Curated Snowboard Experts Victor Von Claus and Spencer Storck got their hands on the 2023 Ride Zero this spring and put it to the test at Powder Mountain in Utah. Check out how it performed in the carving, freestyle, and freeride categories, but consider the fact that each and every rider is different; if you have any questions about the Ride Zero or need recommendations on which board would be best for you, reach out to a Snowboard Expert here on Curated.

Before we get started, it's worth noting that Curated Experts are not sponsored by any brands. All of these reviews are completely unbiased.

Brand Claims

What does Ride claim about this board? [Victor] Ride claims this is your park, groomer, resort, general all-mountain board. But I would say it leans a little bit more towards the park side of things. As an asymmetrical true twin, you're very much set up for switch landings and making sure you have all the control through that protruded edge on your heels. And you're a lot more precise on the toe edge.

[Spencer] Ride claims this is a great asymmetrical, flat camber board that’ll be great in the park.

Overall Impressions

What is your overall impression of this board? [Victor] For me, it's a little bit big at 155. I would say if you're about my build—at 5’7” and 160 pounds—this would probably be closer to your all-mountain board. It's an asymmetrical twin with a quadratic side cut. So it definitely has that great resort board feel, as well as having plenty of edge control in the park. It buttered relatively well for being kind of big. It was super enjoyable to press around but also gave me quite a bit of response where I needed off trail.

[Spencer] My overall impression at first was a little off because of the flat camber: it's really edgy and we have a lot of variable conditions today. So it wants to grab on all of that. I personally prefer boards with camber over a flat; but I will say, once I got it into better conditions that were more groomed, like the border cross track, this board excelled. It definitely surprised me.

Carving

How does it turn? [Victor] With the asymmetrical side cut on this guy, turns were awesome. I really felt that I was stable, very controlled, and super dialed whether I really wanted to turn on a dime or take a wide open carve on super open groomers.

How about edge hold? [Spencer] The edge hold is phenomenal. It definitely has great edge hold because of that flat camber tip to tail. It will hold, but it'll also catch.

Is it stable? [Victor] Lots of stability, surprisingly. I would probably accredit that more to the size of this board. So again, that's going to vary depending on the rider’s build as well as the sizing you pick for yourself. But all in all, if you size a little bit bigger, it's certainly going to feel a lot more stable than your traditional all mountain or even park board in more chunder terrain and a little bit more uneven stuff.

What about dampness? Any chatter in the board? [Victor] In terms of dampness and underfoot chatter, the bigger size compensated a little bit through rougher stuff. But I would say it did still provide a decent amount of board feel, especially for your jibs and rails. It's certainly going to deliver that more than a general resort board. It's a little bit more park oriented and wants that board feel for you.

[Spencer] This board was actually fairly stable with underfoot chatter. It was a stiffer kind of flat camber. So it actually did really well.

How does it perform at speed? [Victor] I wouldn't say it's the fastest board in the Ride lineup, but you could definitely put the burners on pretty quickly and also still feel relatively stable. Again, I would probably suggest that that has to do a little bit more with the size. But even at a more centered size for your build, it would still feel rather stable at speeds.

[Spencer] It did really well at speed on the nicer snow. Once you're kind of in the bumpier stuff and it's slushy, it's going to be a little grabby and shattery. But other than that, groomers all day.

Freestyle

Could you speak about playfulness and pop? [Victor] If you want to spin to win or if you just want to poke out a really big grab off of something, whether it's in the park or a side hit at your favorite resort, this guy is going to be great for it.

[Spencer] It is a stiffer flat camber, so it actually had a lot of pop for a flat board. It didn't feel dead at all. It wasn't the most playful on the nose and tail because of having no rocker, but you could still really lean into it.

How is it for buttering? [Victor] Even in this bigger size for my build, I was still able to butter around on it. It could pop off the tail. It could pop off the nose. I could definitely press it and butter some toast all day on the corduroy.

[Spencer] Not the best for buttering. But like I said, you can kind of lean into it and still get it. But there’s no rocker on the tip and tail.

How is it on jumps? [Victor] It has awesome gear to stick landings, and it’s a lot better than I was expecting.

Freeride

How is it in powder? [Spencer] It’s definitely not a powder board. If it's dumping, grab something else.

How is its maneuverability? [Victor] As far as maneuverability goes, the Zero is pretty awesome. With the traditional camber from binding to binding underfoot, as well as the asymmetrical side cut, it did feel really nimble. The mid-flex on it also gave it a nice kind of playfulness, but also enough bite back to be able to really get that extra edge out of your turns. I tried to take it through some tighter trees and see if I could get into some trouble there, and it seemed to perform pretty well in that area as well.

[Spencer] We did some traverses through trees to get to other groomers. This was not the best board for it. Anytime you get in that slushier snow, it just wants to grab.

What kind of terrain should riders avoid with it? [Victor] If you're looking to ride more freeride and big mountain riding, I don't quite believe that with its mid flex it's really going to hold up too well. If you're looking for something that's a dedicated big mountain board and want to ride really steep and aggressive terrain, this probably shouldn’t be your first pick.

[Spencer] I wouldn't go to any of the glades, any trees, or stuff like that.

Recommendations

Who would you recommend this board to? [Spencer] I'd recommend this board for any intermediate to expert rider looking for a great groomer board or park board.

Who should avoid this board? [Spencer] I would not recommend this board for a beginner because of how edgy it is with that flat camber. It is in contact at all times.

Anything else you’d like to add? [Victor] A very interesting side note. This is kind of an audiophile thing. I'm not sure what Ride did with it—if it was deliberate or just the way that science works—but when you press it really hard, and I would imagine on rails too, it makes this very wild zipping sound. It's semi-reminiscent of a bottle rocket sound. It's one of the only bases I've ever heard this on before. It's weird but it's kind of cool; I dig it.

Snowboards work differently for different types of riders. If you want help finding the right board for you, reach out to Victor, Spencer, or any other Snowboard Expert here on Curated for free, personalized recommendations. Note that the 2024 version of the Ride Zero is linked below - same tech, just different graphic: