RCrobar

Hi Philfell I think you make a very good point when you suggested that ‘your feet don’t stay flat’ when in a natural position, pondering this kind of stuff keeps me up nights:) If you have a moment, try this. Stand on your board, with moderate angles, and rotate your upper body so that your chest and hips are square to the tip of the your board as is done in a heel side push-pull turn. Indeed the back foot will tip off of the board. This would suggest that I need a 2 or 3 degree cant. Next, stand on your board and rotate your shoulders until they are at least parallel with the tip and tail of the board, to simulate a toe side push-pull turn. Now my back boot is flat on the board, which would suggest I need to ride zero or flat on the board. I have indeed tried both with and without cants with the stance width I prefer, the way this manifests itself on snow is a bent rear bail (standard bindings). Last year the TD2’s bent, the year before my TD1’s bent, in years past the bails of cheaper bindings would break. In order to rotate your upper body, with low stance angles and hard boots, so that the shoulders are square to the nose of your board (like a racer) the hips, knees and ankles need to be able to move. This is where the leverage of a very stiff hard boot (medially and laterally) and softer metal bail equals bending. As a side note, with a cant the bail bends towards the tail of the board, without a cant the bail bends in the opposite direction. But .... I am also a real slalom board fan. In the past I spent quite a bit of time on a Prior 161, riding 57F, 54R, 6 degree toe lift (no cant) back, 3 degree toe lift front (no cant). Very comfortable. Riding this way I did NOT ever bend or break a bail. Perhaps we are talking apples and oranges with regards to canting because of the different techniques? This is why I think you and Bob give EXCELLENT advice, but maybe it doesn’t hold true for each technique. As I press submit I am hoping not to start the style/flame thing going. I much prefer to hear other peoples ideas and beliefs on this very interesting topic as I learn each day I read the posts here. Cheers Rob Check out this thread for more info on this topic. http://www.extremecarving.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=916&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

Hello A few weeks ago Kevin Morrison put out a general offer to the forum. He found a great deal on Drake kids plate bindings and was offering to pick a few sets up for anyone interested. I e-mailed Kevin, who I have never met or talked to before, and said I would like two sets of bindings for my kids. Kevin took the time to buy and send the bindings to a guy he has never met before ... me. This kind of effort really is the true spirit of the carving community. I wanted to send a sincere thank you to Kevin for his efforts. Efforts like his help to “change the vibe of the world ... one POST at a time.” Cheers Rob

Hi D-Sub This refers to a couple of tips I picked up from reading the Bomber and the EC sites. They seem to be a good way to get a close approximation for a stance width for a given body type. Start here then finish up with trial and error on the mountain. 1) Decimal 6 x your leg inseam=stance width 2) Your height divided by 3.5=stance width Look back two posts, in this thread, for a link as well. Rob

Hi John Don’t believe anything you have heard from that crew:D As far as moving to a wider board and lower angles, I have been riding this way forever, so I really didn’t make any changes because of the wider board. I ride without any cants or lifts, flat front and back. I have been riding this way since trying and liking the Extreme sites recommendations. Getting new bindings and boots, both stiffer, and using a flat set up did affected my stance width; less medial/lateral movement. I tried a VERY wide stance at first, burning legs, trial and error and the .6 and 3.5 tips eventually helped me to find my personal sweet spot for width. You also stated that your stance angles are 60 and 57. You might want to experiment with a larger (ie - 5 to 8 degree) range between your preferred angles. You may like the feeling of support, on a wider board with moderate angles, when pushing off the rear foot to rotating your upper body. No givens here though, just something to try. Hope this helps a bit Rob

Hi John One possible indicator that your stance is too wide is your thighs will really burn out quickly. A narrow stance may cause you to feel like you are always falling backwards. Here are two tips I picked up from forum members that should help you to get a good guess-ta-mation for a comfortable stance width for your body type: 1) Decimal 6 x your leg inseam=stance width 2) Your height divided by 3.5=stance width Check out this thread regarding stance width as well. http://www.extremecarving.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1025&start=0 You mentioned you are playing around with wider boards and lower angles, so another thing to consider with regards to the amount of cant you may or may not need. Try this ... Roll up two towels and put them under the tip and tail of your board when setting up your binding stance width etc. (in the house). The towels simulate the natural canting a board gives as it bends when you are carving a turn on the snow. The bending board combines with the natural medial/lateral flex in your boot/binding interface, when using lower angles. Board flex and lateral movement work together as you carve a turn, this may affect your need for cants. Rob

Hi Fin Great Poll Bindings, Boots, Board The one thing I wish I could modify/buy is different bindings. I have a pair of TD 2 Standards, which are beautiful, but .... I would like to see the Bindings be MORE responsible for LATERAL flex in the boot/binding interface. I would like to see the Boots be MORE responsible for FORWARD flex in the boot/binding interface. BINDINGS I want the ability to control, change, set the amount/degree of LATERAL movement in a binding. Ask the binding guys about about binding flex and they will tell you that any real flex should be delivered by the boot, not the bindings. Flex in the binding equals fatigue in the binding/bails. The fatigue of constant movement back and forth, like a paper clip being wiggled back and forth, eventually breaks. Breaking is a bad thing for a binding manufacturer, so binding guys make em' rock solid. The Elastomer Ring of the TD2 no matter which durometer under full compression to one side only deflects .23 degrees from center. For many this is enough, for many it is not enough. The natural pivot point for lateral movement is the bottom of your foot, or the sole of a hardboot ... not the upper cuff of a boot. BOOTS I want the ability to control, change, set the amount/degree of FORWARD movement in a boot. So why not get the lateral flex from the boots? Boots like the Raichle 325LTD, UPS/Z, Deeluxe Indy and Northwave Point 900 have a few things in common: a spring system to control the forward flex and a VERY stiff shell. The very stiff shell is the foundation of the spring system that makes it possible to control the amount of forward flex. But, doing this creates a boot with very little lateral movement. If the boot is made softer, to allow lateral movement, the shell will now buckle rather than support the spring system when under high loads. Temperature changes and the effects in has on the plastic of most boots also makes it hard for the boot to have a consistent and controlable lateral flex. Dream Time Fin offers a second, slightly different, 'Bottom Assembly' for the TD2, which has more movement designed into it. The top remains unchanged. Next Fin designs a much improved RAB for the Deeluxe line. Disclaimer These ideas are based on moderate to low stance angles, boards with a wider than traditional waist width, a rotational style of turning and an All Mountain point of view. If I have inadvertently stirred the 'style' pot here, it was unintentional. Thanks Rob

Hi If you like woodworking check out www.WoodSmith.com Here is a link to seveal bench plans, I think some of them are free downloads while the others cost $6. http://store.yahoo.com/plansnow/shopfurn.html Rob

Hi Longboard, carveboard, slalom board, if it has wheels and a board it is fun to ride! I’ve read different posts here at bomber from guys who both love and hate the Carveboard. To me it depends on how and where you want to ride. It seems the guys who like ripping through slalom cones find that the Carveboard turns too slowly (Sluggish). While guys who want to drive hard surf style turns across the fall line more than down it seem to love the Carveboard. (This is a pretty broad generalization of course, please no flames:) The hill I ride on a regular basis is a 2km long, well lit hill with a consistent 7% grade. The asphalt is very rough. As a result I ride the Carveboard with it’s large air filled wheels, the hill I ride is too rough for skateboard wheels. (My skateboard background is many years of vert riding large radius half pipes.) The carve board makes the rough road feel like perfect cord. This board can definitely simulate a freeride snowboard, stable turns back and forth over two lanes of traffic at about 22-25 Km an hour are no problem. If flat out speed is your thing, you won’ like the Carveboard, if hard driving turns are what you are after the Carveboard is excellent. As far as the flats go, air pressure is the answer here: 50-60 psi for pumping the flats, 20-30 psi for hills. It all depends on your weight, the road surface and how fast you want to go. Hills are way more fun in my opinion. I also think the Carveboard is too heavy to carry up the hill, but it is basically weightless when you tow it behind you, when walking, with a 3 to 4 foot rope (or a Bomber leash in my case). Jack wrote an article on all the street carving boards. http://www.bomberonline.com/articles/street_carvers.cfm I can’t say enough about the Carveboard, I love riding it. Rob

Hi Pat Here are a few thoughts, to add to tips given so far, that have helped me to make lower turns. -The line that your board draws in the snow should be a completely rounded "C." -Avoid partially finished turns that draw a ")" shape in the snow You also mentioned that you were playing with the rotation style of turning, the next thoughts apply to the heel side turn - rotation style. At the end of the rotation, your body should be in the following position: -the shoulders and hips are parallel to each other -the shoulders and hips are perpendicular to the tip of the board -your chin, belly button, and the center of the board’s waist width form a relatively straight line I also got the impression your goal was to add more to your bag of tricks. Rather than buying new gear, maybe try setting up one of your boards with stance angles recommended by the EC guys. (Flat - back 45-48 - front 50-54) It’s easy to experiment with binding angles for a while, much easier than trying to convince your child bride you need more gear :) As always take these tips, from one weekend warrior to another, with a grain of salt. Hope this helps Rob

Hi Pat Very interesting post. I am really impressed by your handstand picture and race results. Seems to me you are 58 going on 28, I find guys like you inspiring! Are you having trouble getting low on both heel side and toe side turns? Or is it mostly the heel side, as your picture suggests? Here is the EC thread that discusses sidecut radius. http://www.extremecarving.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=9 Rob

Hi Dave* Brace yourself!! Powder King and Whistler are literally opposite ends of the boarding universe. Powder King is a very underdeveloped hill, largely because of its isolated location. Most weekends you see maybe 200 people on the entire mountain, I think it may even be closed mid week. The snow is unreal, second to none. The facilities (lodging) and management are well .... NOT very good, only the hard core show up week after week. Grooming is marginal with the mass amounts of snow, limited riders and weak management. Don’t get me wrong, PK is a LOT of fun. Moving or not moving to the sticks would depend on the ‘big picture.’ Did you land a good job in the sticks? Are you looking for affordable housing? Are you looking for a great place to raise kids ..... you get the idea. If not, stay in Whistler. All the young single riders from here want to go down there. Hope this helps. Rob

Hey, I'm a slow started ... but a strong finisher. Rye, water is my buddy... Fleaman, I love your 'You are not drunk ....' tag:)

Couple of my friends live in Kelowna, so I usually make a trip down once a year. I'll contact you, on the forum, if I make it down South next season.

Hi Fleaman Hey.... yes that small clip was filmed at Apex, this was my first visit there; great hill! I wish I was a local, I live way, way, way north of you. Just before my buddy pressed record, I think I saw you layout a nice toeside carve then scream by (big guy, yellow jacket-I read this on another post somewhere) onto another run. I let out a wimpy ‘hey’, but I was too slow on the uptake to catch your attention. I am very much of the ‘if you are in hard boots you are instant blood brothers’ mind set:) I thought I would run into you somewhere on the hill, but it didn’t happen. I would love to hook up and ride sometime next season. Cheers Rob

Hi I had the same problem with my step ins and a pair of Raichle 325’s which had the standard felt liner. The pain was also only on the rear foot-boot, I ride regular. The cable packed the liner to the point that it was paper thin, so I had no material to remove in order to make a channel for the cable. I resorted to the handy man’s helper, duct tape. I placed two thin strips of a felt material, the same thickness as the cable, on either side of the cable; only at the pressure point. Couple strips of duct tape to hold the material in place, no more heel pain. Low tech, but easy and effective. Rob

Hey Bruce I'm glad the shoulder bolts fixed your problem with the Burton - TD2 combo. I've used the longer shoulder bolts in my TD1's for one full season with no issues at all, you shouldn't have any trouble. Have a great season. Cheers Rob

Hey Bruce I had a similar problem with my TD1's. Here was my fix. The Shoulder Bolt on the TD1 step in are longer than the shoulder bolts of the TD1 standard. Using the longer shoulder bolt made it possible to spread the toe bail apart (not quite a cm), this fixed my problem. Fin informed me that the shoulder bolt from the TD1 and TD2 are the same, so you should be able to change them. $12 and you can keep your feet happy. Hope this helps Rob

Hi Bob-Fin How about a little suspension 101 for the non-engineers in the Carving Community. 1. How was the thickness of the E-Ring determined? -To the layman it seems that a thicker E-Ring base would equal even more suspension/shock absorption. 2. Does the amount of pre-load/compression on the E-Ring, when mounting the binding, affect the urethanes ability to absorb vibrations? -If it was possible (for the sake of an example) to put more or less pre-loaded compression on the E-Ring, would this have any affect on the bindings ability to absorb vibrations? 3. Are most of the vibrations soaked up via the thin urethane E-Ring base or via the 3 urethane ‘tabs?’ Thanks:) Rob