Rails are more mental than anything else... The
most important key in doing them is
concentration, commitment, and confidence.
In a rail, you want to look for something that is
not too fat so that you can get on it. You also
want to look for something not too steep, so that
you wont go flying once you jump on it. You can
do the extremes, but they are much harder and
dangerous to learn on. In addition to that, if you
are using all big wheels, you may want to look
into an all tiny wheels, or anti-rocker setup. This
will give you room to grind, and your big wheels
won't get stuck on the rail.
You really need to emphasize the approach and
setup. Because once you are on the rail, if you
have done your approach and you have your
stance right, all you do is ride it out. You want to
go parallel to the rail so that your momentum is
going the same direction, then you want to jump
and
turn 90 degrees. That is the key. Just a 90 degree turn
from facing forwards to perfectly perpendicular to the
rail.
You also need a good stance. You want your feet
beyond shoulder width, and you will ride mostly your
inside edges. If your feet are to close, or you are
putting the weight on wrong, they will slip out from
under you, and you will go falling. And when you land,
take a lot of it in your knees, and keep your body
forward.. Always keep your body forward..
As usual, practice on small and low rails/curbs first.
Get the feeling for grinding, and then you will have very
little problem in the transition to inclined rails. There is
really not much else to say.. Just do it!
Special thanks to Arlo Eisenberg for helping to spell
this out!
View My Guestbook