The fronstide 50-50 is considered one of the most basic tricks concerning grinds and slides. In this tip you're going to read how to do them on a standard flatbar rail. This is a trick, however, that can be done very easily on a good box, too. And for anyone who isn't aware already, a frontside 50-50 grind is the act of ollieing onto a rail and landing even on it with both trucks and grinding through.
What You Need to Know
The ollie is what you're going to be using to get up onto the rail. So of course, you're going to be able to need to pop a decently high ollie and be able to level it out consistently and comfortably.
What You May Find Useful:
Before tackling this trick, you're going to want to know how to ride off of ledges. Having this knowledge is important because it's pretty much the same when you're grinding off of a rail. This shouldn't take long to figure out, so if you don't already know how to do it I'd suggest finding a decent little ledge and riding off it keeping your board leveled out.
Doing The Trick
Positioning:
The foot setup for this trick isn't anything unusual. In fact, you're going to set up just like you would for an ollie.
The only thing you should consider altering concerning your foot placement would be your front foot. Some people find it helpful to put their front foot a little closer to the front bolts in order to better level the skateboard out.
Motion:
This trick starts in the approaching the rail you wish to grind. Since you're going to be doing this frontside, you'll be riding with the front of your body facing the rail. Also, you'll find it best to approach the rail with a slight angle. If you try to ride parallel with the rail you're not going to be able to get your trucks onto it. So, find the best slight angle to approach it to get over the rail. The angle you need will be based on your ollie and what you're comfortable with, so you might want to try a few different approaches to figure out what is best.
Once you've got the angle figured out, you will want to figure out how much speed is needed. This can be figured up by deciding how much of the object you want to slide and how level it is. Obviously, if it's at a downward slope, it would take less speed to grind on. Also, you'll need to take in mind how slick the object is.
Considering you're just learning, you should attempt this on a rail that isn't too high for you. Also, make sure the rail is level. You might want to wax the rail if you feel there will be too much friction which will prevent you from sliding, but be careful not to add too much.
So you've got it all figured out and you're riding towards the rail. You'll want to give yourself about two feet distance between yourself and the rail to pop your ollie and move over the rail. Being too close is never good. When you're at proper distance, pop your ollie.
As you're leveling your board out, you should find yourself just a bit above the rail. Make sure you don't put too much height between the rail and your board, as this will make it harder to land on.
Land on the rail leveled with both trucks. If your ollie was solid you will find that you have a decent bit of each foot on the deck. With your knees slightly bent and your body directly over the board, ride out the grind on the rail.
As you're approaching the end of the rail, begin to add pressure to the tail of your deck. You should only add a slight bit to keep your board level as you ride off the rail. It should feel just like you're riding off a ledge.
As you're leaving the rail and approaching the ground below, make sure you keep your body over your deck and spot a clean landing. Absorb impact appropriately and ride away. Again, this motion is just like riding off a ledge, so keep it simple.
Note:
Some rails will not allow you to ride off of the end. When on rails like this, you're going to find that you will need to add pressure to the tail of the deck in order to lift the front trucks off of the rail. Guide your front truck to the side of the rail and your back trick will follow, thus having you exit off to the side of the rail. Exiting the rail and landing using this method can be considerably more difficult and will require much more control. I'd suggest you try to find a rail you can just slide straight off of before trying rails you'll have to get off of before they end at first.
Video Trick Tips:
Troubleshooting
While frontside 50-50 grinds are considered very basic, you might find it very difficult at first. It's also going to be somewhat hard to commit fully to because you'll likely not have a lot of experience with rails. If you hit a problem, see below.
-The rail is of appropriate height for my skill, but I can't seem to get on it
Getting onto the rail is the part that will take the most commitment, and by many, it's considered the most difficult part of the trick.
You're going to wanna make sure that you're approaching the rail at a proper angle and that you're giving yourself enough distance to pop the ollie and move over the rail. This process is often best learned via trial and error. You might also want to find a small curb and ride slow and pop an ollie onto it just to get the feel of what it's like to direct your board over something. This is the most common issue when having a hard time getting onto a rail.
-When I land on the rail, my board slips off to the side of it
This can be a scary way to mess up a 50-50. If you're having this problem, make effort to better land on the rail with the center of your trucks and make sure your body weight is centered over the rail. Not doing either of these will easily send you off the rail just as fast as you had landed on it, and it can sometimes be very difficult avoiding falling in this situation.
Also, you might want to consider the height of your ollie. If you're popping yourself two+ feet above the rail and then trying to land on it, it's going to be much harder to control. Consider popping your ollie a little lower if you find you're getting too high.
-When I approach the end of the rail my board just nose dives downward
It's much easier to do than you might imagine. This problem happens because you're not putting pressure in the right places to exit the rail. Like I've said a few times before, it's just like riding off a ledge. Make sure you're applying appropriate pressure on the back end of the deck to keep the deck leveled long enough for it to completely leave the rail.
-I get onto the rail and I just stop! The trucks aren't grinding through
If you're having this problem, it's likely due to the rail you're trying to grind. It's too much friction. You might want to add a little bit more wax to the rail in order to give your trucks more of a chance to slide. Also, you might want to reconsider your speed. A 50-50 grind is going to require a bit more speed than you might expect, so consider giving yourself one more push before setting up for this one.
It might seem like this trick can go wrong very easily, and that's partly correct. But with enough commitment you will be getting this one down. Don't give up on it at all. Remember, it's a simple process. Get onto the rail, ride, get off.
Where Do I Go From Here?
This can be considered a trick that will open to door to all sorts of grinds. Maybe you want to consider other rail tricks now that you're a bit more familiar with rails? Or who knows, maybe you'll find you want to try it going a little faster, or grind a little longer, or grind something a little higher. There are a lot of possibilities. And you might even want to try something like a pop shove into it, or a 180 out. There are too many possibilities. Have fun either way.
