There were 6 MLRs there, (I thought there was just gonna be the 3 for the stooge team) It’s my understanding some of them were offered to any local riders who wanted to race them. Thats how Dallas ended up on one.
I like the idea of board companies bringing extras for people. I hope that idea grows.
That’s correct. I was offered the opportunity to ride the MLR along with another rider here as guest team riders for SRB/Meepo.
Bushings sure
Bindings I don’t think so, that’s way too much of an advantage over “stock” and definitely falls as a mod in my book. Tires as well, if you want it to be a stock board, new wheels / tires is a huge investment compared to the price of a stock board (usually)
The only thing I’d change for stock is allowing riptide bushings, because its super basic and not that expensive. Lots of people do it. Griptape too because that’s not really a huge advantage either tbh.
For me it’s more about the board producing the same amount of power/speed as stock. Any change at all can be an advantage, so drawing the line at electronics and major component changes (truck swap for instance) is where I would choose it to be.
Bindings is instantly faster times by a significant amount imo, as significant as a truck change
Maybe that’s dramatic but if I had a binding on my N3 I think I could have seriously knocked off at least 1.5s
Bindings in my opinion definitely no, it’s an unfair advantage.
But also, imo any stock board that has bindings should have to go up to mod. It’s just too much of an advantage.
Bushings and griptape modification definitely needs to be allowed.
I think allowing different gearing is fair. Lets say you have a board that can do 40mph top speed and a board that’s geared for 25. I heard upper 30s were doable on the straight. Imo it should be allowed to change gearing in order to fit the track. No matter how good you are in the corners, if someone can just shoot past you in the straight because they have better top speed.
I think allowing wheel changes is fair game up to a certain point - there’s no fun in racing on thane against people on rubber.
However, I also see that allowing the stock class to change to expensive race wheels might be pushing it a bit.
I think my standing is that bushings and griptape should be allowed under any circumstance.
Gearing and wheel changes, you have to be able to fit that as well as the board into the class’s budget maybe that sounds fair?
Since some boards come with bindings stock and some dont, it feels necessary to me to allow it to even the playing field.
yes, either allow it for every board, or make bindings go into mod automatically
edit: i am more so in favor of making them go into mod automatically
Not allowing a board to run a binding that comes stock with the ability to feels like it goes against the idea of a stock class. If the benefit feels that unbalanced in terms of fairness then its better to allow all riders in the class to use one as well if they choose to. Less restrictions encourages more riders, more restrictions discourage riders.
I knew of newer riders that wanted to compete in stock class but decided not to because they have different tires and bushings. They could have tried to revert back to fully stock but decided not to as they didn’t want to participate in their first race on a now unfamiliar board (if reverted back). They felt discouraged at the idea they would have to race in mod because of these changes.
Hmmm alright, that seems like a fair point. I didn’t think that having to race in mod instead would be that discouraging though.
I completely agree about the tires / bushings. Those should be allowed to be modified in my opinion. The fact that aftermarket bushings wasn’t allowed would have definitely put me off personally if I wanted to race in stock.
I kinda feel like however that the more modifications you allow in stock, the less benefit the mod class has. In my opinion, the bindings might start to go a bit too far, but it’s definitely up for debate. It’s for sure a big advantage. Also as I see it, the people who run bindings generally tend to be on the more experienced side who could probably have fun in mod already.
Which exact board are you talking about that has stock bindings and fits the price limit?
the Z1? That doesn’t come with bindings stock.
Bindings and bushings were always allowed in mod and I think it should stay that way, I raced my N3 with bushings and wheel swap. That & the participation rules is why I was in mod in the first place
The linnpower tires instantly catapult many boards leagues above their stock counterparts in terms of grip
Additionally, wheel changes like going from stock thane to Madwheels are a huge advantage too, the same ownboard zeus max or whatever on stock thane vs mads with the same rider I would wager the mads would be quite a bit quicker.
I think some of this comes from the conflation of a stock class and a novice class. they aren’t quite the same thing. the rule to not allow mod/pro racers in stock also helped somewhat keep it novice. but novice would also benefit from having a mod class because… a lot of people mod their stuff right away.
Yeah - except at the same time, if a rider were to purposely choose to not participate in the other classes in order to race on a stock board, it somewhat defeats the purpose of that
Whether or not dina and dallas would have podiumed on “other” stock boards, I don’t know, but they’re both quite experienced at this point
MLR, evolve renegade, maybe something from trampa (havent looked in a while), Propel I think, ecomobl. Could be off on some and missing some others.
There is a blurred line of the classes being based on skill or based on equipment for sure. Naming the first two classes Stock and Mod and then the last Pro furthers the blurring.
Yah and the race organizers can’t be perfect on every dimension. depends on goals and constraints.
Absolutely. I really dont want to come across as overly critical, more from a constructive criticism point of view. I don’t view stock class as “novice” since rider qualifying times aren’t used to separate the classes.
All of this just shows how difficult it is to base it on equipment with the amount of variety we have. I think they did a really good job running it all
A stock class should not be geared to “novice”. A novice class should be ran as an exibition class and in this format.
Run what ya brung. No pay. If you win you move out if the novice class.
Make it easy access with no excuses.
Agreed.
That’s a great approach for an actual novice class in a series like this.
Obviously the best way to balance bindings is to have a Le Mans style start