nils

but u gotta be able to outperform antonin lieuthagui from Hard Attack if you want to create something bigger ;) ( the triple backloop in hardboots beeing one of the hard things to beat ;) N

Lol@ 1 man team....back to the roots of the tour when guys did 4000 km almost alone, with red wine in the backpack ! N.

Seraph: gotcha, i got it that it was on Lemond's... I just wish Lance could just step forward and admit he has been cheating all these years instead of pretending not...and also would like to see the newspapers that tried for years to destroy the anti dope labs reputation in order to protect the 'Master' reaction.... of course they will just turn their heels on Lance and call him a cheater and they knew it etc... The system is pretty much ****ed up: Pro newspapers will not destroy the hand that feeds them ( advertising) by critizing the pro-rider they promote etc...the same **** happens in all specialized mags whatever the field they cover... Lemond and Hinault were also, as most bikers from the 80's and up, full charged...Yes will check that 85-86 tour...always impressive to see what chemistry does to a body when done. N.

I think the evolution of the Lance case is just making me want to up this topic....(it looks my first "naughty" post was not far from reality....) anyway summer's here almost, and the new doped teams are going to be rolling the tour in a month! Can't wait! N.

agreed... What u want is already shot> its called Hard Attack ( available on youtube..) unfortunately its a bit old technically ( VHS..) Nils

The actual raw footage ( without edit) we have shows most of the fps is less than 100 fps...Its true that watching the 100/120 fps sequences as they were recorded from the cam, with all details popping, all the smoothness of the slowmotion is somewhat mesmerizing. I reckon I would not have edited the movie like that...Maybe one day we'll use the raw sections ( much has not been edited / displayed in carved or elsewhere...).. I did the small Powder carving clip using just two of the unedited sequences from a white out dull day..We'll see what we can do in the future with them! Anyway, its also a good witness of a time, of riders at their best levels, and will be there for the future of the sport. I doubt there will be many more occasions for Jacques and Patrice to shoot such HQ sequences....and needless to say, the later it happens, the less fit they will be ( everyone ages...). Nils/Swoard

Alexis is right, its easier with steepness, and you can do it in amazingly steep slopes where normal carving with less "arc" turns would not be able to perform the same turns...( since doing a 90° arc will in the fall line would have to whistand huge G forces, needing huge legs, huge tech etc...not easy then) EC is about technique, and is the extend of a rotational swiss technique: it can be done on any equipment, providing your timing is right, but its way easier with the right tools... Basically the EC rotation technique is usefull for EC carving ( linking turns) but also very efficient in less extreme positions ( powder etc..) :) Nils

an interesting feature developped by tooltonic is the twin angle sharpening. They do it with their special rotation tool, but it can be achieved with normal diamond files..you first sharpen with 200 diamond then with the 400and800 with a 1° difference: it makes sharpening and resharpening faster with less material loss. ( very quick with the roto systems ( alas expensive).. I have tested it for the last two seasons with great success, and it seems quite a few world cup teams ( ski) use this idea. ( http://www.tooltonic.com/twinRotoConcept.asp ) Nils

I'm not a fan of RedBull's use of other's talent for making cash on a chemical brewage, but i have to recon sometimes it comes out with an incredible result with the help of the best BMX/MB/Trial bicycle rider on the planet: Danny Macaskill. Nils <object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cj6ho1-G6tw?fs=1&hl=fr_FR"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cj6ho1-G6tw?fs=1&hl=fr_FR" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object>

you're totally right :), its the Nuit de la Glisse ( night of the "glide"?) What has now become a very cash oriented tour, and the name of one multi sports movie each season, was then multi movie with various directors. Donnard is still there too. The best seasons to my opinion were 87-88 with the canon surf movies: the last of the fun years almost. As for nid's first boards, there is still one of the first batch ( to be confirmed) in the hall of the nid factory.

Thnx, I guessed right :).. got those two clips from an AZ old schooler named Adam Trahan who is an ophtalmologist there, and was also an early Winterstick rider, he came on BOL in around 2000-2001, maybe he is still around. Dimitrije is indeed a low profile guy, he could claim stuff but he lets others do it, even if they started after he did, he started something different now so doen't have the time or will for that I guess. What is funny is the amount of thrill your visit to France created in europe: after one winter came the apocalypse movie with Regis Rolland, and at the time, those movies, along with fluo years climbing / surfing / acrobatic ski etc movies were displayed in a yearly touring festival that hit every state, reaching the whole country pretty fast, explaining why during the 83-86 years so many brands or DIY boards came out..Serge Dupraz's Hot brand really came from that background ( DIY windsurf boards > snowboard prototypes). My first snowboard was a handmade 160 that we shaped in a shop that was helping DIY windsurf shapers. ( mold made in a 2m laminated wood beam that was held using climbing ropes and hydraulic jacks).. Please give us more info on how the team was gathered, how boards were improved etc...we need details from the people that were there :). Thnx Nils

Glad to hear you like them Brian :) Another cool link with what became a french specialty in 82-85 years: the DIY shaping, with a good influence from windsurfing fab. ( at the time, france had the biggest number of shapers and windsurf addicts on the planet) http://www.vta.asso.fr/spip.php?article119 DEA was a famous maker of early snowboard that helped regis make his first protos... Nils

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoO7iGC-f-I i wonder if u are the guy on this vid? i also uploaded the follow up...From what I know, they are winterstick team, and it was shot in Utah but year really unknown ( around 80-81?) maybe u can give us more details too! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVa3Mo4Yuvk If u can give us more info on those days it would be greatly appreciated :) I also have uploaded some extracts from april's footage ( first real snowboard movie from '77 with dimitrije on it)...link is down here http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xd8r7_april-sfootage-sample_sport also: Nat young tries out snowboard in '81 it seems: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1e76d_nat-young-rides-the-winterstick_sport Nils

Thnx bola, been using an ABS since 2003-04 season ( thank god never had to fire it..).. Nowaydays, every pro freerider in that kind of condition uses them... Xavier Delerue was caught last year and got away because of his ABS.. of course it won't help if you get into a 100m jump inside the avy! <object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6EXW_e2ETU?fs=1&hl=fr_FR"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6EXW_e2ETU?fs=1&hl=fr_FR" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>

Found on an old Back up a short footage of a Rossi Undertaker 198 at work.... ( ends badly ( could be worse)..) Shot around 2002 - 2003 <object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhw4XNQFzGc?fs=1&hl=fr_FR"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhw4XNQFzGc?fs=1&hl=fr_FR" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>

Thought u'd like that: Its a french news report on guys making their boards in '83 in the pyreneans ( south west france)..Its funny because the riders call it " wintersticking" rather than snowboarding... Good riding level! Great vibes ( they are riding in wetsuits ( Sarran was among the top ten euro surfers at the time))..before money took snowboard away from the roots... Nils <div style="font-size:80%; text-align : center;"> <object width="385" height="333"> <param name="movie" value="http://www.zapiks.fr/share/zapiks.swf?file=6562〈=fr"></param> <param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param> <param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"></param> <param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param> <embed src="http://www.zapiks.fr/share/zapiks.swf?file=6562〈=fr" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="385" height="333" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" ></embed> </object><br /><!-- Merci de soutenir notre projet en laissant ce petit lien! --><a href="http://www.zapiks.fr/snowboard-en-1983-dans-les-p.html" title="Snowboard en 1983 dans les Pyrénées">Snowboard en 1983 dans les Pyrénées</a></div>

Dc you're talking about Miura Snowboards, indeed the most amazing woodwork i've ever seen on the snow ( 60-70 hours work per board..)...and quite impressive boards to ride too ( Jean Nerva rode one for a few years..). The shaper has taken a break from snowboard production unfortunately, he is working for a big composite company in the basque country...i'll try to get a hold of him to see if he has any intention of coming back ( his boards were quite too cheap for the incredible woodwork: around 850 euros ( to be compared with the 2500 + euros of the godess...).. Unfortunately he never made the 214cm Tekila who remains a prototype.... I've seen a few of the new batch of Swellpanik's and it gets as close as it can to Miura's wood work, but without the 3D shape on the deck...They remain my choice of kinds for performance and looks...The Phenix snowboards 191 carbons are also interesting ( ex Freesurf / boheme shaper Seb. Perret ) and very performance oriented. As for swallowtails.org, I had to stop doing the site ( lack of time, involvement in Swoard, architecture business developping etc...) but I store all the images from the galleries etc...The site remains watchable in the wayback machine ( google it)..the domain name should be available unless some butterfly collector found it :).. Nils

I've read fin's answer but was not fully convinced on all the aspects. Torsion of a board is not just something usefull under the feet, but it also has a great importance on how the board will grip the snow, how the nose and tail will be able to control the trajectory, and give the board the ability to release edge or keep burrying when needed: a board that constant hooks is not a good board, a board that releases too easy under pressure neither... hence the need for progressive torsion distribution and control: my question regarding the plates is how does it allow that to be freely controlable by the board design if it has connecting points right where on the torsion arc on each side of the board ( if you prefer: on the outside of the butterfly torsion pattern). i have understood the longitudinal flex is not affected, and even given more freedom with the plate: what happens sideways in torsion is my question ( i believe in torsion, not resistance, but progressivity and ability to make flex and sidecut dialog, hence my insistance in knowing better if plates are taking that side in consideration, or how shapers will modify the conception of boards with hard points at a new position. Nils

I can't find the post where i asked the question about the board torsion management with the plates, it did not give much answer really, so i figured i'd ask again. I'm pretty convinced about the suspension and isolation from raw terrain it gives compare to a normal binding ( although the sidewinder is a pretty big improvement), I am now wondering about how a plate with 4 connecting pods in its corner do not affect the torsion of the board below. - How does the torsion stiffness, distribution is not blocked by the connection with the plate - How free the edges are in situations where you need to really bend the board in a very close arc( in EC for example a 13m radius board will easily bend into 5-6 m radius when pushed hard) - How are shapers supposed to handle the connection with the board in an area ( close to edges, and far from center) which is not neutral at all compare to the 4x4 pattern which is as centered as it can... - How much power is lost with the rising of the feet ( torque is lost in the process since feet are far from edges..) In one word: is the benefit of a plate really a benefit, what is lost in the process. I feel boards are now adapted hastily for the plates, but using old school shapes ( i consider the titanal and flat rockers an evolution that was underway before plates came out fully.) Thnx for your thoughts Nils

we will need at least 4 years to recover and build a new team from scratch..new coach is going to do that but needs a hell of a long time... My fav teams are argentina, brasil and spain..Christiano Ronaldo is basically and ******* so i don't want to believe in his team...so no portugal despite their strong victory... We'll see who gets to the top despite the vuvuzelas :) N

pretty amazing...another vid is nice showing the bugatti veyron 16 engine out of the metal block too.. N

i thought it was around 2k...hmmm marketing rule number 1: price tag matters ! why not put it 3 k if it sells ! I remember telling Olivier the shaper from former brand Miura, who was doing marquetery wooodwork on his swallowtail, spending as much as 60-70 hours per board and selling them 0,9 k euros to raise his price, he was opening his eyes and telling me: do you think it would sell at 1 k? He was doubtfoul....with proper communication and marketing he would have been able to sell them 4k!! N. http://www.skipass.com/photos/imagebank/36079.jpg http://www.skipass.com/photos/imagebank/36078.jpg

You can get 3 swellpanik for 1 goddess...might explain that.. I would not take such an expensive board in heavy freeride, not sure titanal likes rock encounters, and it looks harder to repair than normal construction too....looks nice thu, but i prefer plain woodtopsheets.

2 - 3 places ring bells: - La Grave in France - Alagna, Italia Forget about the kids thu, we are talking big open faces and they are not likely to be able to follow the speeds and paces required unless they are grown ups or very fit: ( la grave playground)But its pretty late in the season only 2-3 weeks to go.. Nils

molds have disappeared long ago unfortunately, and no one at Northwave knows where they are ! ( must be molded into a car or some other aluminium stuff...) :) N