I’m a novice and shape for myself so please pardon my obvious ignorance. I’ve read and heard a lot stated about increasing the tail rocker in the last 12" to 16" of the board to create drag for slowing the board and keeping the nose up (often referred to as “kick”). The question: Are we talking only about actual bottom rocker in the tail or are we talking of putting the kick or upward sweep on the deck to act as an arc or cup affect to bring the nose up? Both? Can someone set me straight on tail rocker for noseriders. Maybe this should be a different thread, but also relating to nose riders, what are the gives and takes of blended vs. harder edged-lined or dish concaves under the nose (terminology?) Should the bottom of the concave be a smooth continuation of the curved rocker from the tail to the nose, or does the area of the concave itself have more of a flat or straight bottom that finally arcs out onto the main rocker profile at about 1/3 of the way behind the nose. Geometrically, it has to flatten out where the concave exits the nose tip? I could draw my question on paper with more sense than I may be making - guess I don’t have to remind you of my warned ignorance, but I sure would appreciate some education and clarification here. Thanks very much for any help and guidance you can give!
it think of it like an airplane…if you move the elevator up the nose of the plane goes up making the CG (center of gravity)more toward the nose…as fir concaves I think the just intrduce air into the bottom of the planeing surface…if you can trap the air under the nose it will hold the human up…if you give the air a release(VEE in the tall,double concave through the tail)it will make the nose lighter or heaver…Thats my guess on the question.but this may be an opnion…take it or leave it im also a novice shaper… ge the good waves and share them wit friends
Richard - I believe I read somewhere that the Con “Ugly” (epic noserider from back in the day) was actually shaped backwards to give that extra ‘kick’ (rocker) in the tail… Whether it’s actually true or not I’m not sure, but I believe I remember seeing it two different places. And I’ve ridden one (of the Bruce Grant shaped reproductions) and they noseride unreal… Ah - just found one of the references - scanned in from the pages of Longboard Magazine I believe - an article picturing the Ugly. Somebody was selling an Ugly on eBay (wish I could have bought it) and attached the article as one of the pictures. Sorry not sure the issue or anything, but here’s what it says:>>>excerpted from “In search of: The Ultimate Noserider” by Jim McClaren" p.30 Longboard Magazine (?) unsure of Vol/Iss #
Oops… here’s the rest… “Without a doubt, rocker is the most misunderstood aspect of a good noserider. Most people either don’t think about rocker at all, don’t think it makes much difference, or have the concept of what a good noserider rocker should look like exactly backwards. This is understandable. Good noserider rocker is so damn counterintuitive that it doesn’t look like it could work. The very best noseriders have a peculiar “bent” look about them, like maybe there was something wrong with the blank. This, more than any other feature, distinguishes a good noserider from a funkdog, and it’s the one that everybody gets rwong. Here’s the secret: tail kick! Have your shaper flop the blank around and shape it backwards. Yes, backwards. That’s the only way to get that absurd tail kick I’m talking about. It worked for Lance Carson. It’ll work for you. Noseriding is slicing throught the water. In a nutshell, noseriding sucks. Yep, sucks. That’s what’s actually happening when you’re noseriding in full trim, screaming down the line. The nose of the board is sucking down. And in order for all that to go on, you gotta have major tail rocker. People who don’t know about what makes good noseriders [a whole lot of folks] are invariably dumbstruck by the weird tail kick on a smokin’ tiprider. But that’s the key: flat in front, flipped up in the tail, with a gently, even curve through the middle. Got it? Flat nose. Kicked Tail.” Sorry about any typo’s - past my bedtime…