Kirk

+1 Seems like a silly obsession w/semantics :rolleyes: rider, snowboarder, slider...knuckldragger...SKI boarder..."hey you" I answer to 'em all:biggthump

+1 I usually just grease the heads. When mounting the suspension kit, I'm also pretty careful about engaging the bolts evenly into the inserts before cranking 'em down, and simply use the cross pattern, kinda like tightening the lugs on a wheel. Just my experience w/the suspension kit. No loosening.

Typically, those start areas are NOT groomed. From John Paul, take the cat track to the top of Wildflower - there's where the carving fun begins IMO:biggthump

:D No, Park City. About 3 years ago I think.

Almost like "bitter beer face"

Nice looking family ya got there Frank. Poor Jr. 162...still waitin' to grow legs :(

I think it was posted as 16.7m. 197 = 19m. Pretty sure anyway.

Insert packs are kinda funky. On my 188, perfectly centered on the front and rear insert packs gives me a stance of just under 18" - doesn't work for me. I'm nearly all the way up front and back on my insert packs to get me around 19.5" and it's been working. Put a few runs on it earlier this week and it felt good (1st time out on it in a while). The boards like to be ridden hard forward, but be careful in variable snow conditions - stiffer nose and not too much of it! That being said, they're a FUN ride and the softened tail make these decks pretty lively. Like others have said, the board has the ability to turn much tighter than one would think with a scr of just under 17m - the magic of the soft tail. However, while getting used to something with this much effective edge, I'd still still want to have some room to let it run - just a thought. Enjoy!

VERY Nice! Good looking turns. Looks like an amazing past few days, glad to see it! NO INJURIES, OK That goes double for Buell & Ms Zoom :nono:

Well said Aisling

Interesting. I have heard others say the same, yet I was pleasantly surprised at how lively the board rode. Not necessarily the equivalent of the pop you can get out of some glass decks, but quite good IMO. The madds I owned were fun, playful and held an amazing edge, but the metal rides I've been on do almost everything as well or better. Be interesting to hear more from those that have spent time on the Metal Madds. The only drawback I've experienced so far is that I find myself a bit paranoid in lift lines, moreso lately with some of the reports of damage, but the ride is just worth it! As has been said before by others here (particularly the Hardbooter crew), riding with a softer interface (ie F2) is really the way to go with these decks. I've ridden both TD2 & suspension kit as well as a thin lexan plate w/F2s - like the latter MUCH better for this particular deck. Just the right amount of feedback and overall better feel. (Still love my TDs Fin ;)) Good luck w/your decision. With the options out there, you really can't go wrong.

Bobby, Have a look at these: http://www.hardbooter.net/serendipity/index.php?/archives/11-Why-Metal.html http://www.hardbooter.net/serendipity/index.php?/archives/10-Titanal.html Some care obvious needs to be taken and builders, like Bruce, are building metal rides w/the titanal layer below the topsheet. The overall performance is really remarkable and I was reminded again yesterday. Had a big, beefy glass board out first thing AM and switched it out for the Metal Prior after only a few runs. Stayed on the metal until about 3:00 PM w/a total of about 25 runs that day, ~20 of 'em on metal...left the hill with a big fat :D on my face. Was out riding yesterday with a couple of VERY happy and proud owners of the Coiler AM shape w/metal. More to come from these folks and others I'm sure.

for sale... http://www.bomberonline.com/VBulletin/showthread.php?t=14791&highlight=Highlander+Freesurf

:lol: Stuck in the 80s. Some of my buddies had that look - big into Punk and freestyle skating. You didn't do the trench coat, Ray Bans and Fedora thing, did you? Then there was BIG hair, muscle shirts w/metal band of choice and parachute pants My tastes ran the gamut. Hard rock, some metal, Cure, U2...plenty of Reggae and Ska even. Still have some of my cassettes and, for a while, had some stuff on vinyl. Unfortunately my last cassette walkman died some years ago :( I just got this MP3 player a little over a year ago (NOT an iPod unfortunately - just a cheapy). Trying to keep somewhat current with the technology We were visiting someone not too long ago and they had a stereo system with a turntable. My son was with me (11 yo) and said "what's that?" Took me a few moments to contain my laughter:D Uh, this went a bit off topic...

Fortunately, most of this cohort of riders have similar feelings with regard to what the "kids" think...

:lol::lol::lol: Yeah me too Dano! After about 1989, things went south as far as I'm concerned. Oh, and I'll be PROUD to join that 40+ club next year Plenty o' RUSH, VAN HALEN, CRUE, DEF LEPPARD and similar on my MP3 player:1luvu: Bryan and the Oregon crew did a GREAT job w/this one...wish I could make this year's OES. Maybe next year!

Those SGs look fun - quite a contrast in nose profile compared to his earlier shapes. Would love to ride one sometime. Any chance of one or two making it to the Hardbooter fleet in the future?

Ahhh, little girls...purple boards :1luvu: Oh, and it's still hers...she reminded me the other day

or just plain "Blades" is the only terminology I've heard used in reference to these sliding tools until this clarification. I just wish the term "skiboard" was never created...or would just go away. Like Jerry said above, I have heard it used Ad nauseam in reference to the burners I think I feel a new and improved explanation coming on here: "Actually, this IS a prototype SKIBOARD (cause we know skeez rule & snowboarders are knuckldraggers;)). These actually ARE skiis laminated into a special mono-type ski/skiboard hybrid with the gap purposely left in the tail section to improve top-end speed performance. See, eliminating that material in the tail allows for a lighter ride and lower drag coefficient...so definitely FASTER. MAJOR float in the pow...excellent in tight trees...and of course nailing that 540 in the park...I'm just testing on groomers today." Seems reasonable enough

It sure made me happy...now I'm feeling really :( about selling mine (Still have the 188). Someone PLEASE grab this thing before I yield to temptation and spend $ that I don't have right now... Good luck Frank!

Whoa! Just now reading this!! :( Hope you heal well and quickly Bryan! Sounds like you've been treated well so far. Let me know if I can help in any way. Kirk

Mark, I'm in Layton. My dad, Rick, is in San Diego (Carlsbad), which is where this deck is. I'm just trying to help him out here. If you're going to be in the area, give him a ring at 760-420-0041 to let him know when you'll be around. Clebner, I myself only put a handful of runs on that board a few years ago. As I remember, very turny and quite lively little deck. I think it has less than 2 full days on it, so the camber is still quite fresh. Freecarve shape and flex.

Two more shots of the base:

Bumpity bump - 162 cm Waist: 19.2 cm Sidecut: ~9.5 m Nose: 24.9 cm Tail: 24.8 cm New price: $150.00 Plus ship to 92010 Beautiful finish! Contact me at: march dot k at comcast dot net OR contact Rick: Rickmarch1 at aol dot com

Done that. Looks to be the ridge at the top of Strawberry. Been blown right off my feet while making that little traverse before dropping in. 80-100 mph winds are not uncommon - sorta intimidating. On a clear day, an absolutely BREATHTAKING view of the Ogden area and beyond!