Gnu Riders Choice Snowboard Review |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Compare Prices & Buyer Reviews
The Good Ride TakeThe Gnu Riders Choice C2 Pickle, C2 BTX and BTX Snoboard Review by The Good RideDays on this board- 14+
How it Rides Groomers- The Riders Choice is one of those boards that continuously evolves. Even though it's a twin it rides big and does a very good job making it down a groomed run if you take your time looking for jumps or if you like to bomb. It's better for a mixed assault but will do both very well. At the end of the day the Riders Choice did very well negotiating the ruts and weaving in and out of all the people. With hard pack the RC wasn't terrible and was actually fast and fun. On a few occasions you could feel the board want to turn side ways (get squirrely) if you flat base or one foot the board. This sensation is not going to stoke you out. Some get use to it and others stop flat basing unless absolutely necessary. If you give a little pressure to either edge then you eliminate that feeling. If you do stay on edge the Riders Choice will be fun and it's a pretty fast/damp board for a twin. Powder- A twin with a centered stance isn't ideal for powder but we have to say that the Riders Choice does a very good job for it's design. Even the 154.5 did well with bigger riders in 1' plus of powder. The 161.5 made it pretty easy to ride in most situations except the super deep stuff. If you like to take on the powder world regular and switch the Riders Choice is a very good choice. Turn Initiation- The 2012 -2010 Riders Choice is a very easy board to turn. The 2012 Riders Choice C2 Pickle shape is slightly easier to turn than the standard C2 BTX but it's still pretty close. It borders on super easy and even most entry level riders wouldn't have that much trouble on this board. Speed- The Riders Choice is pretty damp for a Twin and holds up rather well at high speeds. The 2011 Riders Choice is much better than the 2010 BTX and the 2012 Riders Choice line is better than all of them. Weight- Not too light but not heavy either. You get a reliable board that will last a long time and with that comes a little extra weight. Edge Hold- The MTX side cut with all year models might have the most aggressive grip in the snowboarding industry. For some it's almost too much but if you live in icy regions or ride in crappy conditions the Riders choice will grip even the blue ice if the edges are sharp. Some complain that the side cut is too grabby in softer conditions but others don't mind this so much. It's all personal preference so it's up to you to decide here. Flex- The Longitudinal Flex is very middle ground of medium but it will soften up over time like all boards do. It's pretty medium when it comes to the torsional flex. Still this is more aggressive than your average Twin and that is why it's fun everywhere. Carving- The Riders Choice with C2 BTX is so much better than the old BTX design and it no longer washes out. This is still a twin with a hybrid rocker shape which is not the best for carving but it's pretty good. You can lay into a carve in all good conditions and also some pretty crappy conditions. There is a little spring or pop out of the turns thanks to the little bit of camber in the board but it's not like a camber or mostly camber board. Switch- This is a true twin so it's super easy to ride switch. We didn't think the 2012 PTX could be easier riding switch than the C2 BTX is. If you are a really technically sound rider switch you might not like it but if you are like most of us who are weaker switch than regular you will. They are all different shades of excellent. Jumps- The Riders Choice is very lively and popy on jumps and we were pretty surprised by this. You can hit a big kicker or find enough ollie power to generate your own air. If you are lapping the roller coaster section of the park you will not be disappointed. It can handle small to massive and none of us had any issues with the Riders Choice here. Rails/Jibbing- Rails and boxes aren't terrible for this board even though its a little on the stiff side of the park world. If this is your staple you might want to look for something else but you can hit a mellow jib or two. It's not for those that like the long, big kinked out rails and jibs. One thing to note is the more you ride it the more it will soften up so over time it will become closer to good when it comes to rails. Pipe- The pipe was incredibly fun. It climbed the icy morning pipe wall without an issue and took just a little pressure on the edge to set your line up the wall. We weren't ripping through it but you could see that this board would be very forgiving on any sketchy landing if you went bigger. It's not going to save your life but it can help you with minor miscalculations. We'll leave going big for the kids who's balls are bigger than their brains. Most of us are a little older so now our brains are now bigger than our balls.
All of us were really impressed with the Riders Choice and felt it earned it's name for a reason. It can handle the playful to semi aggressive rider with ease. If you are an aggressive jump/pipe/all mountain freestlye rider you will have a lot of fun with this board. Also if you live in hard to icy areas you will absolutely love this board. How the Old BTX Gnu Riders Choice Rides
The old BTX Riders Choice was a lot of fun at the time but now it just seems ancient to the C2 BTX in terms of stability, speed carving and all around feel when riding in different places on the mountain.
The Good Ride Take on Hybrid Rocker SnowboardsThis is what we call a snowboard that has rocker in the center and then a camber bend at the tip and tail. The end result is the tip and tail are still off the ground but it helps bring some good qualities that people liked with camber to rocker. The camber usually keep’s the board from washing out when you lay into a harder carve and for the most part provide a more balanced all conditions ride compared to continuous rocker or camber. This is still nothing like camber board and it provides a loose forgiving catch free ride. Hybrid Rocker comes in all riding styles from Freestyle to Freeride and is a solid next step from where it started with continuous rocker. Hybrid Rocker is usually pretty poppy, floats well in powder, catch free and very forgiving. The one complaint is it can still be unstable flat basing or one footing in some conditions like hard pack or ice. The major companies are working on this problem and it’s been getting better since this was introduced. Most love this loose feeling and get use to the squirrely nature in certain conditions. We at The Good Ride feel this is one of the better shapes out there so give it a try.
Company InformationGnu Riders Choice C2 BTX 2012New Riders Choice Pickle Tech. Asymmetric sidecuts and construction to balance the different turning mechanics required for heelside and toe side turns. Your body is asymmetric your snowboard should be asymmetric. Rip harder and have more fun balanced through Asymmetry! The award winning Banana Technology Magne-Traction Riders Choice is ridden and designed by freestyle riders Zach Leach and Nate Farrell and crew. These guys test this board in all conditions all over the world every year and have chosen C2 BTX camber banana combo as their favorite geometry. The camber gives the board pop, end-to-end stability for big landings, critical lines and aggressive riders. The Banana between the MSRP: $519.95 USD Leather Sizes: 151.5, 154.5, 157.5, 161.5 THE ARTGraphic by Boston based designers Second World and Gnu art director Pinski. This graphic was made possible by the 70’s, 80’s and Miller High Life. More at Secondworlddesign.com. CONSTRUCTION
Gnu Riders Choice C2-BTX 2011Riders Choice C2-BTX Description: Rider Designed all Terrain Freestyle! The award winning Banana Technology Magne-Traction Riders Choice is ridden and designed by freestyle riders Zach Leach, Dennis Buongiorno and Nate Farrell. These guys test this board in all conditions all over the world every year and have chosen C2 BTX camber banana combo as their favorite geometry. The camber gives the board pop end to end stability for big landings, critical lines and aggressive riders. The Banana between the feet makes for great carving on hardpack and ice and easy float in powder and broken variable snow conditions. Focused on Park Freestyle, this medium firm flexing C2 BTX also rips the entire mountain. You can ride Banana Tech about 3cm shorter than your regular board even in pow because they float so well. Your jib board is your pow board, your pow board is your park board. Handmade by snowboarders at Mervin MFG in the USA. Get weird! Sizes: Green - 151.5, 154.5, 157.5, 161.5 Orange Wides -158, 162, 166 About the Art: Brian Schnelle lives and works in Los Angeles. His work explores themes of provoking political and social thought, as well as intricate hand drawn patterns. His work has been shown in galleries in Los Angeles and San Francisco. To see more masks and weirdness, check out: Bryanschnelle.net. Construction: Banana Magne-Traction Shred Tech. - Sandwich construction - True twin shape Quasi Glass / Double sintered UHMW sidewalls - Mervin AG1 Eco farmed wood core Sintered 9900 alloy base
Gnu Riders Choice BTX 2010The award winning Banana Tech Riders Choice is ridden and designed by freestyle riders Zach Leach, Dennis Buonjourno and Nate Ferrell. Focused on Park freestyle this medium firm flexing Banana tech board also rips the entire mountain. Your jib board is now your pow board.
SpecsGnu Riders Choice C2 BTX 2012
Gnu Riders Choice C2 BTX 2011
Gnu Riders Choice BTX 2010 Specs
Gnu Riders Choice BTX 2010 Wide Specs
PicturesGnu Riders Choice C2 BTX 2012 and Gnu Riders Choice C2 Pickle 2012      Gnu Riders Choice C2 BTX 2011 2010 Gnu Riders Choice BTX
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Gnu Riders Choice Snowboard Review
Snowboards - Snowboard Reviews
 |
5.0 (4) |
User reviews
Average user rating from: 4 user(s)
|
|
|
2010-2011 GNU Rider's Choice vs Dark Series and other bananas
|
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful
I love to snowboard, but I am no expert. I live in the midwest and only get to Colorado once a year. Super enthusiastic, moderate ability, decent athleticism (if that is a word). Ride groomers, moderate bumps, play in the trees, but do not venture into the park.Reference board was a 2009 LibTech TRS. Always had difficulty on flat cat-tracks and decided to demo. My buddy had the Rider's Choice and a 2010-2011 LibTech Dark Series (yes, I was jealous). Compared those with Skate Banana, Banana Magic, and an Altered Genetics (that board tried to kill me many times) back to back. In the end, for me, I could not sort out my TRS from the Skate Banana or Banana Magic, but the Rider's Choice was a fantastic fit for my ability. I have to say though, I would cheat on my Rider's Choice with the Dark Series if given the chance. For me Dark Series was fast, stable, and inspired confidence, but I am certain my moderate technique limited the full performance of the board. I skidded a lot of turns with the Dark Series but could turn the Rider's Choice better. I am not sure if that makes sense, but the Rider's Choice felt better all around, and I have had nothing but a good time since. Hope this helps. |
Was this review helpful to you?
Reviewed by Bill T Cat
January 28, 2012 |
Great Board!
|
0 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By way of background, I would classify myself as a beginner/intermediate. I hit the slopes about 10 times last year at Tahoe / Whistler. I enjoy riding down intermediate slopes and an occasional black. Just started to do beginner jumps, rails and boxes.After getting great advice from the goodride, I settled on the GNU Riders Choice C2BTX (as my first board). I love it. The rocker provides a very nice glide and magna-traction works to give hold and control. I can take this down the mountain and on jumps. I feel like this provides more control and hold than my friend's Banana. Very easy to pick up and use. Definitely recommend this board! |
Was this review helpful to you?
Reviewed by Chris C.
January 15, 2012 |
One Seriously Sick Board!
|
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
I live and board on the East Coast. That right there should tell you what conditions I ride in, icy, hard pack and mostly icy. Edge hold is second to none thanks to the Magne-traction. You can hit the rails, boxes and jibs in the am then come back after lunch and fly down the straights like an F-35 off the deck of the USS Ronald Reagan! The easiest board to switch on that I have ever ridden!So go grab one, you will not be disappointed:) |
Was this review helpful to you?
Reviewed by Stoked Old Man
January 09, 2012 |
I LOVE THIS BOARD!!!
|
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful
I bought a 2010/2011 Riders choice at the beginning of last season after riding a number of traditional cambered boards. I LOVE THIS BOARD!!! This board is a great choice for anyone looking to slay the whole mountain. The board is stiff and responsive at high speeds but the reverse camber or rocker design gives you flex and pop you want when freestyle riding, jibing, buttering, or taking a stroll through the park. Furthermore the rocker and magna-traction work very well together when it comes to edge hold and control, especially on the ice. I have literally never slipped on ice, and I've caught an edge just one time! My friends all ride tradition cambered boards and anyone who I've let step foot in this board instantly fell in love. I fact almost all of them said they were going to steal it or buy one. I highly recommend this board to anyone and everyone!!!
|
Was this review helpful to you?
Reviewed by Taylor Masotta
January 06, 2012 |