Ride Machete with Alphas my take

Possibly one of the more unique boards coming out for next season.  Here’s my take on how it rode with the new Alpha bindings.

Board: Ride Machete
Size: 155
Bindings: Ride Alphas
Stance: 22.5
Angles: 18 negative 15
Boots: K2 T1 DB
My Weight: 168
Resort: Keystone
Conditions: Sunny Bluebird
Mindset: Ride’s been pretty solid this season.

Preconceived Notions: I had a lot of people hyping this board up to me with how much they liked it. Talking with Paul the man behind it and knowing that he made something like 90 prototypes to get it dialed had me a little stoked to try it out.

Flex: Stiffer torsionally with a little more play in the tips.

Stability: The stiffer torsional flex made it a bit more stable when charging compared to the DH2.

Ollies/Pop: The pop wasn’t as good as the DH2. But they have 2 different carbon arrays.

Butterability: Rocker makes anything more butterable. The stiffer torsional flex makes it a bit harder to play around.

Cruising: Edge to edge transition is a lot easier due to the minimal rocker in it. It held up really well when laying into a hard carve.

Jibbing: The stiffer flex between the bindings didn’t make it ideal for doing board slides, but the rocker lets you get presstastic.

Rider in Mind: I think this is more for the guy that needs something a bit stiffer for landing bigger jumps.

Personal Thoughts: This wasn’t the board for me, the flex wasn’t what I would have liked. I’d say I’m more a DH2 kind of guy.

What They Say:

There are reverse camber snowboards, and then there are Ride
Snowboards with Rocker Technology that ride smoother and are more versatile in a greater
range of conditions. For ’09-’10, Ride introduces its own LowRize™ Rocker technology that
eliminates the hook, but maintains full ollie pop and landing lock.

Through extensive testing Ride developed a new Radial BlendZ sidecut that complements the
exclusive rocker profile to provide optimal hook-free goodness and allow you to lock in big
landings without the fear of “Rocker Washout”. LowRize™ Rocker has a flat profile through the
center of the board and then begins the rocker at the extended Blend Zone to lift the contact
points just out of the snow. Combined with proven 85A Slimewalls®, this rocker will outperform
whether in the park, on the groomers or floating the deep stuff. No hooks, no catches, no
gimmicks, just pure performance and a super smooth Ride.

Available on the new men’s Machete and women’s Compact boards, along with the refined DH2,
Crush and Canvas, Ride LowRize™ Rocker is the sugar on top of our laundry list of performance
features, like our Slimewalls® urethane sidewall technology, ultra lightweight Membrain® top
sheets and snap-addicted carbon Pop Rods® and Pop Stixs™.

Binding Compatibility: The Alpha’s actually matched up really well with the boards flex.

Binding Adjustability: Easy enough to set up. Lots of toolless options.

Straps: The heel strap is solid in that it has nothing to it but kevlar and the plastic. It molds over the instep of the boot better than any strap I’ve ever used. The slime cap is one of the best toe straps on the planet with how well it grips.

Highbacks: The highback is solid for hard charging or just playing around on jibs. Sort of in the middle of the road.

Binding Flex: On the stiffer end of the Ride spectrum.

Ratchets: These were super fluid with no issues.

Rider in Mind: Guy that wants a light weight binding for all mountain riding.

Personal Thoughts: No complaints about the bindings I was really digging them.

What They Say: Unfortunately I don’t have the catalog.