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Freeride vs freestyle kiteboard

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waitz
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Freeride vs freestyle kiteboard

Postby waitz » Wed Oct 23, 2013 10:40 pm

What are actually the main differences between a typical freeride board and a freestyle board?

E.g. Upwind? In waves? Playfulness? Comfort? Etc?

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dyyylan
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Re: Freeride vs freestyle kiteboard

Postby dyyylan » Thu Oct 24, 2013 1:33 am

A lot of boards blur the lines so there isn't much difference, but for me a true hardcore freestyle board is what you would see in the pkra. So, very little rocker, very stiff, wide outline... all things to go upwind as efficiently as possible and get a ton of pop, but can make it harsh to ride if there is any chop, and landings are a bit rough on your knees when you're not using the kite to float you down.

A freeride board can have some of those same characteristics but they are meant to just be easy and fun to ride. They usually have a bit more flex, a bit more tapered shape to cut through chop and make it more comfortable to ride and carve, and sometimes have a bit more rocker as well (but they are usually still pretty flat).

I would say that's a baseline, every brand has their own tweaks for their board range and have some crossover boards

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waitz
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Re: Freeride vs freestyle kiteboard

Postby waitz » Thu Oct 24, 2013 10:16 am

Thanks dyyylan. It makes sense what you write.

I currently have a Shinn Monk Forever (134x42). I guess it is a typical freeride board, but it feels to big for my weight (73kg), smooth, but a bit sluggish and dives easily, so I am looking into the new f-one Trax 2014 fiberglass (136x40) - either as a replacement or addition, dependent on how I like them.

I used to have an older Trax (IV - the white one). It was very agile, which I liked a lot, but hard in the landings, when hitting the waves where I live by the north sea coast. But I understand the new trax has more rocker than it used to, so I guess it is smoother. And I hear good things about it...

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Re: Freeride vs freestyle kiteboard

Postby wrogu » Thu Oct 24, 2013 11:18 am

Aaron hadlow freestyle board, quite the opposite :wink:

Quite narrow - 40 cm, quite long - 138, well it is indeed wide in the tips. However it has tons of rocker and is quite flexy (well its not super flexy between pads but has tons of flex in the tips). The funny thing is ... that it works.

Nowadays most pkra riders use boots, so baords are like ones dyylyan described.


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