Jack M

This is getting really confusing with two companies named Apex in the same market. Aren't there international laws about that?

Good points. That reminds me of a tidbit I remember from high school physics class - that the optimum point on a bat to hit a baseball is 1/3 of the bat's length away from the tip; doing so minimizes vibration in your hands. Do you mean Vist? I thought Hangl plates only went under each foot? Or is there a version that spans the two feet, like Vist? I think the Apex, Karl, etc approach is a step forward from Vist/Hangl. It seems like there would be less friction resisting the motion of the plate. Also it seems like it wouldn't affect the flex or dampness characteristics of the board. Bruce, how does she ride?

Yeah, I observed that too, along with everyone who is now building home-brew versions out of old/broken boards and cutting boards, etc. But the pre-Olympics video about Apex implied there is more going on than meets the eye, and that you couldn't reproduce it from a photo. I'm out.

Yeah, and... how exactly does it work?

<object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkqAErSitJM&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkqAErSitJM&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="640" height="385"></embed></object>

meh. works great on motorcycles.

April Fools. :D WD40 is good for cleaning your chain, but it is not a lubricant. Use white lithium grease for chain lube. Available in a spray can at any hardware store.

Thanks. I don't think I'll ever top that one. :D

now yer cookin' with gas!

I think it would take you less time and headache to simply buy the blues and the reds and try them both than it would to read this thread and browse McMaster Carr!!! :p

surely. :D

http://www.starbucks.com/blog/10113/starbucks-listens-to-customer-request-for-more-sizes.aspx

I know the sierra site says that, but the skis say 12m on them. I haven't measured them. I just watched that video... I'd say that guy needs to get on a snowboard! I also think he's headed for ACL injury.

Heh, no. Bert Lamar (left) and Terry Kidwell (right)

If you want 155s with the lifter plate, they're here: http://www.sierrasnowboard.com/Palmer-P02-Freecarve-with-CP13-Lifter-Plate-Skis.asp Sierra doesn't have any other size left, but there was a pair of 163 on ebay recently. I'm not much of a skier, only did two days this year, so I can't give much technique advice. I don't even know if I'm doing it right, but whenever I ski I basically try to do the same things that I do on my alpine snowboard and it seems to work ok. Yeah Bola, the skis say "made in Austria" on them, so they're obviously not built by Kessler. They seem well made though. Does Palmer have its own factory? Or are they made by a big OEM like Elan or Pale?

Oh my god. I guess nobody is responsible for anything they do eh? Everyone is a helpless victim. A lot of people simply can't tell the difference between hunger and boredom. A lot of people are simply lazy.

also, look at how angled the screw head is compared to the base of the binding... yikes!

That would work better and maybe that's what they did. Preload the screws on metal or plastic spacers. Then have rubber spacers around those and have the toe/heel block ride on the rubber. It would be trapped by the screw, but would be free to compress the rubber. basically the same thing.

I'd say Bomber and Catek are more elegant. Achieving vibration reduction with rubber washers on those 4 corner screws isn't good engineering (if that is what's going on there). A screw needs to be tightened (pre-loaded) to a stress higher than what the working stress will be when the screw is put into function. This prevents the screw from being cyclically loaded. If there's rubber in the middle, the screw won't be pre-loaded enough at all. Agreed, that would be elegant for a rental binding. But it isn't ratcheted. The cable is only achieving micro sizing. The cost of doing it this way is that there appears to be a major stress-riser where the heel bail enters the holes in the heel block. The heel bail will be loaded in bending against the edge of those holes. This reminds me of the frame rails of the old Burton Variplate, which were clamped in place. I've had and seen a few of those that snapped at the clamp.

If you would ride anything other than a 158, you would know. :p ;)

Oh, I see, thanks. Neat. Clugey looking, but neat. I knew you'd have to shorten or lengthen the cable by hand, but without knowing the heel bail slid in the heel block, I thought you'd have to somehow maintain tension on that cable by hand while you screwed the clamp down. (kind of like when I installed the zip line in our back yard, not fun!)

dunno if BL Golden Wheat comes in cans, but I have seen Wittekerke in cans. Not a light (reduced-cal) beer though, but a very good summer beer.

I don't see how that's possible, it looks like the block on the cable with the two screws only clamps, and does not tighten...? It does look a lot like CAT, but with the cable taking the place of the CAT frame. The effectiveness of that design looks very dubious to me. It looks like the screws at the four corners would see shear and torsion loads, and wouldn't get enough help from the cable.

Yeah. The junk on display was a big part of my point. Funny how now bx'ers won't wear speed suits in order to differentiate themselves from racers and skiing, when in fact tight and otherwise super-lame clothes can be found in their heritage as well.

3 days and no response, shall I take it you concede this argument Snowriter? I'm honestly curious because you seem to be a member of the media.