Understanding the Snowboard Sidecut

This article will give you a greater understanding of how a snowboard turns and why the sidecut is such an important advancement.

When you look at snowboard stats you will see two measurements: sidecut depth and sidecut radius.

I’m going to show you:

• Why the sidecut is so important
• What it does to assist the rider in turning
• What the sidecut measurements (depth and radius) actually mean.

What is the sidecut?

Snowboard edges aren’t just straight pieces of metal. They bend inwards towards the centre of the board and this is what gives the snowboard an “hour glass” shape (see diagram below).

What does the sidecut do?

The sidecut is what gives the board the ability to turn quickly when the edge contacts the snow. Without the sidecut, the board would barely turn at all.

Two important measurements

As I explained above, the two most important measurements you will see on board stats are sidecut depth and sidecut radius.

1.      Sidecut depth

The sidecut depth is measured in millimetres. It measures the amount that the edges bend inwards towards the centre of the board (the “hour glass” shape).

To illustrate (see diagram below):

• The Rome Riff 155cm has a nose and tail that are 301.6mm wide.
• The sidecut depth is 20.8mm.
• 20.8mm (sidecut depth) multiplied by two = 41.6mm (total sidecut depth of both edges).
• You then take this 41.6mm away from the 301.6mm and you get the waist width (width at the centre of the board) of 260mm.

2.      Sidecut radius (also referred to as turn radius)

The sidecut radius is a measurement of the radius of an imaginary circle that the edge would draw in the snow. It is measured in metres. It is also referred to as turn radius.

To illustrate (see diagram below):

• The Rome Riff 155cm has a sidecut radius of 7.96 metres
• This means that the radius of the imaginary circle the edge would draw in the snow is 7.96m

Sidecut radius (or turn radius) Vs sidecut depth???

So, you should be quite confused by now, but bear with me. I will now explain how the two measurements interrelate.

• The greater the sidecut depth, the shorter the sidecut radius, which means that the board will make shorter, tight turns.
• The shallower the sidecut depth, the longer the sidecut radius, which means that the board will make longer, wider turns.

Freestyle boards have a deeper sidecut than racing boards. This is because you need to make more short turns in the park, whereas you make longer fast turns whilst racing.

Sidecut radius (turn radius) Vs board length

The sidecut radius increases as the board length increases. If two boards have the same sidecut depth, but one is longer than the other, the longer board will have a longer radius.

To put it simply: the longer the board, the longer the turn radius.

What does this all mean when choosing a board?

I wouldn’t worry so much about how this affects choosing a board to buy. The measurements of length and width, and the style of the board are far more important.

You can also affect the turn radius

The sidecut isn’t the only thing that makes a snowboard turn, it merely assists the turn. The rider can also affect the turn radius by the movements that he/she makes.
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1. How To Choose The Right Length Snowboard
2. Which Style Of Snowboard Should You Choose?
3. How To Choose The Right Width Snowboard
4. Which Snowboard Flex Should You Choose
5. Snowboard Tech Terms Simplified