Bubble – “Over the last 6 months we have been trying out some new shapes for the Bubble Freestyle fin.  We are considering having two options depending on if you are really going for full power competitive freestyle more on flat water or just happy with sailing in all conditions but still being able to learn all the moves.  So far testing has been going really well and we hope to release some more info about it soon.  For now enjoy this short edit from Josh Wilmot at Blacklab with some cool shots of the current Bubble Fin.”

More from Blacklab films – facebook.com/blacklabfilms

Photo – Luke Bailie

The stats

• Price: £42.50
• US Box: 14, 16, 18, 20cm
• Powerbox: 16, 18, 20cm

A clone taking the K4 freestyle fin for a spin

About K4 Freestyle Fins

You might be wondering how relevant this is to you, particularly if you aren’t yet pulling off double spocks, shaka takas and whatever else. So before you click elsewhere, let me just say that if you own any type of freestyle board and that includes freestyle/waves, then you should read on.

For those of you who have never tried a proper freestyle fin in your board, you definitely should and here’s why…

Most Freestyle boards are supplied with standard fins that are really just too big for freestyle. They are suited to getting the board planing early, carving performance and straight-line performance. If you own a board with the word ‘freestyle’ in the name, my guess is that you at least have some hope of having a dabble at the odd freestyle move. And if you do, then you are going to benefit from a dedicated freestyle fin. The biggest factor you will notice is that when the board starts to slide, it does so with a lot more ease and without ‘biting’ to a stop. Whether you are trying out your very first Vulcans or competing on the PWA tour, this is one of the most useful assets you can have in a freestyle set-up and the reason you absolutely need to put a freestyle fin in your board if you are starting to attempt sliding manoeuvres.

There are a few drawbacks however and most noticeably it’s the straight-line performance. The fin is a lot shorter and ultimately it therefore has less lift giving the board a feeling of being ‘under finned’ in a straight line. This is where the K4 fin starts to have an advantage. With its extra twist, it seems to offer a bit more grip through the water and tolerance to spin out compared to standard carbon and glass alternatives. The other thing it offers is durability. Lets face it, freestylers are generally posers; and to be a poser means you have to do things in shallow water. Sliding backwards in shallow water is a disaster for fins; traditional laminated fins have a real tendency to split open when they take a knock to the tip, but the advantage of the K4 construction is that they don’t. Sure they are softer and wear down more easily, but they don’t split and are easily sharpened back up with some sandpaper. In fact, at this point, it’s worth setting a few things straight with regard to the construction of K4 fins. Whilst many refer to them as plastic fins, this is perhaps a little unfair, because the construction is somewhat more sophisticated than the term ‘plastic’ would infer. They are in fact manufactured from a plastic/ glass composite, which combines the cost and weight savings of plastic with the strength and durability of glass fibre.

The ‘Bubble’ K4 freestyle fin

Our test Clones used these fins and were really impressed with them. However, it’s kind of pointless us going into the merits of the top-end performance because it they are good enough to win the UK title and feature in the top 10 of the PWA in the hands of Andy ‘Bubble’ Chambers, then they clearly work pretty well! So we thought it would be more interesting to ask Andy, who helped develop these fins, to give us some more info about what top riders are looking for from a freestyle fin:

So Andy, what attributes are you looking for in a freestyle fin?

Durability, weight, grip and speed.

What has changed over the past five years with regard to what you need in a fin?

Well, before we needed fins that got planing early, but also were short enough to be able to slide and rotate easily. Usually this meant having a super wide and thick fin, which meant it was really slow.  Now with the new boards and sails, which plane much faster, we can have much faster thinner less draggy fins.  Nowadays we need as much speed as possible for the air moves.

The K4 freestyle fin in action

Why is the flex important in a freestyle fin?  

A bit of flex is good as it keeps control when in choppy or overpowered sailing. Too much flex and the fins can become sticky and grippy, too stiff and you have no control.

Is the weight difference noticeable?

Obviously the lighter the fin the lighter the tail of the board feels when sailing and doing moves.  You notice it massively when sailing a Quad wave board for instance. The tail feels really heavy with the four fins, so by putting in lighter fins you will make it feel lighter under foot.

What sizes fins do you use for what size of sails?

I have been using the 18cm for everything so far.  Mainly in my bigger board 100ltrs with all sizes of sail 3.8-5.7.  We are now trying out new shapes to see if we can get the 16cm to work better for heavy sailors, choppy water and bigger sails as it loses a bit too much grip at the moment.

How much input have you had into these fins?  

As much as possible really! Thorpy knows exactly what he is doing with regards to the scientific bits.  I test and give him feedback and we talk about adjusting the shape or foil thickness in different areas to cope with different conditions, riders etc.  We give the fins out to a few other key secret (non sponsored) riders to get honest opinions on them as well.

If you are trying to learn freestyle, no matter what level you are and don’t have a dedicated freestyle fin in your board, then you are definitely making things hard for yourself. What K4 offer here is top performing dedicated fin that is durable and also extremely economically priced. Now you know what to ask Santa for!

Check out more about the K4 fns on their website here. 

Skopu

• Go switch stance with loads of speed by bearing off slightly
• Head slightly upwind as you duck the sail
• Once on the new side push hard  with the back hand and get low
• Throw arms up above head and take off
• Once in the air sheet in hard and pull legs in and underneath you
• Land sliding and turn head to look over front shoulder
• You should spin round 540 on landing to be heading the other direction

Check out more from the JP freestyle team on the JP website http://jp-australia.com/2013/

Kono

• Bear off slightly to get loads of speed
• Head back upwind and bring the sail slightly back
• Pull the sail in to depower it like a small pump and shift it into the wind
• Pull the clew back and behind you and get low
• Start pushing on the sail to load the power up and head upwind
• Push hard on the back hand and lift arms up above head
• Turn head to to spot landing, pull hard on the back hand and tuck legs up
• Land a flip the sail.

Toad:

• Bear off and duck the sail and sail along clew first
• Make sure you get loads of power in the sail and loads of board speed
• Carve upwind and open the clew right out as you pop the board
• Slide the back hand up the boom
• As the board rotates over the sail try not to move the sail
• You want to land with the back arm pulled in otherwise you will land with too much power.

Surprisingly, however this move is not just for sub 50kg wonder kids.  It is a feasible trick to learn.  If you can control a back winded sail eg. in a helli tack on your short board, it’s time to Gecko.  It will take time to learn how to sink the board, but the rest is fairly straight forward.

WHAT YOU NEED

Equipment – A freestyle/freeride board, appx. 20 – 40 litres more than your weight (eg. I am 75kgs and I use a 100L board) with a fairly short nose.

Conditions – Fairly flat water.  Non planing winds, but enough to sail around on a short board eg. force 2 – 3.

THE MOVE

SWITCH STANCE

		Firstly you have to master sailing non – planing in the footstraps.  Use loads of mast foot pressure to ensure the board does not just sink at the back.  Bend your elbows in and down to apply it.
		Sailing ACROSS the wind, pull down very hard on the boom while rolling your heels into the water.  The windward rail should fully sink.
		Throw your sail and body (hips and all) towards the nose of the board, standing up very straight and bending the back leg up.  The nose should now sink.  N.B do not push with the back hand, the sail should be ‘sliced’ into the wind.
		All your weight must now be on the boom, esp. through the front hand, pulling up extremely hard with the back foot.
		You now need to release the pressure on the boom as the board turns through the wind where the board will rise out of the water (this stage done aggressively enough will make the board ‘pop’ out).  Also using your vision in the direction of spin will help the rest of the rotation.
Download Video of Gecko: Win [270K] Mac[243K]		As the clew goes through the wind, get your weight back over the board by once again pulling down on the boom.     Elbows in and down, especially the front one. The whole rail must be sunk to get the nose to go down! Get close to the mast to get the tail to lift. Then use your vision to turn the last section and put the clew through.

		SUMMARY There are many variations within this move, here’s the switch stance version (come on this is freestyle after all, you didn’t think it would stop there did you??)!! Download Video of Switch Stance Gecko: Win [274K] Mac [213K]