How do surfboards perform in chop?

I've got a bad knee and landing jumps is aggravating the situation, so I'm thinking about going to a strapless surfboard? is this a good idea?

I'm changing to strapless with a sliding spreaderbar myself and have gone twice now but on very flat water. I will probably be going today is some messy Eastern Florida chop so I will let you know.

This is the thread that caused me to switch - http://www.kiteforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2375365



Interested in what more experienced strapless riders have to say on this.

i find the chop worse on my surfboard that on my TT. but i have a wave style TT thats very good at chop. I've gone off the surfboard because of the need to toeside more often which hammers my worn out knees. But i haven't tried a moving spreader bar yet.

still my experience is the surfboard hurt my knees more than the TT.

PS work on your jump technique for a floatier landing or get a kite that glides you more for a smoother landing.

Simply put it depends on the surfboard. If you get a gunny surfboard it will handle chop super well.
Getting a short surfboard will also take care of the chop, but be a little more nervous (which is great for slashing smaller waves).
However getting a wide surfboard will not be a good idea if you want to avoid chop. Strapless or not doesn't seem to be the deciding factor for me. Moving is. So standing statically in the same stance all the time is always bad for me...but I do not have any knee injuries to worry about.

Landing strapless jumps will in the beginning be way worse for your knees.

The tradeoff for gunny and small boards is the power you need to ride them.

Agree with a lot of what Taut says, but would add;

I have been riding strapless surfboards solely for 3.5 yrs now and a sliding spreader for 2, I find it loads better on my knees and often have to ride in chop. Sliding spreader and strapless allows my feet, knees, hips to align themselves naturally, I ride light-footed and use the kite to take my body weight as much as possible.

On the board side, am now on my 8th, he he he, much my wife's irritation, the lighter and more flexible the more responsive it is and the better it absorbs chop. The downside here is resilience, but I've decided I'd rather have responsiveness and good knees than board longevity. That said, I rode my resin 8 surfboard for 2 yrs and only had heel dents, I also find my FireWire kiteboard brilliant, as is my new BWS drifter. That said again, I think the new cabrinha and F ones are flexible too.

My advice is get an ordinary surfboard 2nd hand, a sliding spreader, learn to ride it and see how it feels.

Mike

Mike

plummet,

Are you talking about riding toeside in straps or strapless?

I have not ever used a sliding bar so i might consider that option also!

What are the main benefits?

As i ride in choppy wave conditions most of the times, i have glued a front pad for strapless...i stopped using wax as it does not absorb the chop - jumps so good in the conditions i am riding in!

I'm new to wave ridding, I didn't switch cause of my knees, but I assure you my knees are thanking me for it. lol

Anyways, I ride mainly in messy SE Florida choppy ocean, and I noticed that if you try to ride the Surfboard as if you were ridding your TT, meaning more weight on the back, tends to be a really, really rough ride, the nose of the board gets very bouncy, but the second you distribute your weight better, is a whole different ride.

The other thing I figured out, was that I had a tendency to keep my feet a bit on the edge of the board as opposed to centered on the board, That also helped, really center my feet on the board. I ride strapped; I'll try strapless one of these days. And I tried a couple of board and my absolute favorite was the North Wam, I have the 6'0". Although I didn't try a FireWire, I've heard they are brilliant boards.

Good luck.

I think you should consider what your knee problem is. riding in straps puts a lot of twisting stress on the knees. riding a strapless surfboard in chop ( like I do all the time) puts a lot of stress on your legs and feet, but not much twisting.

when I first changed to strapless surfboard I noticed my legs got tired faster. it was like a tough mountain bike ride. tho my knees felt less stressed out. I don't have knee problems and have been cycling for decades, at times extreme distances and tours. surfboard was more of a bike like workout. strapped TT is more like a snowboarding session.

you'll have to try it, but I suspect it will be easier in th long run and you'll build you overall leg strength, which helps stabilize your knees.

I neglected to mention (sorry) that even though I ride strapped, my straps are at its loosest, so I don't necessarily feel the twisting issues that most people talk about, since my foot get's PLENTY of play under the straps, and when I ride toeside, I can really get over the toe side and be aggressive, without what I think is sacrificing stance. But then again, I've never ridden it strapless, so I wouldn't really know the difference.