Erwin

Nice review!

Nice video and a great area to ride! Good to see someone thinking "out of the box" and wearing something cool instead of the helmet and sunglasses. ;) Next time, go look for a slightly steeper slope, as this one at the Magnetköpfl lifts is the flattest one you'll find in Kaprun. :p At 0m33s -> aaargh, just looks like a perfect day for a summit ride, too bad I wasn't there!

Anyway, I found some more information about the new rule: According to Marcel Looze (former FIS snowboard racing director): 'Still a lot of freedom exists. No minimum rules about how wide pants should be. The only restriction is that the material should differ from that used in speed-suits.'

@Seb: sorry, I don't believe that. One of the female athletes from Holland (Olympics gold medal winner) is not happy at all with this new rule. Source (in Dutch only): http://www.volkskrant.nl/sport/article1388940.ece/Sauerbreij_vierkant_tegen_verbod_op_de_snelpakken

@Seb: In my opinion it would be better to give the athletes the possibility to choose between a tight race-suit and a thicker suit. I chose to wear my zip-off pants and a thin jacket over my racesuit when weather was really bad at FIS races. In other cases I chose long thermal underwear to keep me warm under my racesuit, works fine for me. And I'd rather take a ski-doo than take a t-bar lift up to the start again, the latter being much colder. No, unfortunately I didn't have a coach waiting for me at the bottom with my warm clothes. Anyway, if it is due to the reason of racers cooling down too much, they should have communicated that. @MJB: could you please provide a source to that research? Furthermore, I still don't know how the new suit is defined. Can it be tight-fit, or should it be loose?

Similar arguments applied to the skiercross clothing issue, which is described in an article at http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/28/sports/olympics/28suits.html. Just a quote about the rules that were needed to describe proper clothing: For ski cross, FIS rules require that outerwear be two pieces — pants and top — and not be made of rubber or similar materials. Pants must permit an eight-centimeter gap when pinched from the midthigh to the top of the boot — the same as the X Games — and shirts must allow for six centimeters of fabric around the elbow and biceps.

I really doubt this will make our sport more attractive. In my opinion, there is a lot more to it than just the racers wearing tight race-suits during competition. What about you? New clothing rule for PGS/PSL Jun. 8, 2010 RULE CHANGE: NEW CLOTHING RULES In terms of adopted rule changes, Canada also presented a motion with regards to clothing regulations for the Alpine events. As of this upcoming season, the disciplines of Alpine snowboarding (PGS, PSL) will move towards a two-piece suit instead of the ski racing one-piece skin-tight suit. The Alpine disciplines will now adhere to the same clothing regulations as the snowboardcross riders. The philosophy of the rule change revolves around respecting the culture of snowboarding, as well as making the sport more accessible to young riders at the provincial and club levels. Source: http://www.canadasnowboard.ca/en/about/news/?id=675

A detailed official description will not come from me. However, you can probably see the difference between left and right, right?! ;)

Just have a better look at the picture and read the post by BlueB dude. Probably you saw them, but did not have a good look at them...

In case you did not notice it already in the Happy Fun Plate thread, I put pictures of the two different models into one image, see attachment.

@Jack: Looks really nice, but please be careful...make sure your screws are long enough and that they not too long either and you put something underneath your bindings to equalize pressure at least a little. My 1st one showed ruptures in the titanal sheet around the insert holes. After a few weeks it broke and my board was gone. Just keep an eye on this. My brother is riding a 2nd hand Kessler where someone mounted his F2 bindings directly onto the board: titanal sheet delaminated... A quick review from me (slalom board): the ride is really awesome - smooth and like you're running on rails. So much time to focus on other things and the board will not run away with you. It gave me back the smile on my face, just like I had starting snowboarding! The nose is doing a really good job absorbing bumps and ruts and letting you decide where to choose the line. Slipping into the next turn is really easy due to the KST (Kessler Sidecut Technology and even better in the newer black models) and a much smoother transition exists between slipping and carving: ideal for racing. First you don't notice you're going fast, but if you just let it run it keeps on accelerating... Have fun!! Erwin

@NateW: completely wasted - the angle you see in the picture remained in the board. The metal boards are a great ride, however, they are really vulnerable...trust me, I can tell...

I am so with Jack on this! Too many times I see people whose only purpose is to touch the snow ASAP, with their entire body completely unbalanced and in such a position they cannot flex it properly anymore. But hey, if that is what they want - let them do it. If however, they would be on a somewhat less forgiving slope, this is not the technique to use IMO. Shifting the hips towards the snow and not necessarily touching the snow, although it might happen. Quite often I notice racers touching the snow, not for a specific purpose, but it happens... @Philfell: You're right, I would like to add one more thing: touching the snow means if you don't lift your hand you'll gonna hit the gate, too...It just sooo hurts... http://www.frozenlines.com/racing/20080127_EC_PGS_Sudelfeld/video-0081.mp4 At the first gate it shows what happens if you touch or don't touch a gate during a PGS race. (Schoch vs. unknown rider) Race was at Sudelfeld (D), January 2008, and I sucked.

Dude, that's not the point of showing that image. Of course he did not have his board parallel to the landing. If you read my post properly you could tell I'm concerned about localization of pressure. The image is just an illustration of what happens in an extreme case.

Regulars riders have way more fun... ;)

I agree with Trikerdad on this issue. Maybe a picture can clearify what happens during a normal slalom run (me): Or, worst case scenario (friend of mine landing a boarderX jump): Both boards are custom Tomahawk slalom boards (2006), using titanal and sidewall construction. Bindings (F2, Burton physics) were mounted directly onto both boards. Seeing these images, I had to come up with something to solve these localized pressure sites. Because of the stiff interface between step-in bindings and the boots, any input is transferred into the board directly. So, I'll be definitely looking forward to the new TD3 version Fairchild was testing. Best regards, Erwin

@Fin: Thanks for your reply. In my opinion it looks a little similar to the TD1 with its bumpers. Maybe you could post a picture of the board being pressured like it would be in a carved turn at the binding position: showing the bending of the board with and without plates. Anyway, I think time, test results and the number of sold items will tell whether or not your design makes sense. ;) And I'm curious to see what the overal weight including the torsion bar would be. IMO worth mentioning are the plates by Swiss Worldcup rider Louis Schnidrig: simple concept, cheap materials and flexible. Best regards, Erwin

Sorry, but I don't think the movie shows anything interesting. I.M.O. the only way to properly test them is to set a race course with timing system. Too bad I didn't test them myself last week. :( I think it will be really difficult to properly design the flex pattern, as things become 3D instead of 2D. Really cool that people out there give it another try and our sport stays innovative! Btw, the German coach told me a Swiss manufacurer would not build them... ;)

Could be I spotted them a few months ago, but I didn't say anything as the guy was still testing a prototype. :) What I saw looked really nice and definitely worth a try!

Hi, I just browsed through this thread and pictures quickly. Looks like a nice system, but why did you construct it out of metal? Won't it just shift the point where most pressure due to the binding-board interface is caused? Maybe I missed some comments as this post is already huge?! A US coach saw me training on my own plate-system and commented on them that they seemed to do a much better job than the "Hangl Platte", i.e. let the board flex naturally underneath the bindings. So, my idea would be to use flexible materials underneath the bindings, although I get the feeling you guys love metal out here. ;) Best regards, Erwin

I showed some data from my GPS in this previous thread: http://www.bomberonline.com/VBulletin/showthread.php?t=9242 I can't set my GPS faster than one trackpoint per second, unfortunately. Erwin

Hi, My 15 year old brother rides an F2 Speedster Slalom 158. If I remember correctly he's 130-140 pounds. Definately a good board though, but you should bring quite some experience, power and active riding to get the good things out of it. Here in Holland many kids ride the F2 Speedster, but some of them might be better of with a less stiff board. I like the board's edge grip, but think it is a little bit nervous - it wants to turn all the time. For you the 163 version might have been better, regarding your weight, but I don't know your riding. Just give it a try and see if you like it, or start feeding your kid and put him into the gym to workout! :D The length is typical for an adult slalom board, so it could give you loads of fun! I (~170 pounds) did not ride the 158 myself, but tested an 163. As said before it is a good board, has a very quick and powerful rebound, rapid edge transfer and its weight is much less than my Tomahawk's. However I would like it to be a little more stable. I hope this helps! Erwin

I've never ridden a Kessler, so I cannot tell you the difference. I have to put quite some input into my Tomahawks, but they give so much back: great edge, smooth ride, very good rebound. As compared to my former non-titanal SL: the new titanal alot smoother when riding it, great damping. In the US Thedo Remmelink (from Holland!), coach of Steamboat Springs, is also riding Tomahawk, as do some of his riders. He was the one who advised me to go and buy a Tomahawk a few years ago. However, I could not find them anywhere, until one of our own riders showed up on such a board. Right now, over 10 of our riders are using them and at the dutch parallel slalom championships it was place 1,2,3 and 4 for Tomahawks. Prices are around €700 right now, but I don't know the exact price. If you want the email address of Tomahawk, just leave me a message.

Just like they make artificial snow in mountain resorts: use water, cold temperature and a snow-machine: http://www.snowworld.nl

I totally agree with you! See the attached images, they show proper (picture with 2 riders, right one is a new Tomahawk with titanal, left one older Tomahawk without titanal) :) and improper use of the new Tomahawk boards...