Ian M

Hi west carven, The board has about 50 days in total. It was built for me at 165 lbs, but I asked Bruce to build me an 'ice monster' that was really controllable on full ice. He did, and the board is therefore quite soft for my weight - too soft for me to ride hard on hero snow. Before posting this, I asked him what weight range I should list it at for middle-of-the-road hero snow, and his response is what I listed above: 140-150 lbs. Cheers!

Nice job! I could see a lot of the same struggles I experienced in the first run, but man you improved fast :)

^ Sweet!

In my experience a flat front binding makes your front quad work way harder, all the time. Riding powder, I've only ever had issues with my rear leg, although that was almost always on a freeride board with bindings sideways. I have big feet, so there isn't really room to move my boots a la Gilmour. My boot ledges are lined up just a hair inside each board edge, at angles based on my foot size and board width.

Update - we're getting close to this great trip, and I'm getting excited!! A few people have had to pull out due to unfortunate life events, so there are now 3 spaces available! Tabatha has said she'll work out pricing per night if some of you are interested in joining us for just a few days. Come play!

Right. In my experience, the most common setups are 3 degrees of toe and heel lift, or 3/6 toe/heel, with no cant. (This is assuming your angles are in the 50-70 degree range) With Bomber bindings, the angles are more obvious. If you have blocks that make one end of the binding higher than the other, then you'd have to use geometry to calculate the approximate angle.

^ Sorry, I missed that you described that as 'power mode'. Yes, a 6 degree disc gives you double the heel lift that a 3 degree does, so your rear knee can get lower with less ankle bend/forward lean. That will mean less heel lift in your boot for the same stance also. Shorter, stiffer springs for the BTS would be a good way to go in addition to that, but you sold 'em!

Thank you for sharing these, charlosdesbois! Great images :D

*** SOLD *** Hi all, I have a 2010 Coiler Stubby that I'm ready to pass along! This board works really well for high-performance carving as well as a bit of all-mountain riding. The wider waist allows lower angles, and I found this board very easy to flick between carving and sliding mid-turn. The Stubby is softest in the middle, so the tip plows through crud quite well. This is one of the friendliest metal boards I've ridden, and is a real confidence-builder. Specs are as follows: Length: 170cm Waist width: 21cm Side-cut radius: 13.2m Stance width: 18 / 19.5 / 21in Suggested rider weight: 140-150lbs There are two small edge dings, both on the topsheet side of the board. They are detailed in the photos below. The base is in excellent condition, and has about 5 days on a base grind. Edges are currently set at 0.7 base and 2.0 side. How does $400 sound? Payments by email money transfer (preferred) and PayPal are fine, as are local sales in cash. Shipping is not included, but I will happily work with the buyer to find a suitable option if necessary. Cheers! Ian :)

What about using the stock forward lean adjuster in 'freeride mode'? That allows the shell to flex between 3 and 1. Another option, if your ankle feels too bent at lower FLA settings, add more heel lift. I just went to a six degree cant disc on my rear TD3, and it put my rear knee where I desired with less ankle flex/forward lean.

Do your bindings have any toe and heel lift, or are they flat? A flat front binding makes that front quad work much harder.

What great fun! Thank you Dan for putting this together. Having our own run to play on was a real treat - exciting but also safe! I look forward to a repeat in the future :D

I'm so stoked! Lots of good whiteness for us XD

You said it. More white, less cold!

I'll throw a spare leash in my bag also...

Buell, this has always been an issue with all snowboards, as snowboards have always had sidecut. Skis only caught up 10 or 15 years ago, right? If you slide a straight ski flat on it's base, everything is fine. When you slide a shaped ski or snowboard flat on its base, imagine the side-cut as being more dramatic than it is. The snow passes under the tip edges fine, as these edges are 'dragging' in the safe direction (blue arrow shows snow motion). The tail edges are moving 'knife-side' into the snow, so they catch very easily on the snow that is trying to slide under them (red arrow). Tighter radius, less base edge bevel, and higher torsional stiffness all increase the amount that the rear edges will catch if run flat on the base. If your setup is more symmetrical, the tail will oscillate back and forth. If you're pressuring one edge more than the other, the tail will push itself sideways. My Kastle skis are 16m VSR, and at high speeds will shimmy in a very unstable way if I try to stand flat on them. That's not even a tight radius. Try the same thing on slalom skis and you'll fear for your life. Skis are more sensitive to this because of their lower mass, but it is the exact same geometry on snowboards.

What? Running flat? Shaped skis and snowboards DO NOT like to run flat on their bases. They are kept stable by rocking slightly but decisively from one edge to the other. Bruce ships his boards with a zero degree base bevel, which means that if you're trying to run it flat the rear edges are very likely to catch in the snow. Then it's just a question of which edge is usually closer to the snow because of your stance. This effect would also be more dramatic on a board that is more torsionally stiff, as your rider input is translated very accurately to the edges. Choose which edge to be on, and maintain a small edge angle at all times. The only time your base should be flat on the snow is when transitioning from one edge to the other, lasting a fraction of a second. As with most technique questions, a short video would be worth its weight in gold here.

Yup, that sounds like a good idea. I'm 165lbs and 6'2", and can't flex the 325s much without BTS. I'm on the blues now, but need to tighten the springs up a bit. Adjustability is fun!

Yes, sorry - I often forget about all-mountain boards, as I'm more of a pure-carving stick guy. I was speaking about the racier stuff...

Very interesting points so far everyone, but what about edge angle? Don't you find that using more forward lean on the boot and therefore a lower riding position makes it easier to achieve higher edge angles? To NSSage: boot stiffness and forward lean are both very personal. That being said, my feeling is that my stock Deeluxe boots (what are yours?) were way too stiff when using the factory 'locked in position' forward lean adjusters. I'm a fan of the BTS, and like that I have more up/down range of motion while riding because of them. Tall and lazy for a few turns? Sure. Low and cranking aggressive arcs? Done.

Hey Wendell, As Beckman alluded to in his beautiful analogy, hard-boot configurations require very specific inputs. While no one else has gone so far as to say it, I'll say flat out that I find hard-boot setups very limiting for average riding. I am a very proficient skier and soft-booter, and definitely find hard-booting the least comfortable and most challenging of the three ways to slide. That being said, a carving board is like an exotic sports car. It is bizarre and unwieldy to beginners at low speeds, but practically allows the impossible at high speeds in capable hands. If you're looking for all-mountain versatility, a carving board is not your best bet. If you like the thrill of speed, and the beauty of deep slalom-ski type carves, then continue with dedication, as it is totally worth it. The best advice has already been given - hook up with local riders, and find someone who can teach you even if it means traveling. You'll be amazed what happens :)

That's an odd one Glenn! Sorry to hear you're having trouble with the new zen-stick :( Please help me understand - by 'slip right' you mean it makes an unintentional sliding turn? And does this happen on both edges, or only on heel/toe? The only difference I noticed between my Stubby and Nirvana (the Nirvana is the updated Stubby) is that the Nirvana is much more torsionally stiff. If your board behaves like mine, I'm surprised that it wants to do anything other than carve. A good sanity check might be to have someone else ride the board, with their own boots and bindings.

^ They really lost his boots? That SUCKS

Wicked - thanks Paul. I have Burton race plates that Johnny can use on that. Was gonna drag my factory prime out of retirement, but your Prior is a better fit. Can you give those six degree cant plates to Phil also please? I'd love to try 'em out soon :) Yeah, I think it might. Try it out!

Hi Johnny, Good job on the boots. You're not far out of my way, I could probably pick you up. Either email me through the forum or post your email address so that I can get in touch with you. So you still need a board? What happened to either Paul's (loopback) Prior 4WD or that Proton? I'm not sure when Paul is leaving town for Colorado, so you may be too late for that. Do you need bindings also? Ian