Base and Side Edge Bevels for Coiler

[jhcolman]

Hi All

In previous years my son raced with a 1 degree base bevel and 2 degree side bevel. Worked OK.

A friend of ours (whose son now races for the Canadian Alpine Team) suggested increasing the base bevel to 1.5. Worked great; we know not why.

This December we tried a 1.5 degree base and 3 degree side. Figured if it works for SL and GS skiers, it might work for alpine snowboard. I was dead wrong. My son couldn't initiate turns. And when he did, the board "locked up" and "spit him out of the carve".

Went back to 1.5 and 2, and things are back to normal.

Question: How does the base bevel affect turn initiation, carve, exit, etc? Why 0.5 vs 1 vs 1.5 or even 2?

Same question for side bevel? Why 2 or 3 side bevel? What I know from ski race tuning just doesn't seem to apply.

Fyi, my son races a 173 Coiler WCC Custom Race; 18 width; 5.5 stiff. He weighs 130 lbs and is 5 foot 8 inches.

What do other racers use.

Thanks all

Julian

[RobRidesSquaw]

.7 base and 3 side is all I have ridden for the past few years on all of my boards and I love it, but it is mostly preference. Your kid couldnt start turns because a 1.5 base bevel is huge, the lower the base bevel the more aggressive, so a .5 is more aggressive than a .7 because it takes less to get it on edge but it becomes easier to catch an edge. The higher the base bevel the more the board has to roll to get on edge. For the side, the higher the edge the more aggressive but a 3 can be way to aggressive if you cannot finnesse the board at all. I would try .7 and 2 at first and then tweak it from there...

[philfell]

The more base edge bevel you have the more forgiving the board will be in the transitions. You will also be able to skid and feather better.

The more side edge bevel you use the more your board will want to carve.

Most of the girl and juniors I know ride 1-1.5 degree on the base and a 2 degree on the side.

Most of the top guys I know ride a .5 on the base and a 3 on the side.

[jhcolman]

To all and Phil in particular:

Thanks for the excellent advise. I'll keep tabs for any further posts.

My son initially rode at 1 base and 2 side, up until last season. Our former club Race Director (whose son now races at the WC level) suggested that we try a 1.5 base and 2 side, which we did. That was last year, my son's first year on the Coiler (he was then 13/14 through the race season, was 5 foot 4 and weighed about 120 lbs). He had great success that year, with 1st and 2nds throughout the season and a 1st at our Ontario Provincial Championships. So the 1.5 base and 2 side worked really well then.

This year, he grew to 5 foot 8 and 130 or so lbs. So I thought we should test 1.5 base and 3 side, to get more edge. He fortunately tested this well before the start of the race training season, as it was aweful. Could not initiate a turn easily and got shot out of heavy carves each turn. So 1.5 and 3.0 just did not work.

So we went back to 1.5 and 2, which worked well again. The only problem he's had is getting a good edge on solid ice (of which we've had abit this seaon). He finds that he skids abit more than he'd like, on ice.

Question. Phil: I'd think he needs an edge that will allow him to skid, etc. as you say, but also achieve a good carving edge in the gates, especially on icy sections. (We ride on alot of ice or hard pack artificial snow here in Ontario). So: should we leave things as is at 1.5 base and 2.0 side (he likes the way it feels now: I guess it's familiar) .... or .... go back to the 1.0 base and 2.0 side that he had two years ago (assuming that he might be able to handle a 1.0 base bevel better now that he's abit heavier) or ... try 0.5 base and 2.5 side?

Thanks again.

Best

Julian

[jhcolman]

Thanks all for your comments and help (here and in my other posts on this topic). What a great community!

Seems the concensus is: start with 1.5 base and 2 side, and as you gain strength, balance and skill, move gradually towards 0.5 base and 3.0 side. The later (0.5 base and 3.0 side) for "high performance" racers.

Cheers

Julian