new to DH

**CarlTheSmokingCrab** · 10-26-2009 09:54 AM

definitely. look where you wanna go, keep your weight centered over the board and use your back foot to steer.

and terapin, see if you can use your back foot to kick out the board from under you and snap it back. its alot more fluid and you can force your board past that 90* mark. but what i really imagine is happening since you;re a beginner is you dont have enough speed. moar speed!

**rosewood thief** · 10-26-2009 10:03 AM

I just spent the weekend in southern IL, with some real hills, and i have a few questions:

When is a hill "leather worthy"? the fastest here was probably low 50's.

When you toeside predrift, and you grab rail, do you want your back knee on your front foot, coleman style? Or is there another more stable stance?

Cliffs are ####### scary. And yes, that wasn't a question.

**UltyHuck13** · 10-26-2009 04:06 PM

Originally Posted by rosewood thief

I just spent the weekend in southern IL, with some real hills, and i have a few questions:

When is a hill "leather worthy"? the fastest here was probably low 50's.

When you toeside predrift, and you grab rail, do you want your back knee on your front foot, coleman style? Or is there another more stable stance?

Cliffs are ####### scary. And yes, that wasn't a question.

IMO 40 is a good cross point for leathers.

Toeside predrift.. I usually have it floating near my front foot. Not touching, but its kept in pretty much that position.

**luftywaffles** · 10-26-2009 07:41 PM

i'd say 40+ as well.

errr gotten a chance to get on that write up?

**snozzboarder55** · 10-26-2009 09:09 PM

Originally Posted by rosewood thief

I just spent the weekend in southern IL, with some real hills, and i have a few questions:

When is a hill "leather worthy"? the fastest here was probably low 50's.

When you toeside predrift, and you grab rail, do you want your back knee on your front foot, coleman style? Or is there another more stable stance?

Cliffs are ####### scary. And yes, that wasn't a question.

if you look at a hill and the first thing you think is "where will i fall, and how bad will the rash be?" thats when its leathers time. i know people who wear leathers at 35 for the first few runs jsut to build their confidence for the day, then its back to streets and game on.

anything under 35 is usually not leather worthy, but if your sketch about the run wear them, who can get mad at you for trying to save some flesh, rite?

**rosewood thief** · 10-26-2009 09:13 PM

thanks, the hills were fuuuuunnnn. except the only places i wouldve fallen were... cliffs. ouch.

**terapin** · 10-27-2009 05:27 AM

hey .
thanks carl.
hopfuly the weather will become dry again so i can practice on my longboard rather that wet weather technical slides .

**CarlTheSmokingCrab** · 10-27-2009 08:52 AM

Originally Posted by luftywaffles

errr gotten a chance to get on that write up?

I really do feel bad. I'm about to head downtown to my coffee shop, maybe a quick safety meeting will inspire me to write that. I'll even have pictures.

**CarlTheSmokingCrab** · 10-27-2009 10:51 AM

Okay. Here is my lecture on bushings, their shape, their duro, and how they function.

First, the most simple of all. The duro. It's simple, the lower the number, the softer they are. the softer they are, the more they compress. the more they compress, the more movement your hangar will have, resulting in leaning and turning. The more you weigh, the more you will compress the bushing. Take this into account when first setting up your trucks / dialing them in. If you are lighter, a harder duro is gonna feel like a rock. IMO anyone 150 lbs and under should not go above a 90a bushing.

Now we can get to the shape. Sorry for shitty pictures, its a phone.
This first one is a cone.

It has the LEAST urethane of any of the shapes I will show you. It compresses very easily and has little to no rebound effect. the small top doesn't allow for the urethane to forcefully push the hangar back to its neutral point. Great for carving and in harder duros, more technical freeride. I don't use cones in ANY of my freeride or downhill setups. I just don't like the shape.

This is a barrel.

This is my favorite shape evarr. It fits the bushing seat of the truck, does not go out of it, and is not too small for it. Therefore, it gives the truck the feel that it was designed for. Good rebound characteristics. with a cupped or flat washer, the surface area of the larger barrel will push the hanger of the truck back to its center with no problems. Since the shape is uniform, the resistance through your turning is consistent and feels natural.

This is a stepped bushing.

Also known as a "stim" or "elim" shape, the stepped bushing is a barrel with a tumor. This tumor (lol) restricts the lean of the truck and limits the abilities of its geometry. It is great for some people who ride downhill, or are looking for more resistance and rebound. I only like this shape in a few trucks. NOT in randals, they feel like poop. NOT in paris, they feel like poop. In a bushing seat such as in a JimZ truck, Radikal, old Bears, Zealous... All these trucks have a shallow or wide, non-restrictive bushing seat. They were designed around this shape and perform great. In a truck like a Paris, where the bushing seat is very restrictive, they will not seat themselves correctly and IMHO have caused gnarly clicks and dead spots in them. Correct me if I'm doing it wrong.

Take a break real quick

Okay I'm back. UUUHHHH lets combine shapes and duros. More urethane there is, the lower duro you should use. some may argue, but if there is more urethane resisting against the truck, you can get away with a lower duro.

Ok now bushing seats. Look at a Randal. The bushing seat is not very restrictive, nor does it hold the bushing seat in there by itself. But its enough to offer some restriction and not make the truck sloppy. All in all, a great design. Now look at a Paris. The seat is DEEP and the bushing is held snug. the trucks react quicker, and compress in a way that I think no other truck feels like. Great trucks. Annnyway, the bushing seat determines, in my opinion, what bushing you should use. Barrels go great in any truck, but take an old bear and you'll see almost no bushing seat for the barrel to rest in. the stepped shape would be good here. Understanding? Good.
Now, any questions? Fire away.

**jman1365** · 10-27-2009 11:01 AM

you said to correct you if you're wrong, so I'd like to add some input
first being that lots of people prefer the feel of elims in paris and in randals
second being is that barrels don't always "give the truck the feel it was designed for" this is true in pretty much any truck that wasn't designed for barrels
third being is that this statement in reference to barrels is absolutely not true "Since the shape is uniform, the resistance through your turning is consistent and feels natural." barrels have a very progressive feel, cones have a consistent feeling turn

**luftywaffles** · 10-27-2009 01:06 PM

Originally Posted by luftywaffles

Edit: Carl, do you think you could explain how the shape of a bushing and the hardness correlates to the position (top or bottom)???

For example, how would a soft bottom and hard top compare to a hard bottom and soft top?

Elim bottom to Barrel top, barrel bottom to elim top. basically the possibilities are endless, but is there a trend?

this please!

**xjweezyx** · 10-27-2009 05:15 PM

Originally Posted by luftywaffles

this please!

yes pretty please

**CarlTheSmokingCrab** · 10-27-2009 05:34 PM

Oh snap. I'll have to re-do all that. Ignore, plox

**MrFuji** · 11-02-2009 08:00 AM

First, I want to say this is a most helpful thread!!!! I have two questions:
1. When learning to slide, is it best to learn using slide gloves or gloves without slide pucks?
2. How have people gone about getting comfortable with speed?

**miSSionary** · 11-02-2009 08:05 AM

Originally Posted by MrFuji

First, I want to say this is a most helpful thread!!!! I have two questions:
1. When learning to slide, is it best to learn using slide gloves or gloves without slide pucks?
2. How have people gone about getting comfortable with speed?

1. You need the pucks on the gloves to learn to slide.

2. Build up to it. You will slide much better at speed but take your time.

3. Have fun!

**east london** · 11-09-2009 03:00 PM

great work carl.
keep it up

**RodRod** · 11-10-2009 09:12 PM

good the scammer/sales dude is gone lol

**Virus91** · 11-10-2009 10:29 PM

hey
im trying to get more into down hill but im having trouble finding a stable position/tuck to go down with. when i try to point both feet foward, it feels uncomfortable and unstable to me.
i feel alot more comfortable goin down with my feet like the image below.

is it neccecary to point both feet foward? can i leave my back foot completly on the board, and foot pointing left?

**Petary791** · 11-10-2009 10:38 PM

You're not going to get any leverage to turn if both your feet are pointing forward, unless they're side-by-side up in the front old school style. Most people have their front foot sideways and their back foot pointing forward. I hope this helps.

**streetheap** · 11-10-2009 10:48 PM

Originally Posted by Virus91

hey
im trying to get more into down hill but im having trouble finding a stable position/tuck to go down with. when i try to point both feet foward, it feels uncomfortable and unstable to me.
i feel alot more comfortable goin down with my feet like the image below.

is it neccecary to point both feet foward? can i leave my back foot completly on the board, and foot pointing left?

Your front foot steers, hence sideways leverage like Petary said. Reverse what you got there.
Your back foot captures the zen.