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Setting Bindings for different conditions

2K views 8 replies 1 participant last post by  Crazy Max 
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#1 ·
Hey Guys,
I'm new to the forums, and just started riding this year. I have gone out 6 times. New Years eve was my first time riding in powder (live on the east coast) and it was by far my best day of snowboarding, I was able to carve as good as I have been able to. My question to you guys is this, I went out the next day (New Years Day) and it was machine groomed, I had a much harder time turning, it's like I had to throw my weight hard to get the board to turn. I think my bindings are tuned wrong. I ride goofy, front binding is at 15 back is at 0. I found it hardest to transition from my heels to my toes the day after riding powder. I think I need to adjust the highback and binding angles, i've read the guides posted by snowolf and been looking around google, but I cant find anything that tells me what what changing different settings actually does, for example when I adjust my highback higher or lower, what will it do for me in terms of ease of turning.

I have 32 prospects, Burton Customs, and a board i'm too embarressed to mention...lol

Thx for your help.
 
#2 ·
First off, don't be embarrassed about your board. If it is a price point board like 5150 or Sims or Lamar, you're just using it because you're new on it. It doesn't mean you're any less of a boarder. If I buy my wife a board, it isn't going to be a $600 Design like mine. It will probably be a 5150 with "cute" graphics because that's what she will need.

That having been said, it is always easier to turn on powder than crud. I'd say make sure your edges are tuned. You're going to slide a little more just because of the nature of the crud you're on.

I think your stance is fine. You could try lessening the front angle a little and increasing the back and maybe it will make a difference to you. Something like 12/-3 is a decent directional stance. Or you could mix it up and try riding ducky. I don't think any of that will have a massive effect on your riding when it comes to crud.

EDIT: If you rotate your bindings to parallel with your board edge, you will transfer your power a little better, but it won't give you more traction.
 
G
#3 ·
Thx for the reply,
Yeah the board, boots and bindings I got all in a $300 deal from Zumiez. The board is an Aperture, I think it's there house brand. I bought it after I went and rented twice. I figured that I would go enough to get good on it this season then upgrade the board. The boots and bindings seem to be decent. At the time that I bought the board I could just barley link turns, now I have much more control. I was just discouraged when I went out the day after riding out powder to find out that I couldnt turn as easily.


Traction I dont think is as much as the issue as the effort that I have to put into the board to get it to turn. I dont know if it was a function of settings I had or a function of the conditions. Probably more of the conditions. Unfortunatly for where I ride (Wachusett Mtn) in Central Mass, I'll probably riding alot more machine groomed/ice than powder.

I have already gone out one day where it was 50 degrees out, expecting slush, instead it was total ice and it was not a fun day.

The real problem I had New Years day, the day after riding in powder is I found I had to put a lot of effort to go from my heels to my toes, where as in the powder I found I didnt have to try as hard.
 
G
#4 · (Edited)
Throwing your weight hard suggests to me that you are not trying to turn properly. Common for people new to the sport and I also did the same. MAybe you are maybe not. Hard to gauge without actually see someone ride. Since I was a noob the pro shop set me up 12/-6 on the bindings. My high backs are set so they force me to have a bend in my knees so I don't lock the joints of my already beat up knees. I had trouble turning with them at zero and just kept bumping up and down for best performance, comfort, and bend in knee. The setting on my Burton Mission bindings is 2 and I'm 5'10" tall riding a Burton Air 157. This year I took the factory edge off the board and ride base edge at 1 and side at 89. It resulted in a big improvement in my carving and getting on my edges instead of a lot of side slipping. The edge catches quicker and holds much better.

When I first started, looking where I wanted to go was a big help. An instructor also had me use my lead hand as my steering wheel. Point outstretched lead arm in direction to go to help initiate a slight turn in shoulders and get weight transferring. I initiate turns in my ankles. I flex the board so my lead foot puts the lead edge in first and my rear foot follows putting the rest of the effective edge in the snow(usually groomers and ice for me)

Both me and my 12 year old daughter thought jumps and rails would be the funnest part but we are both focusing on our carving and mastering control over our edges. We are finding out the hard way that lack of edge mastery is causing us to eat it off the larger jumps(no trick) and eating it trying tricks over smaller jumps and just freestyle on the slopes.

She face planted twice over the new years holidays and I strained my back off a large jump, partly because I have an old lumbar fracture and mostly cause i had no edge control leaving the jump so the board found its own and twisted me little has I left. The landing seemed fine but I think there was some panic and I tried to get an edge in too quick and off balance when I landed.

Keep in mind I'm definitely still a noob.

Powder is much softer. Same for warm days when the groomed, man made, gets soft. Your edge has a much easier time getting in the softer snow. Ice, I've found, you really need to get up on that edge so it can cut into the ice.

People I've talked to say getting to far duck footed makes turning harder. I've never tried it though.
 
G
#5 ·
Yeah I think that I am leaning too hard into my turns, the first few times I went out when I was linking turns they were very large, sweeping turns. Now i'm to the point that I can pretty much keep my turns quicker and tight, so I dont cut off every other person on the mtn.

As I said above, the powder was so easy to ride, it was amazing, but those days are going to be few and far between I think.

I'm also 5'10 I have a 159 board (weigh 180), If I set my angle to a more agrresive 21/10 would that help me transfer easier?

I agree with you completely pyro with edge control. I'm not planning to looking at the park until I have a year of expierence of solid edge control. I feel in control most of the time, but still learning, def a noob, 6 total times on the mtn. But, so far, I really enjoy it.
 
G
#6 ·
I can only attest to the 12/-6 angle, but 21/10 seems to me like it might hurt, at least my knees. Others had once told me to jump up and down a couple times, stop, and then look at the angle the feet are and the distance between them. They calle it your natural athletic stance and that it's a good place to start and to reduce the back foots angle so you are not duck footed(at least for a beginner. I did this after my board was set up an my fron foot was indeed around 12. Back foot about the same less the change so I wouldn't be duck footed.

I wouldn't make any drastic changes. Little at time to see how it feels.
 
G
#8 · (Edited)
My understanding is both! Same for the angles of boards edges among other things.

A person riding park may have different board, wider stance, use a duck stance, sharpen the edges to an angle less likely to catch on a feature, more aggressive edge retuning, high backs setting more neutral. Can result in carving being harder.

A person that mainly carves and hits some jumps or other features once in a while will have a set up and tuning making carving easier(different board, stance, binding angle, high back setting, edge angle, less aggressive detuning).

Racers and their setup, uni-directional board?, et,etc. There's a racer/carver by me with a uni-directional that is amazing to watch. The speed and how he gets that edge in even ice is fun to watch.

Check out this thread:

http://www.snowboardingforum.com/tips-tricks-instructors/9697-tightening-up-carve.html
 
G
#9 ·
I think technique is the biggest factor in this. Maybe a little forward lean will help. Try and ride with your hands tied behind your back, and keep body movements clean and fluid. What helped me with switch, is remembering that the forward shoulder leads the turns.
 
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