mirror70

The USASA and USCSA do not allow square tail boards.

Check the date on the pics. 'twas my first week riding plates and only my second season snowboarding. I've come a long way since then.

While you were busy in the keilbasa-fest, I was secretly riding all of the boards in the demo tent as well as any board I could find on the racks by the lodge. I'm swift like a ninja so nobody noticed. Ninjas are totally awesome and insane and sweet. Isn't that qualification enough? ;) More seriously, yes, I am qualified to talk about designing for and fabrication of composites. Well, ACG seems to think so anyway.

Jack, I actually thought the Prior WCRs were the best boards in the tent. I rode the 163, 171, and 181 and loved them. Edge hold was incredible and the boards were all extremely stable in the turns, even when going through the afternoon chop. What I found with the Donek FC171 (or maybe it was a 173?) was that [flame suit on] it rode just like my Factory Prime did when it was brand new. It wasn't as damped as the same-size Prior and turn-in wasn't as quick. What I found with the Madd 170 was [super-ultra flame suit on] that it rode just like the FC171, but with better turn-in and slightly less chatter. The Prior, imo, still trounced it it every regard. I think what people love so much about the Madd 158 is that it rides like the short board that it is. In the past two years, the "cool thing" to do on this message board was to go with a longer and longer board to get more edge hold at higher speeds. In the process, I think people forgot how much fun it is to ride a short turny board like the Madd 158. IMO, that board felt just like my 153cm Speedster SL but with less pop (which, again imo, is part of the fun of the shorter boards). Am I the only one who thought these things? With regard to the CF x-wing improving torsional rigidity, might I suggest that they try using either a satin weave or UD instead of a plain weave? UD would allow them to improve torsional rigidity with zero effect on the longitudinal flex. Another suggestion would be to either rotate the fabric or use [for instance] a 60º/0º weave so that the fibers run from the toe of one boot to the heel of the other. That would, in theory, move the weft closer to being in pure compression. Among other things, what would allow the matrix to act as a damper in a single plane rather than two. I know, I know - I should shut up now. :)

My beat up Factory Prime is dumb, too. It thinks all snow is bad snow.

With all of that hot tub action, does anyone else find it odd that only one person ended up with Cockburn?

"In other news, ASC continues to slip further and further into backruptcy every day, and seems unable to figure out why this is the case."

Most embarrassing fall: It's my second day on a board and I'm at Bretton Woods with a friend (also his second day on a board) for a 24hr Ski/Snowboard-a-thon. He is in front of me and looks up to see where I am. His lack of attention send him off the trail and into the woods. Being the good friend that I am, I of course point at him and laugh as loudly and obnoxiously as possible. The next thing I knew, I was sliding downhill on my face. The moral of the story? Do the obnoxious laughing where I can be heard but not seen.

Hmmm... Well, if there's no snow, I could always run gates in the Audi. Quattro was made for that, right?

Or will everyone be at ECES then? I've got a hankerin' fer some gates.

Well, 2% of 7,691,000 is 153,820 alpine riders. Not a bad number. Also, as Apple Computer has shown, even marketshare as low as 2% is plenty to sustain a few businesses and [flame suit on] even guide an industry.

The PGS was held this morning.

I can take care of that.

I'm not sure how you crushed a cant disc on your Race Plates? I actually drove over mine and it survived w/o a scratch.

I'm going to need a tune for two boards before ECES. I know there's that place in Framingham with the ex-World Cup tuner, but I'm a broke-ass college student who has enough trouble paying for lift tickets. $80+ for two boards is like two days at Okemo + the gas to get there.

That's the same advice I was given by an instructor who is highly regarded on this msg board, so I'd presume it is good advice.

Bola, This is true. Another issue with the Burtons is that the bails are put into shear where they mount to the baseplate. That happens in the Phiokka design, too. The Burton bail failures do seem to be a problem stemming from quality control. Still, those bindings do bear a striking resemblance to the Burtons. The baseplates of the Phiokkas are made of a medium strength alloy, but they mount to a nylon disc. The bails mount the same way as on the Burtons, and make use of a gasket to help absorb vibrations. The only real difference seems to be that the Phiokkas have adjustable cant. Of course, this is all speculation based on a few photos, so I could be completely off-base.

While technically that is true for board with unequal nose & tail width, it will only throw off the measurements by a few mm - hardly a significant number. The big error comes from the fact that the side cut does not start and end at these points, but rather is blended so that it hits them smoothly (primarily on the nose - the tail is often a lot less smooth). One of the bad assumptions of the formula is that the sidecut starts and ends at those points, but that assumption is minor compared to the other ones it makes. The other bad assumptions include the waist being at the midpoint of the arc, and also that the sidecut is in fact circular.

Those look just like the Burton Race Plates, but with adjustable canting. According to this forum, the Burton Race Plates are "so weak they're unsafe for anyone but a child." The Phiokkas come with 5mm or 6mm bales. The 2001 Burton race Plates came with....drum roll please...5mm or 6mm bales. Go figure.

In addition to Kent's suggestion, it helps if you have all of the parts up to room temperature when you tighten everything down. When you bring them out into the cold, the screws (and hence, their threads) will contract and help make everything tighter.

If you ride with your feet canted out (to spread your knees), I found that it was a lot easier to get into the Intecs I demoed than clip into my regular TD1s. I did find that the Intecs were noticeably stiffer laterally. That can be good or bad depending on the angles you run and how you like your bindings to feel.

Hmmm....blue eyes, firm surfaces, and she doesn't break wind? Where can I meet this girl?

Have you adjusted the stop on the toeclip? If it's in or out too far, the clip won't align with the tongue on the boot at the proper angle, which could cause what you're describing.

"Are you a pro snowboarder?" "No, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night." :) :)

I thought about that, but I almost always stop on my heel side. I don't mean to completely rule out a rock as the cause - it just seems like that is something I would have noticed when it happened.