Shotgun or Flatbar?

jmason

jmason

Active member
I've got a rail being welded professionally - gonna be a 20ft straight rail. I'm trying to decide wether I want a shotgun rail or a flatbar though... Which do you think? I wanna be able to practice my sw-ups and spins on and off of the rail...
 
i would go flatbar then. it will be easier to learn shit on. I have shotguns but thats just cause thats the material that i have.
 
i prefer a shotgun, because sometimes when you go to spin on a flatbar and its slightly rusty your skis stop dead when they touch the corners, plus shotguns are just smoother in my opinion
 
i think i would go with a flatbar. shotguns are fun but i def like flatbars better, you can still grip them well but i think they slide better
 
ive only done a short shotgun but they seem pretty well...i would say shotgun if your goin that long...it just seems to me you can keep your balance easier..
 
so I ended up going with the majority here on this one, and got a shotgun. It's 20ft long, 3.5ft high on one end, and 2.5 on the other (because I'm putting it on relatively flat ground)

It hasn't been started though, and I'd like your guys opinions on whether or not making it slightly down is a good idea or not... the ground i'm putting it on is on a slight angle, and i'll have a nice ramp to get speed, but iunno i don't wanna get stuck... if it's too much of an angle i can always put wood or something underneath it to flatten it out...

what do you think? I can still change it.
 
I'd make it like 2.5 feet tall end to end. You can always tilt it down if needed but welding it that way is permenent.
 
iunno i think 3 feet end-to-end is ideal...

don't you think 2.5 might be a little short and close to the ground?
 
^I decided to go complete flat, 20ft shotgun rail 3ft high all along.

I'll post pics in the pic thread when it's done

 
$340.00 Canadian. And my brother and I are splitting it, so theoretically it's only $160.00. Professionally made, prices include labor. Shipping is free cuz he's gonna drive it himself over.
 
STOP!!!!!! I would definitely shorten the height. I made a 20 ft. flat bar that's 2.5 feet tall. When I made it I thought 2.5 wouldn't be bad, I can't rack on it, but when i set it up a shorter height would have been much better. I recommend 1.5 feet tall unless you can bury your rail legs in a ton of snow.
 
I can bury them in snow...

I also don't need to worry about speed cuz my run-in ramp is gon be like 9ft tall... going onto a relatively downhill slope b4 the rail.

and I'd rather a higher rail that I can bury snow up to if I want it smaller, than a small one that is always small... in case of variety
 
A flatbar rail is a rail that is like a rectangle the whole way down - i.e. if you were to take a long rectangular piec of metal in the shape of a 2x4, and lay it out flat and make that a rail, it would be a flatbar.

A shotgun is like a shotgun barrel the whole way down - i.e. if you were to take two pipes, put them and weld them side by side, and then put that flat and make that a rail, it would be a shotgun.
 
go flat because if youre just learning 270s on you may spin a bit and i got caught on a shotty because of that once
 
shottties--they're so much better because:

1) they help with balance by being less stable than a flatbar unless they are wider

2) they are easier to pop and spin on(like 270's, switch ups..)

3) They are definitely faster because their is less friction between skis and rail which is a plus for backyard set ups where speed is hard to get

 
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