I want to know your feelings, comments and ideas regarding asymmetrical designs. About this I have 2 basic thoughts: 1.this should be the natural reflection of the different action and control all we have in left and right side, plus we must remember our brain manages the two sides of our body separately, with remarkable differences: rational acts are stored in the right part of our brain which controls the left part of our body, while emotional, uncommon aspects of us are ruled by the left of the brain (…ok, in us surfers the right side is a little rusty…), and in backside surfing everybody knows things are completely different than in frontside. 2.until no world cup guy runs asymmetrical boards, no one would buy one. Oh, I have a third conviction… if I say “now everybody shape an asym board for yourselves!” all of you in 30 seconds will be attacking the foam with some of the clearest idea of what you want in mind. so long
Hey Danny, see down below @ your “air bubbles” question.Herb.
I want to know your feelings, comments and ideas regarding asymmetrical > designs. About this I have 2 basic thoughts:>>> 1.this should be the natural reflection of the different action and > control all we have in left and right side, plus we must remember our > brain manages the two sides of our body separately, with remarkable > differences: rational acts are stored in the right part of our brain which > controls the left part of our body, while emotional, uncommon aspects of > us are ruled by the left of the brain (…ok, in us surfers the right side > is a little rusty…), and in backside surfing everybody knows things are > completely different than in frontside.>>> 2.until no world cup guy runs asymmetrical boards, no one would buy one.>>> Oh, I have a third conviction… if I say “now everybody shape an > asym board for yourselves!” all of you in 30 seconds will be > attacking the foam with some of the clearest idea of what you want in > mind.>>> so long I have often wondered if the most valuable insights into asymmetrical surfboard design wouldn`t be more likely to proceed from skilled shapers who are equally talented at riding switch foot. Are there such persons?
I want to know your feelings, comments and ideas regarding asymmetrical > designs. I believe that we can trace the asymetrical design theory to the sophmore days of Snowboard racing. Asyms began showing up around the early 90’s mainly in slalom and GS boards. It all has to do with the angle of the bindings that your feet are clamped into. On a race board the angles are severe…40 to 55 degrees (compare that to a regular old freestyle board that everyone outside Europe rides at about 5 Degrees for the back and 15 for the front. The idea being that on your frontside turn, the sidecut radius is closer to the nose (approx. 3") and conversely due to the high stance angles of the snowbard bindings, the backside turn would put the radius approximately 3" toward the tail. Offsetting the sidecuts should in theory, provide quicker "edge - to - edge turning. So on paper it makes sense to “shift” the sidecuts of the board to match the stance angles…thus the Asymetrical is born. Did this work? perhaps but not really. You’d be hard pressed to find a manufacturer out there that even makes an asymetrical board these days. I myself have ridden a few and can find no advantage in the asym design. So what does this have to do with surfing… well the theory behind asym boards for snowboarding at least from a thoeretical physics point of view seemed to make sense, because it is all about rail contact, but let’s look at the surfaces involved in snowboarding and surfing. A ski hill is hard packed and requires an enormous amount of gravity to be focused on the rail of the snow board to actually turn the board, and an asym should be able to give you quicker heel-toe rail pressure (now yes one can say that snowboarding in powder is like surfing but that’s not where you find an asym race booard). Conversely a wave is an entirely different beast. True, rail pressure is required but it is only part of what turns your board in the water. Also remeber that every wave is not a carbon copy, even at the same break. So take away the only “supposed” advantage of an asym, quicker rail pressure, and you have absolutely no reason to be riding anything with an asymetrical design. Should this stop you from trying? it stopped the snowbaording indusrty. But I suppose that the perfect asym surfboard might still be out there…and perhaps you might shape it and perhaps Slater might come out of retirement and capture that silly world surfing crown on it. But I doubt it.
I believe that we can trace the asymetrical design theory to the sophmore > days of Snowboard racing. Asyms began showing up around the early 90’s > mainly in slalom and GS boards. It all has to do with the angle of the > bindings that your feet are clamped into. On a race board the angles are > severe…40 to 55 degrees (compare that to a regular old freestyle board > that everyone outside Europe rides at about 5 Degrees for the back and 15 > for the front. The idea being that on your frontside turn, the sidecut > radius is closer to the nose (approx. 3") and conversely due to the > high stance angles of the snowbard bindings, the backside turn would put > the radius approximately 3" toward the tail. Offsetting the sidecuts > should in theory, provide quicker "edge - to - edge turning. So on > paper it makes sense to “shift” the sidecuts of the board to > match the stance angles…thus the Asymetrical is born.>>> Did this work? perhaps but not really. You’d be hard pressed to find a > manufacturer out there that even makes an asymetrical board these days. I > myself have ridden a few and can find no advantage in the asym design.>>> So what does this have to do with surfing… well the theory behind asym > boards for snowboarding at least from a thoeretical physics point of view > seemed to make sense, because it is all about rail contact, but let’s look > at the surfaces involved in snowboarding and surfing. A ski hill is hard > packed and requires an enormous amount of gravity to be focused on the > rail of the snow board to actually turn the board, and an asym should be > able to give you quicker heel-toe rail pressure (now yes one can say that > snowboarding in powder is like surfing but that’s not where you find an > asym race booard). Conversely a wave is an entirely different beast. True, > rail pressure is required but it is only part of what turns your board in > the water. Also remeber that every wave is not a carbon copy, even at the > same break. So take away the only “supposed” advantage of an > asym, quicker rail pressure, and you have absolutely no reason to be > riding anything with an asymetrical design.>>> Should this stop you from trying? it stopped the snowbaording indusrty. > But I suppose that the perfect asym surfboard might still be out > there…and perhaps you might shape it and perhaps Slater might come out > of retirement and capture that silly world surfing crown on it. But I > doubt it. I believe the name i am searching for is a longtime advocate and shaper of asym boards -Jim Ekstrom from down San Diego way.Perhaps we might get lucky and hear from someone who rides his boards or better yey from the man himself.Also, check out the Channel Islands asym noserider…I do have one slightly asym,roundtail board that does cut back better than it’s twin non-asym board.Power of suggestion perhaps?
Carl Ekstrom and Dino Miranda LaJolla surfboards. Tim Bowler at shapes and hulls in santa barbara made a 6’8’ flextail each side of the board was two different templates one a pintail the other a fuller roundtail.Tim and myself road that thing to death one of my alltime boards. When Tim moved to Alaska to fish I went to get the old board so I would have a copy . He sawed it into little bits ???. It also had a flex keel fin that was way ahead of its time.this was 1975.YES SIR MAY I HAVE ANOTHER!?pool guy kp.
Carl Ekstrom and Dino Miranda LaJolla surfboards. Tim Bowler at shapes and > hulls in santa barbara made a 6’8’ flextail each side of the board was two > different templates one a pintail the other a fuller roundtail.Tim and > myself road that thing to death one of my alltime boards. When Tim moved > to Alaska to fish I went to get the old board so I would have a copy . He > sawed it into little bits ???. It also had a flex keel fin that was way > ahead of its time.this was 1975.YES SIR MAY I HAVE ANOTHER!?pool guy kp. KP: I knew jim didn’t sound right when I was trying to dig up the name-Carl is exactly it.Thanks.I owe ya a tecate…
i shaped an asymetric in the board listings. shortboard with a swallow one side and squash the other. actually it was more just a thing of “since i can i might as well”, actually couldn’t tell a damn of difference, but ideally it really shouldn’t be something you feel. i think the idea with an asym would be too make the board feel more natural and invisible in a way…
Peter Drouyn experimented with a rather bizarre but functional (he insisted) double fin arrangement. Can’t even call it a “twin fin” as the fin templates were completely different as were the placement of the fins. One was an old school “skeg-like” fin and the other was a smaller more modern looking fin. The measurement from the stringer was different on each side and the toe-in, etc. was also different. I just remember a picture and brief interview in a magazine. Never tried one myself but the idea makes sense.
Funny, my first three boards were asymmetrical. My issue was that I wasn’t trying to do that… (I was stoked to ride them though!) M