Speed Control

[Brian Morris]

Since I started slalom, and talking to various people, Speed Control is a major factor in running a successful race. I understand various pumping techniques can greatly build speed, but how does one kill speed while still pumping? I know on my courses, speed really isn't an issue, I run my courses as fast as I can, which isn't that fast since its on flat ground, but on a big hill with technical sections control is key. When I longboard, I just stand up straight and throw my arms out and airbrake, or kick out my back wheels and slide a bit to control speed, or even throw a foot down and drag. Neither of these are options on a slalom board, or during a race. So where do I go from here??

Brian

[Adam Trahan]

Whoa! Slow down there?

Speed control?

Uhh, I have seen and heard of people tightening down their bearings to increase drag on their wheels to be able to make a course.

I promise, it's being done out there, even at FCR events...

My technique is to de-pump and or use your knees and crouch down and grrrr the traction for a cone or ready for a section. Knock the cone over if the time penalty is less than the slowing down and then getting back up to speed.

I'm sure someone can give a more precise answer in slowing down than I have here.



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Adam Trahan on 2003-01-15 14:12 ]</font>

[Guest]

speed control in a slalom course...many different ways

the easiest is take a cone way wide. This lenghtens your line and causes you to grind your wheels more in the carve (decreasing speed). This strategy works well for big FAST GS courses and even TS courses. At La Costa I was intimidated by the top of the GS course (first time EVER ridin ANYTHING like that). I was also learning the ramps that weekend. My first practice pull off of the ramp into the course I took the top 4 cones WAY wide, maybe 10-12' off of the line cutting HARD accross the fallline.

Another idea, especially for big scary GS courses is to run SUPER soft wheels. Some people pull their bearing spacers out or run shitty bearings, I for one never liked this having tried it in practice and found the board sluggish and with little traction. So I the same fast bearings but go WAY down in wheel duro. The 78a cambrias are my go to wheel for this. SUPER soft, SUPER grippy and SUPER slow. I ran 78a cambrias at la costa and 78a (86as in front) in back at avila. Sticks you too the ground and slows you down.

Lastly on a GS course. Run a wider truck. The wider truck forces you to take a wider line (being that the straightest line is the fastest line through a slalom course). At La Costa I rode tracker extracks with 78a cambrias....wide, low and SLOW. It rocked on the top part but was a dog on the bottom. Another advantage of the wider trucks is added stability making speed not seem so fast.

in a TS course all the above works, but to a lesser degree, especially the wide truck thing.

In TS you have to be comfortable with your pump. Know when to turn it on and when to lay off. When to attack and when sit up. Body position helps, get low and power through fast sections , stand up staighter and glide through tech sections wher eyou need to control speed.

The ability to brake your board is important to. The involves slipping the tail out slightly and controled. It is a hard technique to do and frankly I have one deck I can do it on (which happens to be my all around deck). It is a technique difficult to practice given you need speed to pull it off but it involves shifting your weight (or even feet/stance) noseward and letting off of the tail, much lieka normal slide but MUCH more subtle. Sliding your tail .5-1" most of the time will do the trick.

Air braking, baggy clothes are all things that help slow you down as well.

hope this helps, I am sure Gilmour will have more to say being that I learned this all from him.

[John Gilmour]

Chris nailed it. The only other thing you can do in a fast course is wear loose baggy clothes- likely some people could have posted times .8 seconds faster at La Costa 2002 if they had lost the flapping jacket or shirt. Mollica's aero strategy definitely was a smart one. Of course the clothing thing makes the whole course slower. But it cheaer than toasting bearings and more gear might make you feel more protected.

You can also deweight your entire board and send the thing into a controlled 4 wheel slide- best done just before a wide gate if you know you are carrying way too much speed- mind you- if you screw up you won't make it- see the Hamm slam video by Glen Darcey.

[Howard Gordon]

I believe that speed control is the single most important technique an aspiring racer can develop.

I watched a lot of skaters remove spacers from their bearings this past season for the more difficult FCR courses, and felt that this was wrong - the ability to dynamically slow the board is critical to avoid loss of control at high speed, whether racing or free skating, and tightened-down wheels do nothing to help develop that ability. Here are a few things I learned over the past year -

1. as Chris notes, soft wheels help a lot in maintaining reduced speed

2. a deck with soft flex (relative to the rider's weight) makes a big difference - basically, you can push into the deck as you're coming into a turn, which further reduces the turning radius, helping to turn you back up the hill against gravity, and thereby slowing down

3. a deck with stiffer flex is easier to slide, per Chris' suggestion, but that is a technique which requires more finesse

4. tighter rear trucks are more likely to slide

One additional observation - I was somewhat surprised to find that softer wheels on difficult courses often proved faster than harder wheels, basically because the harder wheels sliding through a course covered more ground and required more dramatic acceleration/deceleration. When I had the opportunity the measure this, I found that the time differences with a wheel change could be 5-10% overall, plus the softer wheels provided a much more secure feeling.

[Eric Groff]

To me there is nothing worse then having to race on a course where braking is involved, Its dangerous and stupid, its safer to run a fast course then to try and break or slow down to make it around an errant cone that should just be moved in. Most accidents,crashes and injuries happen on breaking/errant cone type courses. For example Catalina, Joe Woodman went into the gravel(Back Injury), Bobby Boyden(Broken Wrist), Vinnie Lopez(Broken Thumb), There was several other injured riders with injuries from Knees,Ankles,Bruises and abrasions do to errant cones that you had to try and break to get around.

Just my opinion, I like to go fast, my skateboard has no breaks.

Arab

[John Gilmour]

If a course is not set well, the accident level will rise. If you don't give a racer a place to brake- he might break.

So setting a fast straight section into a huge offset with little distance downhill between the cones invites disaster and blood.

In order to set a technical course with braking that is "safe" it is necessary that a skilled racer with braking techniques set the course.....or else the course might be demanding much more than a racer could deliver.

The racer should always have the option...not to go so fast and thus not need to brake. If someone wants to push the limits and ahve to brake so be it.

Currently I don't think we should have much braking in the competiton courses because the hills used for the most part have been lacking the needed combination of good pitch and surface.