Braking

[Ted Hall]

Any good tips for practicing how to slow the F down? My technique involves taking my rear foot (my peddling foot, R foot) off the board bringing it down gently as I turn my front (L) foot forward so my feet are more or less parallel, and then apply pressure with the right foot on the ground, slowing my speed. My trouble comes with turning my left foot forward on the board at speed and losing stability as I reach to get my R foot down to brake. This is especially sketchy with looser trucks, and I've eaten poo this way more than once. Any tips would be greatly appreciated, as there are numerous runs, not to mention slalom courses, that require braking at the end once speed is high. Many thanks --- Ted

[Tod Oles]

Ted,

This was a big obstacle for me when I first started....

I do the following on faster hills where there is still some down grade left to negociate after the finish...
I make a few good and hard carves across the hill trying to absorb the speed with my legs and then I put the foot down to stop completely.
I don't turn my front foot though. I do crouch down a bit and support
my upper body by putting my left forearm on my left knee while I'm dragging the rear foot. ( I ride normal stance )
For me the key was to be "firmly relaxed" (a little oxymoron 4 ya) and control the attitude
of my body over the deck with the amount of pressure I apply on the tarmac...

I think foot braking is really the only solution on a slalom setup, (and I hate buying shoes MORE THAN ANYONE)!!

Just keep practicing on some slower hills till you get it committed to second nature status...

I'm lucky here in NW Illinois that I can find all kinds of hills where I can set courses that lead into an uphill runout....saving alot of shoes from incineration.

I suppose in ColoRADo if you ride the hill to the next uphill runout you'll need a bus ticket
to pick your cones up later that day...

Good luck, Tod

[Kevin Reimer]

Practice turning your foot and not losing any balance while doing it. That's what has worked for me best, I find that footbraking is quite simple after a few weeks of working on it. Mind you, I'm a DH racer too, so putting my foot down at high speed doesn't really phase me.

Also, when putting your foot down, make sure you put it down VERY lightly and use the heel first to get a feel for it, then really put some force into it and put the rest of your shoe down. Don't use the toe to slow down.

[Ted Hall]

Thanks for the input -- I'll definitely give your recommendations a try. Good braking skills are a must, and I appreciate your advice. Thanks -- Ted

[Chris Favero]

" My trouble comes with turning my left foot forward on the board at speed and losing stability as I reach to get my R foot down to brake. This is especially sketchy with looser trucks, and I've eaten poo this way more than once. Any tips would be greatly appreciated,"





turn your front foot first,conciously,then place your rear foot down.imho,doing both at the same time is dangerous.cf