Eric Brammer aka PSR
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Posts posted by Eric Brammer aka PSR
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I'll note again Sk8kings, as Rich, Rene, and Maria all know what's what, and they'll help with any questions. They also (being Slalomers) sell wheels by the pair, and know how to fit bushings. Note that Richy also made a flippable Randal-compatible hanger that doesn't need much by way of wedges, so it's a one-nut-turned solution unto itself. And, should you order from them, tell them I said Hola.
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That incident wasn't 'animosity', so much as it was cluelessness, apathy, and a disregard of the Responsibility Code. And, it happens all too often. The Ski Areas have, within their education programs, a limited means of changing this so that it happens less. When I was an Instructor, I carried clipping pliers with me and I darned well clipped some tickets in my day (especially at Okemo and Bromley, where the traffic flow gets very congested, but people are still moving too fast.
Like a car accident, it's wise to get names and a witness, if possible. If not, and you're able, don't let the perp get too far before alerting Ski Patrol or a Liftie. Mountain employees often have the power to restrict an offender.
Meanwhile, make sure you are wary of who's nearby. Use you heelsides turns to plan your routes, use your toesides to scan the oncoming traffic uphill of you.
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Yeah, the pilot's name "Kara Wade" was just a tad familiar... Besides, the 'stealthiest' plane the Navy has are EF-18F 'Growlers', and the only reason they're slightly stealthy is the huge Radar Jammers they carry! In that [stealthy strike aircraft], the Navy is at least 30 yrs. behind the USAF, but ahead of game, considering how bad the F-35 is doing [it lost to an F-16 in Combat maneuvering. That's a 40-year-old airframe that kicked it's butt..]. At least an F-18 can tote bombs and dogfight on the same mission.
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The toe-stop is something you add, where you want to add it. A trick J.Gilmour showed me was to simply put a chalk mark along where your front little-toe is as you ride. Keep it as a reference for a bit, and see if your foot moves any. Once you know where your foot is happiest, bolt on your toeblock. Just use a T-nut+bolt that's at least a US #10 or Metric 5mm in diameter.
Neil has a good idea with the Bennett/Tracker 'S' combo. I tend to think of those in terms of skinny (5" wide) Slaloming trucks, but they both are available 4-1/2" up to 7" long axles, so these should fit at around 6", though a center-set wheel might end up being too narrow in track? Anyhow, that truck combo should have a nimble feel to it, and the Tracker 'S' (as in RTS) turns a much mellower rate than the Bennett.
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What you want is the Khiro Wedge Kit. I hope the link works, but if not, go to Sk8Kings, and look up Khiro as a brand. This kit lets you finesse the angles nicely. I'd recommend also thin rubber shim risers to level things out, and add a little vibration dampening. And, yup, you've got the concept with how to wedge the trucks; more steering up front, less at the rear.
http://www.sk8kings.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=S&Product_Code=SKKRO215
Your trucks are fine, just work out the bushing combo. Look into using a fat bushing (one with some bounce, so not the low-rebound Venom Eliminator), at the rear to give a quicker return-to-center (Tracker Stimulators, or Radikals, IF you can find them). Bear JimZ's, the Venom High-rebound Elim., or Ripide fatty would be what's findable nowadays. Up front, Reflex bushings, one barrel, one coned, would be a good way to dial in the steering. Get a pair that's a few durometer points both stiffer, then softer, than the stock bushings (which should be 88A?). Mix/match until it feels right.
With wheels, Gumballs are fine (I got 2nd at The Worlds Super-G on them, they work!) but are big for tighter turns. Zig-Zags, in the Reflex formula would increase grip and 'edge feel', but being smaller would be slower in LDP riding. Speed Vents in Black-Ops formula or Sk8kings Turbo [composite core] might be the better choice if you want the speed, but also have that crisp turn feel. Depends on how steep your hills are, I guess. Beware that many 'big' wheels out there now are deliberately less sticky, as the 'sliding' technique has gained favor (I shaped the No-Skool for that; Double radiused, center-set, pick your duro) , so some of the former 'Race' wheels (like Avilas) are not so great for pumping hard turns on.
Last item to consider would be a toe-stop up front, if you are on flatter areas. It'll add thrust and provide consistent foot placement.
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The Cindrich baseplate has you covered in regards to the kingpin. Should you need to replace it, get a Bowmalloy bolt in Grade 8. When I worked on Rollercoasters, Bowmalloy was what we used to replace any suspect bolts.
You broke a Seismic spring? Wow! I've tweaked the baseplates, but never cracked a spring.
Sidewinders; If you replace the kingpins, you'll need an Arbor press, and you might want to go 1/4" longer when/if you do.
Oh, and the 'ABEC 11' bushings I noted are the "Reflex" bushings Crote noted; I just couldn't recall the brand name , doh.
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Yeah, but no...
It's been over 33 yrs. since I rode a dirt motorbike with any intent. It was a hell of a lot of fun, but that limber young lad I was is not who's typing now!. I truly do respect Trials Riding, be it with or without a motor. The thinking and skill that go into it are often up to the limits of imagination of the rider, and using the terrain around you in that way is creativity in motion.
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Some of that footage was, I believe, from one the early ECES meets. It was awesome to watch these guys (and others) ripping it up down Sunbowl in packs. At one point, we had Kevin Burke's filming crew just kinda hovering, filming, at times even from the chairlift (When no-one was 'on spot'- just riding, but still looking really good!), or following small groups around.
That's one minor regret I have, that I don't have much footage from when I could still put in a full day of Carving. But, I am stoked that we had a crew with cameras out back then. Now, it's all Go-Pro wand-held selfies...
BTW, if Anyone has Bob Lawliss' few snippets of me on my 162 Tanker (white top,blue base, blue boots), please send me a P.M. here!
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OY!, So many moments like that in my time! When I taught at Okemo, I dreaded the 11 am 'private, 1hr.' slot, as that put me on the (usually) lower mountain, just in time for the Conn. Lunch Crowd (They ALL ate at the same time?!?) to be heading to either the base or mid-lodge. Often, I'd just put myself between the Perp and my student, and try not to get slammed too hard. One guy hit me (big dude, too) while I did a 'goalie save' of my 12 yr old female student; hit so hard that he broke my Nitro Pyro between the bindings. Broke his ski boot, too.
Best thing, btw is your Hearing for defense. You hear 'shralpp' just uphill of you, go the other way, quickly! I also use my toeside turns to take a gander at what's uphill of me, which can help you pace or re-locate your turns to avoid potential collisions.
Nicely done, Ryan!
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Aw, man, do I ever miss my Montessa!! Sold it before I went to college...
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If you put Okemo on the short list, keep in mind that there is bussing in/around Ludlow, out to Proctorsville as well.
My house was in Perkinsville/N. Springfield, and while it was a half-hour out, it was an easy drive along Rt.103 (or a twisty-but-fun romp along Rt.131). Never was late to the hill, but working weekends, you couldn't leave until after dark from the traffic flow coming down Rt.100 from Killington.
At least at Stratton, there's more than one way out.
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This, by example..
www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOfqQT-mbQ4
The CarveFather, at Hunter/Windham, upstate N.Y., almost a decade ago.
or, you can bore yourself with my 15 seconds worth in the carvemaster challenge from 2004 (although, I think that's only carve-to-carve noseroll done on a bigger board [182cm] and caught on video that I've seen)
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...until one reads inane posts like the many above, then they RUN AWAY!! Why? Well, you've got over-educated loonies telling you you're not quite riding right, but from a bunch of narrow POV's...
I've seen it all, rode most of it (within the limits of my aging carcass, that is).
Snowboarding should be a sport that embraces purists and adventurers alike with open arms. Like it's cousins of Skiing and Skateboarding, it has many, many disciplines, some of which haven't even been truly defined. [skateboarding, btw, has more 'true' defined disciplines than any other sport i know of, save "swimming" IF you included all diving, and games inclusive. Snowboarding is Skateboarding's bastard child, and that shows!] So, we need to make a little room for those 'other' thoughts and approaches to sliding sideways/diagonal/on-edge/and Down the hill, and do so, a bit, HERE.
So, as I've found on other sites, I do need to SHUT UP, or at least Bite My Keyboard/Tongue at times. And, keep an open mind as to how this All Works, with an eye on the next thing that's Good that we can do.
So, back to the original premise;
I can kick the angry dude at the bar in the balls really hard with these boots!
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Stratton, as a Corporation, is all about PRICEY real estate... So, you, unless you have a 7-figure income, you cannot even be along the access road up to the venue.
Stratton has diligently pushed an 'upmarket' policy such that it's skier/rider numbers are less than 1/5th of what we saw 20 years ago. It's a dying cash-laundering cow, at best.
Ascutney did the same, but on a lesser scale; they're dead, done, gone.
Places nearby to look; Jamaica, Peru, Townsend, Arlington or Dorset. All better than 20 minutes out, in winter (although, by snowmobile, that can be shorter).
Nearby-ish, and starved for renters, is Magic Mt./Londonderry, near the very first Burton factory, even. However, it's Ugly out there, with rentals being so bad that I've had my toilet fall through (This, btw, in a public market, thus 'shared' bathroom!) the floor in such a venue. Be wary, very wary.
So, don't get your hopes up. But, maybe, if you can traverse the 30-minute-to-the-hill bubble, you might find something out there, nearby, kinda.
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Yeah, but no one went switch...
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BINGO! Thank You , Jack!!
One of the fun things in my work as a Machinist has been finding the 'root cause' when things go South. The predictable path is that the Op blames the machine, or process, or Engineer. Yet, it's their inputs to said machine, that usually cause an error. It's not always this way, but to have the "think before you crash" mentality does help.
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A more expensive fix would be these;
https://stokedskateboards.com/dont-trip-slalocybins-precision-longboard-truck-set.html
My friend Nelson scooped up these last summer for his Turner Summer Ski, and they just were Awesome! We did a bushing kit, and some soft-ish risers of, I think, around 3/8", slapped on some Seismic Ripplers (small, but sticky!), and WOW, the thing just rode great! Best was adjusting the turn angle a click or so to get the rate-of-turn desired, just one allen key, two bolts;Simple!
While I'm not sure I'd want to free-dog/slide on these (the baseplate is literally two half-bases; It might tweak under sliding side-loads?), but for carving, or cone-dodging,
I think it's a great rendition. BTW, I 1st saw this 'variable' turn idea on J. Gilmour's Turner, with Prototype PVD's, about 15 years ago. Verdone didn't bother to patent it, so GOG and others have tried it since.
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Ah, but Nothing is Absolute; Absolutely Nothing!
Oh, and, in Geometry, the Quigley Theorem states 'That Between Two Legs, there is Always an Angle', and that's been proven!
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Those are indeed the stock, 90A, Big Bennett Bushings. Toe stopper, eh? Nah, too small, use Vemon Eliminators, the ones that Don't Bounce! LOL
Oh, btw, Bobble, if you need to raise it up that extra 1/4", and keep the steering angle you have, you might want to get the old 'thane flat 1/2" risers, like the ones over on oldschoolskates.net. Ozzie may even have them in more than one durometer. They'll both smooth out the ride, but also keep the truck from twisting against the deck while turning (sticky critters). Of course, thin Dooks or Khiro rubber shock pads will do the same, just thinner.
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Funny, because, I have that 'magic' softboot binding. I've been using it a bit, too. Even left my board, with said binding, at the ECES tent (set up regular, too!) for anyone to try. Showed it to Jim, and explained that as a 'strap kit', it could fit many existing bindings.
But...
The tongues came from a binding that's been 'extinct' for 23 years,,,
Oh well, thought I'd at least let ya'll know it did, once, exist.
Hard Boots! Yeah, that's where, for whatever reason, no one seems to want to innovate anymore. When, if, that happens, I hope the designers keep the 'best of' features we have now, but find a way to also include a better flex range, and a sole that can be walked with in the winter!
Meanwhile, many softboots aimed at the split-board crowd are getting really nicely stiff, so, there is a ray of hope there. But, I don't foresee anyone using a 'softshell' effectively up past 40* of angle, ever.
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Drayton Rules!!
Just don't go skateboarding with him, he'll bring these cones, and...
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surefoot.com
I had mentioned earlier Peterson footbeds, but Mr. Peterson passed away a few years back, so.. Well, these are somewhat similar.
Features I like here, though, are the plastic 'frame' of the footbed being fairly stiff, yet padded on the top with a memory foam, and under the heel being an easily milled/sanded stiff foam. They'll be a bit chillier than a cork bed, though, as plastic isn't the insulator cork is.
I had noted that in your case, you don't want to mold-up Thermofit liners while wearing cork footbeds because of the possibility of crushing the cork. That doesn't mean that cork can't or shouldn't be used in a TF liner; you can always just wear a cheap 'filler' footbed in the mold-up process, then switch out to using cork beds later.
(btw, neither cork nor stiff plastics are good in softboots, not enough flex when walking)
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Raise it! A Bennett can turn quite deep. You'll only need to go another 1/4", I think, to clear the wheels. Of course, going to a wheel a few MM smaller might do it, too. When you check the lean, be sure to be standing on the board, and Tip IT Way Over into the turn. You need your mass and leg strength to determine whether it'll rub, no way can you truly check this just by hand-flexing the hanger...
For a replacement (stiffer, same, softer) bushing on the deck-side, look into the taller (.750") ABEC 11 bushings. I seem to recall Riptide also making a tall-as-Bennett bushing, but I don't think their 'chubby' ones are over 5/8" tall?
You can also try just fitting a thin washer (I use the Nylon faucet washers with a 3/8" bore, 1" O.D. of 1/8" thickness) between the baseplate and washer under the bushing, but that'll increase your turn geometry a bit, making the front steer just a tad more.
If you increase the steering angle, it will give you more steering for a given amount of lean, so a thin Khiro wedge of, say, 3* or 4* would be a good fit here. Don't over-do the wedging, though. Bennetts get 'squirrelly' once the axle is ahead of the pivot cup, and that Wobble is a bad one!
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Unless you have very early (1993-1994) Burton plates, you should be able to use any newer Burton disc except those used on the Lil' kid's bindings.
The ones you want are 4" across, and there's even the 'unidisk' that fits (with limited hole-sets) both 3-D + 4x4 inserts. A 'regular' 4x4 disc should have four oval slots, giving 5 positions to mount the disc to the board, so that's an inch of 'play' away from the insert's center-of-square. If you use a Burton cant at the rear, look for the oval slots to be arranged at 45 degrees, so that the disc can mount fore-aft along the board's centerline.
[ Just don't use the 2-slot type that's on channel boards, as those only allow for two screws (I don't trust this, btw, but it seems not to be a concern in the industry). ]
The little, older disc ('93+ Tot's model) measures only 3-3/8" across, and in 4x4, only had four holes, not extra space for moving the binding fore/aft.
It's been over 33 yrs. since I rode a dirt motorbike with any intent. It was a hell of a lot of fun, but that limber young lad I was is not who's typing now!. 
Animosity on the slopes towards carvers?
in Carving Central
Posted
On this note, one thing to keep in mind is that a Skier will 'reference' your shoulders while you are on your heelside, and often do so at a glance. With that, they may assume your path by way of a false cue.
That torso isn't heading down the fall-line, it's coming across it!
And, then there are those who text while skiing, so...