What If I Ride It Finless?

I own a 140 Premier and I wan to make it a little faste when on edge and going off the wake. If I ride it finless will it be faster? Anyone out there ride this board finless and have some usefull information.

i dont ride that board but i have riden some boards finless and it is like learning how to ride again, the carving and such is just so different, although i rode the new byerly finless and that was the best board i have ever been on

I've tried it finless on boards without any molded in fins, and although I wasn't able to move towards any side at all, I was accidentally doing surface 900s and other crazy stuff like that. It's definitely not a good way to improve your skill or the capabilities of the board, but it is fun.

The Premier rides great finless and it should feel a bit faster to you. Half the people I know who own that board ride it finless. Same with the new Byerly, which is actually designed to be ridden finless, but they just include some fins because some folks feel like they need them and would be otherwise less likely to purchase the board. I rode the Byerly both ways and it was way faster and a much better overall ride finless.

Not sure what level you guys ride, but my goodnes the new Byerly board is the slowest thing I've been on. Finless or not.
Feels like you're draggin an anchor.

Kevin - ridding a board finless is actually a great way to improve your skill because it teaches you to edge right and not rely on a middle fin for edging.

deffiently try to ride the premier finless it is way better as with most molded fin boards...

I ride a 138 O'brien Player series board. It has 4 moulded fins plus the centre fins that i don't use, and i think my riding has improved two fold since i removed the centre fin. Try it and stick with it.

how about an absolute platinum 140. never ridden finless before, should I try it. Been riding sporatically for 4-5 years.

the absolute finless doesn't track as much as the Premier finless. at first I didn't feel like I had enough hold, so I left the fin on. but now I ride it finless all the time, once you get it on edge it has all the hold you want. the only thing is to give it a try, make sure you take you time with your edges and see how you like it.

riding finless wont nessesarily make your board faster. the sure thing about it is that its goin to teach you to really use your edge. i would deffinately recomend gettin rid of those fins on the premier though. the molded in fins are plenty of fin for that board. plus the board will relase alot better off the wake which helps out alot when doing spins.

I started riding finless when someone pointed out to me that when I cut in my fins weren't even in the water. Now I won't ride any other way.

Wait, so I've been using my board wrong for the past 3 or 4 years? And haven't noticed? Because when I took the fins off my board I was completely unable to move my board heelside or toeside. Apparently I don't know how to use my edge AT ALL? I thought I did, but... somebody help me out.

anyone ride the parks finless?

It might just be my expirience snowboarding, but riding finless is way more natural to me. It teaches you how to edge right. I think that a ceter fin doesnt let you get any movement of your board. When you ride without fins, your able to move your board sideways instead of instintaly getting grip with a fin. I think that you do have to be much more comfortable on a board to ride finless though.

(Message edited by yearling on February 23, 2004)

if you dont have any control riding finless, that tells you that you dont have very much control with fins. riding with fins is almost a cheat, yes it does help you to edge harder, but u can edge jus as hard without fins if you have control of your board and know how use you edge correctly.

I have the 140, rode it about a month without fins and then slapped them on. They been on ever since.

I ride at OWC so I have to ride finless. I'm so used to riding finless I feel restricted when I put fins on. If I ever get behind a boat again I'll throw the fins on for a little more grip, but once you get used to riding finless it feels pretty natural. I have a TFD 136

How do I get control, though? Should I just take the fin off my board and relearn how to wakeboard? 2 p implied a finless wakeboard is like a snowboard, but I have no trouble controlling a snowboard, only a finless wakeboard.

Well if you have always rode with fins on then it will just take soem getting used to. Just like riding switch for the first time. I guess generally behind a boat you want to have some fins in, but I guess it could help develop some better edging technique.
I don't really think its like snowboarding though.

"but u can edge jus as hard without fins if you have control of your board and know how use you edge correctly."
- I would agree with that statement. You could try goofing around without the fins and once you get the hang of it stick em back on and see if you feel any better.

I have a Cobe 137, and I have the center fins on. Should I take them off just to try it? Would it ride any better?

This year im going to try and ride finless because im hoping to improve my wakeboarding, question #1 how long does it take on average to learn how to edge, #2 my board is too small and I will be getting a new board this year, should i learn how to edge then go for the new board, or new board and just start riddin it finless?

finless is the only way to go. it is like learning how to edge all over again but once you get the hang of it it's awesome. molded fins do help alot in edging. just stick with it and you'll get the hang of it

finless simply makes an intermediate rider more like a pro cause it teaches good technique. If you are thinking about goin finless you will get better because you actually have to be perfect on landings as well as take off. I been riding finless over a year and landing big tricks fine,
my point is you either can do the trick or not!!

Nato, I have the Cobe 142 and ride it finless. I started riding it finless after knee surgery when I couldn't jump and just wanted to ride around and do surface tricks. When I started cutting on it, I found that it cut just as good without fins and I haven't gone back to fins since.

The bottom line like everyone else is saying, is if you have proper technique, you shouldn't need the fins. Much more fun without the fins and you also don't have to worry about hitting sliders.

Riding finless makes for softer landings.

Dude, here ya go!

I have the Premy 140. I've rode it fins for a majority of the time the 1st summer I had it. Great board, will teach you alot with the fin on, took em off found out it can teach you even more! Will def. speed it up.

Kevlar- you won't be learning to ride all over, but you will be able to attempt things with more confidence because you will learn to feel your board better, and be able to beak it loose easier.

If yall really want an idea of how it feels, then ride a wake skate with no fins, honestly it's alot more fun.

Good luck!

I ride my absolute 140 finless most of the time because it gives me a much better feel while edging. The only time I ride with a center fin is when I'm riding in bad conditions because I seem to lose traction when edging finless.

By riding finless, does it not take a lot of control away from your landing. It seems that if you did not have them you would get a little squirley when landing. Am I wrong?

Once you learn how your board rides finless you'll have all the control you need. You'll always know what body position you have to be in for your board to hook up with the water properly. I've ridden a premier 135 for two years and I only rode it once with fins. It was too confining.

Couple words of advice: Bending your knees a little helps because you don't try and push on the water straight-legged. Never bend at your waist to initiate a turn. you want to lean with your hips. DO NOT TRY AND STEER THE BOARD WITH YOUR BACK FOOT. Big no no.

I rode my premier 140 finless at first but then put .7s on it- switch wake tricks are harder finless cuz most people don't have good enough technique to make a solid cut- also you won't have as much grip on the landings- I think that it will hurt you more than it will help- that's just my personal experience- and advice that I have gotten from some TOP pros- unless you have above average skillz stick to riding it with fins-

Alex

just to add that if you are riding a board that has little to no tracking or built in fins then the finless change is harder to overcome. Some boards ride fine without others are to loose.
More important is when to go finless, around the time you get your basic inverts down and 3s ts and hs. Then you will put small ones back on later! like .7s

What if the bottom of my board looks basically like this:
_____________________? (O'Brien Blunt 137 (2001)).