jburk

Yup, it would seem so... I swapped out the button head S/S phillips screws for S/S bolts with a 4mm head last week; I despise phillips screws and replace them with hex heads every chance I get. While I had them off I opened each heel; cables were good, and they didn't need re-lubing.

Thanks, that's something I can easily relate to. Rode everything from track bikes with 140 psi tires to full-on downhill sleds with 3.0 tires and 22psi. Granted the track bikes were only ever ridden on smooth wooden track surfaces, at the velodrome I mostly rode at you could still feel the difference between the vertically sandwiched boards below the stayer's line and the plywood on the high banks, while the downhill bikes would roll over rocks the size of golfballs with almost no feedback.

OK, damping as the characteristic rate for which an oscillating system returns to its initial static state after absorbing energy makes a lot of sense in this regard. I spent a lot of time back in the day tuning suspension on motorcycles and then later mountain bikes. Wheeled suspension systems that I'm familiar with are interesting in that they provide separate damping circuits and adjustments for compression and rebound damping; if only snowboards could do the same. In the context of how damping relates to a snowboard, I'm guessing the primary motivation is absorption of energy imparted by the surface ("smoothness"?), with the tradeoff being how quickly stored energy is returned from the system (is that what a lot of people refer to as "pop"?).

Are these two boards the same shape, camber, dimensions, etc, and differ only in the laminate sandwich composition? For those that have had the chance to ride both, how does the ride compare between the two? Never having had the opportunity to ride a metal board myself, I won’t be able to relate when someone will invariably describe it as “more damp”, so please take pity on me and use a different adjective.

Thanks for the reply. Didn't realize the internals were mostly plastic. Looks like I'll just do the external checks now, and crack them open at the end of the 17/18 season.

Put about 20 days in last year on new fintec heels (purchased around mid-feb), then put them away for the offseason. Been stored at room temperature since, no damp basements or 120 degree attics. I'd remove the liners to let the shells dry out completely when I wasn't riding consecutive days, and also for about 4 days at season's end. I intend to give the cables a visual inspection for wear (purchased a set of spare cables when I bought the heels), but do you think it's overkill to pull the heels from the boots and open them up for inspection/re-lube? The effort to fully retract the pins seems unchanged from when they were first installed on the boots, so I don't think there's any binding in the mechanism. Better safe than sorry, or should I leave well enough alone?

Received the bags, exactly as described. Thanks!

I'll take them, PM me your paypal info

Don't know about you, but my compulsiveness is pretty consistent...

one-stop shopping: http://store.bomberonline.com/TD3-2nd-Board-Kit-BP-Version-_p_235.html

You should also have received some flat-head Phillips screws in the hardware bag that came with the boiler plate. If the 5mm hex cap screws that attach the side bosses to the plate are in the way of mounting the standard TD-3 bases, you can swap them for the flat-head Phillips if you want. If you do swap them out, make sure the axles still slide freely between the side bosses after the swap and before you mount the plate to the bases again. There's a YouTube vid from BOL about installing the plate which also highlights dealing with the side bosses. https://youtu.be/5cKgPEK3rLs?t=8m34s

@Donek and @barryj, thanks for showing me what I missed, always good to learn something. Oh yeah: mea culpa. I felt a bit of the fool this morning having posted "it's structure", and only after posting did I check AA's profile. "Doh, I guess he knows what the bottom of an board is supposed to look like". That's what comes from ignoring my own rule about never posting before coffee...

Are you referring to the cross-hatching pattern on the base? That's the structure, a desirable trait. If not that patterning, is there something more specific? It's not evident (to my tired old eyes) from the pics.

I'm bummed I missed it. Domestic obligations that Saturday and all, but I figure I'm winning if my 14- and 17-year old daughters still want to hang out with me; in not too many years they'll be out of the house and I'll have all the time in the world for things like this. Sunday was good at Meadows once it softened up. Did anyone get any pictures to post?

There's a Japanese F2 distributor's site which seems to a.) keep previous year's products' pages online, and b.) use an easily-guessable naming convention: http://www.wslc.co.jp/snow/f2/11_12/products.htm The detail graphic for this board shows a darker colour scheme, but otherwise the graphics and specs seem right. Found that site when I was trying to get a model year for my (turns out to be an '03) Silberpfeil.

Another thing on the wish list would be the ability to properly center a UPZ mp26 with fintec heels, can't get it close enough to the toe edge; the step-in heel receiver's as far forward as it can go, and still not far enough...

Probably as simple as "Timberline said 'yes', and Meadows never got back to us".

I could be persuaded. Live in SE PDX, but all my riding's been at Meadows. Never been to Timberline, it would be cool.

Shooting Star and HRM are my favourites when I can get over there. It took me four tries the first time I tried to get from SS over to HRM, keep missing the fork: "Crap, I'm on Voyager again!" It started to get humorous.

Might also be the lifts I generally ride; I'm usually on the south side with my family, so relegated to Vista / Daisy / Easy Rider. If the lifties tend to work the same chairs it might explain the lack of exposure.

Thanks! Didn't realize that thread existed. Meadows is all I've ridden this year in Oregon, seasons passes there for the whole family so it's the default choice.

Spotted a Swoard with Cateks in the rack at Mt Hood Meadows yesterday, it's the first alpine rig I've seen there all season other than mine. And judging by the comments from the lifties, mine's pretty much been the only one up there this season; the only comments outside of the "what is that" genre are "wow, haven't seen one of those for years..." Took a quick look around, no one standing near it, and when I walked by again 5 minutes later it was gone. Too bad, would have been great to do some turns.

Received my parts, exactly as described and delivered very quickly. Thank you!

Update: I seem to have a working solution with MP26 UPZs and TD3 stepins (non-sidewinder version) by using gilmour bias on a board with an 18.5cm waist and a 10.5m ssr. Since the front foot was already slightly biased towards the heel side, I only had to move it one "dimple" on the toe block towards the heel, think that's 1/8". The rear foot was already centered, so adjusted it as mentioned in the "gilmour bias" thread mentioned earlier, set it up so that the 3rd and 4th toes overhang the edge, think it was 1/4" adjustment towards the toeside edge. Was on the hill about 3 hours today, and it rode really well: toe and heel side turns felt like they took about the same amount of effort to initiate, where before the adjustment toeside turns took a lot more to get going compared to heelside. Remains to be seen if I have an issue with boot-out as I get the board more up on edge.

Thank you to @bigwavedave for the quick packaging and fast shipping. USPS says it should be at my door on Portland, OR on Monday.