ROPE????

WachoZacho · Criminal Joined: 18 Oct 2005 Posts: 64 City: Bridgewater

Hey what's a better rope length? Short or long? Thanks

kevthayer · Outlaw Joined: 12 Sep 2005 Posts: 231 City: Benicia

Depends on where the sweet spot in the wake is. I ride at about 50ft +5 for my handle. It is a lttle short but If I go any further back the wake is soft and really washed. I can fix that with speed but then I sacrifice wake size.

Pettieo · Criminal Joined: 13 Apr 2006 Posts: 61 City: Bellignham

Ya...as kevthayer said..it all depends on your wake, and if you adjust your speed then the wake can be fixed (most of the time) I ride from 55'-65' depending on how wide I want the wake to be for me to jump. But its all personal preference, If you are looking to buy a rope, buy a smaller one with extensions, or if it doesnt have any then you can always buy them...best of luck!
-Mark

howabouttheiris · Addict Joined: 16 Jun 2005 Posts: 677 City: Austin, TX

For newbies.... rope length is a tradeoff of 2 things.

Short Rope = short time from start of cut to wake (bad)
Short Rope = short distance from wake to wake (good)

Long Rope = long time from start of cut to wake (good)
Long Rope = long distance from wake to wake (bad)

You need to decide based on your riding ability...

If you can get on edge quickly then go as short as you need to get W2W.

If you take a longer time to get on edge, lengthen the rope until you are on edge.

Eventually riders get to long rope, but do not need to cut out far.

Don't overlook speed/wake in the "best length for you" decision. (as mentioned in other posts)

jmac2173 · Outlaw Joined: 11 Jul 2005 Posts: 145 City: h-town

Start out short. As you get better let the line out. What howabouttheiris, is right but one of the first things you should learn to do when wakeboarding is how to set a good edge. The less time(short rope length) you have to get a good edge, the better your technique will be for when you ride farther back. The other tradeoffs for riding short/long are : If you ride short its more of a straight up pop and less line tension in the air so its easier to pass the handle for spins and inverts. When you ride farther back you get more hangtime for grabs and more time to spin but there is greater tension in the line which makes a handle pass more difficult.