Stance and Width Question

Posted: 26 December 2010 06:25 PM

Hey Everyone,

I’m riding 2011 Capita Extreme Stairmaster 148 with 2011 Rome 390 Boss Bindings

I’m 5’4 and weigh 140 lbs. 

I’m pretty much a park rat and I am working on getting my 360’s down pat before heading onto rails big time. 

With that said, what stance/width would you recommend?

I’m currently riding +15/-9 with a 20’’ width.  Before I head out today i’m going to try +15/-9 with a 22’’ width because everyone seems to recommend a wider stance for park riding.

Thanks

Posted: 26 December 2010 09:54 PM

Hey Chayo,

It’s difficult to recommend a stance, it’s about what feels right more than anything. In my experience a wider stance works better for freestyle, although you want to be able to bend your knees wiothout them bending in towards each other. I can’t ride rails for toffee but I find that my blance in board slides and popping side onto rails is less catchy the wider my stance is. I think adding a couple of inches to your standard stance is a good place to start as long as you don’t feel like you are doing star jumps. On the down side, it’s much easier to spin with a narrower stance, hence the kids you see doing backside 3s off hand rails are rocking super skinny stances.

Hope that helps,

Rich

(P.s. I wouldn’t worry too much about conforming with the masses, stance styles change every 5 seconds, go with what feels right)

Posted: 27 December 2010 12:21 PM

Ditto what Rich says.

Just 3 things to add…  most boards have a reference stance, you’ll find it will the mounting holes that are coloured differently if your board has it.  That is the stance the manufacture suggests for the board based on it’s specs, I usually start there and tweak as needed.

I find a rough middle knee cap to the floor following the middle of your calf can generate a good base stance again if one is missing on the board.

I dig on my freestyle board a +18/-15 angles to help get used to switch…  plus I have a touch of forward lean, but not too much so you aren’t pitched on boxes or rails.