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| Q&A: Slalom Pro Mike Maysey (2489 Posts)
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Downhill Chick
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On 1/16/2003
Mike Maysey
wrote in from
(66.236.nnn.nnn)
Pay me. Wow, then I really would be Pro.
Email me direct, in a couple weeks we can find a good spot to start in with the basics. We'll start with your shoes. We'll write 'TGIF' on them for you, so you know that 'toes go in first.' Once you have that mastered, we'll move onto bigger and better things.
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ummm uh....
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On 1/16/2003 Downhill Chick
wrote in from
(207.114.nnn.nnn)
I'd prefer not to go there. I had an incident occur near there and it brings back some bad memories. Besides... I want instruction from a PRO not some kids messing around. I could pay u...
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ummm uh....
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On 1/16/2003
Mike Maysey
wrote in from
(66.236.nnn.nnn)
Downhill Chick-
I'm a Pro because I race for the money...
There is usually a group at Golden Gate Park in SF on Sundays. Go there and you're bound to run into someone running cones. I plan to start skating there on a regular basis starting next month to start preping for the first FCR race of the 2003 Season. I'm sure I can bug the Comet guys to come out and skate also.
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Tracker RT/S/X
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On 1/16/2003
Mike Maysey
wrote in from
(66.236.nnn.nnn)
Hey George-
I would keep the wedges in and maybe try loosening the trucks slightly. I started wedging my rear trucks after Catalina last year on the advice of Gilmore. The courses were so fast that the back of my board was trying to overtake the front. John told me to detune the rear truck to help alleviate this oversteer. On my fullnose, I run an X and and S and have both wedged forward like yours. It works great like that for me. I just loosen the trucks slightly when I skate really tight stuff with it. I know Evans and Ransom ride X's front and rear on their boards. I prefer the X and the S working together on one board.
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ummm uh....
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On 1/16/2003 Downhill Chick
wrote in from
(207.114.nnn.nnn)
Mike,
You're a pro huh? Think you could teach me a few pointers, like in person? I've been getting into this but have few friends who ride. Girl skateboarders are scarce! I live in Norcal also, perhaps a meet :]
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Tracker RT/S/X
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On 1/16/2003
george g.
wrote in from
(159.87.nnn.nnn)
Hi Mike, glad to see the new forum. thanks for all you help in the past. I have a question about Trackers. I am running a RT X front and S rear on a Cross x stiff. I have wedged the rear, skinny end forward, detuning the rear steering. i have been thinking about removing the wedge. the S in itself is supposed to be more stable? this board is super stble at speed but hard to force through tighter 7 foot cones. maybe I will just keep it that way as a G/S board and run X/X's for T/S? thanks
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RE: Flex
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On 1/16/2003
Mike Maysey
wrote in from
(66.236.nnn.nnn)
Lee-
On your Roe, I would suggest adjusting the rear truck about 1/2 to a full turn looser. I've found as a kind of general rule that the more flexy the board, the tighter the trucks can be and the stiffer the board, the looser the trucks must be. I'm not totally sure why, other than the flexing of the board actually helps the board to maneuver around a cone whereas with a stiffer board you have to turn almost entirely with the trucks only a little with the flex.
Now, anyone else feel free to chime in on this one.
Yes, I've tried the Indiana boards. They are too bouncy for me. They have a tendency to sort of buck me around and I can't keep a good line down a course. Personally, I think there can be too much flex...yes. I think once the board flexes past flat, you're fighting the board rather than working with it.
I would venture to guess you felt faster on the flexy board because there is so much movement on it as opposed to your Roe. I would be curious to see you do a side by side test with each of those boards on a timed course and get to the bottom of which board is faster once and for all.
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RE: Flex
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On 1/16/2003
lee
wrote in from
(62.202.nnn.nnn)
Hey Mike,
I have a question on flex. I ride for Airflow, Swizterland and race with boards that have excellent flexability, as im quite light, i feel it allows me to increase my speed faster and easier than a stiffer board.
I also have a Roe racing board (made for my weight) which I have tried at one race but didnt feel as fast as my more flexable board and found myself sliding out at the back even with my foot right over the back truck.
Have you tried and raced with flexable (Swiss) boards?
What do you think the advantages or disadvantages are with the flex, can you have too much flex?
Although both boards are made for my weight the difference is huge.
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Everyone's Input Counts
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On 1/16/2003
Mike Maysey
wrote in from
(66.236.nnn.nnn)
This place may have my name on it, but it's not about me, it's about us....all of us.
Bring your ideas here, ask questions, we'll discuss and hopefully take away some value from the exchange.
Don't forget though, at the end of the day it's still skateboarding.
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Foot Placement
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On 1/16/2003
Mike Maysey
wrote in from
(63.11.nnn.nnn)
Hey John-
Thanks for your comment. You are right in that thinking, at least as far as I'm concerned. I do use the edges of my boards to push off of. Early on though, It definately helped me to concentrate on keeping my feet on the deck because they eventually found the 'proper' place where they feel right. I can't say this enough though...I do one thing with my feet, Paul does something different as does Charlie and Cross and Chicken.
My best advice for anyone looking for the proper foot placement is to try some different ways and see what feels right to you. I started with the surf stance then moved to a sort of modified surf stance which I consider a kind of surf/parallel stance HYBRID. Eww, there's that word we all hate!!
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Aerodynamics... can it really help?
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On 1/16/2003
Mike Maysey
wrote in from
(63.11.nnn.nnn)
Chuck-
Do us all a favor and wear a fig leaf. I don't want to see yourself and I bet no one else does either...got it?
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Foot Placement
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On 1/15/2003
John Ravitch
wrote in from
(64.163.nnn.nnn)
Mike - this new gig you got going here is quite informative - thanks for taking the time to do it. Learning some cool stuff.
I was reading the quote below about keeping one's toe/heel on top the deck and tried it on my Comet Gary Cross and it seems a tad impossible to say the least - I lose turning leverage. Isnt it more helpful to have heel/toe over the edge of the rail to grip the edge of the board as you turn for better leverage as you move around cones?
Ravitch
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Aerodynamics... can it really help?
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On 1/15/2003 Chuck " balls" McWeewen
wrote in from
(207.114.nnn.nnn)
Mr. Maysey,
I sometimes ride in the nude and subsequently notice that it seriously helps shave a couple seconds off my run time, but I'm always fearful of the "big crash". Adorning myself in aniamal flesh is not an option(go PETA!!). Any advice you might be willing to give that would help me to overcome this fear would be most appreciated.
thanks, Chuck
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World LB Champs
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On 1/15/2003
Mike Maysey
wrote in from
(66.236.nnn.nnn)
Brady-man I hope not. I wanted to win that race!!!
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stance
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On 1/15/2003
Mike Maysey
wrote in from
(66.236.nnn.nnn)
Stevie-
Certainly. Early on, when I first started slaloming...back in ancient history...about a year and a half ago I couldn't figure out where the heck to put my feet. I started with the surf stance since that was what I originally did from street skating and from surfing. As I got better at slalom, I realized that I needed to kick my heels up onto my board if for nothing else, than to keep from knocking cones over with my heels. I worked on it intensely for quite a while...getting my feet up on the board. I think it was Gilmore that first pointed it out to me, to get my toes and heels on the deck. For me, once I figured out how to do it with my heels and toes on the board, I was able to go way faster. I kept my shoulders perpendicular to the course and was able to slalom better. One more thing, when you get on your board...try putting your front toe just over the inner bolts on your front truck and try to put your heel on the inner truck bolts on your rear truck. If you force yourself to skate like that, you'll be on your way.
Something else...you mentioned "...I've tried a slightly more parallel stance I find myself doing toeside turns primarily with my rear foot and heel side turns with my front foot, resulting in much less power than I would normally put into a pumped turn," this is exactly what I do when I skate tight slalom and it works very well. It takes getting used to, but if you can skate like this you will go fast.
don't forget to email me direct if this doesn't help
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World Longboard Championship at San Diego 2004
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On 1/15/2003
Brady
wrote in from
(66.21.nnn.nnn)
According to the website, the next Worlds Longboard Championship is not until 2004 and @ San Diego. Also states the event will be held every 2 years. Does that mean the 2003 event is cancelled?
http://www.streetrecords.com/folly.htm
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stance
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On 1/15/2003
Stevie
wrote in from
(67.120.nnn.nnn)
Thanks Mike. I guess I was thinking that maybe there's some secret about paralleling that, once explained, would cause a little light to go on in me head (ting! oh, that's it!). I'm not going to totally give it up because I see benefits to having both feet completely on the board. I also (theoretically) see a benefit to a more straight-forward looking stance as far as keeping oriented on the centerline. Would you agree?
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wheelbase help
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On 1/15/2003
Mike Maysey
wrote in from
(66.236.nnn.nnn)
Jeff-
I'm not sure...but I bet if you sent that question to the email address below, they can tell you.
rock@streetrecords.com
And when you find out, let us all know here. I plan to do that race myself and would like to know what I should plan to ride.
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wheelbase help
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On 1/15/2003
jeff goad
wrote in from
(66.140.nnn.nnn)
What wheelbase (inner hole to inner hole) do i need to have on my 36 Pocket Pistol to be legal for the World Longboard Championship at Folly beach if im running Indy 126 up front and a Turner TTC 127 in back?
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Gearing
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On 1/15/2003
Mike Maysey
wrote in from
(66.236.nnn.nnn)
For sure the swinging only works once you get up to speed. What I need to do is figure out how someone like Simon can accelerate. With that knowledge, I could accelerate and keep my top end speed. Then no one could catch me!! hehehe
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high speed weighting and un weighting
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On 1/15/2003
Mike Maysey
wrote in from
(66.236.nnn.nnn)
I prefer EPO thank you.
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high speed weighting and un weighting
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On 1/15/2003 John Gilmour
wrote in from
(68.160.nnn.nnn)
So then- we can safely rule out amphetamines and put it more in the shoulders? It is interesting to note that there seems to be a point where the "gearing" for this type of arm swing seems to work for you. At lower than 2cps it seems to have limited effect. Over 3.5 cps it seems to work.
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Parallel Stance vs. Surfer Stance
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On 1/15/2003
Mike Maysey
wrote in from
(66.236.nnn.nnn)
Stevie-
Do what works best for you and you feel most comfortable with.
I will tell you this, I tend to change my stance based on the course I'm running. GS - surf style, TS - modified surf stance with heels and toes on the board, Slalom - whatever works. Also, I sometimes move my feet mid-run if I need to.
There isn't a right or wrong way to stand on a board.
Paul rides almost parallel in TS, while Chicken and Cross use the surf style. Both can be fast, look at the results from the FCR Series.
Bottom line = Do what comes natural.
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Parallel Stance vs. Surfer Stance
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On 1/15/2003
Stevie
wrote in from
(67.120.nnn.nnn)
I'm looking for some info on stances. I've read elsewhere that (I parphrase) "If you can do it surfer-stance then it ain't TS". I'm practicing on a 6' OC run. Maybe I'm delusional but I'm feeling pretty good in my surfer stance. When I've tried a slightly more parallel stance I find myself doing toeside turns primarily with my rear foot and heel side turns with my front foot, resulting in much less power than I would normally put into a pumped turn. With surfer stance I am using more of both feet on both turns and can really pound the hell out of the back end both ways. Maybe I'm trying to move my feet too near to each other in my attempts to parralel? I've tried having both feet in line with each other which evens out the load but kills balance and saps power worst of all. Tips please! Better yet, any San Pedro locals who want to take me under their wing?
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Chain Link Motion
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On 1/15/2003
Mike Maysey
wrote in from
(66.236.nnn.nnn)
Thanks Claude. That's exactly what I'm saying.
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