How to maintain speed

Over the New Year's break I went to a mountain that had a lot of flat
areas. What is the best way to gain speed going down the mountain,
and what is the best way to maintain or pickup speed on relatively
flat runs? I seem to slow down very quickly when I hit a flat part of
the run. I'm pretty new to snowboarding.
Thanks,
Eric

Over the New Year's break I went to a mountain that had a lot of flat
areas. What is the best way to gain speed going down the mountain,
and what is the best way to maintain or pickup speed on relatively
flat runs? I seem to slow down very quickly when I hit a flat part of
the run. I'm pretty new to snowboarding.

As far as riding technique: If you're headed down hill, just pointing
it straight downhill will make you pick up speed the fastest. If you
are on a flat, you can "pump" the board by rocking it (back to front,
not side to side) slightly. If done properly it will help you pick up
speed, however until you get the hang of it, expect to be slowed down a
bit.

However assuming you own your equipment, you can help yourself out
significantly by waxing your base properly. It makes a huge
difference. There has been an endless stream of debate about waxing on
this newsgroup... here's what I have personally found most helpful, your
mileage may vary:

1) Wax early, wax often. When you get a new board, wax it before
riding it, even if it has a factory coat. Do several layers the first
time, making sure each layer gets absorbed into the base, not left caked
on the base - scrape clean each time. I wax every time I go out unless
I only get a couple of runs in.

2) Temperature-specific wax really does make a difference. You don't
need to spend a fortune though. I use SVST (Sun Valley Ski Tools)
which when purchased in 10 oz bricks is downright cheap and it works
well.

3) "Penetration, not lubrication" a.k.a "Thick Sticks, Thin Wins". The
goal is to iron the wax INTO the pores in the base, not cake it onto the
base. So take your time ironing it in, and then scrape what remains on
the base off until you can scrape and nothing comes off. You should
only have the thinnest film left on the base after scraping. Buffing
with a scotchbrite pad or a brush has also worked well for me.

Another helpful thing - have your base stone-ground once in a while
(especially after it gets dinged up by rocks etc) and ask them to put a
moderate structure in the base. (I think the FAQ, http://rssfaq.org
might cover this a bit... if not, search for "structure" in archives of
this newsgroup) Simply put, a structure is a pattern in the base,
usually linear or crosshatch, that allows water to get squeezed out as
you glide along, making you stick less.

-Mike T

Just parroting what Mike said. He knows what he's talking about...
he's the only person that consistantly out glides me on flats.

I think learning to use slightest edging possible is key, but it won't
do you much good if your board's base won't glide. Wax and good
structure ensure that. I wax every 3 or so times out, and have what
looks like a medium linear grain structure in the base (it's whatever
donek puts on at the factory).

Talking with someone this weekend, it also seems that board camber and
sidecut depth matter a little too... if the camber prevents even
pressure along the length of the board when flat, glide suffers.
Freestyle sidecut depths also seem to cause the tail to drag a bit
more (taper would help here). So it seems some boards are just plain
faster due to geometry.

Thanks for the help. I do have my own board, and I waxed and buffed
it pretty much the way you said. Except, I don't think I buffed it
well enough, and I don't think I ironed it in quite enough.
Does it hurt the board to iron spots that don't appear to have any wax
on them as long as the iron has wax on it (and it's not smoking)?
This happens to me after I drip wax on to the board and start to
spread the wax around.
My sidecut is not too deep since I have a wide, freeride board (Ride
Mountain).
Thanks for the tips!
Eric

On Tue, 06 Jan 2004 16:15:51 GMT, (Ace) allegedly
wrote:

Except, I don't think I buffed it
well enough, and I don't think I ironed it in quite enough.

I don't really buff my boards at all. I'll run a bristle brush down the
length of the board to provide some structure to any wax that's been
left behind, but I don't buff it (like a dinner table for example).

Does it hurt the board to iron spots that don't appear to have any wax
on them as long as the iron has wax on it (and it's not smoking)?

You should have enough wax on the board such that after a few passes,
the molten wax covers the whole board. As it's shiny and liquified, the
molten wax is easy to see.

This happens to me after I drip wax on to the board and start to
spread the wax around.

When you start, there will obviously be uncovered sections. Move the
wax around with the iron, but keep it moving so that you're not on one
spot too long.

- Dave.

--
The only powder to get high on, falls from the sky.
http://www.vpas.org/ - Snowboarding the worlds pow pow -
Securing your e-mail

The Snowboard FAQ lives here - http://rssFAQ.org/

(Ace) wrote in message om...
Over the New Year's break I went to a mountain that had a lot of flat
areas. What is the best way to gain speed going down the mountain,
and what is the best way to maintain or pickup speed on relatively
flat runs? I seem to slow down very quickly when I hit a flat part of
the run. I'm pretty new to snowboarding.
Thanks,
Eric

1) As Mike said, wax often. At least every three days of riding.

2) If you're new to boarding, this might not be obvious, so: make sure
you're carving on the flats, not skidding slightly. In other words,
try to keep the nose of your board pointed EXACTLY in the direction
you're moving in.

3) If the trail is not totally flat, you can work bumps and dips in
the trail with your legs. This takes some practice, but can give you
some extra distance on the flats. If you have ever seen boardercross
racers going over rollers you will know exactly what I'm talking about
here. Unweight the board when you're going uphill, and put as much
weight on the board as possible when you're going downhill. So if
you're going over a small bump, suck your legs up to get you over the
front of the bump without slowing you down, and then push down hard on
the backside of the bump to take advantage of the slightly steeper
slope there.

-Jules

--
Jules Agee
http://learning.snowboarding2.com

"Baka Dasai" wrote in message
news:slrnbvjo3g.2sk.idontreadthis@yahoobb220004112 021.bbtec.net...
On 5 Jan 2004 12:57:57 -0800, Ace said (and I quote):
Over the New Year's break I went to a mountain that had a lot of flat
areas. What is the best way to gain speed going down the mountain,
and what is the best way to maintain or pickup speed on relatively
flat runs? I seem to slow down very quickly when I hit a flat part of
the run. I'm pretty new to snowboarding.

1. Make sure your base is waxed and tuned.

2. Don't skid.

3. Learn to tuck with your back parallel to the ground, and your
hands behind your backside.

4. Wear tighter clothes (seriously, this would make a big
difference).
--
A: Top-posters.
Q: What's the most annoying thing on usenet?

4. Wear tighter clothes (seriously, this would make a big
difference).
Surpose that rules a one piece suit out then..............

REgards
WC

4. Wear tighter clothes (seriously, this would make a big
difference).

Surpose that rules a one piece suit out then..............

As any up-to-date person will know, there are two distinct eras in
the history of the one-piece.

The first began in the 1970s, and was known for its slim fitting
lines. These *will* help you go faster.

The current one-piece era, which began in around 2001, features a
much looser silhouette (see
http://www.geocities.jp/costbeck/one-piece/ for some examples). As
such, current one-pieces have a small parachute effect, causing a
definite slowdown.

As such, I cannot recommend the purchase of a contemporary one-piece
for those who wish to ride faster. First generation one-pieces
however, may be available on ebay.
--
A: Top-posters.
Q: What's the most annoying thing on usenet?

Baka

Was thinking of you when I took this shot - somehow in the midst of all that
weather, when I saw this sight I just thought, how uncool, and then did a
mental translation and thought of you .......
http://www.weatherheads.com/dogs.jpg

REgards
WC

"Baka Dasai" wrote in message
news:slrnbvo2e2.72j.idontreadthis@yahoobb220004112 021.bbtec.net...
On Wed, 7 Jan 2004 12:02:15 -0000, WeatherCam said (and I quote):
Was thinking of you when I took this shot - somehow in the midst of all
that
weather, when I saw this sight I just thought, how uncool, and then did
a
mental translation and thought of you .......
http://www.weatherheads.com/dogs.jpg

Let me guess - you asked that woman if you could take a photo of
her *dog*. Little did she know that not only would she be included
in the shot, and the shot be broadcast to the whole world on the
internet, but that it would also be given a subtle, but wonderfully
insulting filename.

But is the one dressed in blue actually wearing a one-piece? It's
hard to tell if there are separate pants there, or if that's just
another fold in her belly. Regardless, the grossness of the colour
indicates that it cannot possibly be one of the new generation of
one-pieces.

The one dressed in red, however, is very cool.

Nearly right, of course I kindly asked the Madame for a picture of her dog
and of course her to be in the shot as well - took three pictures and
thanked her most sincerely - and she was most pleased - it was only as I was
walking past her and whispered to my friends "If only she knew" that I
realised from the angry look on her husband's face that he might have
understood English a little better than I thought he did!!!

Regards
WC

Jason Watkins wrote:

Talking with someone this weekend, it also seems that board camber and
sidecut depth matter a little too... if the camber prevents even
pressure along the length of the board when flat, glide suffers.
Freestyle sidecut depths also seem to cause the tail to drag a bit
more (taper would help here). So it seems some boards are just plain
faster due to geometry.

I had a Nitro Natural a few years ago which was always very slow on the
flats. I put this down to 2 things:
1) The stiffness/camber meant there was weight on nose and tail but not
in the middle - i.e. uneven distribution (as Jason says)
2) The base of the board was slightly concave at the tail such that the
edges rather than the base were pushed into the snow. It had a big
sidecut too which made things worse.

IainD at ukme dot me dot uk