Detune or not?

[RDY_2_Carve]

I'm prepping my first alpine board for Telluride this weekend. I have a Burton Speed 158 Wide. Should I detune the front edges of the board like I would a non-alpine board?

Thanks in advance for your input!:D

[philw]

In my opinion, no.

That said, I never understood "detuning" on any kind of board. I have heard the rationale about catching edges, but I don't understand it. "Catching an edge" is a technique problem.

Strangely enough my Fish actually has instructions painted on it for "detuning", which is weird as that's the one board where the edge sharpness is totally irrelevant as it only gets used in bottomless!

[Hagen]

...Burton seems to like to put detuning instructions on their boards. My speed has it too.

The Carver's Almanac has some information about detuning in the tuning section .

[heyadams]

NO

[Steve Dold]

Are detuning and edge bevel done for the same reason?

I've always wondered if you were better off just beveling the whole base edge a half a degree or so, instead of detuning, so you could still keep the entire edge sharp.

Hey Bill! That Wild Duck 161 is really fun to ride. The edges sure hold too. I wish all my boards were tuned like that. Thanks again.

[DrCR]

Detuning is the process of dulling the tip and tail to keep the board from hooking. Detuning has the effect of shortening the effective edge of the board, so it is not recommended for carving.

Alpinecarving went on to say you could see if your board was too catchy and then detune, blah, blah, blah. IMHO if your board is catchy in the straights then go for a 1* base bevel. And if it's still catchy...then your the problem. :D

...With full wrap around edges (my AM alpine), do you really need the tip of the nose and tail to be tuned? I'ts not like your going to be holding an edge there and could be a potential for cuts/scraps.

DrCR

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[Kent]

Depends upon the board, the conditions and your riding style....

In general, no.

But, hooky boards w/o taper will need detuning when it gets hard/firm.

[bobdea]

the only time you need to detune is when you have too much grip and the board becomes hard to control usually on the long stuff

on soft snow your tune does not really matter all that much so long as you have a decent wax on it

I detune my coiler a little if it is bullet proof corduroy thats about it

my burner 197 I detuned as well for the same conditions

the boards I have under 190 or so I like sharp as possible

[Donek]

What I tell everyone is bring a stone with you. You'll regret detuning too much, but rarely too little, if you have a stone in your pocket. These adjustments are best made on the hill, not in the shop where you can't determine the results.

[heyadams]

For GS my daughters coach wants ½ degree base bevel back to the boots (each end) and 1 degree base bevel between the feet. His reasoning is that he doesn’t want the board to “slap” in the middle of the transition; instead he wants more of a “roll” over to the new edge, even if it allows a little slippage in between. Once the board is through the transition and up on a high angle of attack, the effect of base bevel is negligible.

Have fun on that Duck!

[RDY_2_Carve]

Wow thanks for all the replies.

I did not detune the tip and I'll just take my 3 diamond stones with me just incase. Looks like northern New Mexico and SW Colorado are getting pounded right now, so from what I'm understanding the odds are I won't need detuning with those conditions. ;)

Can't wait to get on the mountain!