Definition of Freeride?

[JetManiac]

How would you define Freeride?

 

[j0hnny]

in my experience:

Freeride: Ride with the environment. Flow with whatever you come across and just ride and throw tricks or o whatever feels natural.

Freestyle: Usually a planned out run.

Just how i look at it with my experience over the years. So a freeride ski needs to be able to throw tricks but also needs to be comfortable to ride. More linear power band. Able to handle Anything you want to do with it an be all around good.

 

[MADMAT]

In my mind....freeride=surf riding in 4 to 15 footers and up.

Freestyle=flat water.

 

[ChadGnarly]

Coming from a snowboard background, freeride was just cruising and carving and freestyle was doing tricks.

 

[SuperJETT]

Everyone that lives near surf will say it's riding waves, everyone else will have a more generic definition.

I lived in Hawaii and rode surf pretty much exclusively for a few years and never called it freeriding, it was surf riding.

 

[DAG]

Freeride = that thing they do in Daytona every January

 

[WB1994]

When I grab my buddies gascan and pour it into my ski ..... freeride.

 

[Captain PegLeg]

When I grab my buddies gascan and pour it into my ski ..... freeride.

Literally laughed sitting at my desk. Everyone asked what was funny, no one else around me got it.

 

[Freakrider]

A Freeride is a collection of too much testosterone (and some estrogen) doing stupid tricks to show off for no one that cares, then you drink alcohol and talk foolish at night. Wake up repeat process.

 

[zimmy]

For the purpose of our sport, I think freeride is more surf oriented. Freestyle is more flatwater oriented.

Also, I would argue that we have an IFWA, which is a surf only event that ranks our top freeriders in the world. This should be the standard for how we determine the definition of "freeride" and in what setting it can occur (surf ;-) )

 

[zimmy]

That being said, I think freeride occurs in the surf only, where one is free to do as they please, cruise, slash, aerials, whatever. It is recreational or competitive depending on the setting, but I do no believe it occurs on a lake that is not able to generate its own surf or a river. The waves should be generated naturally.

 

[j0hnny]

if we are constituting what a free ride competition would consist of. i would love to see it done surf style. 15 minute heats, 2 riders go out. catch waves and you get a score per wave, riding slashing and aerials. best 3 waves determine score.

 

[OCD Solutions]

I always thought that Freeride and Freestyle were terms applied to competition events. Freestyle was a structured routine typically performed on flatwater and freeride was more of a do what you can with what the surf brings you.

What 99% of us do is recreational riding.

 

[zimmy]

if we are constituting what a free ride competition would consist of. i would love to see it done surf style. 15 minute heats, 2 riders go out. catch waves and you get a score per wave, riding slashing and aerials. best 3 waves determine score.

I think some of this is already incorporated into the IFWA rules with the 50/50 split on surf and aerial maneuvers. Effectively you are required to be an "all around" rider to have a good score. The surf riding events at some of the local freerides have gone over well as it is definitely a skill, but IMO, I think the more we can work towards having one main set of rules by which we can run freeride competition, the better.

 

[Vumad]

Any riding not defined by a rule, course, etc. Open riding with no objective but to have a good time.

Flatwater is freeriding if you just go throw down whatever you feel like at that moment, whereas, imrpoving a routine for a competition would be practice.

Carving up some flatwater would be free ride, but running a course would be practice.

Jumping from wave to wave anywhere i your riding spot would be freeride, whereas staying in a specific zone being judged to win is a competition.

riding to show off is showboating.

Freeriding is just about you and your ski.

 

[Ducky]

Freeriding is all I ever do. I push my ski off my dock, and go ride around with no plan. I chase boats, look for hot chicks on boats, probably fall off a couple times, take a little swim to pee, etc. It is freeriding to me, because I am FREE to do whatever I want!

 

[zimmy]

I don't think that having a competition aspect makes the riding no longer "free"riding. Removing the competition aspect may turn it into recreational riding, but freeriding is a "type" of riding under particular (surf) conditions.
There is freeride mountain biking, which is judged. I think its more of an expression session, I always feel like I am working out some of who I am when I am out there riding, somewhat like my style is an expression of who I am. Whenever I first hit the water, I spend the first few minutes just smashing waves, slashing, re-entries, carving hard to work out some frustration, then I settle into wave selection and working on aerials, catch some waves and surf them into the beach. I like to think of it like a race, get out the gates hard, then settle into a rhythm.

I think if the definition of freeriding is doing whatever wherever, then we must include our weekend couch riders cruising the lake riding 3 up as freeriders ;-) anyone opposed? Or does the ski type come into play too?

 

[Vumad]

I don't think that having a competition aspect makes the riding no longer "free"riding. Removing the competition aspect may turn it into recreational riding, but freeriding is a "type" of riding under particular (surf) conditions.
There is freeride mountain biking, which is judged. I think its more of an expression session, I always feel like I am working out some of who I am when I am out there riding, somewhat like my style is an expression of who I am. Whenever I first hit the water, I spend the first few minutes just smashing waves, slashing, re-entries, carving hard to work out some frustration, then I settle into wave selection and working on aerials, catch some waves and surf them into the beach. I like to think of it like a race, get out the gates hard, then settle into a rhythm.

I think if the definition of freeriding is doing whatever wherever, then we must include our weekend couch riders cruising the lake riding 3 up as freeriders ;-) anyone opposed? Or does the ski type come into play too?

I wouldnt consider, expanding on my previously statements, that going for cruise is free riding. Gps your ride, if it can be defined by a shape, its not really free.

I get where youre coming from with mountain biking downhill being a free ride competition. Just when i say im a feerider, im saying that i do my thing whereever, whenever. But you make a good arguement that i think we can all agree with. A freerider expresses their own style in their riding.

But if the only difference between freestyle and freeriding is the surf vs the flat, arent they arguably the same term? Cant you be a surf freestyler? The only deciding factor in the term is how the setup wake is generated? Thatd be like calling mountain biking freeriding and crosscountry riding freestyel. There has to be more to these two terms than the conditions, since the conditions are usually qualified in other sports (downhill freeride?)

(Note, i just started mountain biking last month, and downhill riding isn't a style in florida)

 

[speedysprocket]

I always associated freerides as "organized" surf events, and freeriding can be any surf riding. And then freestyle is the flatwater aerial stuff. Anything else is just jet skiing! Just kidding...
In the end, I don't care what it's called. One term verse another doesn't mean anything different to the average person you try to describe this to, and it doesn't change what I do when I'm on the water riding.

 

[waterfreak]

Anywhere I can ride and not pay anything=free ride