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AMERICAN WINDSURFER MAGAZINE
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RRDFreeride 266, 276, 286 & 296
These are not outwardly innovative boards, because Ricci believes that “the market demands more of a classic freeride design.” But in a sense, they are, because they are subtly unique (there’s that snowflake factor again). How can they be so controllable while being so light and fast? It’s in the nearly flat rocker lines and almost-flat-to-vee bottoms, countered by highly tucked rails (the 266 and 276 more than 286 and 296) and relatively thin tails, which allow slightly smaller fins. Simple ingredients, but the zingy taste comes only with the secret recipe, that highly elusive ideal and precise combination of those design elements.
In addition to speed and control, another goal of the shape, mostly in the minimal rocker—about the same as on the hyperfast slalom boards—was to keep the boards on the water in gusts. The nose kick is quite small as well, mostly to protect the nose against being cracked by the boom during a fall.
Testers made a number of negative comments on the difficult adjustment of the footstraps, and later in the test on their lack of durability, although there were also comments saying how soft and comfortable they were. A few sailors also pointed out that the plastic fins may limit the flexibility of the boards.
FREERIDE 266
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FREERIDE 266
Length: 262 cm Width: 57.5 cm
Volume: 96 ltrs Weight: 14/6.4kg
Upwind: 3.93 Planing: 4.33
Speed: 4.33 Handling: 4.33
Jibe: 4.27 Overall: 4.24
Price: $1,450
Includes: Straps, Pads, Fin
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SCORE: (15 ratings)
Upwind 3.93 Planing 4.33 Speed 4.33
Handling 4.33 Jibe 4.27 Overall 4.24
COMMENTS:
“Real maneuverable and good all around. A bit better than the HiFly 262 in maneuverability and generally easier to handle in waves and chop, but it seems more fragile.” [Stewart]
“Jibes well tight or wide, onto a small wave or even a screaming overpowered jibe in small chop.” [Sollner]
“A handful to jibe in chop or overpowered conditions,” said another guy in the same group, who was not quite as good of a sailor. [Boring]
“New to me, and I was duly impressed. A high quality product.” [Watson]
“Very smooth in chop. Good all around. Light construction. Footstraps poor to mushy, falling apart.” [Coach]
“Overall excellent. Comfortable in extreme conditions. Better than comparable F2. A bit unstable during jumps.” [Stella]
“Enjoyable, but lacks top speed compared to some others in this test,” said a dealer who gave the 266 its only 3 in Speed. But we’re looking at just one parameter here, so read on.
“I sailed with a Pryde 6.2 SuperNova, but think it will really show its giddyup with a smaller sail. Maneuvers nice, and the sailing position is comfortable. Rides low in the water. A lack of nose scoop makes it more dicey landing jumps.” [DeSilva]
“Digs in at the wide point when jibing on a wave.” [N Johnson]
“Great range. Great control. Smooth ride. Easy to sail. Fine board.” [Cicale]
“Very easy to sail, with no bad traits.” [Gottleib]
“A winner.” [M Stumpp]
FREERIDE 276
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FREERIDE 276
Length: 274 cm Width: 61 cm
Volume: 105 ltrs Weight: 15/6.8kg
Upwind: 4.07 Planing: 4.21
Speed: 4.14 Handling: 3.93
Jibe: 4.14 Overall: 4.10
Price: $1,450
Includes: Straps, Pads, Fin
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SCORE:
Upwind 4.07 Planing 4.21 Speed 4.14 Handling 3.93 Jibe 4.14 Overall 4.10
COMMENTS:
“Great all-around board. Lacks maneuverability when surfing the waves.” Which would be expected. [Stewart]
“Great in 5.0 to 6.0 conditions, but not as loose as the 266.” Which would be expected. With those sails, maybe he should have been on the 266. [Watson]
“Could not get tuned in. Board felt just awful. Maybe something wasn’t set right for me.” [Wang] This sailor was using the Bump and Jump 6.0 sail that was universally disliked. We suspect that’s what made the board feel just awful. There’s a moral to this short story. It’s in the final line of the intro above.
Said Mad Dog Mulder, our 6’7” 240-pounder (check the American Windsufer website archives, Postcards from the Water’s Edge, “A Test Writer’s Nightmare’’), “I sailed the three biggest freerides together, and they were all great! The 276 was a rocket for me, but more difficult to get going than the 286 or 296.” His comments on those two boards will follow.
“Planes early. Less responsive than the 266.” [Cicale]
“Very fun, stable, loose, quick.” [Burnight]
“Awesome board. Quick to plane, turns on a dime, very very versatile. Handles well overpowered. Fun to ride, easy to jump on and get in a groove.” [Taylor …an RRD dealer?]
STAFF: Nevin Sayre gave it 4’s in Upwind, Planing and Jibe, and 3’s in Speed and Handling. He said its performance may be hampered by the fin.
FREERIDE 286
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FREERIDE 286
Length: 284 cm Width: 62 cm
Volume: 117 ltrs Weight: 15/6.8kg
Upwind: 3.67 Planing: 4.45
Speed: 4.23 Handling: 4.23
Jibe: 3.67 Overall: 4.20
Price: $1,450
Includes: Straps, Pads, Fin
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The 286 got some special attention in the shaping room for 2000. It was built for speed. Ricci is especially pleased with it; he said that one of his reps races a 286 rather than a race or slalom board (out of convenience; because of its versatility he only needs to travel with one board), and wins amateur events all over Europe.
It’s the same light 15 pounds as the 276 and only 1 cm wider, with the wide point coming slightly farther back; meanwhile, the nose is 1.5 cm narrower. It also has sharper rails than the 276, and a mere 1.5 mm of rocker versus 5 mm.
SCORE:
Upwind 3.67 Planing 4.45 Speed 4.23
Handling 4.23 Jibe 3.67 Overall 4.20
COMMENTS:
Continued Mad Dog Mulder, “The 117-liter 286 was the most versatile board for me, giving the most range of fun for Maui conditions. Smooth through the turns, and capable of handling my 240 pounds mashing on its tail.”
“Responsive and smooth.” [Champion]
“Easily the fastest in the RRD freeride fleet. I want one for just one sail, my 6.7, my biggest. Late afternoons in the Gorge, when the wind is dying and everyone else is struggling to stay powered on 5.7’s and 6.0’s, I’ll pull out this rig and blow their minds.”
“No spunk, sluggish, most likely because of the plastic fin.” [Coach]
Here we must set aside our basic blanket acceptance of testers’ comments. This dealer, whose crosstown rival sells RRDs, gave the 286 one 3 and four 2’s, including a 2-minus in speed. We could have rejected the score because it was so far out of line, but we rejected no others simply because we didn’t agree, so it stands and was counted. But if that 2 in Speed had been even a 3, the 286 would have tied the RRD 266 and Starboard Wave 72 as the fastest boards in the test. Had it been a 4, still merely “good,” the 286 would have won the category.
Anyone is entitled to dislike a board; we resist the temptation to suggest this dealer was either out to lunch or has ulterior motives. We didn’t challenge or even query him on the rating. All we know is that he’s too good of a sailor not to notice speed when it’s trying to yank him by the teeth to the Aleutian Islands.
Maybe there was seaweed stuck to that plastic fin.
STAFF: Upwind 4.0, Planing 4.5, Speed 4.75 Handling 4.0, Jibe 4.0, Overall 4.25
COMMENTS:
“Very fast yet controllable,” said Mark Archer, speaking from our echo chamber.
FREERIDE 296
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FREERIDE 296
Length: 294 cm Width: 66.5 cm
Volume: 136 ltrs Weight: 17/7.6kg
Upwind: 4.20 Planing: 4.40
Speed: 3.60 Handling: 3.80
Jibe: 3.80 Overall: 3.96
Price: $1,350
Includes: Straps, Pads, Fin
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SCORE:
Upwind 4.2 Planing 4.4 Speed 3.6
Handling 3.8 Jibe 3.8 Overall 3.96
COMMENTS:
“Although easy to plane and resistant to spinout when
overpowered, it wouldn’t go fast enough to get the full top end out of my 7.5 Pryde V8 StreetRacer. It seems to have too much surface tension.” [Boring]
“Jumped surprisingly well, with an Aerotech 7.5” Indeed,
surprisingly. [Stewart]
Mad Dog finishes his trilogy. “The big RRD got me planing all the time.”
STAFF: Mark Archer gave it 3.5’s in Upwind, Planing and Jibe, and 4’s in Speed and Handling. He said it did everything well, but had no great standout features.
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