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Do Skis Get Blunt?

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Re: Do Skis Get Blunt?

#121

Post by jcgrillo »

oldandboring wrote: post #93

Former junior and Masters racer here. Glad to see there's some very qualified voices in these comments, including a few who are currently involved (as racing parents). I very much appreciate the level of technical detail and accuracy in those comments. I'll talk base bevels all day. Pretty much agree with everything those folks have written. Most definitely sharp edges, and your bevels, matter when you are really pus…

Another important tuning dimension is base structure. I never realized the impact of base structure until I got a GS board that had been ground with a very aggressive base. That thing absolutely flies on wet snow.

Re: Do Skis Get Blunt?

#122

Post by mjhay »

IsTom wrote: post #73

> Snow and ice are quite abrasive stuff Per wiki ice has mohs hardness of 2 to 4 depending on temperature and if it has fallen out of the sky I guess it shouldn't be mixed with sand or other abrasives. How is it abrasive then?

My guess is two things:

1. All snow has some level of particulates, especially older snow (moreso if there has been melting, because the particles/dirt/whatever concentrate on top).

2. Cornering on piste would put pretty big stresses on the tip of the edge. This could perhaps cause the edge to bend and curl, or even break little pieces off from metal fatigue. I think this would be a bigger deal in most winter skiing conditions.

Re: Do Skis Get Blunt?

#123

Post by stephencanon »

oldandboring wrote: post #93

Former junior and Masters racer here. Glad to see there's some very qualified voices in these comments, including a few who are currently involved (as racing parents). I very much appreciate the level of technical detail and accuracy in those comments. I'll talk base bevels all day. Pretty much agree with everything those folks have written. Most definitely sharp edges, and your bevels, matter when you are really pus…

> It has to not be impractical to go through this ritual after skiing (try doing this with two or three young, tired kids in tow)

Anecdotally I do all the routine waxing and edge maintenance on my family's (wife and two kids) skis, and it's not that big a deal. Slightly less of a hassle than bringing gear to the shop to do it would be for me, and the kids enjoy hanging out with some hot cocoa and helping a bit. Once you have everything in your workspace set up right, it goes pretty fast.

Re: Do Skis Get Blunt?

#124

Post by burkaman »

swader999 wrote: post #38
MandieD wrote: post #34

If you’re a weekend warrior like me, for whom 20 days is a fantastic season, the binding release check that your shop should be doing as part of your ski service is probably the most important part, especially as your skis get older. I had to stop using my beloved “ice cutters” because one of the bindings failed to release in the shop. Up to that point, I had rarely been disappointed by them releasing too easily, and…

Twenty days is still pretty serious, $1500 for a pass or $150 for a day ticket, gas, gear etc. So pay for at least one tune per year, maybe even three if you ski groomers with groomer type skis a lot. An effective way to test your bindings - put your skis on at a flat area and with boots done up, dig your edge in and try to twist your boot out of the ski binding with your own muscular power. It will hurt a bit and be…

FYI, $1500 is very expensive for a pass and $150 for a day trip is incredibly cheap these days. You can get an Ikon/Epic pass for under $1000, and you should if you're going to ski more than a few days because even east coast mountains are charging $200+ just for the day pass.

Re: Do Skis Get Blunt?

#125

Post by buildsjets »

skittlebrau wrote: post #84
sgt wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, I grew up with skis, but I don't think I have ever heard of anyone sharpening the edges. Waxing the skis yes.

Tell me you don’t ski in New England without telling me you don’t ski in New England.

Hah, as a child I fractured my skull on a 7'th grade school trip to Brodie Mountain. Maybe somewhere around 1988? A quick check on Google Maps will show that Brodie Mountain is only 2600 feet high and very near Albany NY, therefore is unlikely to produce good skiing conditions. It turns out that a 15 minute lesson from your math teacher is insufficient to develop the skills necessary to stop on a completely iced over intermediate trail, so I did the snowplow directly into a rack of ski equipment going 30mph or so and wrecked myself.

Re: Do Skis Get Blunt?

#126

Post by swader999 »

burkaman wrote: post #124
swader999 wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Twenty days is still pretty serious, $1500 for a pass or $150 for a day ticket, gas, gear etc. So pay for at least one tune per year, maybe even three if you ski groomers with groomer type skis a lot. An effective way to test your bindings - put your skis on at a flat area and with boots done up, dig your edge in and try to twist your boot out of the ski binding with your own muscular power. It will hurt a bit and be…

FYI, $1500 is very expensive for a pass and $150 for a day trip is incredibly cheap these days. You can get an Ikon/Epic pass for under $1000, and you should if you're going to ski more than a few days because even east coast mountains are charging $200+ just for the day pass.

Yep, I'm quoting Trudeau bucks. I think I paid 2,000 cad for a family pass next season.

Re: Do Skis Get Blunt?

#127

Post by swader999 »

jcgrillo wrote: post #121
oldandboring wrote: post #93

Former junior and Masters racer here. Glad to see there's some very qualified voices in these comments, including a few who are currently involved (as racing parents). I very much appreciate the level of technical detail and accuracy in those comments. I'll talk base bevels all day. Pretty much agree with everything those folks have written. Most definitely sharp edges, and your bevels, matter when you are really pus…

Another important tuning dimension is base structure. I never realized the impact of base structure until I got a GS board that had been ground with a very aggressive base. That thing absolutely flies on wet snow.

Yes, structure adds more speed than wax does, especially on wet snow and in speed events. Wax makes the ski easier to turn though.

Re: Do Skis Get Blunt?

#128

Post by anytime5704 »

stephencanon wrote: post #123
oldandboring wrote: post #93

Former junior and Masters racer here. Glad to see there's some very qualified voices in these comments, including a few who are currently involved (as racing parents). I very much appreciate the level of technical detail and accuracy in those comments. I'll talk base bevels all day. Pretty much agree with everything those folks have written. Most definitely sharp edges, and your bevels, matter when you are really pus…

> It has to not be impractical to go through this ritual after skiing (try doing this with two or three young, tired kids in tow) Anecdotally I do all the routine waxing and edge maintenance on my family's (wife and two kids) skis, and it's not that big a deal. Slightly less of a hassle than bringing gear to the shop to do it would be for me, and the kids enjoy hanging out with some hot cocoa and helping a bit. Once…

> Once you have everything in your airspace set up…

The great filter of self-maintaining ski equipment.

I don’t have the space for a permanent setup and it’s just more convenient to drag the skis to the store once a year than buy the equipment, learn to use it, store it somewhere, remember where, etc.

I imagine many others (most?) feel the same.

Re: Do Skis Get Blunt?

#129

Post by abakker »

jcgrillo wrote: post #121
oldandboring wrote: post #93

Former junior and Masters racer here. Glad to see there's some very qualified voices in these comments, including a few who are currently involved (as racing parents). I very much appreciate the level of technical detail and accuracy in those comments. I'll talk base bevels all day. Pretty much agree with everything those folks have written. Most definitely sharp edges, and your bevels, matter when you are really pus…

Another important tuning dimension is base structure. I never realized the impact of base structure until I got a GS board that had been ground with a very aggressive base. That thing absolutely flies on wet snow.

A fellow hardbooter? I feel like the base size on snowboards benefits even more from good tuning than a lot of narrow race skis. And, obviously, you only have 1 edge instead of two, so the load on the edge is bigger.

apropos of this discussion, my main board probably never gets a serious tune now that I live in the rockies. back in VT, it was critical daily maintenance due to the amount of ice you actually encountered.

Re: Do Skis Get Blunt?

#130

Post by swader999 »

anytime5704 wrote: post #128
stephencanon wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It has to not be impractical to go through this ritual after skiing (try doing this with two or three young, tired kids in tow) Anecdotally I do all the routine waxing and edge maintenance on my family's (wife and two kids) skis, and it's not that big a deal. Slightly less of a hassle than bringing gear to the shop to do it would be for me, and the kids enjoy hanging out with some hot cocoa and helping a bit. Once…

> Once you have everything in your airspace set up… The great filter of self-maintaining ski equipment. I don’t have the space for a permanent setup and it’s just more convenient to drag the skis to the store once a year than buy the equipment, learn to use it, store it somewhere, remember where, etc. I imagine many others (most?) feel the same.

Yes, I only tune my U12 kids skis religiously. My own skis, wife's and my other retired ski racer kid get far less tuning attention. I'm at a resort that is mostly soft snow too.
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