New boards,old riders & sore knee's

Hi all
Just some thoughts on the heading. 2 years ago I bought a name brand 2010 85L freestyle wave for riding in port Phillip and Western port bay Victoria. It seemed like a good thing so I sold my 93L wave board to ride the 85l as my small board. Up until this time I had not really suffered from sore knee's
but I quickly started getting them. The board did seem to ride hard (lots of banging and clanging).
18months later I was getting fed up so 1 day I did a comparison with and old Tiga 1999 267 wave
board 93L 55w (nice board). It rode so much nicer than the 85L I hung the 85L up in the shed.
6 months later I no longer have a knee problem. I have spoken to other senior riders who were also complaining about there boards riding hard. 2 other name brand boards one a FSW and a wave board.
Why do modern boards ride hard?
Some people say its the carbon, but my 85L was the FWS model the carbon model sold along side it.
Some say you need some v in the bottom but it did have a small amount of v right through.

I have just bought a 2006 (I think) 90L Mistral syncro which is dead flat under the mast track area with v in the front and at the tail and a after a couple of rides at safety beach in a swinging westerly (read choppy as) it does not seem to ride hard & no sore knees so far.
I have written this blurb for 2 reasons.
The main one is if you are having trouble with your Knees
buy an old board of Seabreeze or ebay there cheap and you may be surprised how well they work.
The other reason is does anyone really know why modern boards ride hard in heavy chop?.
My current theory is they are to short. My Syncro is mid 240 long, my tiga is 267 long, my 106 tabou is over 240 long modern boards are under 240 long and I say that's the problem. Well maybe not, I have just remembered the excellent 93L wave board I sold was shorter than 240 (dam).
So does anyone know?????
See you out there.

I've had bits taken out of my knees so they're particularly sensitive to harsh rides. It's just the bottom design of the boards IMO.

I've found the Exocet boards to be quite smooth, they have the double density pads so I guess this helps as well.

Some of the Jp fsw's I've had have been harsh.

I have a few slalom boards, while they are carbon and stiff, you can dial them in so they ride above the chop rather than through it.

Agree with waiting4wind - it is not a new board thing or a carbon thing (well not completely.) .... it is bottom shape mostly


The older F2 will feel better due to the skin over the outside making it ride softer but that has lots of other drawbacks so I'd take the modern board any day as long as the shape is right.

Also it is not only the "bumps", it will be the stance and lateral pressure required due to fin size and wind strength. Try to ride a waveboard downwind when well powered and see what that does to your back leg after only 1km. Then sail it on a reach like designed and you can do that 100x longer.

^^^ and speaking of pads... why do they not ALL do the dual density thing Starboard did?
It costs nothing at all to have a scooped out section under the heels which is then filled with a medium density foam, then the pads are glued on.
Negates heel dents (or at least delays the onset of them a lot), and adds considerably to the ride quality.

Or like RRD FSW's in 2006-8 ish.
Double thickness pad so there is a big hump under your heel for jumping. But when you place the straps more outboard for freeriding, it is under the arch of your foot and really comfy. That one was genius for a dual-use board

I've found that, amongst the other things already mentioned, the things that allow you to sail more off the leeward rail help. ie. A wider board, a longer fin and a larger sail. Set your straps outboard. If the windward rail is on the limit of flying up out of the water, the ride out there is usually pretty smooth. (if a bit sketchy)

Not sure of the video of the futura, if the pixels at the back of the camera aren't loaded in one hit you can get apparent flexing that isn't really there?

I find if I hang right off the boom ( long harness lines) low to the water with straight legs across to the board it absorbs the bumps much better than standing upright over the board. Just got to pull your bum up for the big chop..I use big boards for my weight so would be bashed to bits if I didn't do that.
I remember 90's boards as being less bouncy especially in the gybes .I've had to relearn how to gybe since I got into modern boards - more mast foot pressure .I'm still not brilliant at it.

I like the double concave to "V" shape of Tabou boards. Makes them extremely comfy in chop.
I sold 2 carbon boards because they were hard on my knees. Otherwise, they were great.

Purchased a 98l manta recently and found that the problem I had previously with a harsh ride, had been addressed in the form of 8mm pads as opposed to the prior 4mm. Might not sound like much but I love the new board as it rides very smoothly and I don't feel each ripple on the water, which is great for these old legs.
Not really trying to bang on about the Tabou's, but I also have two speedsters with the thick (very thick) footpads and believe that these, along with the concaves in the hull really make for a smooth ride.
Maybe the boards are a bit heavier than their rivals, but for that trade-off I'm willing to pay the price of a little bit of speed. (you can pass me by but you won't wipe that s**t-eating grin off my dial).