Keyser Soze

On the bindings...

I know we discussed this earlier, but: - Dinardo can't cook my liners for me for lack of oven. - Kundstatd Kanata told me I should ride the Intuition liners before thinking about getting them cooked. - T&L charges $50/hour for bootfitting. Does that seem right? I think I'm going to ride tomorrow without cooking them and see how it feels.

For this reason, I'm very much under the impression that this place shouldn't be doing any bootfitting for me. They are actually jibber ski boots. Quite flexy actually, after riding them, I'll see if I need the stiffer tongues. I am a bit concerned about lateral flex though, with my Cateks on them, the slightest movement left or right with either foot seems to really twist the board. I'll see how it is, but I might want to snatch some F2s for next season. eajracing: Thanks for the link! DiveBomber: I think I'll go and ride them a couple of times first. If I really can't stand it, I'll get them cooked. Just sitting around in them with the buckles on tight is kind of painful though, I've dropped a half size on these ones to try and eliminate any heel lift.

Someone may be able to tidy up the tech sections a little, but here's the translation: His kingdom is the mountain. His universe is snow. His life is alpine snowboarding. At 34, Jasey-Jay is a snowboarding veteran in this country. A four time World Champion, the Quebec rider is only missing an Olympic medal. His dream might materialize thanks to a little piece of equipment, his plate. "I've always had equipment trouble, and now the little problems are simply adjustments, not actual problems" Surrounded by snowboards and technology, he has completely invested himself in the development of a special plate that you see here strapped to his board. This is the result of months of design and testing with his colleagues. This board could make all the difference in Alpine Snowboarding for the Canadian team. "The plate looks a lot like the plates you see on skis, but but we've developed a mechanism that adapts better to a snowboard. The idea is to build up torsional energy in the board, and for the board to have a more natural movement" IN PGS, the athlete's talent is alternating and accelerating through turns, kind of a weight transfer game. In competition, along the curves and terrain of the track, the board is subjected to serious torsion and flexing. These powers sometimes work against the pressure applied by the rider, forcing him to lose control. That's what the plate attempts to correct "The energy built up is better controlled with a plate, Much less jerky (he literally said "jerky"), less counter-forces are created." ***ANIMATION*** On a traditional board, the feet mounted directly to the board create pressure points and limit the flex. "So you're working against the board, because the board tries to flex towards you through the turn, and you're trying to flex against the board. The plate disassociates the two movements." With the long, stiff carbon-fibre plate fixed to the board, the pressure exerted by the rider is applied to a wider surface. ***ANIMATION*** When fixed to the board, pivots and anchors are going to move in plate's runners. The board will thus be able to act freely to the torsion and flexing movements as they go down (Jasey bending the board) "Making noise, that's beautiful music." "A natural curve equals speed. I mean, as soon as you have a distrotion in the natural curve, it creates friction which reduces speed. The plate lets the board take it's more natural curve". The plate gives the rider better control of the board through the turns as well as absorb the vibrations of the track. Jasey-Jay tried his new plate last fall. Since then, Canadian athletes have been accumulating podiums finishes in the World Cup, as they did here; in Telluride, USA. Of course, Canada isn't the only country with a plate system, but JJA believes this plate could be more effective than the others. That's why they've been trying to disguise the plate from any preying eyes. "Here you can see; it's pure carbon-fiber, which is very nice, so we've made it ugly and less attractive to discourage other people from wanting to copy it, and for it look more simple. We used "vélo trip" (something to do with a bicycle) to camouflage the side, because it had to be flexible, and for the mechanism to still be able to work. Also, it's really ugly. Same with our faux-wood sticker, it was just there for camouflaging purposes." Will the plate make the difference between his 5th place in Turin and a podium in 2010? Jasey-Jay hopes so. "It's going to make a difference in Vancouver for sure, it's what we've been working so hard for. The idea is good, the concept is good. We've already seen results with plates that are far less advanced. So... This is a winning recipe." For Jasey-Jay it would be the accolade of accolades before his olympic retirement.

The guy at the first shop dealt with Tecnica exclusively and didn't have the oven, as he has some sort of different heating device that you put in the boot. He said that what he used wouldn't get hot enough for the Intuition liner to be molded. That place specializes in ski gear and bootfitting. The second place is a sports store that sells a bit of everything but happens to carry some Dalbello boots, which leads me to believe the guy that I spoke with didn't actually know all that much about it. So... I should definitely get them cooked?

Sorry if this has been discussed, but I couldn't find an answer despite searching older posts. Yesterday, my Dalbello Il Moro's arrived in the mail, and I took them to a couple of ski shops to have the liners cooked. I've never done this before, because I've never had liners that COULD be cooked. The boots come with the Silver I.D. thermo-liner. The first place I went to didn't have the appropriate oven. The second place said they did, but recommended I ride them a few times before even considering having them heated, as they said I "don't need to have them heated at all unless the pain is unbearable". Is this normal???

I'm out of town/country for the next little while, off and on, but I'd like to get some riding in before then.

I haven't been out on a Wednesday, as I play Futsal on Wednesday nights. I know it is cheap night, so it might be crowded. Sorry I can't be of any more help. I don't know if I can ride tonight, depends on how long I'm stuck at the office, so much to do...

I have a night pass at Cascades, but can't ride Wednesdays as I play Futsal. Phil, don't buy that NSR, you'll cramp Chris' style. Heh heh heh.

Does anybody have a link for the final episode? I missed it on the 12th... Thanks in advance!

Awesome stuff Rammy, thanks for the taking the time to shoot! I'll check these out tonight... Hope to ride with all of you again soon!

See you guys at Vorlage tonight!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/12/AR2010021201443.html

Don't mean to threadjack here, but Pat, have you ridden the Il Moro "T" Custom ID Rasta boot? How was stiffness compared to the rest of the Dalbello line?

Well hello there Northwave .900s

CBC should be playing it on the 27th, non?

Really? I would think that Alpine riders would be the first to try different things from the get-go. The boards themselves are different enough. VIST: http://www.hardbooter.com/Vist_Plate_for_Alpine_Snowboard_p/vist.htm F2 S-Flex: http://www.yyzcanuck.com/store/F2-S-Flex.html Bola sells Hangl plates and the Vist plate, here's the website, but it isn't an online store: http://www.allboardssports.com/

Always sick to see the pros freeride.

Covered à la Canadienne in the second picture?

It's an Ottawa thing. Hi ladies, we're creepy.

Aluminum riser bars? Did I miss something?

Good call.

No longer in production, but given the popularity of plate systems now, I wonder why this wasn't more popular before?

That's crazy about the girl! Cascades is alright, not too far and usually not too busy! Tonight was busier than yesterday, but not packed, because on Monday nights they're open until like 2 AM, and they turn the upstairs of the lodge into a discotheque. It seemed less popular last year, this season has been a different story. The increased amount of visitors is leaving a few icy spots. I have a nights pass, which is good all day Monday-Friday, and after 4 PM on weekends. I'm kind of wishing I would've bought a pass at Vorlage, because you guys say it's a ghost town. Wish I could be there tomorrow! Tuesdays are a no go for me.