Jack M

Go for it. This is a great thing to do if you want to mix it up and switch skis/board midday. If your ski boots are super stiff race boots, yeah, they're not going to be <i>optimal</i>. Just get the soft e-rings with your TD2's. If the boots fit you well and you like them, chances are good you'll like them on the board. When you use them on your board, play around with any stiffness adjusters you have, and also give walk mode a try, if you have it. Also be sure to check out the Welcome Center on the front page here. -Jack

Can You Start Snowboarding in Hardboots From Day One? I taught my wife to board. She's never been in softboots.

Good point. I've had this idea in the back of my head for a while. We'll try to make it happen soon.

Yeah, Helmut took the liberty of rubbing my stick with that grease. Then he got that shot of me that I use for my avatar.

this is getting steamy!

"Jason Ford.... he's got a chick in every port. <i>Every</i> port." -Jeff Brushie

It is crazy fast. It lasts far more than 20 feet. About half a day really. I've never felt my snowboard go so fast as the day I tried it. It's actually so fast, I don't even want to use it again!

Shred Gruumer.... our own version of Jason Ford

he knows what he's talking about! he is a veteran professional instructor.

Ask and ye shall receive: TD2 Matrix -Jack

Actually many mfr's use radial sidecuts, Burton for one. Some use parabolic (quadratic), some use elliptical, some use a blend of multiple radii, etc. -Jack

There is a simpler one that I forget, but I just doodled this out on a napkin: R = X / (sin(180 - 2(arctan X/Y))) X = half the running length Y = sidecut depth

Actually, the TD2's cant adjustment is nearly independent of lift for smallish changes in cant disc angle. If you set up your bindings for pure lift (cant disc angle = binding angle), each 5 degree rotation of the cant disc produces an insignificant change in lift, and a useful change in cant. Consider the 3 degree cant disc. At 60/60 (binding angle/cant disc angle), you have 3 degrees of lift and no cant. At 60/65 you have 0.262 degrees of cant and 2.989 degrees of lift. At 60/70 you have 0.521 degrees of cant and 2.954 degrees of lift. So, changing from 60/60 to 60/70, half a degree of cant is significant and noticeable. 0.046 of a degree change in lift is insignificant. The 6 degree disc produces bigger changes with each notch of the cant disc, but the results are still nearly independant. Mathophobes stop reading now. For the TD2, your cant and lift degrees can be calculated as such: Cant = A * SIN(B - C) Lift = A * COS(B - C) where A = slope of disc (0, 3, 6) B = disc angle relative to board (90 degrees = nose) C = binding angle relative to board. The forthcoming matrix has the results of these equations for a range of settings. Of course, you don't have to figure all this out when you're making adjustments. You'll be able to read the disc angle and binding angle off the binding, and realize that if you set the disc angle and binding angle the same, you'll have pure lift. Each notch on the cant disc is 5 degrees of rotation, so you'll know that you'll be getting a little bit more cant with each notch you move away from the pure lift setting. All you need to do is keep track of how many notches away from pure lift or pure cant you are. If anyone wants the excel spreadsheet I worked out for this, email me. -Jack

Adam, which e-ring do you like the best?

I don't think it is meaningful to compare these features, because the Catek is not a floating system. The TD2 cant disc is not rigidly clamped to the board, rather it is merely held against the e-ring with a certain amount of preload. The soft and medium e-rings allow additional compression beyond that, so the cant disc has a little freedom to roll and pitch (but not yaw). -Jack

They're cheap enough to try them all - $15 each. When you buy a full set of TD2s, you get one pair of e-rings included. Unlike the TD1 bumpers (which imo were "install and forget" items), the TD2 e-rings will have a profound effect on the ride and feel of the bindings. I imagine riders of all abilities will find uses for more than just one e-ring hardness. -Jack

I'd like to offer my thanks to Fin & Michelle for providing us all with this new upgraded forum and overall site. I know it must have been a metric ton of effort to overhaul BOL while in the thick of production on the TD2. I also know it was a major team effort to accomplish the two simultaneously. Michelle has put a zillion hours into this project as well. And let's not forget it's free! I know the sport of Alpine Snowboarding is bigger and better today thanks in large part to Fin. Dare I say it..... Fin is alpine's JBC??? -Jack