forrest

Seems like I may be alone in liking the Sunset top sheet because it is upside down to the name. I would second appreciation for the Donek Pigeon, perhaps writ large on the tail. I also like the current metalic topsheets and the depth they appear to have, I was quite happy when I took my gold one out in the sun for the first time, quite a thing.

If you're going to go the honda route you need to get the Big Ruckus. Looks just like the one in the picture except with grills over the head lights. Is there really a better name for a scooter? http://powersports.honda.com/2009/ruckus.aspx

I am wondering if you were able to notice how the displacement of the Urethane pads at each end of the plate changed depending on the stress being applied to the board. For instance in your testing jig in pure bending did you find the pads closest to the tip and the tail of the board to experience more displacement than the pads located between the feet? Or while on a toe side did the pads toward the toe edge experience significant compression while the heel edge pads simply relaxed to free length so that in a turn only the pads on the engaged edge controlled the behavior? If you are noticing that the pads experience unequal displacements in each state have you considered using different durometer pads to play with this difference. For example placing softer pads between the feet and harder pads towards the tip and tail to achieve similar displacements at each end of the plate? Or softer pads on the heel side of the plate to tune each edges response to the greater control afforded by the toes compared to the heels? just a thought. Seems a wicked interesting project you have going.

Hey, Sorry I hadn't updated the email in my profile. It should be working now. If you could send again that would be great. Thanks Forrest

Wondering what the condition and the age on the Donek are.

Just to throw more 'pseudo-crypto-quasi scientist' opinion into the discussion one can not use a correlation interchangeably with a cause and effect relationship. We could learn how these two factors correlate with each other but not whether Walk or Ride causes Injury Cheers

Hello, I'm wondering what the waist is on this board. Thanks

Hey Scott That was my feeling using two sets of boots it far too much hassle and trash to drag up to the hill for a 'fun' day of skiing/riding. I was hoping there was a way to put intec pins into the DIN heels, cant imaging they get too battered when used skiing. hmmm wasn't there talk at one point of bomber making their own intec heels??

Hey thanks, as I've been worried about them being too soft for proper skiing, its good to hear that they do work prior to shelling out $500. forrest

Hello, I'm wondering how well the UPZ boots work with the DIN Heel and Toe on Skis. I find that with shape skis I have a more neutral weighting with respect to the boot, i.e. not weighting the tongue excessively. which makes me suspect that hardboots may be OK on skis so, has anyone used the UPZ boots and found them sufficiently stiff to layout turns on skis as well as on the board. I ask because I've used ski boots on both skis and board for the last 12 or so years and thought it may be time to turn it around if the boots work well with skis.

I picked up an Oxygen APX in the fall and as I've only been out once this year, have yet to ride it. I bought it as a spare to teach people on and wanted to know what to expect from it. So what do you know about this board? Thanks

You guys make me feel like some dangerous fool, 10 years and all I've been wearing is a wool hat

They are mostly the same design just different material with regards to Shimano. The primary difference between dura ace, Ultegra and 105 is the materials used not the design and function of the part. Particularly true of the drive train, you will notice no difference between Dura ace rings and casettes and 105 while riding other than weight, and the 105 may last a bit longer. Good to remember as these are the only parts you'll be replacing on a regular basis. On the other hand if you can afford it nice parts are well ... nice. I love riding my light wheels even though the get beat up and are more expensive to fix.

how stiff of a board is it? scr? thanks

Hey I'm looking to get a pair of carving skis. I am finally trying to get rid of my old strait planks. however when I started looking I realized that skiers don't talk about the characteristics of skis all that well. So i'm throwing it out to you all. I'm looking for a pair of lively skis that are fairly agressive and quick and will allow me to carve somewhat like I do with my board. i've been looking at fisher rc4's or volkl p50-60 or supersport series, I'm also wondering what sidecuts people are skiing, I like the idea of a tight sidecut but have never skied with one so I don't know what the limitations are. thanks how ironic that skiers are not as able to describe their skis as we are about boards.

I've always ridden in ski boots. One thing that I have found with riding in ski boots, more related to equipment set up than technique, is that it has been very important to set your stance width based on feel rather than a specific size. All of my ski boots have been very stiff, like most, I have found that by moving your bindings closer together untill you can apply equal pressure in the tongues with relative ease you are more able to align yourself properly with the board and are more relaxed while doing so. When I did this myself I ended up with a stance width that was on the narrow side, but my riding improved quickly. Ski boots have a greater lever on the board which allows you to retain control despite the small stance width. High lift and cant will allow you to widen your stance. Hardbooting in ski boots isn't all that hard but I have found that much of the equipment set up needs to be adjusted.

I have to agree that the change from single to parallel courses was a bad move. A parallel course is fine but not as the only event running. i think it makes snowbaord racing seem like a spectical rather than a true race they don't do it with skiing, I believe the same about BX, its fine but not as the only events.

http://www.powercranks.com/ theses seem like a really cool idea. I read reviews of them and everyone says no matter how well you think you pedal an hour on these changes your mind.

Seems to me that a problem with releasable bindings is having them release for the right reasons. You generate a ton of force when you ride in complely normal situations, so how do you make a binding that releases only when you actually have a problem, I've never had a binding release on me but imagine being in the middle of a carve and having both feet come out, seem like that would suck. Personally I've always liked falling on a board a lot more than falling on skis, and really nothing sucks more than having to hunt around and pick up your equipment after you lose it.

When you carve a snowboard the sidecut plays a different role than it first appears. I'll break it out into steps. 1. You put the board on edge. What happens? The two widest points contact the snow, hopefully the tip and the tail or something has gone horroribly wrong. 2.Your weight is centered between these two points. Since the edge of the board between these two points in not touching the snow the board flexs until the full edge contacts the snow at which point the board maintains its flex throughout the carve. This is how the board behaves when you get air and land in a carve, it provides a step by step progression. When you are carving normally the angulation and the flex happen progressively such that as you angulate more the board flexes more without the seperation between angulation and flexation so that you are not aware of one effect and then the other. 3. As you reach a higher and higher angulation the board must flex more and more to contact the snow creating a smaller and smaller circle allowing you to carve tighter and tighter, i'll try to repeat a few more words to make it a true mockery of the english language. A good way to see this effect is to take your board and lay it on the ground. When at 90 degrees see that only the tip and tail touch. At a small angulation flex the board until you have the full edge touching the surface, notice that as you angulate higher you must flex the board further to touch the ground. The sidecut determines how far you must flex the board before the full edge touches the ground. The smaller the sidecut the further you must flex the board before the edges touch meaning that you curve the board more which causes you to scribe a smaller circle. The reverse is true for a large sidecut board. The true effect of sidecut is to determine how much the board must flex before the edge comes into contact with the ground. This is where the stiffness takes effect, for a stiff board to achieve the necessary flexation force you either need more weight, heavier rider, or more speed because the speed along with the radius of the circle you are making determine the number of g's you are pulling, the more g's the higher the force generated for a specific weight and thus more flexation in the board. A quick thing on EC, take a look at the movies they achieve high angulation not 90 degrees. Look at your snowboard on the floor at 90 degrees no matter how hard you press the edge never will come into contact with the ground meaning you dont carve, which sucks.

A friend of a friend, she was standing on the side of the slope, a snowboarder crashed into her and she fell backwards into the trees and got impailed on a branch and died. Her husband was standing a ways up the slope and saw the whole thing. Complete total dumb luck, could happen a million times without an injury

from what I've read on the Extreme Carving site part of the reason that their hands are on or near the snow is protection . They explicitly mention using one arm to protect the head and the other arm to protect the face. After I knocked myself out cold last winter I can honestly say that protecting your head is a worthwhile pursuit.

The set up you're talking about is about what I ride. high stance angle agressive style, you can't ride with a relaxed or lazy style. I've been riding for 8+ years always with ski boots because I ski as well and two sets of boots seemed like too much, I already look like a traveling circus walking up to the mountian especially since my skis are old 203 gs skis. What about a wider stance has allowed more movement in the knees, every time I've tried I have the opposite experience that the wider my stance the stiffer I am. I actually tried a cheap pair of burton reactor boots and I found them to be way to soft granted I think that any hardboots are going to be relatively soft. I've actually been looking around for a pair of boots but the prices I've found is way out of what I can justify.

I've been having trouble with the flexability in my knees while riding. To try and solve this I've been reducing my stance width more and more, now I have the range of motion in my knees to absorb the terrain but my stance has become quite narrow. So I'm wondering if there are any other things I sould try that will allow me to widen my stance while maintaining the movement in my knees. I ride TD2's 3degree toe/heel lift, stance angles of around 65 with fairly agressive Lange Ski boots. Thanks

sorry thought i missed something 27.5