

and NOW it's a troll thread

ever heard of sarcasm?

Cisco,
its great that that you have your own opinions, it is what makes us all unique. i just get the feeling that you state them with too much "mater of fact" tones. sure from time to time we are all guilty of being over bearing or bold in our opinions, but to state them as factual claims so often is not taken well.

maybe you just have a different sense of humor than most of us, and that is not being received well, i don't know

its hard to put a finger on it and describe it.

^^^ Lighten up buddy. Its only trolling if I attack another forum user and don't have anything to back up my comments. I'm just joking around about CWB wakeboards cuz I want to make people Lol OUT LOUD. Haha

I encourage people to ignore me cuz this thread asks a serious question

Not what i was talking about, don't worry about it. i digress
I don't have a problem with the CWB joke, heard it before, yes its funny, and yes it is also funny that the CWB symbol looks kinda like a faceless stick figure head with a gun to the side of the head (turn it so it is like a diamond). CWB team is a funny crew and i am sure they don't care
HA ha ha.

Anyway, I don't mean to continue to tangent this thread
I will take your encouragement to ignore you (unless i feel there is something worthwhile to be corrected/defended), especially since technically, according to your profile you are fetus and we can expect your birth and delivery to be in NY on September 11 2011.

Sorry for being unclear wakerider111. I shudda quote jeff_mn cuz the "^^^" I put was for his remark about this being a trolling thread.

And yes, I am a fetus. The old me died and now I'm reincarnated waiting to be born. I post here using electroencephalograms (EEGs) to translate electrical signals within my brain.

http://www.newscientist.com/blog/inv...eeg-794789.jpg

Glad to see Wakeworld is still Wakeworld....

ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ....... everytime I come back it is the same bashing and same self rightous psychobable that has been on forums for years.... lol :eek:

it just keep getting better hahahaha

Ben B, Wakeworld will always be Wakeworld... It is hilarious, and I'm glad there are people other than me that get joy out of it!

I have a feeling that some jaws would drop, if they knew ciscos true identity. I'm not claiming to know....just my gut feeling.

By the way, I think it's hillarious at how he gets some of you to take the bait.

unfortunately, sometimes we got to point out the bait to fish that are unfamiliar in certain parts of the lake so they don't take the bait AND the hook.
am I familiar with the whole lake? no, i don't claim to be, just saying there is a difference between being funny and being... Cisco.

there are other guys on these forums that can get things rolling (good bad or different) from time to time with differing opinions and senses of humor and sarcasm. but the thing that separates these other guys and Cisco (most of the time) is substance... and many times tact.
...and a face