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Rocker is the bend you see in a wakeboard from tip to tail. There are two types of rockers: 3-stage and continuous.
Continuous rocker is a smooth curve that does not change from tip to tail, while three-stage rocker has two distinct bend points almost like a skateboard deck but not nearly as drastic. When you ride wakeboards with continuous rocker you lose a bit of your pop, but you get a faster ride because the water flows without disruption across the bottom of the wakeboard right out through the tail. Wakeboards with a continuous rocker also makes for a more consistent ride. Since a wakeboard with a three-stage rocker has two distinct bends, it pushes more water in front of the wakeboard. This makes you ride slower but you gain a lot more pop off the wake.
For beginners a wakeboard with a lot of rocker will feel loose, but it will teach them how to edge correctly rather than relying heavily on fins which pays off in the long run. In contrast, less rocker allows wakeboards to move faster, hook up better and become more aggressive. The wakeboard rider can be more aggressive with his turns and really edge hard through the wake instead of go
To sum it up, if your wake is really big but has a mellow transition, you can lean a little more toward less rocker. If you start digging (cutting) in and getting sprayed in the face by the wake, you’ll know you have too little rocker. If you’re the type of wakeboard rider who loves to turn fast, go big and land out in the flats but you ride a bigger, steeper wake, try to find wakeboards with medium rocker. The slower, smoother and more wake-to-wake your style is, the more rocker you need in your wakeboards.
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