Going vertical on newer designs

[nateconable]

Please give me some advice on whether the newer boards with fin placement moved forward are a good fit for me. I'm 195lbs and 6'3". I've grown up surfing Freeline boards, but haven't bought anything new since the mid-90's. My favorite board ever was an 80's Freeline 5'10" quad with a double concave. It was very snappy of the top, had good tail slide and reasonable drive.

Are the Aussie TRI models that John makes now a good fit for me? Should I stick with four fins? I watched some video of Simon Farrer ripping on this kind of a board. However, he was riding fast hollow large waves that didn't provide a lot of opportunity to crank off the bottom and hit the lip. I like hollow waves, but also want a board that will work well at a right point break that isn't tubing.

Is there another modern shaper that would be a better fit? Please clue me in. My existing quiver is a delaminated 5' 10"Romanosky quad and a 5'11" thruster that will not work if the waves are under 6 foot. I need to update...

[skansand]

it seems some people have a hard time adjusting to fins-forward equipment when all they,ve rode is fins-back ....

not me... i couldnt get my freeline to work nearly as well as my shoelkopf quad or flashpoint tri....i believe fin-forward equipment is essential to big riders like myself....

[Jack Beresford]

Nate,

Not sure if you got a chance to watch any of the finals of the World Titles at Steamer Lane (there is video linked from this site somewhere). That would give you a good idea of what's possible on a modern kneeboard. As I recall several of the top riders (at least in the Open) were riding Flashpoints. Mainly Aussie tris. Perhaps Bruce Hart could comment on what type of board works well in your conditions?

I'm a four-finner more fond of snappy beachbreaks (and lefts).

Jack

[Beeline2.0]

..

[K-man]

Went from old style fins on the tail,to aussie tri's,no problem,much easier to surf,way more fun.Can't comment on quads,don't have one ....yet... :lol:I surf from the center of the board,more upright,and do a bit of swiveling,no arse wiggling though Going vertical will depend on the boards shape[generalized] Talk to the shapers,they're available,tell them what you want to do.Took me several boards before getiing it down to the magic ones.

Hope this helps..cheers

[john -]

one parkes quad and one flaspoint thruster as my rides




still feel the wave dictates vertical potential rather than the boards





the boards have their particular virtues and they are quite different





the parkes is a foward fin whilst the flashpoint less so

[surfhorn]

KBing riding styles have changed over the past few years from the soul era of tube riding to the competition oriented up and down style.

I've ridden Freelines for decades and the KBs were perfect for what we were chasing: big grinding barrels. I rarley ever looked for open faces -just wasn't a priority.

But as the pendulum was swung to KBing using competiton criteria - turnig up and down the wave face - I've changed my KB designs to be able to surf the face also. Luckily, I've ridden a thruster with the front fins pushed more forward than most Freeline KBs. Switching to a long quad to experiment with a forward four, then adding a fifth fin on my demo, I was able to dial in a board that would surf just about anything: 2 foot to well over 15 foot waves.

Now, due to the higher degree of competition within KBing and a demand for those style of boards, John has started experimenting with the longer shapes that we've seen at the Worlds this year. In fact, he is on a 2 week Fijian R&D trip as we speak. He has with him boards in the 6'0"+ range based on a board that Baden gave John; pulled in nose and John revisted a heavy concave bottom (we tried those back in the 70's/80's but KBs were a lot shorter then).

I was so stoked to see John start experimenting with differnt shapes again....like a kid in a candy store. Its really easy to rest on one's laurels and keep doing what has worked for decades. But rider demand has gone in another direction and John has followed. I can only wish that I can be so flexible when I'm 60 y/o!