Riding Help - SXR

[Palmer]

when out in 4 to 5 ft waves, on landing I tend to "bob around" and by the time I recover enough the next wave is about to hit me (they tend to be only about 25ft apart where I ride). I ride left foot forward mainly (trying to learn switch for turns). What am I doing wrong??
Not hitting them fast enough ? Too much weight (alone) or not right possie?

Also, after an hour or so of riding (both flat water turns and in waves) I can really feel it in my lower back (mainly left side). Do I just need to"suck it up" and get used to it or are there any exercises or other stuff I should be trying?

 

[D-Roc]

shorten your handpole and crank it tight so it is stiff. this will get you forward on your ski for the waves and keep your arms from getting tired.

 

[Jetaddict]

By "bob around", I am assuming you mean you are tailstanding a lot after you land, and cannot get back up on plane fast enough for the next wave. Practice, grasshoppah, practice! Do you have footholds or straps? I noticed that before I got my straps on my SXR, the landings would always be very deep and upright. Once the straps were on, I learned to manipulate the rear of the ski so I could land more "shallow", and this would greatly assist in my recovery to get out to the next wave properly. My lower back bothers me too from a lot of jumping. Try riding surf stance (both feet back), and use the footholds to pull up on the ski once you're airborne. It takes a little finessing to find the optimum amount of lift to land in a proper position.
The foot forward style is well suited to slashing waves or riding buoys, but I don't personally like it for jumping or stabbing. I always ride surf stance unless I am doing one of the aforementioned.
Use your knees to absorb the landing, and keep your feet light in the tray after landing (this helps the boat plane out faster for the next set). Give it some throttle and "lift" out of the tailstand using your footholds/straps. If you don't have either of those, then that is your main problem. It's hard to control a stock SXR tray in the surf for sure.

 

[Jetaddict]

Oh...practice tailstands in flatwater and recovering out of them. This helps a lot too. Get into a good tailstand (where you are almost perpendicular to the water) and then learn to "bob" out of it, apply throttle, lift up your feet, and drop the nose of the ski down fast. Keep practicing.

 

[brett]

By "bob around", I am assuming you mean you are tailstanding a lot after you land, and cannot get back up on plane fast enough for the next wave. Practice, grasshoppah, practice! Do you have footholds or straps? I noticed that before I got my straps on my SXR, the landings would always be very deep and upright. Once the straps were on, I learned to manipulate the rear of the ski so I could land more "shallow", and this would greatly assist in my recovery to get out to the next wave properly. My lower back bothers me too from a lot of jumping. Try riding surf stance (both feet back), and use the footholds to pull up on the ski once you're airborne. It takes a little finessing to find the optimum amount of lift to land in a proper position.
The foot forward style is well suited to slashing waves or riding buoys, but I don't personally like it for jumping or stabbing. I always ride surf stance unless I am doing one of the aforementioned.
Use your knees to absorb the landing, and keep your feet light in the tray after landing (this helps the boat plane out faster for the next set). Give it some throttle and "lift" out of the tailstand using your footholds/straps. If you don't have either of those, then that is your main problem. It's hard to control a stock SXR tray in the surf for sure.

x2:headbang:. except the no surf stance while jumping. but practice is everything.

 

[Super Dee]

Also try experimenting with the spot on the wave you choose to hit. If you catch the wave right before it breaks, it will have the steepest take-off. This will often shoot you straight up in the air causing you to land in a tail stand. If you hit the wave a little earlier when its face isn't as steep, you will launch a little more level. Of course the steeper the wave face is, you are likely to get more air.

Catch the wave early in its "life" and it will have a shallow angled face. Hit it closer to breaking, the wave face will have a much steeper angle, shooting you vertical.

This was something I had to adjust with my old 550. If I hit waves just before they were going to break, I would land upside down some times if the waves were big enough.

 

[sflsurfrider]

or get a super jet. :wavey:

 

[stanton]

take your front foot out of the tray and kick it down into the water hard behind the ski while pushing forward on the handpole and gently rolling on the throttle.

 

[djkorn1]

Footholds will help A TON! More speed and hitting the wave before it crests will help too!

 

[Palmer]

Looks like I gotta learn to read the waves much better, Oh and a fair bit of practice!!

Ski's got lifters, but looks like I might have to invest in footholds sooner than I was going too (along with strap.

Thanks Guys

 

[Proformance1]

Get forward and put the bars at your hips on the recovery. The SXR is the easiest stock to recover from waves. Practice tail stands till you can ride out of them and you don't need to spend any money!

 

[Jetaddict]

Good point about the wave launch location. Hitting white water or where the wave begins to crash will definitely force your nose up and cause you to land too straight up and down. Ride into the wave and adjust your trajectory to hit the wave where it has a smooth face and is almost ready to peak. That's the spot that gives you a lot of control over your landing and won't launch you too nose-up. If you hit it too early, you will be to shallow in your launch, and you may come down flat or "pancake", and you will not be a happy camper. Your back won't thank you for that either.

 

[wydopen]

Footholds will help A TON! More speed and hitting the wave before it crests will help too!

standing at the back of the ski wont help with recovering faster from a jump..it will also send you nose high to begin with so it will be harder to recover anyways..you need to have your weight forward or do what five-o said and stick out a leg to help balance while you get hookup..

 

[wydopen]

and keep your arms from getting tired.

i dont buy the tight handlepole helping with a tired back and arms...for some reason my pole got stiff (think my brackets bent or something, bolts loose and its still stiff) and my back has been getting WAY more tired then when it was nice and springy..

 

[jakew4]

i dont buy the tight handlepole helping with a tired back and arms...for some reason my pole got stiff (think my brackets bent or something bolts loose and its still stiff) and my back has been getting WAY more tired then when it was nice and springy..

Agree

 

[Stonefree97]

you don't learn how to ride in a forum. you learn how to ride on your ski. i ride an all stock 07 SXR and it took me a few tanks of gas to realize how to pull out of a tailstand after a jump. you don't need a new handpole or a new anything...just practice! although i do want a wet pipe so i can launch out of the waves =p

 

[wydopen]

Try riding surf stance (both feet back), and use the footholds to pull up on the ski once you're airborne.

That is NOT surf stance fyi....

 

[surfjunkie]

i would try someones ski that has a shorter pole and/or tightened handpole before doing them to your ski.

i have ridden skis with both mods and hated it because of how much it hurt my back.

back pain and fatigue is usually what brings me back to the beach.

 

[Jetaddict]

That is NOT surf stance fyi....

oh....sorry.What is it called when both feet are back,then?

 

[stanton]

fruit-booting