Rear end slippage.....stance?

[Adam Daniels]

Hey guys, lately i have had a little trouble with my rear slipping out when i push it too far. I am a fairly light rider i already tried de-wedging, softer rear, and an offset. I think that the slip is with my stance. I have my front foot right on the rear bolts of the front truck and my rear foot is a little forward of the rear truck. i only seem to slip on toeside turns. after a little riding i noticed that i seem to push more with my rear leg on toeside turns, is this normal?

any advice on a better stance is greatly appreciated!

..maybe i should try de-wedging my rear truck a little more because it only has one wedge on it right now, and maybe giving it a little more tightening on the kingpin may help.

thanks

[Donald Campbell]

you should think about what you are doing with your body right now.
something changed in your style-that's why you have problems.
most people who have that problem tend to shift more weight towards the front truck during racing-try to focus on an even body-position all the time.
on pushing the board on toeside turns-that's your strong spot at the moment and yes that's quite normal(for me f.e.)

[Jonathan Harms]

Adam, I used to have the same problem quite a bit. Once in a while I still do. I will mention a couple of possible causes and my best solutions (so far).
1) As Donald said, having too much weight on the front foot is the most likely cause. OK, fine, you probably knew that already, so the real question is, how do you change that? Read on...

2) For me, one thing that sometimes goes hand in hand with too much front weighting is being too "stood up" on the board. By standing too tall, you end up trying to use the wrong muscles to work your way around the cone. One of the best solutions (for me, again--I can only speak from my experience) is to simply bend my knees more, especially when going around a toeside offset. Bending your knees engages different muscles and lowers your center of gravity. Overall, your balance and your quickness improve. Set some toeside cones and try to notice the difference in how it feels between standing tall and getting low. It may feel awkward at first, but it will likely help. If you can, watch video of yourself vs. other, faster riders and try to notice differences in how you go around the same cone. One other thing that will help you is looking ahead and anticipating how you will get around those difficult cones, instead of reacting as you pass.

3) One other possible cause and cure: Your rear truck. Your signature says you're looking for a Chindy (offset, I assume). If you're riding a straight-axle rear truck, that may be reducing your traction as well. Others may disagree, but in my experience, even a Geezer-X 8mm axle RT-S has significantly less rear traction than any of the offset trucks I've tried. I feel like I'm slippin' and slidin' on the RT-S, but stickin' and grippin' with a Radikal or a Chindy.

Overall, though, it's likely more a matter of technique than anything else. Donald's advice is good: Think about how what your body is doing, and experiment with different ways to see what works better.

[Tod Oles]

Adam,

Look at the difference of stance and arm positions between your avatar and Jonathan's.
(both of you are in toeside turns) Jonathan is just Goophy,er... I mean goofy foot

Jonathan works his shoulders and arms under his chin. In doing so he is pushing the energy of his pump
more into the pavement.

You seem, (at least by this one picture of you in a toe side turn), to be more erect and turning about your spine...
(see how your right arm is getting behind you) thus the energy you put into the board is more of a twisting across the top of the deck at a more acute angle to the road.
I hope that's easier to comprehend than to write......

(a simile I've used to discribe the feeling to some newer slalom skaters is this, " You want your upper body positioned for more of a golf swing not a baseball swing...) Stand on your board and that'll make sense.....I hope

Jonathan is one of the most "efficient" racer I've seen... So simple, so FAST!!....You'd do well to copy him.

I've posted "MY" experience in another thread about how changing my stance so my feet
are pointed more forward, so as to get the shoulders more squared up to the cones, has been the ONE thing thats made me a better slalomer.

I feel like this stance equalizes toe side and heel side turns some what. Although some changes and adjustments
in my equipment were required to make the new stance work......It's all second nature now after hours of practice.

My morning pot of coffee is making me a little windy, so I'll quit now,

Later, Tod

[Adam Daniels]

tod, i don't think that pic does me justice.

that pic was at my first ever race (still my only race, but.....) at that course i was trying to slow myself down so i wasn't pumping at all. my arms are out for wind breaking so i could still make the tricky offset at the bottom of the course. i like to run clean instead of going a lot faster and hitting cones. so whenever i set up my own courses i really like to pump a lot and i use my shoulders a ton. i have been experimenting with different arm motions and i was indeed trying the getting lower technique. i really have to work on getting lower because it does feel odd.

and i am not using an rts right now. i have a split in front and a indy offset 101 in rear spaced to about 117 because of bite on the avalons

thanks guys

[Tod Oles]

Adam,

As usual, the anomilies of on-line communication rear their ugly head......Pictures speak a thousand words they say, I always seem to SEE in a different language...

Being that I don't know you from........dare I say, Adam I was just trying to offer up some
coaching that has worked with a couple of younger guys that have taken interest in slalom skating here just recently.

Like you, they've shown true enthusiasm and its great fun to watch them succeed at another facet of skateboarding along side their regular street skating regimen.

Sounds like you like to practice and experiment a lot......That quality alone will take you further than most.

[Adam Daniels]

thanks for the advise. i hope i do well today and they say today's course at VT is going to be a lot faster than the rest.

and i thank slalom for teaching me how to pump. from just the motion of going through ts i learned how to pump and that was awesome! longboarding is one thing i think will never die....

so in my spair time today in-between runs i will be sliding some pendy's, 360's, surrenders, and possibly some boneless down the hill


and tod: there is a downside to all my experimenting.....it makes me "America's #1 consumer" (thats what my dad calls me)

[Tod Oles]

.....it makes me "America's #1 consumer"

If it's skateboard gear your consuming, you know your forgiven at this site...

Good luck, Tod

[Adam Daniels]

it is indeed skate gear.....and lots of it.

a friend and i just got back form day 1 of the race and it was awesome! we both improved our times with each run....but you had to watch out for those wet spots! several people ate it pretty bad, you just had to stay alert and you would be fine.

i recommend ball mountain to all!

and btw-no slippage!