Topgun

You do mean Oyster balling don't you? Amazing how the communities cross pollinate. Good to run into you in the virtual world bro. Good times at the Farm this year, glad you were part of it. ~Topgun

My opinion on bearings: Rons - Nothing out there comes close IMO for acceleration and tolerances. Ninja's for Slalom aren't bad and if speed is not an issue nothing beats the ease of Biltins once you rid them of the stock grease and add a liquid lube. The new Ron's come with custom spacers that allow for a cranked down axle nut and a free spinning wheel. ~TG

^ Dave Pirnack One of the nicest guys you'll ever meet on the Slalom Scene. Not to mention hella fast. I owe this guy a lot for coaching me to the Podium at my first Farm. Wavechaser ='s Rick Floyd???? If the above is true then I'm bringing a bag of dirt flavoured Jelly Beans to the Farm for ya next year Rick ;) ~TG

Sent you an email regarding your used Plamer plates. I've been looking for a set. ~TG

Gleb, I spent close to ten years as a hobbyist with Reptiles, Amphibians, Large Birds and other Exotics. I personally have owned African Pigmy Hedgehogs and while they are not difficult to keep I would still suggest against them. If your looking along those lines a Ferret will be much more interactive, but also more of a potential pain in the ass IMO. PM me if you have any questions about "unusual" pets and I can offer my opinion. ~TG

Smells like spam......... http://www.gravityboard.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2617&highlight ~TG

Agreed - At least Glen is a stone's throw from the city when you're jonesin' for some night riding. ~TG

http://www.vibramfivefingers.com/ ~TG

Your in Gleb! Welcome thread is up for you. ~TG

Very cool. ~TG

Thanks guys - And ya 3 weeks to late up here to try. Right now I'm set at 21/6 but I feel like there is some work needed on the rear to tweak the setup to my liking. think I might go 21/9 as an intermediate step followed by 30/15. Any body using those Catek Freeride bindings??? I love my flows but those Cateks are slick! Oh and those balls are a bitch to get out of the way in a heelside with my softie angles. Might need to try a high flouro paste wax on em ;) ~TG

Well a few days of reading have taught me that this may be dangerous territory;) I don't plan on delving into the discussion of hard vs soft and who can dig deeper trenches. What I do know is this. After just shy of 30 years skiing (I'll eliminate my days of riding Burton Cruisers and Sims Switchblades) I have never had any ski launch me out my turns regardless of hard I loaded it the way my new rig (Arbor Crossbow) did in my few days of riding now that I have returned to the sport. Even though I know this feeling will be way more intense on a hardboot setup I'm curious about what some of you guys/gals ride as far as stance angles on your soft setups. I'm not pro one setup or another, just not rich enough to have taken the chance on a brand new plate setup before I knew if I still had some skills left in me. So if anyone is willing to cough up some softie angles I swear I'll be looking hard trench digging next season. Much Thanks, ~TG

Not sure exactly - But I wear a Mondo size 28.5 in my Salomon Malamute. ~TG

That's a great vid - Felix Baumgartner crossing the english channel. This is pretty amazing too! I spent a bunch of years teaching skydiving and this is still beyond my me on an "I'd be willing to try that" scale http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=Soul+Flyers All he needed was hardboot setup strapped to his belly that he could have clipped into under canopy ;) http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=Soul+Flyers ~TG

The extent of my reading skills: Polski ???? for good ??????? Good to know that there is our ????? Liitle ????? carving????? Maybe a polish Session???? Better think whether to get together, sit and talk???? What do you think. Well I'd love to guys but unless it's in Ontario I'm gonna be road trippin ;) ~TG

Not sure if anyone here games but if so I'll pass this along. I've been building this community for close to 5 years with a friend and it's a killer place to hookup with adult gamers, primarily Xbox based, about 100 full time members If your looking for a good no BS community of people to game online with then check it out. Use "Topgun" in the refferal portion of the sign up. www.maturegamingworld.com ~TG

I'd be down for that..........Although I must confess I did spend a few years in the "biz" and my boys across the road at Kamikaze (The owner and his brother both Alpine Riders) would probably skin me like a cat for setting foot in the "competition" ;) ~TG

Being from Ontario I cried a little when i saw that pic.........Ok I cried A LOT! ~TG

Ok so it took me 15 minutes to read through and make some sense of those. I guess I should have mentioned I'm only verbally fluent ;) Nice to meet you guys. Sorry for the thread jack peeps. ~TG

Oczywiście ;) ~TG (Krzys)

I'll throw one more question into the mix for some of the local guys and gals. Anyone have a shop GTA/Barrie/Collingwood that they swear by for a tune???? I'm not to comfy having "the new shop kid" hone his skills on my gear. Any thoughts on Sporting Life? Skiis and Biikes etc???? Anybody know anyone by name??? Thanks, ~TG

Much thanks for the welcome skategoat. I'll make sure to join you guys for an outing at MSLM. ~TG

Well after lurking in the shadows for a few days I decided to join and have to concusivley say this is hands down the best forum I have come across for general tuning advice. Nice to see some local Ontario Riders in here as well. Now before you go all go and nail me to the cross (Staples and 2 part epoxies are fine) for not owning a hardboot setup there are plans to have one in my possesion for next season. One of the local Collingwood guys I ride with is a plate rider (along with his brother) and convincing me is pretty much about finding a pair of loaner boots in my size so I can get on a board. Now for my background: Skier since the age of 2, rider for about 5 seasons back in the days of Craig Kelly, Chuck Barfoot and Terry Kidwell. (I owned one of each) As an elite level skier I was content with my cravings for carving being satisfied by high end carving skis. Enter new girlfriend who is a rider and I decided to convert. Well let's just say I have not been able to wipe the sh*t eating grin of my face since my last day out 2 weeks ago. Conversion was seamless and I after a few runs of blowing the dust off I was loading turns hard enough to make my hardbooting buddy give me a round of applause. The rig: (This was as close as I figured I could get to the stiffest possible softboot setup within my budget) Arbor Crossbow 162 Flow Amp 5 Bindings Salomon Malamute Boots The long drawn out detailed tuning questions: (I'm thanking anyone in advance that takes the time to answer these questions) Waxing - Should I prep the base (I've ridden it twice) by hot scraping and waxing it multiple times to "season" it??? - Are flouro, Moly,Graphite waxes worth the cash???? - Is a scotchbrite pad sufficient for a final step after scraping??? My process is wax, scrape, pad. Or should I buy brushes??? I don't plan on racing. - Best way to wax a sidewall? Base Repair - Can I use a super fine sand paper to sand down any hairs/inconsistencies out of minor scrapes/dings????? - I've noticed using my scraper as a level edge that I'm a tiny bit base high (Convex) from about my rear binding back. I'd say approx 1.5mm high vs the middle of the base at either metal edge. Should I get a grind???? (Don't wanna lose my Structurn base if I don't have to) BTW my binding screws are backed off. I'm guessing if I crank them down I may be less out at the edge than this. Sharpening - How much? How often??? Is polishing enough to maintain for en entire season?? - Only side edge, only base edge or always both edges ( I have a 1 degree bevel base and side) - Is an edge tool going to do a good enough job for in home tuning or do I need to learn how to use a file and guide???? - What do I want to buy if polishing versus actual sharpening is the way to go??? What type of Diamond Stone??? - Will I benefit from a sharpen at the start of next season if I've ridden this rig twice? Do I just polish etc??? Once again much thanks in advance for anyone that takes the time to help answer some of my questions. Cheers, ~TG