Binding Highback Angle - Snowboarding Forum

Tristan-NZ · 12-05-2012, 10:12 PM

Hi
I'm riding on my Burton Process ICS with Custom EST bindings.
They have an adjustable angle highback.
For majority groomer riding, what would having my highbacks pumped all the way forward do?

I assume it would force my knees to bend so that would be a good thing right?

lonerider · 12-05-2012, 10:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tristan-NZ

Hi
I'm riding on my Burton Process ICS with Custom EST bindings.
They have an adjustable angle highback.
For majority groomer riding, what would having my highbacks pumped all the way forward do?

I assume it would force my knees to bend so that would be a good thing right?

If you have problems bending your knees enough... setting the forward lean to the max setting can help teach you to ride in a more athletic posture...

However, for regular riding... just angle them enough so they just barely touch the back of you boots when you are strapped in (you can strap in your boots by themselves in the house to get the angles right).

Bayoh · 12-05-2012, 11:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lonerider

However, for regular riding... just angle them enough so they just barely touch the back of you boots when you are strapped in (you can strap in your boots by themselves in the house to get the angles right).

^^^This

Putting your highbacks too far forward will probly be painful for your calves.

Fiziks · 12-18-2012, 11:35 PM

You definitely do NOT want to put your high back angles fully forward. It *sounds* like it would make your riding better, but honestly it will not improve your riding at all and will only make your calves fatigue unnecessarily. The only people that really crank their high backs forward are advanced half pipe riders. And that is only for the guys riding pipe that has a lot of vert.

Feel free to experiment with a few different high-back angles if you want, but in the end it won't really make much of a difference. You will eventually get used to whatever you set your high-backs at and not even notice you made a change in them.

roboelmo · 12-19-2012, 09:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fiziks

You definitely do NOT want to put your high back angles fully forward. It *sounds* like it would make your riding better, but honestly it will not improve your riding at all and will only make your calves fatigue unnecessarily. The only people that really crank their high backs forward are advanced half pipe riders. And that is only for the guys riding pipe that has a lot of vert.

Feel free to experiment with a few different high-back angles if you want, but in the end it won't really make much of a difference. You will eventually get used to whatever you set your high-backs at and not even notice you made a change in them.

^^ exactly. Only put forward lean to max if you ride the half pipe. If you ride jibs, then you usually don't ride with any lean at all. If your just riding groomers, somewhere between half and no lean works best.

The more lean you have, the more you're calves will burn as you ride.

KnoxBoarderX · 12-19-2012, 09:53 AM

I ride with zero forward lean. I find it a lot more comfortable.

Bear5001 · 12-19-2012, 04:41 PM

When you get right down to it, the highback forward lean is designed to force you to flex your ankles, which will in turn generally force a more flexed knee as well. When snowboarding, we almost never want to be opening (extending) our ankle joints.

When initiating a heelside turn, we want to pull up on our toes while keeping our knees bent (this will flex the ankle joint). Many riders are lazy here and just rest against the highback and relax their ankle, this makes for a lower edge angle and more leaning of the upper body (we call this inclination). This leads to less performance, and less balance as the upper body moves away from the board. On the other hand, if we have the highbacks dialed in some, we can use the angles of our lower body to create a high edge angle while keeping the upper body over the board (we call this angulation). This makes for more performance with less movement, and more balance because our upper body stays over the board.

When initiating toeside turns we want to also flex our ankles, especially our front ankle. To test this (at low speed please), try extending your ankle when starting a turn (like standing on our tippy toes), how does it feel? Tiring, and wobbly most likely. Now try flexing your knee into the shin of your boot, allowing your ankle to flex with it. you will feel more power, and stability. For all the reasons that apply on heelside (inclination vs angulation).

Lastly all of these improvements will reduce the movement required edge to edge making you smoother and faster changing edges.

As a summary, can you ride perfectly without forward lean? of course! is it easier to show these proper and efficient movements with some forward lean, definitely! It will come down to personal preference how much forward lean you will like! I suggest playing with it, seeing how it feels, and seeing what you like. I suggest small changes to it and ride for several runs before deciding whether you like it or hate it... Either way, have fun and keep shredding!

tylerkat89 · 12-20-2012, 09:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bear5001

When you get right down to it, the highback forward lean is designed to force you to flex your ankles, which will in turn generally force a more flexed knee as well. When snowboarding, we almost never want to be opening (extending) our ankle joints.

When initiating a heelside turn, we want to pull up on our toes while keeping our knees bent (this will flex the ankle joint). Many riders are lazy here and just rest against the highback and relax their ankle, this makes for a lower edge angle and more leaning of the upper body (we call this inclination). This leads to less performance, and less balance as the upper body moves away from the board. On the other hand, if we have the highbacks dialed in some, we can use the angles of our lower body to create a high edge angle while keeping the upper body over the board (we call this angulation). This makes for more performance with less movement, and more balance because our upper body stays over the board.

When initiating toeside turns we want to also flex our ankles, especially our front ankle. To test this (at low speed please), try extending your ankle when starting a turn (like standing on our tippy toes), how does it feel? Tiring, and wobbly most likely. Now try flexing your knee into the shin of your boot, allowing your ankle to flex with it. you will feel more power, and stability. For all the reasons that apply on heelside (inclination vs angulation).

Lastly all of these improvements will reduce the movement required edge to edge making you smoother and faster changing edges.

As a summary, can you ride perfectly without forward lean? of course! is it easier to show these proper and efficient movements with some forward lean, definitely! It will come down to personal preference how much forward lean you will like! I suggest playing with it, seeing how it feels, and seeing what you like. I suggest small changes to it and ride for several runs before deciding whether you like it or hate it... Either way, have fun and keep shredding!

Cool story bro, needs more dragons n shit. Lol jk, but to make sense of that:

How much lean or w.e. should be used? It's preference. Everyone is different, though we all follow a general rule of thumb:

Forward lean = good for carvers/all mountain use...helps with weight transfer. No Lean = Good for jibs as there is neutral weight transfer, meaning more stable/flat base

mr_____awesome · 04-15-2013, 02:26 AM

Im a freerider, and i ride with 0 lean because it feels more comfortable to me some lean might make edge to edge a little faster but i think ... Comfort > Edge to edge. Just test it out and find what feels the best for you.

TheNorminator · 04-15-2013, 07:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fiziks

You definitely do NOT want to put your high back angles fully forward... The only people that really crank their high backs forward are advanced half pipe riders. And that is only for the guys riding pipe that has a lot of vert.

Quote:

Originally Posted by roboelmo

^^ exactly. Only put forward lean to max if you ride the half pipe.

Wait, why do pipe riders want lots of forward lean?

12-05-2012, 10:12 PM	#1 (permalink)
Tristan-NZ Member Join Date: Oct 2011 Posts: 37	Binding Highback Angle Hi I'm riding on my Burton Process ICS with Custom EST bindings. They have an adjustable angle highback. For majority groomer riding, what would having my highbacks pumped all the way forward do? I assume it would force my knees to bend so that would be a good thing right? __________________ Ride it like you stole it.

12-19-2012, 04:41 PM	#7 (permalink)
Bear5001 Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2012 Location: From Mt. Hood to Mt Baker Posts: 19	Another way to look at it When you get right down to it, the highback forward lean is designed to force you to flex your ankles, which will in turn generally force a more flexed knee as well. When snowboarding, we almost never want to be opening (extending) our ankle joints. When initiating a heelside turn, we want to pull up on our toes while keeping our knees bent (this will flex the ankle joint). Many riders are lazy here and just rest against the highback and relax their ankle, this makes for a lower edge angle and more leaning of the upper body (we call this inclination). This leads to less performance, and less balance as the upper body moves away from the board. On the other hand, if we have the highbacks dialed in some, we can use the angles of our lower body to create a high edge angle while keeping the upper body over the board (we call this angulation). This makes for more performance with less movement, and more balance because our upper body stays over the board. When initiating toeside turns we want to also flex our ankles, especially our front ankle. To test this (at low speed please), try extending your ankle when starting a turn (like standing on our tippy toes), how does it feel? Tiring, and wobbly most likely. Now try flexing your knee into the shin of your boot, allowing your ankle to flex with it. you will feel more power, and stability. For all the reasons that apply on heelside (inclination vs angulation). Lastly all of these improvements will reduce the movement required edge to edge making you smoother and faster changing edges. As a summary, can you ride perfectly without forward lean? of course! is it easier to show these proper and efficient movements with some forward lean, definitely! It will come down to personal preference how much forward lean you will like! I suggest playing with it, seeing how it feels, and seeing what you like. I suggest small changes to it and ride for several runs before deciding whether you like it or hate it... Either way, have fun and keep shredding!

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12-18-2012, 11:35 PM	#4 (permalink)
Fiziks Junior Member Join Date: Sep 2012 Posts: 15	You definitely do NOT want to put your high back angles fully forward. It sounds like it would make your riding better, but honestly it will not improve your riding at all and will only make your calves fatigue unnecessarily. The only people that really crank their high backs forward are advanced half pipe riders. And that is only for the guys riding pipe that has a lot of vert. Feel free to experiment with a few different high-back angles if you want, but in the end it won't really make much of a difference. You will eventually get used to whatever you set your high-backs at and not even notice you made a change in them.

12-19-2012, 09:53 AM	#6 (permalink)
KnoxBoarderX Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2011 Posts: 128	I ride with zero forward lean. I find it a lot more comfortable.

04-15-2013, 02:26 AM	#9 (permalink)
mr_____awesome Member Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: Washington, USA Posts: 57	Im a freerider, and i ride with 0 lean because it feels more comfortable to me some lean might make edge to edge a little faster but i think ... Comfort > Edge to edge. Just test it out and find what feels the best for you.