Tuning for ice?

[trikerdad]

What would be the best tune for a dedicated ice board? Base and edge bevels? Different angles over the length of the board? Detune the tip and/or tail, or not? Mostly frozen cord, not sheet ice.

[Gleb]

my madd came with a ptc that has 2 on the base and i'm not sure bout the sides. its sharp enough to cut my thumb and I'm able to carve in skating type conditions, just as long as its not too steep cuz then my heelside is trash.

[willywhit]

what board are we talkin' ? this badboy rips thru ice/frozen groomer

[Gleb]

I'm sure even with 0 degree bevels it could tear anything apart, but having it that sharp sure helps too.

[Mike T]

I like 3 side / 1 base on the hard stuff. Not that we see a whole lot if ice at Bachelor, but I seek it out when it's there so I can test myself on it. Bachelor ice is usually of the scraped off, windblown variety, rather than frozen cord, and only found on a few runs that are both wind-exposed and groomed right after closing. No detune to speak of.

[trikerdad]

Comon, there has to be more opinions than that out there. What about deturning the tip and tail, good or bad for ice?

[Chris Houghton]

Just say NO to detuning, it's for lazy people. You want it to hook up, don't you? Just make sure you're paying attention all the time, or it could surprise you. I can't see how a detuned board would work on ice at all, around here ice is all we have this year (or mud).

[John H]

I use the same tune on my skis and boards. .5 degree base and 2 degree side without any detune to speak of. With the weather we're having ice would be nice, it's mainly mud around here.

[Rob Smith]

Wheather it's under my skates, skiis, board or with my Scotch, I love it.

[paappraiser]

No detuning

1-2deg side 0 base.. no problems on ice.....Bring it on baby... Ice is fun once you ride it for a little bit... I just dont like the steeps on ice.. Its to much work.

spoken like a true lower east coaster..

[Blackbird]

I run 1* edge and 1* base..... Keep them ultra sharp with a fine grade stone

I also detune my nose about 50mm... very slightly

and my tail about 20mm also very slightly...

The detuning is probably more psychological as it's hard to see with a naked eye......

I'm far from a pro carver....

For ice is your edges Have to be sharp!!!!!

I find that once you get your angles right touching them up with a stone keeps them sharp for ages.....

[GeoffV]

All of Mike DeSantis' tunes (PTC) are 3 side and 1 base. It's the best edge on ice. :D, and diamond stone your edges every time you take your board out, your edges will stay sharp all season. No detuning, it slows your carve initiation down.

[Sinecure]

We don't have ice in CA. That said, its pretty hard out there now. 1 base 2 side works pretty well in hardpack. Minimal detuning.

[dr. sandman]

All I can say is that I have IMMENSE respect for you EastCoasters and the hardpack you ride on. Period.....

p.s. I love softpac!! :):)

[Justin A.]

I do a .5 degree on the base and (get ready for this) 3 degrees from the nose to my front binding, 2.5 degrees between the bindings, and 3 degrees from my rear binding back. Very very slight detune (maybe like...1 pass with a mill) on the nose about 2cm right on the shoulder of the nose. No detune on the tail. Hooks up great on boilerplate. The only disadvantage is that the sharper your edges are, the more fragile the sharpness is. Kinda like a knife...the sharper it is, the easier it is to fold the edge or chip it. It's a tradeoff, but as long as you give due dilligence to your board, no problems should be had.

[wavechaser]

Comon, there has to be more opinions than that out there. What about deturning the tip and tail, good or bad for ice?

My Northeast ice tuning...

I detune tip and tail 1" starting at the contact points and moving inward. No problems hooking up at all - and for racing, it allows better recovery from late lines and other undesirable positions. I detune a half inch further on a race course with really soft snow

All my race boards have 3 degree side - SL boards have 1 degree base for quicker/easier edge to edge and GS boards have 0 degree under the feet tapering to .5 degree front and back of the feet.

Bump/AM board has 2 degree side and 1 degree base - pow and freestyle rides are 1/1.

[kmagvette]

In western NY we get ice - understatement. Local hills use a Zamboni instead of grooming machines.

Since the physics of skiing and snowboarding is similar (what the board/ski needs to do to initiate, carve, release, etc.) I offer my race tunes which I free ski on as well. I use the SL tune on my board and it seems to work well on ice.

For convenience I always maintain a 1* base edge, this allows me to go to the local shop ant get the base structured without them wrecking my base edge or my edge trashing their stone.

SL: 3* side, GS, SG*: 2*

On all skis I never detune. If I need shorter or stiffer skis I should have purchaced them. Detuning inhibits the shovel from initiating and the tails ability to finish the turn and translate the energy stored in the arced ski into speed.

To keep the edges sharp I simply use a diamond stone to freshen up the tune. To ensure that I cover the entire edge I color the edge with a Sharpie and polish until all of the marker is gone.

[ARCrider]

3 edge/ .5 base

no detune

all boards

Ontario ice carving. I can hear the freezing rain pelting my window right now.

gotta go the hill opens in 30 min.

[yyzcanuck]

For convenience I always maintain a 1* base edge, this allows me to go to the local shop ant get the base structured without them wrecking my base edge or my edge trashing their stone.

Ditto... I don't want to spend too long re-polishing the base edge after a structure.