FTA2R

very interested, can you give the course for the DC area SoPa riders? or a webcast or recording. thx, Barry

hi B-2 you have email barry

hi, thx for pointing that out, just read it. that metal piece is differnt from teh square metal piece i have, but i assume teh actual plastic piece is the same dimension. it would do, but i'm not going to pay much more than $10 for it, esp. if it's used. it's plastic and not exactly high quality barry

hi, looking to buy a Burton cant piece asap. I understand there are several different cant pieces. I'm looking specifically for a universal cant piece but willing to listen to look at other pieces. please email thx Barry

is perhaps the hardest muscle to develop. so Mike T, I agree with you. and of course, mens calves start higher than womens. also, they need to be subjected to a lot of weight to grow. do some reading if you decide to hit the weights. Barry

i wrote something but then rm'd it, as you can see (no pun intended)

hey all, I like this thread. I checked out Coiler Bruce's canting article, and I'm bow legged, so the article says run one binding flat, one with negative canting. My legs are also tire sorta quickly. Which leg do you all recommend I negatively cant? Also, I have 1 Burton Universal cant- basically a plastic piece of junk, but it's good while I learn. Anyway, seems like you cannot have just lift or cant (which goes up to 7 degrees i think) with this thing- can someone verify that? Did Burton make other cants besides the universal cant? If no, do I have any other moderately priced options? (I'll get the real deal on my next board) thx, Barry

you're one crazy guy =) Barry

hi Lonerider, everyone has their own definition of crazy. personally I don't see how what you did is all that crazy. I think a lot of the "jackass" stunts are crazy. b.a.s.e. jumping, free climbing, etc is crazy. Barry

i'm pretty sure you have to be a very experienced skydiver to go skyboarding and that suit he is wearing i think is a wingman or bird suit (the local skydive place has it here) , which i believe also requires a lot of experience. barry

what MP size is she? i have some old boots that were too small for me, only used a few times, bought last year. barry

Hey Scotter, I'm right outside of DC (northern VA) but I just started riding plates last year. There is at least one other rider (very good, too) in this area. Did you hit Whitetail when you were here? No to worry, hopefully I'll convince a few people to at least try plates. --- Barry

Maybe it's just because I'm a single and in my 20s, but I wouldn't be caught dead wearing a bib (unless they've changed drastically since the 90s). To be fair, however, I'll check out a link to see what they look like these days. snowboard pants are very comfortable and they don't have to be baggy. I realize that some of you may wear the jeans and sportjacket outfit or short sleeve button down collared shirts to work, and this disturbs me =). --- Barry

this is my helmet, a boeri ( i think the model is myto), after i taped ear buds to the outside of the helmet over the ear vents and any other vetns (thinking this would improve sound quality). I ran the wire along the both sides of the bottom of the helmet and it went back under my jacket along my back and to the mp3 player either to the front chest pouch of my fleece or wrapped around my arm. as you can see, it looks awful and probably sorta of ridiculous. needless to say, i decided this was dumb and did away with it the next time out. Barry

totally obnoxious, inconsiderate, and lame, IMO. get an mp3 player, like almost everyone else. I think many would agree with me. Keep your music to yourself, no matter how good you think it is. last year I saw some complete TOOL freestyler with a medium sized old skool radio hanging off his backpack blasting some ****ty music. Please don't do this. Depending on where you go, too, you're asking for trouble. on the logistical side, it'll sound better with headphones. on an unrelated note, "spore" is quite a funny acronym. --- Barry

hi, last year I monkeyed around with putting bug headphones in or around my boeri. needless to say, i got a lot of weird looks. basically i had a lot of ducttape around the outside of my helmet and the ear buds covering over the ear venting. so people thought i was taping together a broken helmet, which is shady. I then had my mp3 player in the front pocket on my fleece, around my chest area. The sound quality was poor b/c ear buds basically have to be in your ear to work effectively, and I finally decided to just kill the idea, although I'd really like to ride with music. I think it's usually OK as long as it's not too busy and you have a clue. I will try to post some pics of the strange looking music helmet. Barry

Thomas_S, I'm also very light (although heavier than you) and I have an Alp 57 w/ Race bindings. I got the whole thing on ebay toward the middle of the season. I feel quite secure in them. I think most pepole agree that they are fine for lighter riders. Now the Burton Universal cant sort of stinks. I'm not sure if Burton only has a universal cant or if they have fixed cants. And the Burton Race, generally speaking, isnt' even in the same league as Catek or TDs, but I personally don't need to start off on the highest quality stuff, not while I'm still a carving newb anyway. I'd rather ride the hell out of my board now, usually a person knows when they're ready to move up. I don't know when your season starts, but if you order the board from klugriding, it'll be there in a few days. The Alps aren't expensive, but personally I would try to go with something used for your first setup, as long as it is in decent condition. Inevitably, like everyone here, you will fall in love with carving and want to upgrade. Pay particular attention to the boots, though. Boots that dont' fit properly really stink. Of all the things to buy new, I would go with the boots. They have a very reasonable return policy here on Bomber, too. Check raceboarders.com ebay link frequently for at least a few more weeks. Also, though the chances of success on this are likely limited, try your local shops to see if they have any old boards lying around. good luck! --- Barry

Hi, definitely check out raceboarders.com ebay link. then you can save the search in ebay and be emailed everytime there is something new on ebay. ebay and the classified board here are great starts. alternatives are teh classifieds of other carving sites. you can try all the local shops, but unless you're sorta lucky or close to a decent mountain, I highly doubt you'll find anything. good luck. Kirk, others, just curious about something you said. Isn't the Burton alp you are selling considered more of an entry- level freecarver than an all mountain alpine board? I believe its lack of stiffness (and 200mm width?) make it more versatile than a raceboard or more advanced freecarve board, but I am under the impression it does not have the same functionality (ignore quality for a sec) as say, the Donek Axis... --- Barry

Hi All, sometimes I feel as if this site reeks of a negative vibe, even though it's clearly the most popular and well organized hardbooter site. can we just stop this , please, as I believe Fin requested earlier. I feel this way re: this thread. I wish I never responded to this thread b/c I keep getting email and each email seems to be closer to making this another war. I have no problem with anyone. can we all just relax a little and stop negatively critisizing other people and their articles, opinions, skills, comments, or whatever else can be critisized. I don't know if any anti Bordy comments are b/c he has stirred the pot here before, but if they are, who the hell cares. just let it go. as was stated during the CMC debacle, this is no way to attract new riders. can we funnel all of this "energy" toward attracting new riders and/or educating people about alpine. --- Barry

Hi, which video are you all referring to ? the EC "opus video."? someone mentioned they went 50 mph or so. just curious, how did they arrive at this number? thx, Barry

laughing hysterically now. OK , so this Tron site has stories about several different guys who made the costume. The first few look OK, but this last guy (who was on Jimmy Kimmel, I think, and is the guy you all are rferring to) is freaking hilarious. Obviously not in shape. Still, give him credit for showing the cojones. Tron lives. --- Barry

ok maybe he doesn't look so great in it, but I just read about some of these Tron costumes (there are several), and it's a sick costume as long as people know what the heck you are. The glow hockey helmet is sweet. Takes some talent to make that. --- Barry

old friend of mine has an oxygen asym, not sure of the specs but if you're really interested l could probably find out. --- Barry

I am 26 and I have very mixed feelings 'bout the freestylers (which would probably include some of my riding buddies). I will try to be as objective as possible, though. The facts: 1. vast vast majority of freestyle riders are kids or early twenties and male. Teenagers are frequently obnoxious, we were all teens once. All trying to impress each other, hormones flowing, etc. So can we hold this against them? yes and no. Don't dislike them for their clothing style (baggy pants are very comfortable and functional), piercings, etc. --unless the pants are hanging off their asses and have lost their function. Do dislike them b/c they may be extremely obnoxious, inconsiderate, or hostile to hardbooters (even though they may will have no clue about our discipline). I admire: 1. The guts it takes to hit some of these huge jumps. The possibility of pain, significant injury, or death (read Loon Mtn.) is definitely there, I think a bit more than carving. Being older doesn't heheh. 2. The perservarance (some would argue stupidity) a lot of them have to keep on falling (frequently hard) and keep going until they land the jump. I can't stand: 1. The "I don't need to take a lesson" attitude even though a signifcant # of them (around here at least, I'm convinced) couldn't ride a moderate blue condidently or carve decently. Learn the fundamentals first. 2. The recklessness/ lack of courtesy some of these guys have. (we all make mistakes but some of these guys don't know what right of way is, etc). 3. Complete disregard for basic equipment maintenance some them have (waxing? nah, I never do that) 4. virtually no alpine coverage marketed within or industry or to public. I think we could take a lesson from the freestylers and be a little more vocal. lots of non riders know what a half pipe is, but "alpine snowboarding?" (hey, there's one of those skiboot plate board thingies) ;) In college I used to hit some jumps and I admit, it was pretty damn fun. Most I didn't land, but landing them is a great feeling So I suspect that some in here are perhaps a little jealous of the air-obsessed youth, as their bodies can generally handle the "abuse" that frequently comes with honing freestyle skills---- much better than that of a 40 year old. We are the supposed speed freaks, and falling at speed isn't nice either. Still, falling at speed distributes the force more evenly than missing a jump, which sends all impact to a single impact (or 2). I will take a high speed wipeout over a high single point of impact wipeout (unless it's pow, etc.) I once read that freeriding is the essence of this sport- and I agree (as it draws from all disciplines). I admit I wouldn't even think of hitting some of those kickers, and most of the 'zines these days are just ridiculous, but if you really look at it objetively, I think it's hard to not be sorta stoked to see a rider hit a nice jump on a trail - or at least respect the ability/guts. Watching warren miller style big mountain riding is truly awesome, too. But let's face it, most of us are older and wiser than they are, and don't have much in common with these kids. Try talking to the freestyler next to you on the lift though, you may be pleasantly surprised. in closing, performance > (free)style ps hopefully I dont' offend too many with this, but can we get a poll on who still wears a one piece, high neons, etc. LOL? that is definitely worthy of a chuckle. Line up next to Mr. Camo Wearer. --- Barry

"But one shouldn't concern oneself with style over technique - style is a byproduct of technique, not the other way around. Usually." i like that quote, I'll remember that. I got too caught up in the entertainment value of the video. --- Barry