noschoolrider

Fiberlene is better for polishing - wrapping around a cork for rubbing in wax overlays. Scotchbrite pads are much better for removing old wax, removing too much wax (if you don't want to scrape) or exposing base structure after you've hot-waxed and scraped the base.

Hochentlasting and tiefentlastung refer to actively relieving (unweighting) the pressure between the snowboard/skis and the snow. Hochentlasting is up-unweighting (aka. extending to release) and tiefentlastung is down-unweighting (aka. flexing to release). Eboot, these match your original descriptions. Cross-over and cross-under are very different. Cross-over is when the body/center-of-mass crosses over the snowboard/skis and cross-under is when the snowboard/skis cross under the body/center-of-mass. Also, you do not need to actively unweight to change edges – that is a very old concept. The use of these depend upon the situation/conditions and what you are trying to achieve.

Yes, you can use hard boots for NASTAR. At local NASTAR (and USASA) events usually the majority of snowboarders are on soft boots, however at Nationals the majority of older racers are on hard boots. The correct snowboard flex (for you) depends upon your weight, strength and how aggressive you ride - check the weight range for the boards/lengths you are interested in. I coach at Mt. Bachelor in Bend, Oregon. Vacation? Don Richter https://www.donrichter.com

Burton Driver X boots and Burton Cartel X Re:Flex bindings.

Hello Cthulhufish, I'm about 137lbs and my all-mountain hard boot board is a 162 Kessler slalom with binding angles of 54/48, and my primary soft boot board is a 159 (wide) Burton Flight Attendant with binding angles of 27/15 (fifteen degrees forward on the back foot). I ride hard boots and soft boots using a similar technique (movement patterns). See the Sigi Grabner (hard boot carving) and Yumi Shimizu (soft boot carving) videos below for an example of how I like to ride (and teach) carving in hard and soft boots. Your 160cm Voyager is not too long. The increased stiffness, weight, pressure and the reduced feeling of the board interacting with the snow (due to hard boot equipment) can cause people to struggle with swinging the board around to slow down or maneuver at low speed (this can also happen when hard boot riders add a plate system under their bindings). I suggest, when you want/need to swing the board around (for whatever reason) you focus on placing more standing weight on your front foot to free-up your back foot/leg so you can steer/slide/skid/drift the back of the board around (across the hill as much as needed). This will be easier if you first reduce the edge angle (board tilt) and focus on pivoting the board underneath you by using your front foot/leg as the pivot point - try to do it smooth and steady instead of using abrupt kicking or exaggerated/unnecessary rotary movements. The benefits of learning to smoothly pivot the snowboard underneath your body with minimal upper body rotation are: very quick turns in very narrow areas, fluid turns in moguls/deep ruts/tight trees, and speed control anywhere/anytime plus the ability to do an emergency stop (a hockey stop on a snowboard). See the Hockey Stop video below for an example of how to quickly pivot feet/legs underneath a quiet upper body – it's a hockey coach on skates (no snowboard) but his explanation and demonstration are relatable. If you watch the two carving videos below look for similarities in technique (body movements) and where the turn initiation and rotation/steering forces are coming from (and when are they happening) and look for what body parts have minimal rotation. I find that precision and finesse are more efficient than brute force or exaggerated movements - that's how most experts make things look easy. How To Hockey Stop for Beginners - pivot feet/legs underneath a quiet upper body https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIdr6KOX8uQ Sigi Grabner (Ride With Me) - hard boot carving https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MC7HWs3kPjs&t=27 Yumi Shimizu - soft boot carving https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eB5C9zn7SD0

Yes, it's challenging to explain all the ways pressure can be distributed/controlled on a snowboard. It's also challenging to explain the intricacies of pressure, edging and tracking that lead to a clean carve (where the tail/back of the board follows in the thin path set by the nose/front), and also relating that to how much friction there is because skidding/slipping can be caused by poor pressure distribution/control (e.g. too much pressure or not enough pressure) regardless of the amount of board tilt (edge angle).

You should consider replacing "friction" with traction. If you lose traction you lose grip (edge hold), however you could still have a lot of friction along the edge but not have good edge hold (e.g. skidding/sliding). Downforce (aerodynamic grip) is a downwards force created by the aerodynamic features of a vehicle. The correct term for snowboarding (and skiing) is pressure.

Mt Bachelor is open until May 30th and has a 90" base as of 4/12/21.

Hi Quentin, It was great to see you at Bachelor today. I sent you a PM with my contact information. Don

Lurch, my mouth full of beer just shot out my nose and all over my keyboard! barryj, have you or 1xsuller ever spent enough time on only one snowboard to truly learn how to ride it to it's full potential? Sounds like your SF162 was built for the lighter weight range you want. So, you're seriously concerned about switching from a 10.44 to a 9 SCR? FYI, I'm 5'6", 140 pounds, 61-years-old and my everyday hard boot board is a 162 Kessler SL and my GS boards are 175-185. If you do get a new SF please send the demo SF my way.

My girlfriend has two full sets of OS2 short plates and I think she is willing to sell one full set. Let me know if you're interested.

I will take them if Grip does not. PM sent.

Nice! If it were mine, I'd call it the Flaming Jack-O'-Lantern.

Hi dgCarve, Is your name Nate? I used to live in the Seattle area and ran the snowboard program at the Summit and Crystal Mountain. Also raced city league at Summit West and Alpental on an all snowboard team (DiscoBoarders). Anyway, Bachelor is not doing group lessons this season because of COVID19. Instead, they are only doing private lessons and multi-week lessons. This year you can add up to four more friends or family members to your private lesson for the price of one. Privates are expensive but I might be able to help out with some half price tickets (lift tickets are not included with lessons and you would also need to make a parking lot reservation). Here are some helpful links: https://www.mtbachelor.com/plan-your-trip/lessons-rentals/lessons?page=246 https://www.mtbachelor.com/plan-your-trip/getting-here/parking-reservations You can request me as your private instructor at no additional cost. Private requests must be booked directly through the Private Lesson Coordinator via email at privatelessons@mtbachelor.com or by phone at 541-382-1709, extension 5919. Private lesson requests should be arranged at least 48 hours in advance. I usually work out of the Gravity School's West Village location on Saturday-Monday and on Wednesdays (I usually ride with my girlfriend on Thursdays and Fridays – she prefers hard boots). I don't bring my race boards everyday so it's best to let me know in advance. Don Richter

I used to be allowed to run my own program for alpine snowboarders and USASA competitors under my USASA certification, but Bachelor won't let me do that anymore. So, now I'm one of their snowboard staff trainers and I also teach/coach privates for their Gravity (Ski & Ride) School. You should be able to contact me (and other members) via the forum's message system. However, I also have a contact page at http://www.donrichter.com and I just sent you an email to the address you posted above. Today's season opener was great - mostly sunny and hero snow (perfect carving conditions). Don Richter

Wakeboarding and windsurfing (wave sailing) are great substitutes, but you can't do them in a gym.

Hi OldZag, The benefit of riding "upright" (a.k.a. riding tall) is it allows you to stack your body weight on your skeletal structure (your bones), which can result in less muscle fatigue. However, the taller you are the harder/further you can fall. Riding in an athletic (more flexed) position provides better balance, more power plus superior pressure control and edge grip throughout the turn. An athletic position is more physically demanding than riding upright, however it's generally safer and much more rewarding. For boots, I suggest you look for ones with a good/adjustable range of motion provided by a spring system that has constant resistance – otherwise when carving hard you’ll probably be moving freely until you suddenly hit firm resistance (and/or distorting your boots), which can result in an injury and/or equipment failure. P.S. I coach at Mt. Bachelor.

The main problem is, so far nobody has been able to build a board that has the same level of benefits of a plate (isolation from undesirable vibrations, superior edge hold and tracking) built into the board without the board losing too much liveliness (return of energy). I posted details about this (Damp vs Lively) several years ago.

One snowboard and one girl? Or, two Kesslers? Or, the local lodge covered with race boards?

Here are two sidewall planes: http://svst.com/Shop/Sidewall-Planers/World-Cup-Sidewall-Plane.html https://www.beasttuning.com/beast-pocket-plane I find that planes work better and are easier to use than files.

Here are a few things that might help people have a better understanding of speed, friction, SCR and modern race boards: To keep it simple (reduce variables), let's assume all the racers stay on the exact same path throughout the entire course. This way, it should be obvious that the racer who maintains the most speed overall will be the fastest. So, how can a racer maintain the most speed? 1. Use methods that reduce friction/drag: (a) The more the board bends into the turn the more friction it creates (most modern race boards bend less in the middle than previous generations). (b) Too high of an edge angle creates additional friction (riding on the sidewall is slower). (c) In general, riding the edge is faster than riding the entire base (less friction). (d) In general, keeping the board/edge on the snow is faster than being in the air. (e) A shorter/tighter SCR requires the board to be feathered to stay on the exact path of a larger turn radius (this will be slower than carving on the longer SCR). (f) A longer SCR requires the board to be manipulated/skidded to stay on the exact path of a smaller turn radius (this is usually slower than carving on the shorter SCR). (g) A variable SCR allows the rider to be more efficient, which should reduce friction. 2. Use methods that create energy/increase speed: (a) Edging at the top of the turn/in the fall-line can increase speed. (b) Use rebound energy to thrust forward/increase speed. (c) Use terrain changes and/or pumping to increase speed. (d) Maintaining precise tracking/edge hold helps maintain speed and can even increase speed.

I wonder if she thinks Ross Rebagliati and Jasey-Jay Anderson won their gold medals in the Olympic sport of carveboarding?

You need to have it added to the Mt Hood Series. Here's the contact information (good luck): Michael FitzSimons, Mt Hood Series Director mfitzsimons@usasa.org 541-490-2856 https://mhs.usasa.org

Hi Dan, Beckmann is on target and he seems to be the only person suggesting that you consider the source of the problem. Without seeing you ride, I'm going to guess that it might be twisted/over-rotated relationships in your posture that are causing the pain. I see this problem in snowboarding a lot and it results in muscle fatigue/stiffness/pain because of increased tension and reduced absorption (as a coach, I constantly analyze cause and effect relationships). It's great to work on strength, endurance and flexibility/stretching. However, I strongly recommend that you determine (and try to fix) the source of the problem. It might be helpful if you post a video of your riding, or if you are coming to Mt Bachelor this season you can send me a private message - maybe we can make some turns so I can tell you what I see and give some suggestions. Don

I notice the difference. When I used the Vist plate I prefered to lock the back and float the front (and float the middle or not use any screws in the middle). The problem I see a lot with the Vist plate is; people over-tighten the screws that are supposed to float, which results in the plate not sliding/floating smoothly (or at all). If you like the Vist plate (or the concept of it) then I suggest you consider the Donek F Plate because it has a superior mounting system that allows it to slide/float freely as intended.