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Topic starter 23/04/2024 3:57 am
I’m a stocky guy, 5’ 10”, 175-180lbs. I’ve noticed that many great carvers are less massive. Tons of guys in the 130-160 lbs range, and very few that I’m aware of that are above 200lbs. Now probably some of the reason for this is that bigger people often have bigger feet and for those people, it’s hard to get decent gear. But what are the effects of *just* increased mass as it relates to carving? Does a heavier person need a larger contact patch with the snow to keep the edge engaged against the trench wall? I know a heavier person will have an easier time bending the board but I wonder if there other impacts as well. I imagine it also matters how a rider’s mass is distributed. For example, I carry a lot of weight in my thighs. Are there any body position adjustments I need to make to compensate for that? Are there advantages to being less massive? If so, maybe I have my marching orders for the off season.
23/04/2024 9:43 am
Where are you from? I would not call that stocky. That’s probably a good BMI.
My adult weight has fluctuated from 135-200… often with too much on the belly, which is terrible on the lower back. When you’re essentially doing squats all day the legs get really tired as well. Effective edge REALLY matters for carving… probably even more than surface area does for powder float (you can shift your weight back to rise up).
This post was modified 10 months ago by Board Doctor
Big White, BC, Canada
Topic starter 23/04/2024 10:42 am
My BMI is OK but if I had sufficient motivation, I could lose 10 lbs. I wouldn’t do it for looks or health but I would do it for carving, if it would help at all. I just wonder if it’s coincidence that many great carvers are built like lithe rock climbers, and I wonder if that sort of build affords any advantages.
I am also curious about how body shape (aka weight distribution) is related to carving technique. Do I need to do things differently or more exaggerated if I carry an unusually high percentage of my mass around my thighs and hips?
01/05/2024 4:46 am
A key part of much of the softboot carving you'll see is stances mostly across the board ( angles less than 45 deg even if posi/posi) but the pelvis and upper body rotated so that the rider is facing the nose of the board.
That kind of rotation isn't easy if you're carrying extra weight in your mid section. The stance requires significant core flexibility and strength.
Take action accordingly in the off season.
08/12/2024 1:25 am
I have no definitive proof of this, but I would say all other things being equal, a taller rider with the same mass as a shorter rider has the ability to alter the carve by extending their CoM away from the board during a turn more than the shorter rider. They would have more fore and aft leverage as well. In real life, factors like flexibility, reaction time, core strength and how high up on the torso the CoM is carried probably have a greater effect on riding. I'm curious how my riding is going to be this season- I lost 15 pounds after starting a new job in June. That's slightly less than 10% of my mass.
21/12/2024 5:22 am
I started this season 22lbs heavier than I finished the last season. Usually it's all the little tendons that are sore at the beginning of the season, but this year I'm definitely feeling the bigger muscle groups too. Handling edge pressure at speed is a LOT of work... even if I'm only pulling 2G that's still an extra 44lbs that I've gotta squat.
Big White, BC, Canada
22/12/2024 12:49 pm
@board-doctor I know the feeling - I’m pushing 240lbs fully loaded on the board - all I can say is my trenches are way deeper than my buddies at 170lbs😎😎😎
22/12/2024 10:58 pm
@rocketman69 Wow that’s a really good point, and something I hadn’t actually put together. My boots are dragging and I’m booting out a LOT more this year. It makes total sense that my trenches are deeper. I was thinking it was just due to how I was riding.
I actually ordered a longer & fatter all-mountain to have something that’s more rideable when I’m not just out to carve. I’m usually on a 157 with my mondo 260 boots, but have a 160 K2 Instrument on the way. My dry weight is just over 180lbs in the morning now.
If we get any soft snow carving days, I’ll definitely have to get the C4 out. I’ve got 4-6mm of underhang on the rear, and 14-18mm underhang on the front. 😀
This post was modified 2 months ago by Board Doctor
Big White, BC, Canada
20/01/2025 2:19 am
Here’s a paper with the forces that are at play:
And freecarvers can start to experience some significant forces:
SCR=12m
Velocity = 30mph = 50km/h = 13.9 m/s
Centripetal acceleration
= v^2/r
=13.9^2/12
=16.1
Divide that by 9.8 and you get 1.64 G of acceleration. But as you finish that turn you've got your normal force of gravity as well. On a 20 deg slope, that’s 0.34 G.
In theory, that totals almost 2G!
For this sort of carving, you really need a board that’s stiff enough to carry your weight, as well as the additional centripetal force that you can generate.
According to the carve app, casual skiers generally carve around 0.5G, whereas Ted Ligery hits 3G. I bet @wild-cherry gets up around that.
Big White, BC, Canada
Felix reacted
20/01/2025 4:34 am
Interesting! Considering the much longer SCR on skis compared to snowboards I'm guessing you could actually pull more Gs on a snowboard than on skis. I rode a pair of 165cm slalom-ish skis last season with an 11 m SCR and I had to be very focused when I put those properly on edge or I would just not be able to withstand the forces on my outside leg. So considering you're putting much more equal amount of pressure on both feet while snowboarding compared to skiing that should also make it possible to generate more Gs on a snowboard.
Board Doctor reacted
