A lot of freestyle riders will want to detune their edges to prevent them from catching on rails and boxes. Most freestyle boards will come from the factory already detuned as part of their finishing process. But in case they aren’t there are a few tips to be aware of before taking a file to the edges.
A detune that almost every rider should do is rounding off or smoothing out the edges at the nose and tail. The area to detune will be all the way around the nose and tail to the widest point of the board and then a little over an inch in beyond that. This part of the snowboard’s edge is not used to carve or for grip so having it sharp can essentially cause more harm than good.
To go about detuning this edge use a regular file and run it around the edge at about a 45 degree angle. After that, run the file over the edge again at a shallower angle, and one more time after that at a deeper angle. Another way to detune this section of the egde is, with the base facing up, push the file down over the edge and do that all the way around. Basically what is trying to accomplished is to create a smooth surface. The goal is to take away that sharpness from the edge and make the edge rounded.
Once the edge has been rounded with the file it will most likely have burrs, or little nicks or imperfections. To smooth them out a diamond stone or a gummy stone can be used. With a smooth edge the board will ride faster in the snow and provide a more even ride.
The next way to detune edges is one that aggressive terrain park riders will use. The snowboarders that are going to be riding a lot of rails, boxes and other features are going to want rounded edges so they are not catching and causing them to fall and possibly get hurt. The area to detune for this purpose is in between the bindings. The process to detune this area is the same as the last, but it is for a much different reason.
Detuning this area will cause the rider to lose a significant amount of grip for carving and freeriding. Riding a detuned board like this in icy conditions will be difficult. If the rider is just learning boxes and rails it is best to take just a little bit of the edge of to start and slowly take off more as they progress.
If the board is going to be used strictly for rails and boxes it is fine to completely take off the edge the whole running length of the board. How the board is detuned is up the rider and what style of riding they anticipate they will be doing.
I was just wondering if I got my board tuned before the season started should i detune it before I hit up any rails? I’ve been out with my board a dozen times now and was gonna start getting back into the park this weekend. So should I detune?
Thanks for your time,
Mat
Hi Mat,
I prefer to detune the contact points and put a 1°/2° base bevel in between the feet.
I ride a K2 Carveair, 154 cm, Ride insano boots (9/10 stiffness) and Now 2017 Drive bindings (9/10 stiffness). All I really do is ride fast and carve hard, eurocarving if the conditions are right. That being said, would you recommend I detune my edges?
Thanks so much for your advice. 🙂
Nope. Keep your edges sharp. You could bevel your base edge 1° to make it less catchy.
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I just bought a board from the house a ride mtn pig. Do i need to get it de tuned or is it ready to ride??
Completely up to you, some people like to detune, some people dont. Fully just a personal prefrence