Big D Posted March 13, 2011 Report Share Posted March 13, 2011 So recently I got a brand new Donek and through word of mouth and strong positive recommendation I had it sent to SkiMD for the first tune a la Mike de Santis. I am completely ignorant to what is involved and always figured it was no big deal and there was not much to it. My first ride changed that opinion drastically. I stepped off the lift, gave one push, and the thing glided like no other board I have ever been on, since 1989. Again I am not sure what kinds of magic is performed but that is how the board felt. While on a fairly flat cut through my buddies were a good 100' in front of me. I over took them with ease with no extra effort. Just wanted to share my experience for those like me who do not have a lot of faith handing their board over to the local high schooler working at the local sporting goods store. D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smaynard Posted March 13, 2011 Report Share Posted March 13, 2011 Go Mike. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lafcadio Posted March 13, 2011 Report Share Posted March 13, 2011 +1 Mike is the man. When I buy a new board, first thing I do is take it to Mike. He does a top notch base grind, sets the base and side edge bevels and even planes back the sidewall for easier maintenance. Check out his site, complete with hardbooter on the front page! http://www.skimd.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrapster Posted March 14, 2011 Report Share Posted March 14, 2011 Very timely post. I had a weird time on a new board today and I'm wondering if part of it was the tune. I did a nice wax job when I received it, but that's all. Took the board out last week on soft, fresh snow (powder/packed powder) and all seemed fantastic. Then I took it out in frozen granular/hardpack/loose granular and suddenly I was a beginner again, falling all over the place. I just couldn't figure out how to ride it. Grabbed another board and I was fine. Could be the VSR which I'm not used to as well. The board wanted to go much faster than I did in those conditions. Saw some hardbooters at Mt Snow today. One I met at B-East this year (sorry I didn't catch your name back then--nice Coiler with diamond plate metal topsheet). The other was chasing his kid around with a helmet cam ;) Nice to see the tribe represented! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D.T. Posted March 14, 2011 Report Share Posted March 14, 2011 While on a fairly flat cut through my buddies were a good 100' in front of me. I over took them with ease with no extra effort. by chance, do you know what wax Mike is putting on his tunes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big D Posted March 17, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 17, 2011 I am afraid I don't, as mentioned I am completely ignorant to the craft. I am confident he would be happy to give you his wax recipe should you ask him. D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emdee406 Posted March 18, 2011 Report Share Posted March 18, 2011 Very timely post. I had a weird time on a new board today and I'm wondering if part of it was the tune. I did a nice wax job when I received it, but that's all. Took the board out last week on soft, fresh snow (powder/packed powder) and all seemed fantastic. Then I took it out in frozen granular/hardpack/loose granular and suddenly I was a beginner again, falling all over the place. I just couldn't figure out how to ride it. Grabbed another board and I was fine. Could be the VSR which I'm not used to as well. The board wanted to go much faster than I did in those conditions. Saw some hardbooters at Mt Snow today. One I met at B-East this year (sorry I didn't catch your name back then--nice Coiler with diamond plate metal topsheet). The other was chasing his kid around with a helmet cam ;) Nice to see the tribe represented! Check to see if the tip and tail have been "de-tuned" or dulled to help turn initiation, if they are sharp all the way to the start and end of the running surface, this could make them un-rideable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tparachou Posted March 19, 2011 Report Share Posted March 19, 2011 also along with the detuning of the tip and tail is what edge angles are you running?? that will make a huge difference on hard pack or a race course i run a .7-1 degree base bevel and a 2-3 side bevel it all depends on how agressive a rider you are Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrapster Posted March 19, 2011 Report Share Posted March 19, 2011 Anyone care to give a quick guide on how edge angles/bevel affects performance? This was always a murky area for me. Thanks in advance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lafcadio Posted March 20, 2011 Report Share Posted March 20, 2011 Anyone care to give a quick guide on how edge angles/bevel affects performance? This was always a murky area for me. Thanks in advance! I can't comment on the reasoning, but the expert SkiMD, aka Mike de Santis, recommended 3 degree side and .75 degree base for East Coast conditions. I've been sticking to that and it's worked well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carvedog Posted March 22, 2011 Report Share Posted March 22, 2011 For those of you on the West side of the Mississippi, I can heartily recommend Curtis Bacca at the Wax Room. He tunes for a couple of boardercross riders you might have heard of - Seth Wescott, Nate Holland and Lindsey Jacobelis among others. I am sure that Mike D, does a great job. Just making sure the Left Coasters know there is closer option for great tunes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nekdut Posted March 22, 2011 Report Share Posted March 22, 2011 For those of you on the West side of the Mississippi, I can heartily recommend Curtis Bacca at the Wax Room. He tunes for a couple of boardercross riders you might have heard of - Seth Wescott, Nate Holland and Lindsey Jacobelis among others. I am sure that Mike D, does a great job. Just making sure the Left Coasters know there is closer option for great tunes. This Wax Room? http://www.waxroom.com/home.html Does he do mail order tunes? How much typically? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carvedog Posted March 22, 2011 Report Share Posted March 22, 2011 This Wax Room?http://www.waxroom.com/home.html Does he do mail order tunes? How much typically? Yes that is the one. Not sure how much he charges off hand. I think it really depends on how much you want/need. If you want a grind, restructure, hot box and race wax that would be different than edges and wax. I just sent him a PM, but he is tuning for the team in Arosa today, so it's night there. I might not here back for a while. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carvedog Posted March 22, 2011 Report Share Posted March 22, 2011 Here is the pm I just got from him. To the OP, if you don't think this is appropriate I will delete and start a new thread. I just got this back from Curtis today. If I didn't have complete faith in his work I would not recommend. He is the real deal. No doubt Mike at SkiMd is doing great work from all the referrals here as well. Curtis did my board for a downhill one time and it was so fast it scared the **** out of me. I was carrying so much speed I had to throw in a couple of check turns - in a downhill!!!1 He does great work. """""Hey Jerry, So if I do the whole deal it is like this: World Cup Grind & prep $89 includes flatten board wipe-out grind initial grind finish grind so four different steps to achieve the final product hand-base bevel & hand side edge bevel then wax, put in wax bag, then cool, scrape, hand brush, roto-brush.........repeat 6 times, normally $30/per session.........if they do all 6 sessions it's only $61 more so the Full deal Grind, Prep & wax treatments =$150 shipping address The Waxroom 131 2nd St. Ketchum, Idaho 83340 shop # 208-726-7595"""""" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hilux Posted March 22, 2011 Report Share Posted March 22, 2011 then wax, put in wax bag, then cool, scrape, hand brush, roto-brush.... Erm, what's a wax bag? Never heard of this. Is it for a gradual cool down? Interesting indeed... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carvedog Posted March 22, 2011 Report Share Posted March 22, 2011 Erm, what's a wax bag? Never heard of this. Is it for a gradual cool down? Interesting indeed... I believe it's what he puts them in for the hot box. Or in lieu of a hot box. I would also think that would keep ambient humidity roughly the same in a closed system. As opposed to an open hot box which would lower humidity when heated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hilux Posted March 22, 2011 Report Share Posted March 22, 2011 ^ Ah, makes sense. Thanks for clarification. For those who home tune and have got professional tunes (not run-of-the-mill $30 tunes), have you noticed a difference, a significant-worth-the-expense difference between professional tunes and doing it yourself? In the past I've always done tuning myself and seems hard to justify spending a certain amount of money. However, just really curious if you notice the characteristics of your board changing for the better and/or longevity of tune...ie how long it lasts (acknowledging the latter is dependent on snow conditions, bases etc). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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