Technique Discussion

[cuzz467]

The problem isn't on keeping weights even, if your weight is more concentrated on your feet it's more likely to drift. Someone made an image explaining but I lost it.

was it on this thread?

[*SWEET*]

The problem isn't on keeping weights even, if your weight is more concentrated on your feet it's more likely to drift. Someone made an image explaining but I lost it.

Meh...
The more weight you put on your HAND, the more you are likely to drift...
When I want to grip, I try not to put a hand down and I put as much weight as possible on my feet...

[mattyoaks]

Meh...
The more weight you put on your HAND, the more you are likely to drift...
When I want to grip, I try not to put a hand down and I put as much weight as possible on my feet...

Agreed, try a fast corner that is puts you at the edge of your grip, and see how putting your hand down almost instantly will cause your back wheels to scrub a bit. (corner needs to be FAST, then it will become obvious)

[cuzz467]

Agreed, try a fast corner that is puts you at the edge of your grip, and see how putting your hand down almost instantly will cause your back wheels to scrub a bit. (corner needs to be FAST, then it will become obvious)

keep weight on your feet simple enough

[Largeboarder]

Meh...
The more weight you put on your HAND, the more you are likely to drift...
When I want to grip, I try not to put a hand down and I put as much weight as possible on my feet...

Yeah, you got me.. I couldn't remember right so i just gave it a shot. Sorry

[JamieReis]

how do you hook up? do you still need a reasonable amount of speed to do so?

No. You'll need more speed if you grab your rail, but once you get used to hooking back up you can do it at 10mph. You just need to know how to deweight your board.

you need a whole lotta speed to hook back up...i havent even pulled it back fully yet

No.

i've learned how to rail toe side on my evo. i'm getting a top mount soon. does my back foot have to be right by the bolts or on them to rail?

Not at all. I actually tend to keep my feet closer together and my tuck shorter on really turny technical stuff. I find it easier to corner and grip turns this way. Not sure about the mechanics of it.

so even if i'm not totally spread out on my board keeping my weight even will work?

You just need to go around a turn like 100 times until it feels right. There's no way to tell you how to do it, honestly. It's all about the feel of it. Like I said before, for technical stuff I tend to do the opposite of spreading out.

[permaculture]

when im in my tuck for a desent amount of time my front foot starts to go numb

You can try: stretch then relax your calf, loosen your laces, looser socks, wiggle your toes, wiggling your fingers at the same time might also help.

Some of that you can do while tucked, and if you keep moving it may help. Check out these two - they never feeeze up:

YouTube - COASH Downhill Skateboard...

[themccannman]

I also kind of have a problem with just getting tired while tucking. I'm an avid runner so my legs should be strong enough, but is it just the different posture that i have to get used to or is there something im missing?

[skatefastliveslow]

I find that a great way to make the speed check slides initiate more easily is to lean heavily over my front hip when first initiating the slide with my front heel. Then as it breaks loose, distribute the weight more eavenly. Once it breaks loose you kind of know what to do by instinct just to hang on.

[chilly9781]

I'm starting to pick up speed in my skating life (bad pun...) and I need a suggestion on a tuck.

How do i keep my butt in line!?

Right now, my tuck is:
front foot just shy of 90* to board,
back foot is fairly parrellel
I rest my chest on my thigh
My back knee is almost in contact with the inside of my front.

[SLAB City Jake]

I also kind of have a problem with just getting tired while tucking. I'm an avid runner so my legs should be strong enough, but is it just the different posture that i have to get used to or is there something im missing?

I think it's probably the switch from aerobic endurance (running/cardio) to an intense anaerobic exercise (tucking)...assuming you're not tucking for like 10 minutes at a time cuz the lines start to blur.

I do a lot of bodyweight squats in my workouts with an emphasis on good, slow form. Might help.

Tucking in your living room/skating a lot are a good bet too...I think K-Rimes said he likes wall sits, fwiw.

My 2c

peace

[themccannman]

I'm starting to pick up speed in my skating life (bad pun...) and I need a suggestion on a tuck.

How do i keep my butt in line!?

Right now, my tuck is:
front foot just shy of 90* to board,
back foot is fairly parrellel
I rest my chest on my thigh
My back knee is almost in contact with the inside of my front.

You may want to straighten out your front foot a little more, the closer to perendicular it is the less resistance you will have when you lean because you will be applying pressure closer to the edge of the board, i personally have my front foot at about 30*, i think the problem yoiur having is that when you twist your foot that far it forces your thigh to rotate inward which pushes your butt out to the side, if you want to keep your but behind your torso reduce the angle of your front foot. Try it out right now, do a tuck and see how your butt moves when you twist your foot. Hope that helps.
@jake from SD, thanks for the advice, tucking has gotten easier now that i've doen quite a few more runs.

[Death By Snu Snu.]

or this?

I've been skating throughout the week,and I been doing extremely well with my 90* turn toeside. But when I went skating today I would enter the turn fine, drift reasonably controlled, but upon exiting I would get a quick left to right wobble and basically get bucked off and out of the turn, that is highsiding right?

I'm reasonably certain that I was not leaning into the turn enough, or long enough. I've only been riding my DH36 for about 2 weeks now (had been riding a Hellcat), and it seems to be an issue for me. I'm trying to keep as much speed as I can through the turn, and i'm trying not to slide out.

Sadly this is just a silly parking garage-esque run, roughly 15-20 mph. This has also happened to me at around 30 mph as well.

(Btw, the pictures are almost exactly what I do when I turn.)

[Flumpa]

But when I went skating today I would enter the turn fine, drift reasonably controlled, but upon exiting I would get a quick left to right wobble and basically get bucked off and out of the turn, that is highsiding right?

I'm reasonably certain that I was not leaning into the turn enough, or long enough. I've only been riding my DH36 for about 2 weeks now (had been riding a Hellcat), and it seems to be an issue for me.
Sadly this is just a silly parking garage-esque run, roughly 15-20 mph.

If you're drifting out at 15-20, I'd say you're not keeping enough weight on the board. I find that when I have my back knee way out like this picture of Zak (Picture One), I drift, but I don't drift if the knee is in more like Calvin (Picture Two).
So try and weight the board a bit more, and be sure you're not being too hasty about the turn; it's harder to take a turn when you start it by veering in all super-sudden like. Be smooth, my friend. Smooooooth.





Also, you've not been riding the board that long, man. Hellcat to DH36 sounds like quite the transition.

[cuzz467]

keeping your weight more towards the center equals more grip.
as your start to shift your weight towards the sides you'll start to loose grip.
flumpas example are true at least from my experiences.
for me railing the way maytum is doing it was easier, the way calvin is doing is difficult for me when the turns are sharp.

[Death By Snu Snu.]

@Flumpa I see exactly what you mean. Ive been wanting to stick the turn and minimize the drifting. I'll try messing with that back knee positioning today.

Thanks!

[Bowmore]

I find it useful to keep my hand about 1 inch off the ground when i think i might rail the corner. If it begins to drift, i just touch the ground a bit, but when i feel some grip again, i push my weight on the board again and lift my hand off the ground. That's how you get maximum vertical weight = grip on the wheels.

[LYDropcarve]

can anyone tell me why anything toeside (turns,predrifts etc.) fell really unstable and sketchy?

[*SWEET*]

wether I want to slide or not, I tend not to like having my knee out like on zak's picture...
I get a lot more strength to push the back of my board by keeping my knee as much ON the board as possible.
Therefore, when I do frontside speedchecks, the only part of my body that moves is my back foot. My body stays straight, facing the corner and where I want to go. Only the board itself goes sideways. If you have your knee outside of your board, you dont have the strength to keep the slide going as long as required, and you have to move the rest of your body. When doing so, you still do speedcheck, but it's more of a semi-pendulum speed-check, which requires more movement and loses precision.

No idea if I'm clear, but I tried

[Cann0n]

can anyone tell me why anything toeside (turns,predrifts etc.) fell really unstable and sketchy?

Because of your knees. They can't bend the same way in the opposite direction.

Also, if you didn't have your big toes, they'd be even harder.