Here's the current crop of Ride Fleetwoods. Is it me, or do these look an awful lot like last years' Burton Deuces...?
The Ride Fleetwood. Always, always an instant classic.
I've always been a big Ride fan. Not always the best, not always the most technologically advanced, not always the prettiest... but always, a solid investment. And likewise, consistently solid performers.
This year, my investment was a pair of 2009 Fleetwoods; a 161, and a 165. These were intended to supplement, and eventually replace, my fleet of 5150 Strokes as my big-mountain guns. A very good buy, and one that I'm glad I made. Here's why:
The Fleetwood is a part of Ride's "Foundation" Collection. Meant to be the most "entry-level" (or "pricepoint") of the Ride collections, the Foundation is usually deceivingly advanced for it's "pricepoint" status. Indeed, the current Fleetwoods have many of the best features of the next-step-up "Mobility" collection, including Slimewalls sidewalls for the 09/10 season (for positive edge hold via vibration and chatter dampening), Thin Con construction (less swing weight), carbon laminates (not quite the Carbon Array 3, 5, or 7, but still, very stiff and poppy), and a Fusion 1500 base, which is more than adequate for most snowboarders' needs. About the only thing missing are the Carbon Arrays, Silencers, Pop Rods, Membrain topsheets, and the various new rockers coming out. All of which become highly specialized, for increasingly specific applications. But for the do-everything, all-mountain snowboarder, The Foundation Collection has everything you'll ever need, and nothing that you won't.
Last years' Fleetwoods. They look a lot more boss up close and in person, than they do in pixelated little images. Still: They're clearly pretty boss. The only real difference for '10 was the introduction of the 90a Slimewalls sidewalls, lifted from Ride's upper-end constructions.
The best judge of a snowboard, is how well it does what it's supposed to, and how it feels underfoot. Not always in that order. If I had to choose one, I'd definitely pick feel above all else. The Fleetwood is a great, all-mountain shredder. It's comfortable, it solidly handles whatever you can toss at it, and it rips. It's snowboarding perfection, but on a threadbare budget.
The biggest surprise was the overall stiffness, and the resulting power and drive that this board demands, and gives back in return. It's a lot like flooring a Lamborghini: It just takes the fuck off, and your job is basically to hang on, and harness that power as best as you can. It's not for the feint of heart, that much is for damned sure. With a good, slippery wax job and some thoughtful tuning, you can pretty much outrun anything on the mountain, on command. Lean back on a corner, and you feel like you're suddenly being shot out of a cannon. Straightening out your front leg and getting on either edge feels like you're going to slice that mountain neatly into two halves. It's basically a samurai sword of a snowboard. Feels boss as fuck underfoot. Good shit.
Of course, I'd certainly recommend picking one of these up posthaste. It's a great board at a bargain-basement price, especially if you find one on closeout somewhere. Good looking, great riding, hard-ass charging... I mean, seriously? What's there not to like...?!
