knotwindy wrote: ↑Sat Feb 10, 2018 10:09 pmSeems to me if you are constantly needed in to pull up on your front foot for trim control, one of your straps is to far forward which puts your center of gravity too far forward. Try riding the board strapless for a while and see where your feet end up to balance your weight 50/50. Or not......
Even with a single strap the front foot is at an angle. One thing the single strap does is allow you to get over the center line. Which is why on the tow in surfers where they angle the front strap, it is normally in the middle.Flyboy wrote: ↑Sat Feb 10, 2018 9:33 pmMy board is not wide (4'10" x 18") & my feet aren't small.
Essentially the straps DO work the same, but as the two videos show, the upper body wants to open up in the direction of board travel - having to place the foot at right angles to the centre-line of the board creates an awkward body position with the front leg twisted across the direction of travel & puts stress on the ankle. This is less of an issue when actually surfing on the wave, but in practice, not that much time is spent actually on the wave. I notice that tow-in surfers do not use an inline strap, but a strap on angle, presumably to allow better control of the board.
Also, although you would think that it would be necessary to keep weight on the front foot, my video shows that my big toe is constantly curling up, lifting against the strap, to trim the board - as in windsurfing. I know that when I am riding strapless I have to concentrate on a significantly different weighting & stance.
Yes, that's true - you can't get over the centre line in the same way. However, tow boards do tend to be very narrow. But with an angled strap on the centre line the foot is still not positioned at right angles to the centre line & presumably this is because it makes for a more balanced, comfortable riding position. Personally, I find being off the centre line on my board only makes a marginal difference because the back foot (for which I don't use a strap) is able to compensate for it. Whereas, not having to twist the front ankle makes for a much more comfortable feeling riding position for all the times when you are not actually bottom turning on a wave.
I think that the reason most board makers do not offer the option of two front straps is because the straps came out of familiarity with TT layout. Most people run a single front strap because ... most board makers do not offer the option of two front straps, so they have never had the opportunity to try it. When I got this board (which had been built with multiple inserts) 8 years ago, I immediately felt at home on it. It reminded me of windsurfing because I was able to "ride the fin" with more weight on the back foot, reducing the wetted surface etc. The design of the board - very small & flattish rockered is very different from most surfboards - somewhat like an old school (ca. 2003) directional, but more surfy. In windsurfing terms it is like an old wave-slalom design rather than a straight-out (slower) wave design.
Yes. That's the point - there's constant micro-adjustments to body position & the trim of the board. It's got nothing to do with the straps being too far forward (which honestly, makes no sense to me). When you're riding strapless you're obliged to keep more weight over the front foot at all times. With straps you can bounce over chop without having to bear down on your front foot. It's one of the reasons why a powered up windsurfer is always going to be faster in chop than a kitesurfer (especially a strapless kitesurfer). [/quote]
Exactly. I spent several months riding strapless last year, but discovered when I went back to the straps I was able to coax more performance out of the low end (& the high end) of the board. This is not to say that very skilled strapless riders aren't able to do amazing things strapless & if you have great, consistent, clean waves riding strapless offers an ideal experience.
Peter_Frank wrote: ↑Wed Feb 07, 2018 4:13 pmWould start a seperate thread, as the other thread was apparently about TT straps, which is very different to straps for waveboards/raceboards/hydrofoils/skimboards, or any other directional.
My personal favourite is the Dakine Supremo (or Primo), the classic windsurf strap, never collapses, easy to get in/out, lasts quite long, and you dont get blisters.
I know some who dont like this very strap, so apparently very personal.
I have also used the Dakine x-lace wave strap.
I dont like it...
You have to wiggle your feet into this one, meaning whenever you tack or jibe or take your rear foot in/out - you are wasting time and get annoyed.
Also, it can not be set very big, so can not be used with boots, or bigger feet.
How often do you have to trim your straps ?
Two or four times per year is my typical - going from summer to winter and back, and maybe twice again if you take a wintervacation to a warm spot like CapeTown or similar.
So it does not have to be easy, unless you have a rental board business
Some like the x-lace wave though.
Apart from the Dakine Primo, I also use the JP strap:
Works quite well, BUT, it is too hard at the ends, so I find they gnaw at the feet if you ride with feet twisted in the strap, so not perfect.
Occasionally I have used the North Yellow ones (they made the same in white too the year before or after):
Quite comfortable and relatively easy to get fast in/out, and soft.
But because they are wider, it is still slower than the Primos.
And as I recall, they can not be adjusted to boots either.
I have just ordered two sets of straps I havent used before, to find out how they work:
The Dakine Tyrant
And the Drake MKIV (can anyone tell what the difference is from MKIV to MKV ?)
Snip...
Peter
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