Werk One

Snowolf, I think you really hit the nail on the head about the awkwardness! See, the first couple of times I went snowboarding, I think I was using a much "noodlier" board which I think made it easier for me to turn. Could definitely feel the board bending from the snow below my feet too. Then when I took the newly purchased Burton Custom, I was expecting the same type of feeling. So once I started to ease down the mountain, I felt unable to turn toeside (I ride regular BTW). I was sorta able to turn but with added effort and then I would go link to heelside and then attempt to link my turn again and then *BAM* I land on my a**. Kind of discouraging but I'm very determined to get it down. I mean it's only my first year, I could say I put in 6 whole hours into snowboarding. I just hate to be spending alot if time eating it on the slopes. Another thing I was wondering about is, would the heel or toe overhang from the board affect this any? My boot size is an 11 if that helps answer the question. Again thats for all the advice!

Werk One

Man, I can't wait till I start enjoying riding that board. It's a sweet board. I went with it also for the fact that it is an all-mountain board so hopefully, when I've gotten accustomed to it, I'd be able to learn mostly off this board. I eventually I would want a park board.

scottland

This is a common problem for beginning riders, and might not necessarily be the fault of the board. You have to make sure that your weight is evenly distributed, and that your ankles and knees are nicely flexed with a nice low stance. Most people have problems initiating a toeside turn if they legs are rigid, and their weight is shifted back, which is often the case with new riders.

Just something to think about.

Werk One

I wouldn't doubt it at all that it is likely my riding habits that gets my face in the snow. I just thought that because I kinda got it the first time on a noodle board, it might be the same on this one. I know what you mean about the weight being shifted back too. I notice the speed picks up quickly once I do that; so I should keep my center gravity on the middle of the board?


Thanks for all the information about stability vs. turning ratio. I'll keep it mind the next time around and hopefully I have more success than not with this board.

Mendel

Yeah, I was reading this thread and I was like wtf....
I'm 5'6'' and 140ish and i ride a 155. Someone said they were around 2bucks and riding a 154?
My 2006 burton cruzer is a heavy, stiff 'ol bastard.
I think it has forced me to use better technique, and when I don't, I'll eat shit .
Then again, I don't know any people who weigh 140 pounds and can squat 300+, might help with the misfortune of having a board too big for me.
This might explain why I will bust my ass more than half the time I'm in the park.

Mr. Right

Sometimes that's what you need to do. Just ride the piss out of that board aggressively and get used to it, in time you will learn to love the responsiveness.

__________________
When the fuck did we get ice cream?

scottland

Mendel, I'm 6'2" 200# and I ride a custom 162. I'm listed as just outside the weight range for that board, but I love the way it rides. The weight range is just the company's way of saying "If you want the board to have the flex we say it has, you'll need to be in this weight range, if you're outside of that range, it may be alittle different than how we describe the board in our catalog" At 200# I could ride a custom 152, but i'd just have to understand that it will be super soft and flexy under my weight. Conversely, a 120# kid riding my 162 would still be able to ride it, they would just have to understand it would be super stiff. Neither of which is how Burton describes the Custom.

Exactly. Ideally, your weight should be centered over both feet. It's a super dynamic thing, and it may change slightly throughout the turn, but I'll tell you the reason I say ideally is centered, since I faced the same problem at first when I learned to board.

When we are newbies, we tend to have speed anxiety, we're simply not comfortable picking up much speed. Because of this, any run with a decent slope causes the same anxiety. Don't think of yourself as a puss, it's just your brain's self defense mech. So we lean back......a lot. And typically ride with a very stiff stance. Since turns are initiated with the front edge of the board, it makes it pretty hard to get that edge to initiate the turn when you don't have any weight on that part of the board right? A nice athletic stance helps two fold, it makes turn initiation easier, and also it creates room for error, you can absorb bumps and potential caught edges, because your joints are bent, and they can absorb and correct whatever goes wrong. Hopefully that all makes sense?

Snowolf is dead on with regard to the affect stance width has on turning. Once you are really comfortable on the board, and don't have to think about the mechanics of your turns, you might want to start fine tuning your stance. I kept widening my stance until I point I noticed it was slightly harder to initiate turns, and then went back to setting right before that. For me it's 23-23.5" but I have long legs (6'2")

Moral of all this, just get out there, ride, and enjoy your new board

pyro13g

When I jumped from rentals to my own gear it took me a couple times out to get used to my setup.

st.stark

Hey, all I have to say is stick with it. You will get used to the turning and eventually you will be pwning on your friend going down the mountain even though they've prolly beeen boarding longer. :P Have fun, and enjoy your setup!

megladan

since getting my new board, i've been waiting for my friend who got me into snowboarding, and has 10 years+ experience on me. alot more...