It will depend on your skill, the size of your wake, the strength in your legs, the trick you intend to do, etc. Personally, I suck, I go wake to wake and that is about it. My son can do 540s, multiple inverts, etc. I have found that with full ballast I can not handle the steep ramp of the wake on a short rope. The distance wake to wake is less, but my 50 year old legs just don't have the strength to give me the pop off a steep wake. Five feet farther back the wake has a nice shape and I can get a lot more pop off the wake. Until recently my son and I both rode at 80 feet, ~23 MPH. My son has advanced to the point that he needs more hang time for 540s and other tricks, so he has extended the rope to 85 feet and is riding at 24 MPH. If you are wondering what is best for you, stop wondering and try it. But don't expect the rope length to be a magic fix all.
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