Corey

I just received my first set of TD2 bindings from YYZ Canuck (super-fast service!) and was playing with the parts. I noticed that the center disk will rock in the cant disk from side to side. It's completely rigid from front to back as denoted by the tip/tail markings, but it rolls a fair bit from side to side. Refer to this for nomenclature: parts page With the E-ring in place and everything bolted down, this would allow the cant disk to rotate about the long axis of the board a bit. Not crazy amounts, but a fair bit. The left and right edges of the center disk can move about 0.024" up and down relative to the cant disk. The center discs are not flat when compared against the base of the base plate, they rock in the same direction quoted above. Almost like a potato chip with the high edges facing the edges of the board and the low edges facing forward. Both center disks rock in the same manner in either cant disk. To be 100% clear: there is no sliding-type motion, the center discs are a tight fit within the cant discs. 0.024" isn't a lot, the flexibility of the e-ring is WAY more than that. Maybe this is part of the design to allow a smooth lateral rocking of the whole binding relative to the board? Or maybe I just got unlucky and got bad parts? I don't know. Is this normal? I'd appreciate any input anyone can offer! :) - Politically correct statement: I'm not complaining, just wondering if the parts I have are ok before I bolt them up and use them on Sunday. I've called Bomber and YYZ Canuck but I think they've left for the weekend.

No doubt! I agree 100% that having the adjuster easily comes apart when unlocked. You can pull them apart with your hands when they're off the boot. How would a locked device allow the boot to 'flex deeply'? By definition, the adjuster locks the boot in one position. The BTS can only make a boot stiffer than it was with an adjuster in walk mode. Here's another thought experiment. Take two situations at the extremes of flexibility: 1. No boot at all. Assume your foot is held rigidly to the ground. As you move your body further and further forward, your ankle is going to pop way before your leg breaks. 2. Foot firmly encased in cement to the same height as a snowboard boot. As you move your body forward, your leg is going to snap before the ankle is very stressed. I love my BTS and think everyone should try them, but I just can't see how they would do anything to help you in your crash. I believe your leg would have broken just the same no matter what you had to stiffen your boot.

Damn, those pictures make me wince. I wish you a quick recovery! Here's the thought process going through my head: 1. If a boot is in walk/powder mode, it's easier to move the cuff. 2. If it's easier to move the cuff, there will be less force on the leg for a given amount of movement. 3. If there's less force on the leg, it's less likely to break. A similar thought experiment shows that riding in locked mode will cause more load on your lower leg and less likelihood of an ankle sprain. I could understand how riding in walk/powder mode would make you more prone to spraining ankles, but it goes against reason that it would cause more stress to your tib/fib.

I'm strongly considering buying a longboard to pump around in parking lots and wider bike trails. Most of the advice seems to be tailored around going down hills - I don't have any! It's flat here, we ski and snowboard down into river valleys... I'm not going to go super fast, and will be trying to emulate wider carves than are shown in most of the fast pumping scenes. The guy pumping along at 0:58 in this video looks like what I want to do. I skateboarded a lot when I was younger, and really enjoyed pumping 'tic-tacs' (I think that was the name) - very similar to the pumping technique in the clip above. I got to the point where I could do it with only occasionally touching down the front wheels. That was 15-20 years ago though... Is it even possible to maintain speed on totally flat ground without pumping really quick like they do in these videos? My goals are to get out in the fresh air, get some exercise, and have fun re-learning something I used to love. Would something like the Loaded Vanguard or Pintail suit my needs? Are there cheaper options I should consider? My wife thinks I'm nuts for even considering buying a skateboard! ;) :p

What is an "Assessment Index?" I just picked one number for all of them as it isn't defined.

-40 days before the windchill come about once a month here. -45 happen about once or twice a winter. No exposed skin is the number one rule, number two is to make sure you don't overheat. Pit zips rock! I quite enjoy those days because almost no one else is out so you almost get the lifts to yourself. And, the people that do come out usually are pretty serious and tend not to run into you or each other. Wax goes away mighty fast on that snow!

Canadian Snowboarder (TV show on SCR - The Score) just had a clip about racing in the adaptive snowboarder program with the Canadian Snowboarding Federation. I captured it with Windows MCE, I'll try to convert it into some type of clip that can be shared. Most of the riders were in softboot gear on a parallel GS course.

Bummer Greg! :( I just remembered that Ian had talked about taking some pictures and video of each other having fun out there. Doh! Ah well, next time. That made me LOL! Someone has to slip a packing tape patch on Allee's back next time. ;)

Just got off the plane in Winnipeg. It's a balmy -30C with no wind. :( I felt like turning around and getting a ticket to go back. I am pretty sore today. My calves hurt real bad, I didn't even notice working them yesterday! I guess the BTS kit really does get your ankles working more. Allee, you were ripping it up out there! You looked like you were very comfortable on your board. Just watch out for those body-dragging carves over ledges... ;) Let's plan for another meet at SES next year!

Day 1 was pretty fun, but it really highlighted my lack of mountain experience. I used to hate moguls before, now I really dislike them after accidentally getting stuck multiple times on some blue and black runs with some big ones. As Bartron said, at least they're pretty soft at Louise. My friend tore his ACL and MCL (while skiing) on the second run of Day 1. Oops! The crazy part is that he skied the rest of day on easy groomers, thinking it was just a mild strain. Wow. Today was the best day of riding I've had in years! Thanks to Allee and Bartron for being fantastic riding buddies. Our riding levels were close enough that we were able to stick together all day, searching for those great groomers with little traffic. We had more than a few people standing slack-jawed at the side of the run as three carvers tore past them. Gtanner was completely right, the 178 Proton wasn't a fun board on 90% of the runs. The 168 Renntiger was fun on everything, from dodging moguls to trying to keep up with Bartron's big GS turns. Wicked fun trip! :) I'm going to go soak my exhausted muscles in a hot tub now...

Yuck, it sounds like it's going to be a slushy couple of days: http://www.weather.ca/weather/cities/can/Pages/CAAB0016.htm +5C - I'm going to have to look for a lighter jacket than I usually use. Most of my riding is done at -15 to -20C. Still looking forward to it though!

Wowza! I didn't expect that, thanks for the tip! We were planning to be there early so we could get on the lift at 9, but we'll have to bump the schedule up a bit.

Sweet! I'll be there. It's sad, I've never even seen another hardbooter before. I might shed a tear... ;)

Cool! Thanks so much for the info gang. Greg: I'll be in an army green jacket/black pants/full-face helmet. I'll likely be resting at the side of the run as the longest runs I get to play on locally have 350' vertical. :(

Ahh, I see. Gotcha! I don't get along well with bumps on any board. :D I have an older 173 Renntiger that's beat to hell, maybe I'll take that instead of the 168 for powder. It's more of a rockboard than the other two.

We're going to try Lake Louise. Thanks for the advice! I have no doubt that I'll wish for more of an all-mountain board at some point. If the powder is epic, I'll rent a soft board setup. I'm curious about this comment. What's the reasoning behind it? Is it related to length or board design? I've found the 178 to be a more versatile tool. The 168 doesn't like higher speeds and I really only dig it out when there are so many people that I can't easily pick a line through them without freaking them (or myself ;)) out. I won't be buying any new gear for this trip. It will be my first ride with my new BTS kit though! :)

A few friends and I are making a trip to Calgary and then to Sunshine or Lake Louise on March 3rd and 4th (Sat-Sun). We're having a hard time deciding which resort to spend both days at, which would you recommend? Background: -I'm going primarily for the carving, having the option to go play in powder after my legs are burnt out might be nice but is a low priority. -I'm an intermediate carver (very rarely skid) after about 3 years of riding hardboots, and have about 15 years of softboots before that. -Steep blacks make me slow down a bit, about 1/2 of the blue runs out there are too shallow for me. -I most enjoy wide slopes where you can test how many G's you can develop without fear of going into the trees if you lose the edge. Boards I'll be taking: -178 Oxygen Proton GS, primary choice for bombing around and carving fast -168 Volkl Renntiger GS, secondary choice when I feel like slowing down or there are crowds What do you think? Sunshine or Lake Louise? Which particular runs would you recommend? I've got to make the final decision today.

I have a few fleece tubes/neckwarmers that I just tuck under my goggles. Depending on the temperature, I pick a different thickness. The neoprene masks sucked for me too, even after enlarging the breathing holes. With the fleece tubes, I'm good to -40C/F! Although when it gets really cold it's hard to keep your goggles from fogging - the fleece can tend to channel a tiny portion of your breath directly into the googles. You have to be very careful to ensure that there is a gap at the bottom to let the air out after a layer of frost has formed on the outside. A full-face helmet doesn't help, unless it's like a snowmobile helmet or something. Don't try that, they fog up nearly instantly...

The biggest thing I've noticed is that the average female is more willing to listen than the average male. Guys tend to think they're god's gift to snowboarding very early on in the learning process, while girls tend to be unsure about their abilities and soak up knowledge like a sponge. After they get past the beginner level, that male confidence can help more than it hinders though. I've noticed the same tendencies in performance driving schools.

Another way to think of it: -The closer the top and bottom nuts are to each other, the stiffer the flex will be and the less travel you'll have -move both nuts up to have more forward lean -move both nuts down to have less forward lean If you find the correct stiffness but want to change the forward lean, turn both top and bottom nuts an equal amount of turns up or down. Turning just one nut (either one) will affect both the stiffness and the forward lean.

Thanks for the advice! I'll make an appointment to see a doctor at a local sports clinic if it doesn't feel 100% in the next couple of days. It doesn't hurt nearly as bad today. Walking in a straight line is fine, as is going up stairs two at a time. There's still discomfort while pivoting, but a fraction of what it was yesterday.

"Now I see why you wear a helmet." - Liftie that has a clear view of the run I was playing on. "Man, you're practically laying down on the snow in the turns!" - Same liftie a couple of runs later. That made my day! :D

I had a weird crash yesterday and hurt my knee a bit. Should I be concerned? Details: I was in a toeside carve on a blue-ish run, trying to push my limits and turn harder. About half-way through the arc, I lost the edge and the board started skipping. No problem, I just layed down and figured I'd slide to a stop on my side/stomach while going feet-first. The problem came once I'd slowed down a fair bit: the tail of the board caught a soft spot. This bent my legs and forced the tail almost in contact with my butt. With the angle of my feet, I immediately felt a sharp pain in my rear (right) knee as I did a very slow-motion high-side and came to stop with my head downhill. It had a dull ache so I took a break and then went back out. It's not bad for riding, but if I pivot on that leg towards the left while walking it hurts a fair bit. Not excruciating, but it makes me subconsciously bend the knee to stop the pain.

I've got to wonder if the complaints about the Protons feeling very damp are just due to the line of thought at the time when they were first released; that boards had to be lively to be 'good'. :D As crappy as the collision and resulting board damage was, I dug out the Renntiger and slowed things down for a while. That board is really fun in fairly small radius carves at moderate pace! I focused on technique more and really bumped up my riding abilities through the rest of the day - even on really hard snow.

I had the unfortunate luck of having a skier run in to me yesterday on a local hill. I was travelling at about 45 degrees to the fall line just transitioning from a toeside carve into a heelside when he hit me. After the ensuing tumble and figuring out that everyone was still alive (See P.S. below), I noticed the damage to my board. :( But, it did reveal something interesting! His skis cut through the fiberglass on my Oxygen Proton 178 on the top edge of the cap. It revealed a metal layer that runs across the whole topsheet and down the sidewalls! Very interesting! I'd heard that the Oxygens only had a small strip of metal running down the center of the board, that's clearly not the case. Pictures don't quite do it justice, but here's an attempt: We're talking about the Oxygen on the right. Standard tail cut on the Protons showing metal layers top and bottom of the core. Click to see big picture Click to see big picture It is hard to see in the pictures, but there is clearly a metal cap that is making the turn from the topsheet and running down the sidewall. Was Atomic/Oxygen that far ahead of the game? Could the reviews that claim this board is too 'damp' and dead be noticing the same thing we're hearing from riders of the current metal boards? - P.S. I strained my elbow in the crash and have a slightly sore back. The guy that hit me was not doing well, we think he hit my shoulder or hip with his chest. He was gasping VERY hard for breath when I first got to him. After it was clear that he wasn't going to die or anything and the Ski Patroller berated him for not yielding to the downhill skier, I left. I saw him walking to the parking lot with his arm in a sling an hour later. I got off very lucky!