Last week I rode a small and very undersized (for me) Trick Boardz Velocity (recall the Mini Mojo thread). At first it didn’t seem like a worthwhile effort, but by the time I was done riding I had a great time and a new way to have a great time – riding undersized boards (or boardz).
Mike Walker sent an F-18 out to the Indiana wakesurf gathering last month. I’ve had this demo board since then. Over the past month I’ve ridden this board a few times but only for short rides feeling that this board was too small for me. Mike Walker said that the F-18 was maybe OK for riders up to 190 lbs. I weigh about 215 pounds, the first time I rode this board I thought that a 190 pound rider would have problems too, read on I was wrong.
Today I rode the F-18 and only the F-18, my legs were absolutely burnt after a 45 minute ride. I normally ride around 10.5 mph to 11.5 mph, we slowed the boat down to 9.5 mph for the F-18. At first it felt like my back leg was getting dragged by the wake. After a short while I was riding the board quite comfortably. Even though the board is small for me I was able to ride from fairly far back on the wake, walking up to the nose and pumping to recover back to the pocket. The F-18 was very responsive, I probably made three times the normal number of turns and cuts that I make on most other boards that I’ve ridden.
One of my crew rode an even smaller Trick Boardz Free Style than I rode the week before. His experience was similar to mine, he was able to ride the small board very aggressively and had a great time.
I think that one thing I learned from riding smaller boards was better front to back weight control or speed control. In order to stay with the wake I had to lean forward pretty aggressively, but too far forward buried the nose and ended the ride. I’d say that I’ve also learned that I can ride many more smaller boards than I would have expected.
That was my last ride of the season, there’s a chance for snow in the next two days. I’ve got to box up Mike’s fine board and send it back to him – Thanks Mike – that’s an awesome board!
Try riding a small board and let me know if you learned anything new.
Here are a few pictures from my last ride of an awesome 06 season.
Careful control for max speed without burying the nose.
Working on getting back into the pocket
There, I made it
The F-18 is an amazing board - I like fanning the wake with it
Linear Mode
