Ask a Freebord Pro: Truck Tips

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Rider question:

Hey my name is Ben I recently got into freebording as a way to have my body remember the movement of being on a snowboard. I noticed that when ever I tried to carve I really have to put my weight down in order to get a response. My front truck is loose and my back are tight. I believe I would be in the lighter rider bracket. Barely 150lbs. So is this something with truck tension. Trying to ready my self for spread the shred. 

Pro answer: Corey Lucero

What up Ben, stoked to have you on Bord! So I can relate to being on the lighter side, as I am about 140lbs. Your carving issue could be truck tension related, but there are also a few other factors in play here. A lot of this will come down to personal preference in the end, but here are some tips to get you started. I like to have my front and rear trucks as close as possible to having the same tension. I also have my trucks on the tighter side in general. The tension really impacts how the carve feels. Looser trucks will give you a more playful, and wider carve line. Tighter trucks make it easier to go straight, and will influence carves to be narrower. I would recommend playing with the tension starting tight, and then slowly loosen them to see if it makes a difference. The bushings will also go through a break in period, so do a few runs in between adjusting the tension. Another thing you can adjust is the rocker. Move your center wheel closer to the deck and you to have less rocker. This will allow you to engage the edge wheels with a smaller body/ankle movement. You will have to lean less to get your Bord to start carving as opposed to having more rocker. Just make sure you still have at least one finger width of rocker on the edge wheels, or you really risk catching an edge. Only adjust one thing at a time, and try different combinations of tension/rocker. If that doesn’t seem to help, time to check out your stance. Make sure your feet are centered best as possible on the deck. You don’t want excessive toe or heel overhang. It’s common for riders to have their feet “ducked” in the bindings. Meaning your feet end up in a V shape. Keep both knees bent, but bend your back knee a bit more than the front so you are almost pushing the Bord out in front of you. I hope these tips help to get you carving. Freebording definitely has its own learning curve, so take your time and always wear your helmet.  You’ll be shredding all the hills in sight before you know it!!

Corey Lucero