How racey or freeridey should my fin be?
It depends. There are different types of freeride fins. We call them Freeride or Freerace. The freerides are designed more towards a better manoeuvrability, while the Freerace are totally coming from the RACING design and shape and more speed oriented.
What determines this?
Rake angle, profile and outline.
The Freeride has a little more rake angle (towards the back) to allow easier manoeuvrability and handling. The profile is always on the racing/fast direction and the outline is not very extreme. The fin needs to be very easy to control for every type of customer. This is the biggest challenge! Design a fin that every sailor will appreciate.
A Freerace fin has a straighter rake angle, the profile is very racing oriented and the outline is also more extreme to allow to reach high speed.
The shape/outline is a very important part of the fin design. It determines the surface area of the fin and consequently together with the profile generates the necessary lift for the board to reach planning ability, speed and upwind performances.
