Tddragon
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Posts posted by Tddragon
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3 minutes ago, Atom Ant said:
For what these do, the price is ridiculous. Was with Apex, and even more so with Virus.
That's a matter of opinion. Allflex plate is over $1,200 with shipping and import duties For what they do for "me" they are "worth it"
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19 minutes ago, dhamann said:
looking for specs. ie, how high riser extensions are (10mm?), durometer of bumpers, bumper options, plate thickness composite, etc.
i see two plate options depending on width of board, but not any tech info. assume they're all pretty much identical to gecko cross and carve plates. definitely a sigh of relief knowing there's another set of bx plates out there, with gecko/apex gone. thanks for sharing.
30mm diameter bumpers . Medium/firm 65shore bumpers currently only available. Soft on backorder.
Height of whole setup is 5mm plate + 10mm bumpers.
They also have 6mm thick plates but these are very stiff.
They said they will also be able to make custom plates for wider boards or narrower boards, or a carbon mount for go pro etc.
Design looks more thought out then geckos with the mounting. Will write full review once I try them out.
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With Apex out of business and noone selling them anymore - I was excited to see that Virus just released similar plates - in 2 widths and with customization options.
Getting some. Will post a review once I get them.
https://shop.virus-snowsports.com/produkt/virus-isolator-absortion-plate/
Have an old set of gecko plates but they are to wide for some of my boards. But they work great imho especially on ice coast (have knee issues). Quicker edge engagement, more leverage and smooths out bumps.
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On 11/24/2020 at 9:03 PM, powdahbonz said:
I just got mine from Ivan at I-carve. Decent price and great customer service.
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On 1/1/2021 at 7:50 PM, Gfligor said:
Looking for either the Kessler K Plate Rocket Speed or Gecko Carve from Apex, thanks!
Virus just released their own improved version of gecko style plates! (They even have 2 thicknesses of carbon). I just got some.
https://shop.virus-snowsports.com/produkt/virus-isolator-absortion-plate/
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2 hours ago, JRAZZ said:
It's just softboots
I haven't given up carving. Far from it! I carve much better on softboots. To quote Slopestar: Nobody cares what boots I wear.
Well. Noone cares what boots @slopestar wears. True. We do however care a lot about what boots you wear
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Oh no
Softboots take another Victim to the dark side.
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1 hour ago, bigwavedave said:
I've been waiting for this!
181 PC swallowtail powder/carver, for hardboots.
kinda blue with midnight sky.
22.5 waist ~2cm taper LFF asym/warp
If it's anything like its little brother (the PCjv169) this will be super fun for carving soft snow and surfing powder and we've got some fresh snow in the forecast this weekend
Love the nighttime sky theme on background!
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1 hour ago, GeoffV said:
174 Contra with a 21cm waist
165 Contra CBXFR with a 27cm
One of them may make an appearance at Stratton this weekend.
Love that green!
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Great seller. Buy with confidence
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Boards arrived wonderfully packed and in great shape as described. Thanks @crackaddict!
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22 minutes ago, Fragile said:
Thanks man! That answers one of my questions. They should work size wise for me as I buy a 26 then have to have them custom fitted for racing. Once I hear back from @Termin8tor hopefully I can get them.
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7 minutes ago, Fragile said:
What Mondo size does a B fit? Pictures shows a liner, what brand is the liner (if included) and what is the thickness of the liner? Would like to see a photo of the liner if it is included in the sale. Do you have an approximate estimate on shipping to 22554?
I am very interested in purchasing.
Here is a size chart https://www.mountain-slope.com/shop/
HIGHLY recommend these boots. They are amazing. And new around 1100.
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10 hours ago, dredman said:
Silly Ice Coasters...
In the Motherland of Montucky, we pull the board out of box, throw on some bindings and go ride. That's right, we do not even scrape off the shipping wax. Just ride....
Enjoy the new boards! Looking forward to riding with you and @Jack Mat MCC next year!
It must be nice, it must be nice, to have amazing snow on your side...
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51 minutes ago, SunSurfer said:
Start a local chapter of Snowboard Collectors Anonymous.
My name is ........ and I've been a snowboard collector for 12 years. It's now 365 days 3hrs and 2 minutes since my last acquisition....
I wish I could count my acquisitions in dozens of days instead of single days and hours
Please point me to Snowboard Collectors Anonymous
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1 hour ago, dredman said:
Coiler Contra KKR 185 14m SCR 19waist
KKR is the latest @johnasmodesign... did I mention he is a robot, masterfully constructed by the MAN...Bruce of Coiler
Graphics by Anna K who also does all of the MCC graphics, banners, posters, social media and video editing. She is amazing!
Amazing topsheet!
34 minutes ago, queequeg said:The UPS guy infected me with a virus this morning, just in time to head up to MCC:
Love myself some zylon virus!!:)
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7 minutes ago, ktv said:
Bruce came through with the boards for me to ride for the first time at Whitefish/MCC.
174 WogoCoco and 174 Contra A/T
Love the dragon!
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4 hours ago, pow4ever said:
so many awesome contents! I wish i was part robot lol...
me as a mere mortal to sum it up:
Can't go wrong with either one.
John(Contra) - more free carve focus, better riding condition(West), maximize riding time (leg saver)
Jack(K168) - since you are coaching CBA; perhaps the racing technique/style leak into the more daily riding?
East Coast condition(where we are more used to sub optimal condition; less sensitive), quality(hard charging) over quantity(easy riding)see which spectrum you fall under and go from there.
or get both and be merry
I love my k168 and for east coast crud throw a vist Isolation plate on it
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6 hours ago, Atom Ant said:
May be able to do a 1/2 day (8am-1ish) on Feb. 6th. Will be on softboots however, as I will have two new boards to try out.
Let's do it Atom!
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The benefits of alpine board on triple lift
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BEAST Powder trip this morning with @Armtron2000!
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4 hours ago, Bobby Buggs said:
Looing at temps Sunday might be the better day
Or both days
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12 minutes ago, Eboot said:
Finding a place to try this for the first time / practice that is not "in the eyes" is going to be interesting. I considered it whilst I had a quick hour this am but the spot was right in front of the lift line. It seems that being scared of losing an edge induces the same commitment inertia as making a fool of oneself.
You got this!:)
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12 hours ago, crackaddict said:
This is pretty much my only trick. The crowds love it and not many people can do it, but it's not that hard to learn and it's not dangerous. These are my best tips, give it a try. As long as you end up on your feet it looks cool. What the heck else are you gonna do with all that kinetic energy at the end of your run? Don't waste it on a skid stop, you came out to make turns right?
There are at least a few variations to the carved 360, I classify them according the shape of the track they make (the perfect circle, the spiral, the teardrop...). More on those below, what's described here first is the toeside spiral.
1. Head check:
I said it's not dangerous, but that presumes there's no one behind you... That moment as you're coming around and traveling back uphill straight at that oblivious oncoming skier will make you question some very recent life choices... Head check both sides before you start, abort if your zone isn't clear.
2. Equipment
Any hard boot setup will work, soft flexing boards are better, soft tails are best. It'll work with the same technique in soft boots; a wide board with no overhang is best though I have seen it done in somewhat decent style with stock setups.
3. Terrain choice
Flat and wide is the easiest place to learn. Funner if there's a natural bowl shape or quarter pipe, but harder too since you have to constantly adjust your position for the rapidly changing fall line. When you choose a feature, try to approach such that you reach the highest point before you've carved 180 degrees so that you can start gaining speed again.
4. Approach
Start with a lot of speed. Initiate your turn wide and gentle so that you can keep almost all your momentum through the first 90 degrees. I tend to start in a bit of a tuck and just tip the board over a little to start. Any chatter or skid through the initiation will slow you down too much to finish in good style. Minimize the snow displacement by carving wide and shallow to start. Keep your weight balanced over both feet rather than forward as you might initiate a tighter turn on steeper terrain.
5. 90 to 180 Degrees
Put your hand down, carve deep, tighten up the turn radius and start shifting your weight back. Extend as normal through this part of the turn, but get your weight mostly on the back foot. Like way back; the front of the board should start popping up out the snow by 180 degrees. It might help to put your front hand on your front knee, extend that front arm and hang off the knee to lean far back. This is key. The further back you can get your weight, the tighter your turn radius and the more likely you can get all the way around before you stall.
6. 180 to 270 Degrees
Here is the other key technique. Past 180 you're going to be slowing down a lot. You need to maintain momentum and at the same time start standing back up from the deep carve. Do this by pulling your dragging back hand through the snow toward your back toes. This hand serves simultaneously as a moving pivot point to tighten up the carve and as a crutch to help you stand back up. When I look back on my tracks, I can see that the mitten usually touches down early but lightly, gets farther away from my board track (and deeper) as I extend by body up to 180 degrees and then starts to come back closer again. Where the mitten track ends, it's about 20 inches away from the board track - very close to my back toes. Use the back hand like a rudder or an outrigger, as you might use a kayak paddle to turn tight: you're gonna stick it out behind you to the side and then pull it toward the back of the boat/board while leaning back and to the inside of the turn onto and toward the blade/mitten.
7. The Finish
Once you get to 270, even if you're stalled, you should be able to regain your feet by pushing off the back hand. If you can come out standing up, look around for the dropped jaws. If you can come out with some momentum and ride past the gawkers you get extra points for the snub. If your board is soft enough to tail spin and you still have a little momentum left, try the 720 flourish. @dredman was the first person I ever saw do this finish (at ATC 2014 I think, whichever was the last one). I was gobsmacked, and immediately began attempting to replicate this fantastic style. (I will forever be trying to keep up with The Dredman...)
8. The Perfect Circle
Pretty sure it was @John Gilmour who used to put down five perfect circles arranged like the Olympic rings. That was my original inspiration for the carved 360 (circa 2009) and led to many failed attempts. This variation has a similar initiation, but you'll stay centered on the board and balanced over your edge without dragging your hand or leaning back. As you lose speed toward 270 degrees, find yourself in a position with your knees pointed down toward the snow, your body erect and upright and your board high up on edge. Balance there as long as you can and let the board keep turning. You'll need at least some momentum at 270 to complete the perfect circle, it helps to carve very smoothly with minimal snow displacement. This one is among the harder variations, but it's also the least fun and the least cool looking (unless you do five and describe the Olympic rings of course).
9. The Teardrop
This is the track shape that results when you don't have your weight back far enough to match the stiffness and length of your board's tail. I have some pretty stiff boards and some of them would just stop turning as the speed dropped. With practice I learned that I just had to shift my weight even further back on these boards. This is where I start pulling on the front knee to lift that foot and get my center of gravity way back over the tail.
10. The Allez-Oop
This one also leaves a teardrop-shaped track, but it's intentional. Usually performed on a little quarter pipe or side hill type feature, you ride out with speed and look very cool. I like to do these where a traversing cat track intersects a fall line run. This one feels great too, like Tony Hawk's Loop of Death only without the death. You should be more aggressive on the initiation, if you go wide you might end up traveling too far uphill and stalling out. So start by leaning more forward and turning tighter. Try to be at your maximum height by about 180 degrees with your weight back and hopefully enough momentum to keep you going until gravity picks you up again. If you're a bit slow, use your backhand like a fixed rigid pivot point. Straighten it out and put a lot of weight on it; keep your body stiff like a one armed yoga plank and kick your board forward. This should feel like more of a hand plant than a hand drag, even though your hand may still be moving. You can kind of fake this one because you have the advantage of the terrain. Sticking out the straight arm and leaning on it usually works to keep me turning through the stall. It feels like cheating but it's cooler than a face plant when I'm out of speed. So don't give up if you stall when your board is perpendicular to the fall line and your head is pointing downhill, stay strong with a lot of core tension and lean hard on that straight arm; a little forward kick and gravity should do the rest.
11. The Backside
Harder, more awkward and less cool-feeling, but sometimes the terrain just screams out for a backside three! Same principles: start wide and centered, stay smooth and shift your weight back through the turn, but this time you'll bring your front hand to your front heel to stand back up. Hard to stand back up on the heelside but it can be done with practice. If you have enough underhang on your setup, your board will continue carving a surprising distance while you're sitting on your butt too. So you finish up sitting, but it still looks and feels cool. The backside 360 also affords a great opportunity for the backspin turtle finish if you're into breakdancing...
So this is what I've figured out through many winters of trial and error, plus video and track analysis. I hope it speeds you through the learning curve for this trick. It's always hard to put into words what is only known to muscle memory so by all means add your own descriptions and experiences. Different descriptions will resonate with and make sense to different people. Even with all the beta, it's gonna take a few tries. I hope to see more of you guys doing this trick at MCC 2022, and adding your own unique style and flourish.
I've added a slow motion video for the visual learners. Note how the front of the board pops out of the snow through the second half of the first 360. That tells you how much I'm leaning back. Watch carefully too the moment when my dragging hand comes off the snow. See how some snow is thrown toward the front of the board? That will give you an idea how hard I'm pulling on that back hand to regain my feet, and which direction the force is applied. Ignore the edge catch face plant, I don't know who left that pile of snow there...
Totally practicing this tomorrow
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New Gecko style plates from Virus 😍
in Carving Central
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Different strokes for different folks:)
I love my carbon gecko plates (even though they were just as expensive as the new virus ones) - and looking forward to trying the virus ones.
Agreed. It costs more money producing high end stuff especially for boutique shops to produce high end items with high end materials. And if we don't support them none of them will be around in another 5 years.