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Join Date: May 2003
03-25-2009, 8:39 AM
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I got a '08 Slingshot Recoil this offseason (my traditional board is a CWB Absolute) and I've heard (and read) the stories of people loving them or hating flex boards. I've seen mentioned that people say to give them a couple/few sets to get used to. To that end, what wake riding techniques have people found they had to change vs. riding a 'traditional' board? PLEASE don't turn this into a flex vs. traditional p!ssing match. I'd like for it to remain an 'instructional'. Take care
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Join Date: Mar 2007
03-25-2009, 9:22 AM
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just work on taking a few sets to control flex when you pop....same as you would load the line for some tricks you can load the board to shoot you in the air... It really isn't much different than an old board other than that.... everything else that happens with flex is just being doing without you thinking about it (as in it giving when you land to soften shock, etc etc etc) The only real thing to "Learn" about flex boards is how to pop them to their max.... they'll still pop if you just hit the wake and do nothing different, but they'll excel way above an old type board if you load it up and let it launch you
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Join Date: Feb 2003
03-25-2009, 9:47 AM
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You will start to notice after a couple sets how to load the board up. Also when riding off the wake you almost want to ollie more rather than just stand tall. The other thing that will help you is to bend your knees a little more than you normally would when riding and edging. This will help you control the flex more
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Join Date: Aug 2006
03-25-2009, 10:04 AM
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Is it like coming off a kicker on a snowboard? How do you initiate and complete this loading the board?
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Join Date: Mar 2007
03-25-2009, 10:23 AM
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^ kind of... you just come into the wake, use your weight/water to bend the board (almost like adding rocker) and then you get to the wake the new, larger rocker + the board wanting to go back to its old shape (you have to wait til the top of the wake for it to be most effective) will snap you up harder than an old board.
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Join Date: Sep 2007
03-25-2009, 10:36 AM
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Loading the board up is a huge difference from a traditional board, and just takes some getting used to like the guys said. Another big difference is getting used to the lack of molded in fins. I suggest getting the 09 fins from slingshot, the response ones cause they're smaller, and strapping those on. Just keep it on edge and you'll be perfectly fine, but the landings will feel a little squirrly til you get used to it. Just be patient and give it time.
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Join Date: Sep 2006
03-25-2009, 1:46 PM
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I still honestly believe they only ride best off of big wakes. On the days where we had only an hour to get out and take a set and maybe only add a little weight, the pop just wasnt there compaired to countless times doing the same scenario with a stiff board. So depending on who's boat im on, I go back and forth. Definately gonna be my choice of board on the double up sessions
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Join Date: Jul 2006
03-25-2009, 2:06 PM
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^^^have to agree with josh here the slipperiness was more for me to get used to than the flex, especially coming from my 2004 byerly ("the can opener") that thing tracked so much it dragged a bit, but i used to really love good tracking boards. But it wasn't like i was hating the sliperiness. i just never rode a really loose board and never considered it being my style... Though now i know for sure that I LOVE a looser board. At first my backroll landings were suffering a bit while getting used to the featurless bottom, but after 3-5 sets my landings got far more consistant because i learned to take advantage of the forgiveness of the loose feel and slide out of the crooked landings that normally would grab me and throw me down. ------------ because of the featureless bottom i learned to rely more on my edges (as one should). just the fact of me learning to edge better helped with EVERYTHING else... it is a little hard to describe HOW my edging changed exactly, but i have since started using an image of "tug of war" which i think is a good comparison, especially for toe side, because heelside cuts tend to come more naturally because that is our more accustomed and natural tug of war pose, pulling backward, using the digging force of your heels. toeside however, i pretend i am pulling opposite, using the pressure of my toes. As you get closer and closer to the wake the tension on the rope should get stronger and stronger. i feel i can make more sense of it in person, so don't allow me to confuse you, virtually i am stating what has been said above in other terms that might help. lastly, a helpful exercise i think is to force yourself to jump wake to wake with only a 5 ft cut or so. sometimes using the full 20 ft or more to think about what needs to be done and drawing it out is too much (for some). get a feel of it with a shorter cut. try it at least anyway. good luck, and have fun. even the journey through getting used to the board WILL be fun! (Message edited by wakerider111 on March 25, 2009)
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03-25-2009, 2:51 PM
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I would have to say the biggest things I noticed when I rode a flex board the first time was the landing was soft. The board didn't make that cool slap sound my Premier did. I also noticed that I was not cutting as hard as I used to and was getting a awesome pop off the wake. The biggest thing was because the board flexed, when I would have a sketch landing I could lean back and butter the board out of it easier and pull it off. This is what I recommend to people when they are trying a Slingshot board for the first time. Carve around on the board and get used to how it feels and responds. Slice the wake with it. Take some nice easy wake to wake jumps to get used to the pop, and then just go ride! The flex boards are cool because they don't have molded fins or bottom channels, so if it feels squirrelly at first, that board is going to teach you to use your edge properly real quick. The boards are really cool. Have fun with it!
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Join Date: May 2003
03-25-2009, 6:00 PM
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Yeah...I ride my absolute finless. I'm not saying it's super sketchy, but I'm comfortable with the loose(r) feel. I rode my Recoil this past Sunday and had no issues with edge hold. Conditions weren't real good and since I had first ride rust I wasn't able to really 'feel' the load/launch charateristics of the board. I was, however, able to feel the soft landings when I cased the wake a couple times! I basically got to surf/slash around a bit and was fine with all that, so I'm looking for all of your experiences on if you had to change your approach to the wake and/or your timing/technique off the top. Thanks for the input so far!
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Join Date: Sep 2006
03-25-2009, 8:06 PM
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Forgot to say... they do edge and generally ride better imo. Definately has that snowboard feel to it when carving and slashing around
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