scrutton

I have a couple of racier boards the right flex for your weight, that would work for you for cruising (not really for pow though). And they would need to be shipped. Ping me if interested.

http://ftw.usatoday.com/2014/02/russian-government-gave-new-mercedes-to-each-olympic-medalist/ Vic Wild's getting a new Mercedes now also.

Focus on smoother transitions. If you make a sudden movement to a new edge you will slide until you slow down enough for it to catch. If you smoothly roll on the next edge, and then angulate your edge up more vertical so its gripping into the snow (flexing ankles on heel side or powering down through your knees on toeside), things will slide less. Adding a plate will help a good deal. I like a 3 (87) degree side edge angle - that helps a lot with ice.

Post your weight also (it makes a difference to the board flex).

Looking for a set of sidewinder step in's (used). Probably tough to find. Let me know if you have a set and want to sell them.

Interested in buying a VIST plate system. PM me if you want to sell one.

Anyone get the Women's PSL plate podium data?

Results from this weekends racing/testing - did 2 runs on the slalom course with a sg 163 no plate and posted great results for me(2nd in flight of similar handicap racers). No plate felt much better than prior races. - did 2 nastar runs with sg 163 with Boiler Plate. Got 2 bronze medal runs. My first two this season. - did 2 gs runs using 163 sg with plate. Posted 2nd place 8 my flight again. Stoked. - then did 2 nastar runs (same course as earlier gs), using donek rev 175 with boiler plate. Secured a silver on first run and a bronze on second. Times were faster than on the sg 163. Conclusions appear to be for me: -SG 163 no plate works great for slalom - donek rev 175 with boiler plate works great for gs.

Results from this weekends racing/testing - did 2 runs on the slalom course with a sg 163 no plate and posted great results for me(2nd in flight of similar handicap racers). No plate felt much better than prior races. - did 2 nastar runs with sg 163 with Boiler Plate. Got 2 bronze medal runs. My first two this season. - did 2 gs runs using 163 sg with plate. Posted 2nd place 8 my flight again. Stoked. - then did 2 nastar runs (same course as earlier gs), using donek rev 175 with boiler plate. Secured a silver on first run and a bronze on second. Times were faster than on the sg 163. Conclusions appear to be for me: -SG 163 no plate works great for slalom - donek rev 175 with boiler plate works great for gs.

Great idea. Love the idea of a stealth course.

Yes. I have used a 175 before and the 163 is much easier to use. I do Ok on a 163 w no plate but sometimes the ruts kill me. Hence that's why I am trying a plate. The big problem is that I get 2 runs on the slalom course per weekend with no other access to it so it's tough to get data points.

Yes, that is my setup (see start of thread).

Saw it early this morning on NBC 17. 1.15am->1.50am this morning. They showed several runs from the womens (quarter finals and up to final), and just the final 2 runs of the mens. Good coverage anyhow. Grateful to be able to see it.

They DID broadcast it (NBC 17). 1.15am->1.50am this morning. They showed several runs from the womens (quarter finals and up to final), and just the final 2 runs of the mens. Good coverage anyhow. Grateful to be able to see it.

Any sign of it in your viewing area? NBC claimed to be broadcasting it from 8pm-11.30pmm. It's 11.11pm, no sign of it yet, and they have figure skating on now. Sigh...

If the skiers won't loan you poles to start with, ask the starter to move closer and see if he'll crouch down and let you use his shoulder to push off.

Depends on the rules. Where I race, as they have no-start gate at some venues, we can push off with poles, but have to drop them immediately so we don't get an advantage beyond the start (and we are compensated by a handicap difference cf skiing). Other venues have rigid start poles which we can pull from, so no poles are needed.

$strider - thanks for the input. You guys might be on the money. Overall (slalom and GS) my times are slower this year (no medals in NASTAR at all this year, and my handicap in the racing league is rising), but I've only done two weekends of racing, so I think I might still be ramping up this year. The plate for GS, feels really good, and dominates any ruts. In slalom, ruts can be a huge factor, which is why I want to continue with a plate of some kind. I'm also not really sold on the VIST (looks complex, lots of parts etc, and a bit flimsy) - I have more confidence in the Boiler plate. I learnt something interesting early season this year, in that I tend to 'jerk' my turns, especially the initiation of them. Apparently I stay on one edge (locked into it), and then make sudden sharp movement to try to initiate the turn. This isn't very efficient, as the board does not turn well when driven in this manner, and while I might be on the new edge, I am sliding on the new edge, and (when icy) may have to wait a short while until I've slowed down before the edge grabs. This was brought to my attention a month ago. While I was out in Montana (on softboots) a couple of weeks ago, I injured my achilles tendon, forcing me to go back to basics and re-learn how to snowboard without making jerky turns (which hurt). I found that if I used good form, and slower but earlier movements to roll on/off power in the turn, I could get effective turns without hurting myself. I think that this is going to help everything. Funny how getting injured may have been the necessary catalyst to get my snowboarding to the next level in learning progression.

Check out USASA also. They may have events near your area.

It's like a party that everyone is invited to. Skier friends of mine are honored to receive an invite to NASTAR nationals, as it's a rare event for them, and they move the world to go. I've received an invite every year for NASTAR nationals, as I ride a snowboard so it's less special. Seems like NASTAR could be making some money at Nationals, with the $200 entry fee. I've only been once, but I had a fun time, as did most others seem to be having.

Center of the front foot is behind the axle, a little forward of the center point default stance. Rear foot is just forward of the axle and just around center point of the default stance. Thanks for the tips on binding play. I don't notice it when I am riding on the board, but I can hear it when I am adjusting bindings, or when just have one foot connected etc.

Thanks Lowrider. You and Beckman make some good points. In retrospect, as I'm running 40 degrees, I don't think that I need to slacken the angle anymore. I will try the reduced height plate-orientated TD3's in two weeks and see if that helps. If If I'm still failing, I will set up another board without plates and A-B them in March. I'm doing OK in GS on my longer board (same plate / binding setup), it just might be that Slalom is more difficult. Going back to a point Beckman made, I am not particularly good at slalom, I'm always fighting one thing or another, but adding the plate seems to have caused even more problems than I normally have.

Thanks for the comments Beckman AG. A couple of notes - I went with the shallowest angle I could get away with, and with the increased height of the stack using the plate that was about 40 degrees. I could go to a steeper angle, but that would increase any balance problems. Chris Klug once advised me to go as shallow as possible as the board width allows to increase balance. Kieran is right, I just noticed that the board I have the Boiler Plate on, has the tell-tale signs (topsheet markings) of having had a VIST plate installed on it. I'm getting rattle (like half of a mm of play) on both axles of the Bolier plate (side to side). Wonder if that's bearing wear? (the side bolts are snug).

Tonight I'm changing the TD2 SI's to TD3-plate-model SI's. I think that that should lower the stack height some.

I want to say that loss of board feel might be an issue. It's hard to quantify things, when I've had about 1 minute 30 seconds total on the race course so far this year. Symptoms are :- - Falling. - Getting and being late for the gates. - Excessive use of arms. TD2 SI bindings are set up at 40 degrees front and rear (according to the dial indicator). 3mm degree on front, 6 degree on rear. Boiler plate 4mm. SG 163cm It's probably something that practice could fix.