Backroll help + new board choice 225lbs

Hello,

My objective this year to be able to backroll will probably fail :-)
https://youtu.be/_dItSQEg1zE

Still I'd like to improve and do more tricks.
The board i'm using now is to small, LF witness grind 2012 140, and I think that is also the reason I do not get a lot of pop.
The boat I usually use is my fathers, no wakeboard boat at all :-).
https://youtu.be/RfWeGqGkr_U

my weight 225lbs
boat speed 22-23 mph
board that I was considering buying in size 146 or 145 :
Slingshot recoil
Ronix one
hyperlire marek or kruz bio
liquide force trip

The witness grind I us now is according to specs more a park board and I want a specific boat board.
I do like the hybride rocker on this board and dont know if I should change to 3stage or continuous.

I tried the one timebomb 144 briefly and noticed I had to put a lot less effort to cross the wake but suppose this can be due the the bigger size board.
suggestions and help is welkom.

Not a big wake but it's definitely possible.

You need to start with a way shorter cut and make up the difference with a harder cut, edging hard just before you release / pop. That should take you UP higher and help you complete the rotation easier.

you're holding the same gentle edge all the way in. Try setting the edge harder (edging away from the boat) in the last few feet of your approach. Keep the handle at your front hip so you don't spin to revert.

I suggest the Ronix One 146. Im 6'3" 200lbs and love this board and so do all of my friends that ride it. It holds a good edge, but yet loose when you want it to be.With your size you want a big board.

A bigger wake would help a lot.

You should also look at the Slingshot Nomad. It's made for the big guys. I'm pretty much the same weight as you are and the Nomad is going to be my next board.

http://www.wakeworld.com/forum/showthread.php?t=803299

You're wake will always hold you back a bit but it just means you will have to work harder on your rotation to get around. Have your dad trim the motor up as soon as the boat is planing so the wake gets a ramp opposed to rolling over. Currently the trim is all the way down. Too high and the wake will flatten out again and the boat will start to porpoising.

You are real close. Personally, I don't think you need a bigger board but it's all personal preference. A bigger board isn't going to magically make you land a back roll.

The wake is small, but you can do it. You need to keep your front hand on the handle and pick your head/shoulders up and direct them at the boat when you come around.

If you don't have a non-stretch rope, I would start there. If you can get a high pole, that will help tremendously. It's all technique. Keep working on it, you'll get it!

when i rode behind I/os and what not, bigger boards allowed me to ride slower, which most times equals a larger wake with those boats.

not sure if that will be true for you, but it may help.

what do people say?

The Witness is a boat-board. Only the grind-base makes it a cable- and boat board. There's also a Witness 144. If you like this shape ( I know I do, been riding it for years now. Stoked it's back for '16!) just get that one.

Buddy, you got this! Sure your wake is small, but I have completed a backroll to revert on a similar wake (jet boat). What got me past my barrier is fundamentals.

1) Line tension
2) Keeping line tension
3) Keeping line tension

I watched your video several times, your line tension is ****. Sorry, but it is, you cut out, then the very start of your tension is crap and ends even worse, if you were to upload just your approach to the wake, i would assume you dove into the opposite wake, and sure enough you did do just that... But it's not because of your wake, your speed, or even your lack of pylon height.. Your form...

Next time, and I preach this until you can't take me saying it anymore and you just ****ing do it, cut out, level out, let that slack be your advantage to starting the trick, when there is a bit of slack, pull that handle to your front hip, and hold that mother****er there, do not move it unless God pauses time and talks you out of it (which should take at least an hour of God conversation time to negotiate anything less).

If you watch your approach in that video, you are sprawled out and arms high, not only are you fighting your arm muscles, but you're fighting your shoulders and lower back muscles, and when you hit that wake, no matter the size, your back relieves tension first, then your arms, then your shoulders. You actually let tension off the line as you approached, you let your arms and shoulders out! Let me tell you about pop and physics, you ****ed it all up right there.

You cut out, maybe 5 ft shorter than what you did in the video, you let the slack be your friend, glue that rope to your front hip and you never let go jack (Titanic reference).

You got this is you decide to let physics help you... If not, enjoy the face plants!

Thx all for the reply!
Very helpfull
When I edge in hard at the top of the wake the feeling is very strange, like going in the opposite direction of the boat, once in the air a lot of tension is suddenly gone and makes it difficult control. Often I crash doing a half 180 because my left shoulder is pointing at the boat. I supose this has to do with bringing the handle closer to my front hip.
I can get some more pop once the boat goes faster , is this because the board is to small ? I have the feeling when I get on the wake I'm in it and not bouncing off.
A bigger board might be good to help me slow down and give some more pop.
There are a lot of 144 2015 board promotions at this time but not in 145/146.
Maybee the nomad 2016, that one is lot better looking then the 2015 in my opinion.
I might just wait till winter w'll see.

I vote for HL Kruz, Great board, has tons of pop and lands soft

It's hard as heck for me to see what's going on with your hands on the handle after you launch. But if you are going to switch then you could try releasing your trailing hand. When I first learned backrolls I had to let go with one hand or I would go to switch.

A larger board might help. Or it might not.

The Witness is a great board. The Nomad is a fun board but I personally prefer a stiffer board for wakeboarding.

It actually looks like you're doing fine on your current board and that small wake. Your biggest gain will be from improving your technique, not switching boards.

Anytime I feel like my gear is holding me back, I watch this:

https://youtu.be/DupkCGXnhQU

Have fun out there!

As far as technique. Looks like you're going revert (180). To prevent that, focus on keeping the handle glued to your lead hip all the way through the trick. Could also try to let go with the back hand.

Search for e.g. "wakeboard backroll" on YouTube and get some instructional videos (the book, etc). Seek out a local coach to cut down on trial and error.

Also practice on a trampoline if you can. Progressive backroll in wakeboarding is different because it relies on line tension and edging, but for general air awareness and getting comfortable with going upside down, and spotting the landing, it's very helpful.

I would check out the LF Harley it comes in a 143 but it is very wide throughout the whole board. It will give you a more straight up pop at the wake and is also a little faster than the witness and which will make cutting hard into a smaller wake a lot easier.