Test JP-Australia Super Ride LXT 113l 2022!

After the Freestyle Wave PRO 114l test, it was time for the JP-Australia Super Ride LXT 113l mentioned in the previous publication. This board was a huge unknown for me, because it is the only model from the JP freeride trio that I have never had under my feet. The Super Ride is the "middle" model in the JP-Australia range of freeride boards, between the calmer and beginner-friendly Magic Ride and the more sporty and performance-driven Super Sport. I sailed the board with NeilPryde sails in the following conditions:

  • Spot: Puck Bay, Chałupy 6
  • Atlas PRO 5.4 - 16 - 26 knots
  • Fusion HD 6.5 - 14 - 20 knots
Already at the shore you can see the differences in shape between the Freestyle Wave and Super Ride. The first thing that stands out is the shape and thickness of the stern, in Super Ride it is definitely wider and thicker. The bottom of the Super Ride inherited from the line of Slalom boards, so we have a very clear vee with a delicate double concave here, but there are no cut outs at the tail. The second thing is the rocker line, which in Super Ride is softer and flattens out just in front of the footstraps compared to the Freestyle Wave. The Super Ride is also wider, the whole deck is a bit thinner (except of course the stern), and its rails are definitely sharper along the entire length of the bottom. In Freestyle Wave, however, the sharp rails start only after the first footstrap. This has a significant impact on the handling of the board both on the tack and in the turn, but more on that in a moment. The Super Ride is equipped with a Foil-Tuttlebox, which allows you to mount the foil and increase the wind range even more, but I tested the board only on the fin. The one in the set with the Super Ride LXT 113l is a 38 cm G10 fin, which gives a lot of power and traction, which was encouraging me to press the edge 😉The fin box on the deck side has large cutouts for bolts washers (included) that make fins from other companies or foil sit much more securely in the board.
 
The first few tacks I had a very mixed feeling, on the one hand the Super Ride is easier to plan, accelerates better and is faster than the Freestyle Wave, and these features are due to the longer shape and clearer vee. On the other hand, on the first day I was really struggling with the step gybe, where it was very difficult for me to keep up the glide on the exit. As it turned out later, the problem did not lie in the board, but in my step gybe technique (the gybe in the glide, when we first move the legs and then flip the sail), which was slightly "rusty" over the years of sailing on freestyle boards. From the perspective of writing this text, I insisted that if this is a freeride / freerace board, I have to do step gybe, because it's more race-like. Already at the first attempt of the power gybe (first we flip the sail, and then we move the legs) the board easily drove off my gybe plaining. Nevertheless, after a quick analysis of my step gybe's, I found errors, after eliminating them, I drove them in full slide during the next session. Nevertheless, I should not write about my handicap here, but about the board itself. With this argument, I just wanted to emphasize that it is not always the equipment's fault, that something is not going well for us😉
On the tack Super Ride, as I mentioned before, it fires up quickly, and its longer shape in sizes 113, 124 and 139 will be appreciated by less experienced windsurfers, because the board plans passively really well. Of course, if our skills are more advanced, we don't have to think about it and as soon as we feel a bit of power, we can put a foot in the front footstrap, add a light pump and we fly! Despite its ease of planning, I think the Magic Ride will definitely be better for learning and controlling the first glides. In the glide, the Super Ride shows a real claw, where it accelerates very eagerly, and its cruising speed and top speed are higher than on the Freestyle Wave. The board, giving us a sense of self-confidence and traction, even asks you to put some more pressure on it.  Here is something that shows the difference between a Super Ride freeride / freerace board and a Freestyle Wave freemove / bump & jump board. The Super Ride, led flat, emerges strongly above the water and, flies on a bay chop, even flies over it. Personally, I would say Super Ride, however it sounds, is stiffer than the Freestyle Wave. Of course, it is more about the construction of the bottom (namely the concaves) rather than stiffness itself. It manifests in the fact that it is easier for us to maintain high speed, but at the cost of a bit of comfort, because hitting a larger wave with the bottom is more much more felt on our body. This is something I wrote about in the review of the Freestyle Wave, which: "Suuuper lightly flew through the bay chop giving a lot of control and not bouncing like a sports car on cobblestones." On Super Ride we feel more like on a slalom board, whose unskillful handling can cause a lot of problems in control and the aforementioned jumping feeling. Fortunately, this board is easier than a slalom board and it is very easy to push it harder. As soon as we press the Super Ride on the fin, chop is no longer terrible for us, and high speeds are wide open for us! As for the comfort on the tack itself, this is something I must mention, because it rarely happens that I spend more than 2 hours in a single session. In the case of Super Ride, sessions of 3.5-4 hours were not a problem! Many possibilities of footstrap positioning, as well as a slightly rounded deck make the position of the feet very comfortable and longer tacks are not a problem
 
The gybes, as I mentioned before, put me off a bit at first, but don't let it put you off this board, because it really likes to gybe! Sharply finished rails "bite" hard into the water, giving a lot of traction and confidence. The handling of the Super Ride in turns is intuitive, it easily adopts the desired turning radius of the rider, allowing it to lead the turn wider with less power, and with more power to make a tight and aggressive gybe. An additional wider and thicker tail combined with a clearly marked vee helps to maintain a slip and balance on the board. Even when we lose a lot of speed, the board maintains a semi-glide from which it is very easy to accelerate again. Compared to the Freestyle Wave, I had to put more pressure on the board with the rig to counter the chop, but in return I got a higher output speed and more traction.
To sum up, JP-Australia Super Ride is a freeride board with quite a lot of sporting spirit, giving the user easily achievable high speeds! To get the most out of the board, there is no need to overpower yourself with bigger sail, as in the case of Super Sport, and again the board is a bit more difficult to control than Magic Ride if there are shortages in technique. On the other hand, with regard to the Freestyle Wave, I missed a bit of a slack in Super Ride. It does not encourage jumping as much, but it gives a lot more confidence at high speeds, which is a bit lacking in the Freestyle Wave. Nevertheless, the board gave me a lot of fun, allowing me to polish the step gybe, which I hadn't even thought of doing on the Freestyle Wave. Looking at the fact that my basic board is JP Freestyle 93l, I would definitely see the Super Ride (admittedly 124l) as a larger board in my quiver. And I have to reveal myself here, because recently, having Super Ride and Freestyle Wave at hand, I chose the first one each time going out 🤭 Having that loads of acceleration just waiting for you just by going downwind before the gybe, and this immediate acceleration at the exit from the gybe gave me amazing fun and satisfaction. Every gybe exited with a glide maintained was motivating me to push myself even harder on next one and trying to make them faster and more tight! If you look for some high speed freeride orientated board Super Ride is really a one to consider imo! See you on the water!😊