riding a flex board, size?

[da Liks]

soooo, i'm used to riding a witness 136. pretty stiff board, and i love that thing, bought 3 of em since ive been riding. but, i want a flex board to do better presses in the cable park (where i ride the most)
i use the widest stance on my 136. if i were to buy a flex board around the same length, wouldnt that leave less flex for presses? i'm looking at a 2011 Slingshot Reflex 142 thats new and on sale.. which would leave me a bigger nose and tail to flex..
i rode a 142 Ronix One from a friend and it felt like a slow boat to me, thats my only concern.. o i cant test it btw. any thoughts?

[TheHebrewHammer]

The right size board for you will be the same with or without flex. However, if you ride a board that's too small for you and your bindings are pushed all the way out, this will indeed take away some of the room you have to press on.

How much do you weigh? I'm guessing 136 is too small for you and 142 is too big. You're probably right for the middle size (137-140 in most boards), just like me.

[da Liks]

i weigh 76kg. the size of the witness feels absolutely perfect.. just doesnt press and flex that well

[TheHebrewHammer]

If you're happy on a smaller board, that's cool, but 136 is small for you.

I used to love the agility of a smaller board. I rode 134 at 150 lbs (68kg) and it seemed fine. However, I had a talk with Oli Derome about it one day, and he insisted that I try a larger size. Oli's 5-foot-nothing and weighs less than me. He's a tiny guy! But he still rides 138.

I tried the next size up and the difference was amazing. Landings were so much easier to put down, especially on massive kicker hits. My knees didn't take nearly as much pounding. After a few laps, I didn't even notice the extra length of the board. And oh ya, pressing felt better as well. Now I ride 139. I suggest you do the same.

[da Liks]

yeah dude! for the new schtick i'm looking for a 138/9..
142 is def too much for me, it sucked.. i tried a harley 139 and kinda liked it but the board felt way too stiff and hard for me..

[TheHebrewHammer]

Ya, the Harley is an awesome boat board, but I wouldn't ride it in the park.

[da Liks]

so, i can get a hookup on a 2012 response, but those come in 137 and 142.. 137 i guess? any thoughts about the board? wanted to get the shredtown but it was gone. that was a 139, which seemed ideal. 142 seems way too big for me.

[TheHebrewHammer]

137 vs. 139 shouldn't be noticeably different. For all we know, the Response might have more surface area than the Shredtown.

The Response is one sick ride. It's one of the fastest, smoothest carving boards you can get. The grind base is fantastic and will hold up well. I'm not a fan of Slingshots for air tricks, but it will be awesome on rails and kickers, as well as behind the boat. Oh ya, and the graphics are gorgeous.

The one weakness might be the fast-track mounting system. It's a lot better than it was in 2011, but I was able to rip my boots out of it on a hard back edge. Prolly won't happen, but definitely possible.

137 or 142 would be ok for you. You could ride either.

[da Liks]

i got the 137 Response and tried it out tonight. DAMN what a sick board.. feels alive, slides soooo fast and the board pops and lands great. i'm almost completely used to riding the flat surface/finless in one session.
The board feels lighter on the water, sits higher and has no noticable drag.
i can see why you're not a fan for air tricks, you have to be more precise!


next thing on the list for on my Response: System bindingns with AJ boots.. any thoughts?

[TheHebrewHammer]

Sweet man I knew you'd be digging that board! Learning to control the board with no fins or channels will really help your edge control as well.

As for the bindings, I'm not a fan of the Systems. I just don't like the way they control the board. It doesn't feel as responsive as I was expecting. Definitely takes some getting used to. A lot of my buddies swear by it. It's a very individual thing. Demo before you buy if possible.

[da Liks]

yeah dude its a lot of fun transitioning between being on edge or using the slipperynes of the board. got some sweet backside lipslides to blind on the a-frame last night, you can actually use the slipperynes to your benefit.

demoing the Systems is not an option unfortunately. i'm getting a pretty sweet deal on em since its the end of season, and i have been eyeballing these all year. i think i' ll love the fact that i can walk back in shoes.. you probably know from other threads that i mostly do cable, and i am in a shitty as climate over here so its always muddy and gross and cold..

[da Liks]

shoot.. i wear a size 8.5 shoe, so i got the size 9's. just like my ronix bindings.

they're too small! they hurt, even after heatmolding. damnit sometimes mailorder sucks.