5'9" 170 lbs....159 board too long?

There having an end of season clearance and they
have a Ride Timeless 159 for sale cheap. I'm 5'9",
170lbs...is this board a bit long for me? I currently have a board
that's 154. I mainly freeride, want to start doing some jumps soon.
I'm in the midwest so we don't get a lot of powder...but I do plan
to take a trip out west sometime.

Do you suggest I wait and get a 154-157 board, or would this 159 be ok
for me?

On Wed, 25 Feb 2004 21:29:18 GMT, "DC" wrote:

There having an end of season clearance and they
have a Ride Timeless 159 for sale cheap.

What's cheap? Why not consider a Donek Incline. Much better ride than
a Timeless in my opinion.

I'm 5'9", 170lbs...is this board a bit long for me?

Certainly not. I tested one that size about 3 years ago. I am 155 and
it was fine, though it liked to chatter when carving (which is why I'd
recommend a Donek).

Do you suggest I wait and get a 154-157 board, or would this 159 be ok
for me?

I think 159 in a Timeless would be fine. If you were to consider a
Donek, you should talk to Sean. 160 would be fine but 155 might suit
your style better. Of course his forthcoming Phoenix line might also
suit you better, but it'll be more expensive.

-- Robert

Do you suggest I wait and get a 154-157 board, or would this 159 be ok
for me?

You should be fine with a Timeless 159, assuming you're in reasonable
shape. I've never ridden the board personally but others have stated
it's medium stiff, so shouldn't be a problem. It all depends what you
want out of it - if you favor easy slow turns over stability maybe go
shorter.

Hi, thanks for the reply.
So you mean a longer board=stability?
Shorter board=easy slow turns?

I am in reasonable shape...but I don't understand why that's important for a
longer board...will I need
to work harder at it?

All in all, if you were me and had a choice between a 159 or shorter, what
would you choose?

"Mike T" wrote in message
...
Do you suggest I wait and get a 154-157 board, or would this 159 be ok
for me?

You should be fine with a Timeless 159, assuming you're in reasonable
shape. I've never ridden the board personally but others have stated
it's medium stiff, so shouldn't be a problem. It all depends what you
want out of it - if you favor easy slow turns over stability maybe go
shorter.

So you mean a longer board=stability?
Shorter board=easy slow turns?

Generally yes.

I am in reasonable shape...but I don't understand why that's important
for a
longer board...will I need
to work harder at it?

DC - I don't know you so please don't think my posting of this thought
has anything to do with you personally - I was talking to someone on the
chair about this yesterday:

The longer the board (within a given model) yes, it takes a little bit
more work to turn. Your body weight does some of that "work" but also
your muscle strength does some of it. I persobnally think muscle
strength is the bigger factor.

When using weight to decide which board to get, I actually don't like
using the rider's current weight. I would rather use something that
factors in conditioning as well.

For example: get a board that's right for

(2 * (ideal weight) + (current weight)) / 3

If you weigh 170 pounds and are in decent shape, a 159-ish board should
be fine for you.
If you weight 170 pounds and should weigh 140, you might find it a
little bit much to handle!
If you weight 170 pounds and have 4% body fat, you might enjoy something
longer.

All in all, if you were me and had a choice between a 159 or shorter,
what
would you choose?

Again assuming you're in decent shape a 159 should be fine.

FWIW, I weigh about 190, my ideal weight is about 170, and the shortest
freeride / fresstyle board you'll ever see me on is in the low 160's.
(Gotta lose the 20 "new dad" pounds. It's *really hard* not to gain
weight w/ less trips to the gym and the mountain, plus a wife who's
eating for herself and a voraciously nursing toddler!)

Mike T