I bought my first longboard 3 months ago, a 9'3 Paul King & I've only used my shortboard 3 times since I got it. A part of me is worried I'll never be able to go back & another part of me doesn't care. I've had a bad ankle since last May, dunno whats wrong with it but I was hurting it pretty often & was out of the water for a couple of months. Doesn't seem to happen on the longboard

But anyway loving the longboard, its so fun & has had me out in the water regularly this summer riding waves that would be unridable on a short board. I'm not very good on it yet, I can't nose ride, cross step or do sharp drop knee turns. Gotta question for yuz...I'm 78kg's, I should be able to nose ride a 9'3 shouldn't I? I end up nose diving when I try...is it coz I have to cross step gently up the board?

Missus took some video last week in between swims & fighting off attacking insects with sharp pitched screams...but yeah, if someone could explain how to nose ride that would be appreciated. Unfortunately didn't get any footage of the couple of recent fails on this video to demonstrate how its not done

Nice little clip.what fin or fins are you running?We like pic's in here

Confession is the best you will ever make as you said long and many rides its all about the fun.

At your weight you should be able to nose ride,it could be the wrong wave or fin set up,at a chunky weight I can't get my toes over the front but can get right up there.

I guess you will be spending more time in here than SB welcome there is no return

PS,I think you have a little MR in your style

lol cheers mate...yeah considering selling my shortboards for another longboard

I'll take some pics of the fin set-up

not too foul at all - got any underside pics Mick give us a gander of the nose concave .... oh and BBQ remember the BBQ

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MickPC said...

I bought my first longboard 3 months ago, & I've only used my shortboard 3 times since I got it. A part of me is worried I'll never be able to go back & another part of me doesn't care.

The ankle... I also had a slightly bad right ankle back in 2005 through 2008. Touch wood, the problem has gone...

For me the accidental solution was;
- better quality legrope, softer padding, like "Balin" brand leggies.
- wearing ankle high walking boots all day to work... I was lucky that I had a stint on site, so I could do this...
- bought some super comfy and super-light dress shoes, brand was "Ecco". Circa $200 for the shoes, but they are super durable, and worth every cent... Last way way longer than cheaper dress shoes...
- Plus stand-up paddling...
- Longboarding

That combo seems to have completely solved my ankle niggle... Plus I noticed I was twisting on my ankle getting up out of my old Sports Subaru Impreza... Also got a Forester at that time...

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Simondo said...
The ankle... I also had a slightly bad right ankle back in 2005 through 2008. Touch wood, the problem has gone...

For me the accidental solution was;
- better quality legrope, softer padding, like "Balin" brand leggies.
- wearing ankle high walking boots all day to work... I was lucky that I had a stint on site, so I could do this...
- bought some super comfy and super-light dress shoes, brand was "Ecco". Circa $200 for the shoes, but they are super durable, and worth every cent... Last way way longer than cheaper dress shoes...
- Plus stand-up paddling...
- Longboarding

That combo seems to have completely solved my ankle niggle... Plus I noticed I was twisting on my ankle getting up out of my old Sports Subaru Impreza... Also got a Forester at that time...

Forester looks like a nice car, I was thinking of trading my Hilux for one. Do you fit your board in the back or do you have roof racks? I've got a dual cab, so mines sticking about 4.5ft out the back at the moment lol Cops seem cool, only seem to see multinovas out on the roads these days anyway, but I have to reverse park everywhere, I'm worried about someone hitting my board.

I'm thinking of getting one of those thigh high leggies coz I've also had a miniscus tare on the same side as the ankle (right) & I have noticed a bit of pain in my ankle when the boards really tugging. But I've also had a couple of incidents when the board has pulled my leg to the bad side with my leg outstretched & almost popped my knee out which wasn't a concern with a short light board.

I was doing the same with shoes after reading some health websites. They also say to avoid going barefoot around the house which is very hard for me. But yeah seem to be doing ok lately too with the surfboard change which was what causing the ankle problem *touch wood*

Here's some pics of the board. The centre fin says Dolphin Fin 7.0, not sure on the sides, they look pretty standard size. The nose doesn't have any concave, there's just a slight bit of concave through the middle to the fins. Whacked some pics of the outline & the rocker in there...BBQ lol, we have one but we usually use the ones down the beach

I think its a nice modern design & I guess it would be easier to nose ride a longer maybe heavier board. Noseriding???..is it a matter of light cross stepping up onto the nose to noseride, fin setup or it just isn't as easy as some guys make it look ?

Oh yeah & somehow missed reading Mac's comment in regard to MR haha I'm guessing you mean my arms. I'm a tall lanky bugger too which probably has something to do with it

First thing is that you are turning with the front foot, like a modern short board rider. Lift it and step back and crank with the back foot on the tail, and get it over on the rail.

The second is move the centre fin back. It WILL turn.

Third is it looks like a performance mal and may not nose ride like a purpose built nose rider. I wouldn't know re the last, as I don't nose ride.

Otherwise, you are getting away really well, and they are nice waves.

Enjoy :)

I am new to LBs so is this correct?:

"The second is move the centre fin back. It WILL turn."

I also have a SUP and thought moving the fin forward made it turn or have I got this wrong?

The fin isnt going to make a huge difference - but !! to give yourself the best fin setup on that board that may assist in trimming and nose time you need a bigger and stiffer fin than the fcs glass flex you are using. That fin is too short - too flexy - and too far forward. You need a much stiffer fin around 8 inches - same dolphin shape as your current one is fine and you would ideally place it just back from centre in the fin box. That board has a lot of tail lift and as such when you move forward on the board you would have very little centre fin in the water to give you hold and stability whilst forward on the board- there also isnt much to the tail for the wave to hold onto which is very imporant in big nose time.
The board is quite performance oriented but with the bigger fin in the right place you should start working on trimming first - that is, getting about 80% of the way forward and surfing the board from there - you will know when you are in the right spot because the board suddenly feels light and will accelerate - and you still have sufficient control to top-to-bottom the board.
Give it a try - trimming is the best thing you can do on a mal' and is truly a lost art.

Stabilising the board by moving the fin back will allow serious cranking, rather than fighting to maintain stability. It takes a bit of fine tuning, but not too much.
I rarely move the fin more than once or twice.

I agree that a longer fin will benefit stability and drive. You won't look back :)

If you haven't ridden a single fin short board you will be surprised just how maneuverable it can be.

As a side note, Col Smith (Redhead) used to make and ride single fin channel bottoms with a 6 inch dolphin fin like that and used to bang it off the lip like mad. That was only when he wasn't being tubed of course. :)

P.S. Most nose riders have concave under the nose, which your board does not appear to have. Plus most of the nose riding I have seen has been on smaller crumbling waves, with the tail held in the foam.

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billboard said...
The fin isnt going to make a huge difference - but !! to give yourself the best fin setup on that board that may assist in trimming and nose time you need a bigger and stiffer fin than the fcs glass flex you are using. That fin is too short - too flexy - and too far forward. You need a much stiffer fin around 8 inches - same dolphin shape as your current one is fine and you would ideally place it just back from centre in the fin box. That board has a lot of tail lift and as such when you move forward on the board you would have very little centre fin in the water to give you hold and stability whilst forward on the board- there also isnt much to the tail for the wave to hold onto which is very imporant in big nose time.
The board is quite performance oriented but with the bigger fin in the right place you should start working on trimming first - that is, getting about 80% of the way forward and surfing the board from there - you will know when you are in the right spot because the board suddenly feels light and will accelerate - and you still have sufficient control to top-to-bottom the board.
Give it a try - trimming is the best thing you can do on a mal' and is truly a lost art.

Nail... Head.... Hit it...

Great post... Spot on..

yep for sure ^^^

Mick, all of the above is excellent, but quite apart from anything to do with technique, the equipment is very important and your board may just be an occasional nose rider that needs everything to be perfect before it will allow you on the tip.

As BB mentioned, the tail kick is good for a nose rider, but as BD mentioned, that nose has no conc, and probably too much kick for good nose riding. And his comment about having to stick the tail up under the curl is dead right.

The rails also look like they may be too low, 50/50 are best for specialist nose riders, but they're not a great deal of help elsewhere, 60/40 are more versatile and rideable and are usually the preferred option.

Weights not the biggest factor, I'm 110kg and I've been up there a couple of times on the right board, I just don't seem to be able to get back.

Search the net for a few design and technique tips.

Great vid, really enjoyed it, you're good considering you're such a recent convert, but it's easy to see that you're a short boarder. Your feet stayed planted and you use your arms a lot to move the board around and you did lots of lip smacking. You'll soon want to do other things that are more LB specific and crucial to that is the constant trimming that BB mentioned.

Forget X stepping, that will come to you soon enough and although it's one of the coolest looking things you can do on a LB, it's not really all that efficient, shuffling is quicker and easier.

I'm going to try moving the centre fin just back from middle, 1/2 way from middle to back & all the way back to see how it goes. I'll also ask local longboarding guys at my local if they have a spare non flexy 8 or larger fin they could sell. Thanks heaps for all the info guys, I really appreciate it...cheers

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MickPC said...
I'm going to try moving the centre fin just back from middle, 1/2 way from middle to back & all the way back to see how it goes. I'll also ask local longboarding guys at my local if they have a spare non flexy 8 or larger fin they could sell. Thanks heaps for all the info guys, I really appreciate it...cheers

have a look at wetfins (they're in ebay too) - got some good gear good price for WA

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thePup said...
have a look at wetfins (they're in ebay too) - got some good gear good price for WA

I'll have a look now mate, cheers

Hi Mick,
SP has posted a nice noseriding vid of Tyler Warren in the good morning thread. Well worth a look. You can see how the shape of the board is a factor, as is timing, as is a shipload of talent. (i have one outa 3 and it ain't the last one).

Yeah just watched it, cool vid...he's got a huge keel on the back. People have recommended an 8 inch to replace my 7...what would happen if I used a 9 or 10 inch? There's a 50% off sale on 8, 9 & 10's on ebay atm. $35 including postage

Fins depend on tail IMO, sharp rails, dolphin style fins, rolled rails more keel like, I run one like the clip in my mod t but would never use it in my sharp railed 9, they just don't suit, sharp rails are for driving and turning, keels are for slowing down causing drag an holding in while on the nose and usually holding in big arsed square tails.

Having said that if you want more hold or drive on your HP style go wider base or more tip area, going bigger in height is not necessary the solution. Even more upright in the same size will give you a tighter turning circle.

And another thing to try if it's a 2+1 is bigger side fins and move your middle back to close to a normal thruster spacing between the fins. ATM in decent waves I run 2 normal shorty fins in the side and a really upright 5.5" in the middle they are fairly spread out 2.

Fins are about what feels good. Hard and fast rules don't work imo there are just to many variables between boards and fins.

Just felt like putting it up, hasn't been out of the cover for months

Nice board

Ok sounds like its really a matter of trying out different combo's, moving the fins & having different fins to test out. Interesting thing happened today. I had a little left trying to close out on me & I just made this section on take off & I really felt the board ass slide out a bit before it straightened out again. Interesting coz the wave was only chest height & I havn't felt it before even though I've ridden larger & suckier waves.

ok my 2 bobs worth. my setup is completely different to everything on here

i have to big arsed side fins for drive and a very small shark fin for the centre.
this is my h/p board,massive rocker and huge tail lift yet the way steve del rosso from clearwater surfboard fame has given the tail extra lift, not just to give sharper turns,but also for the tail to get the wave to suck water over the tail for when you do get to the snotty end. it is as easy to get to the nose than my old flow yet i can almost turn the board from the nose. i love it this beast

Sounds pretty cool...have ya got a pic from the side showing the rocker?

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MickPC said...
Sounds pretty cool...have ya got a pic from the side showing the rocker?

i do...i just need to find them will post them up

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chrispychru said...

MickPC said...
Sounds pretty cool...have ya got a pic from the side showing the rocker?

i do...i just need to find them will post them up

Sweet

Hi MickPC
Welcome to the dark side!!
Some great comments. A nose ride, is used to slow you down in the faster sections of the wave. You are pushing water. Good nose riding boards are faster, due to the flatter rocker, hence getting up front to slow down. IMO your board is more high performance and is more suited to riding similar to a short board. In comps, all the pros use boards similar to yours and their nose rides are run forward, touch the nose and run back. A single fin, flatter board for small cruisy days, will give you the glide and it won't take you long to get 'up there'.
Cheers

Cheers mate

First I've heard noseriding is for slowing down a board, but makes sense. OK I guess until I have some spare cash for another longer flatter board for the tiny days I'll just try & get a bit of brief nose time. I got one foot up there after watching a video, just kinda sitting back over one foot up front, grabbing a rail & sticking the other foot out onto the nose. Would be an epic move in a barrel like what I saw on video, but was still fun out on the wall of the thigh height wave I was riding haha...thanks for the info

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MickPC said...
Cheers mate

First I've heard noseriding is for slowing down a board, but makes sense. OK I guess until I have some spare cash for another longer flatter board for the tiny days I'll just try & get a bit of brief nose time. I got one foot up there after watching a video, just kinda sitting back over one foot up front, grabbing a rail & sticking the other foot out onto the nose. Would be an epic move in a barrel like what I saw on video, but was still fun out on the wall of the thigh height wave I was riding haha...thanks for the info

There is nothing like being on the nose with only water in front of you. Do try the suggestions on a bigger fin and moving it right back. It will help.
The best surfer is the one having the most fun.