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The secret weapon


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Guest hreiter

Do you remember some of the pictures from the Schoch brothers in Torino that showed a somehow weird binding setup?

Well, take a look at this web page from Sigi Grabner (it's in English) that shows this setup in detail and it looks like that you can order it as well.

It's the Hangl-Spirig Race Plate System:

http://netsh21274.dbdserver.de/phpkit/include.php?path=content/news.php&contentid=186&PHPKITSID=2e012c5408f1d7548f825d174f6266eb

Still 70 degrees in Scottsdale - hopefully it will snow here soon;-)

:-) Harald

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The purpuse of the plate is to allow the board to bend its naturaul arc with out any binding flat spots, Just like Hingle and derby plates for skiis. It also provides energetic rebond and damping by seperating the rider from the board via Very Thick urathane and plastic pads and plates.

It truly is the best way currently for a snowboard to track true trough terrain, texture, and pressure changes.

Of course the plate adds lift and weight, many alpine racer believe weight is a good thing and we all like lift..

You will see this plate on lots of racers GS boards this year. Just like a Kessler these things really work and can take full seconds off times.

I have seen about 8 different set ups with all types of bindings and plates used.

This is a brand new product that has not even finished the testing stages. It just being a topic with photos on Bomber just amaizes me. F2 is working toward a production model but it may still be years out. Hence no marketting. And sure it works great with burtons you'll see more burtons underfeet at world cups then almost any other binding. F2s are catching up though and are for sure the binders of choice under US athletes feet.

It was all F2s on the mens podium at the Games..Well O-Kay they where peices of F2s mounted on the Derby plates.... :lurk:

If you have the cash you can get one on a brand new Kessler with specail insert just for it. Just be ready to Pay about 2grand for the set up...

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Guest hreiter

I think (and hope!) that it shows that there is product development in alpine boarding and prices will hopefully become more reasonable for amateur boarders as well. Anything that will help improve the sport and make carving/racing more enjoyable is a good thing in my opinion. Like in many other sports the pros are providing valuable input to improve current products and/or create new products.

I can't wait to test one of the SG boards with this setup on my annual winter trip to Austria.

The boards are actually manufactured at the same company that did the original Sims Burners and other race boards that many of you love(d).

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The purpuse of the plate is to allow the board to bend its naturaul arc with out any binding flat spots,

I know that is the intention, but looking at those photos I'm not sure it is fully achieved. Thus, I think it could be acting more as a shock absorber than anything else.

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Has no one noticed that all the force is transmitted directly to the edges without going thru the inserts at the center of the board. Shock absorption yes but I think the whole idea is control. more edge control while absorbing more shock, COUNT ME IN:biggthump

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Yeah, mounting the bindings closer to the edges should either give you more power, or reduce stress on the board as far as I can understand.

Is F2 (well for sure you mean Elan ingenieurs?) developing its own system independantly of S-Flex? At Sölden most racers were already using either the Hangl-Spirig or the S-Flex system. Sigis boards are manufactured by Elan too. Actually Elan has allways had some great raceboards under their own label - however I think you have to pick them up at the factory. Even for Austrian amateur racers they are hard to get.

For some very basic info on s-flex look at www.sflex.de. However I think that the Hangl system is way more advanced.

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I know that is the intention, but looking at those photos I'm not sure it is fully achieved. Thus, I think it could be acting more as a shock absorber than anything else.

I have flex bent touch and felt the derby plate and s-bend on several boards. It relly works well, and despite what the photos may lead you to beleive the plate really provides a "natural board flex". All the riders I have spoken with that ride the plate love it. And race times are proving it..

Like Dave said lots of riders are rocking the plate this year.

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You can't fit it to inserts. You can fit it easily to Tomahawk boards (they tend to come without inserts), Kessler, Elan Race boards and all other titanal boards just like you mount bindings on skis.

See picture above, its no inserts but plain holes

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  • 2 weeks later...
Great racers but lousy marketers. What's this thing supposed to do? I mean besides win Olympic gold medals. Do we have to have an engineering degree to figure it out? If we can't figure it out by the photos, are we not worthy?

Just so happens I am an engineer.

What it looks like to me is similar to how ski bindings only attached at one location. Somebody said it... So the board flexes evenly over the entire edge. Also, kind of similar is the clapper for ice skating. It leaves the blades on the ice for that short time that you're pushing with your toes. Remember the time decrease that gave the racers?

Yes, i'm a noob at the forums and I'm just going through past posts. Forgive me for reviving dead threads.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I see 3 items that make this new system unique. 1) obviously, it transfers the forces directly to the edge. 2) as previously mentioned it, virtually eliminates uneven board flex. It does this by having one of the edge "pins in the cup" firmly fixed but swiveling, and the second one on the same edge (other cup) is allowed to slide londitudinally in a slot so that the downward and lateral forces are transferred, but the board can freely slide under the solid alu plate that the binding sits on. This, of course, allows for even pressure (grip) along the full edge of the board. 3) the elastomers under the "top bridge" will actually change the rebound and compression of the board flex (something which you may or may not want to do, depending on how "perfect" your board is), and it will also allow for some high frequency absorption (chatter control).

Bottom line - a very slick design that actually does what you want.

Now to ride one..........

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This is a great set-up, but is not for everyone. It's good for bigger/more agressive riders. But I feel the system is too heavy for most recreational riders.

For the average Joe, so to speak, I think the S-flex system is better. Granted it isn't as polished, but it's less than half the added weight.

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Nice thread. I'm intrigued. Any idea on how much these things cost. I emailed a couple of people and it looks like the Graben (edit: Gareb) derby is 300 Euros.

What about the S Flex? Really funny pic in their women's team riders with what looks like an almost porn shot of one of the girls, pearls dripping out of her mouth.??????? For your team bio shot?

Thx.

Jerry

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