I’ve been surfing for five or six years and have owned two longboards. The first was crap, and the one I’ve got now I mostly like. It’s a G&S Noserider (not the ‘Classic Noserider’). The one problem I have with it is that it seems to skid and bounce around when I turn it sharply from the tail. I also have a hard time stalling it, but I’m willing to blame that on my skill (or even my weight, 130 lbs).
The backend of the board does seem narrower than a lot of other boards I’ve seen. I think it’s also thinner at the tail than most… Unfortunately, I’m pretty ignorant about the subtleties of surfboard design.
At any rate. I’m wondering if anyone has suggestions for what to look for in a replacement? I’ve been on other boards that seem to turn quite smoother for me, but I’m not sure what to look for or avoid the next time around.
Oh… and another thing. I may be kidding myself, but the board seems to have a lot more flex in it than it used to. Does that happen? Do surfboards loose their ‘pop’?
Aloha! Consider the “forward trim” concept. Your board sounds like it might have some kind of rocker irregularity or distortion. Could be that the rails are too soft and/or fat for your size and weight. Fin choice is important also. Personally, I don’t like ‘cutaway’ type fins, or fins with too much flex. I think you lose control and drive if your fin is spazzing out. Aloha…RH
Howzit?!? Lots of the more ‘commercial’ type surfboards are made so that the customer will pick the board up and go “ooo, light!”. That might be cool at first, but if your board is from super-blue foam, spongey basswood stringer, and glassed light, it will for sure be flexy, and will get more so eventually. Aloha…RH
I’ve tried a couple of different fins and the one I’ve got in there seems to work the best. It’s 9.5", pretty standard profile… not a cutaway. It’s got very little flex in it, but there’s some. What does the “forward trim” concept mean? The rails are definitely pretty round through most of the board, until the tail. It seems to stay high on the wave, which I really like though… I’ve been attributing that to the soft rails… is that true?
I’ve probably made the board sound much worse than it is. It actually surfs great, I’d just like to find something that turns a bit different. What are some of the features that really affect the way the board turns? So many board (including mine, to some degree) have that kick up in the end of the tail. How does that affect the board when turning?
try going to the opposite end of the spectrum; borrow a modern high performance longboard from someone and ride it a while. Then compare rails, tailshape, rocker, etc with your noserider…
That’s a good idea. I don’t have too many buddies with longboards though. I guess a friend of mine has a stewart I can try… I’m surprised that with so many shapers in town no one seems to have loaner boards for rent or something. I imagine it’d help sell boards…
A Stewart, will definitely give you a great taste of the other end of the spectrum. that is provided it’s one of Stewart’s HP longboards…most of them are, but they do make a classic model and a noserider. If it’s one of them then the feeling will be similiar.
I have a Jefff kramer LSP model.
You can realy throw it around and turn the hell out of it.