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New Coiler owner wondering about tuning and maintenance routines for weekend warrior?


jatkinson

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I am looking at a shiny new Coiler that still has factory wax on it.

Relatively new to alpine (second season) and wondering if my usual maintenance routine is good enough.

Normally I would hot wax with an old clothes Iron at the start of the season and every 6 days or so. Edges sharpened with a toko file/bevel gauge as needed. This was for my old soft boot board.

What should I be doing with a proper alpine board. I will probably get ~20 days on the snow this season.

Cheers and thanks for advice.

JJ

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Edited by jatkinson
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Sounds like you have it aiready figured out, though you could turn the obsesive dial up to 11, and polish your edges with a 1 micron diamond stone after each use, and may be crayon some more wax on as well like some of us....wait, nevermind. 

Edited by big mario
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Your base and sidewall edges are both at 0 degrees. Setting the base to 0, 0.5, or 1 degrees, and sidewall to 2-3 degrees are pretty normal. Not completely necessary but will help with icy conditions. The sharper the edge the quicker it will go dull. I road my first Coiler for 2 years before changing its edges angles.

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Don't use a file, except to first set the bevels or clean up damage, it removes too much of the edge to be used regularly.  Use a fine diamond stone to maintain. Like Mario said, after your initial hot wax, just "crayon" wax on when the base appears dry, usually along the edge, and you can use a cork to friction rub it in. 

 

If you're not riding on icy slopes, you don't really need to worry about side bevel and sharp edges that much. Some base bevel is recommended (.5-1 degree) regardless of where you ride. It keeps the edge from engaging unpredictably. Edge bevel and degree of sharpness is much more noticeable on hard and icy slopes. In that case start with 1° and increase it if needed. 

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Bare minimum: Keep the edges from being rusty with regular wipedowns with a rag and a little wax.  Take burrs off after you hit rocks.  Wax the base when you start seeing white patches.  

Super-anal Thorough: Micropolishing edges and changing wax daily based on conditions.  

 

I started using a set of diamond polish stones last year.  Even just doing that a couple of times a year made a small but noticeable difference in edge hold on ice.  In Colorado, I don't think it would matter.  I crayon wax and use a Wax Wizard any time the base isn't black near the edges.  In our man-made snow/ice, that's every day.  

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Sounds like I am on the right track. I will swap out my file for some diamond stones.

In terms of the bevel I assume that is something to start small and work my way up to.

Seems reasonable to go with 0.5-1 on the base and similar on the side.

Adjusting the bevel would be the only place to use a file?

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http://www.skimd.com/

 

When I get a "virgin" I have it shipped to Mike, he structures it, set's the edges and waxes it, and recommends Rays way wax wizzard, no iron, once you have the "best" structure and perfect edges, it takes just a few minutes to polish with stones, rub the wax on and wizzard it in, your stock Coiler is a great start, getting it ground and having the edges set by whomever (skimd is the best, but any island in a storm) is a good way to go.

 

Having a hand held edger, it's adjustable, holds files and stones is a good investment, 3degree edges don't happen by eye.

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My coilers came not so flat on the base. I could not understand why I had trouble staying straight  on long lift exit run outs.  After a full grind they were perfect. I go 1x2 for bevel. Dont follow my maintenance schedule, Im the worst, I just ride them till they look like crap then bring um in like every year and a half. 

Edited by Bobby Buggs
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If you use an iron to apply wax you MUST remove the bindings, or at the very least back off the screws. Otherwise you get an ugly condition called “binding-suck” where the heat-softened P-Tex is pulled up toward the screw inserts. It takes a pretty thorough grind to remove this and while it may not have a huge effect on riding it will drive you nuts to look at it. 

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I'm interested in this question too!  I just received a brand-spanking-new Coiler this year and am terrified/thrilled by the possibilities (gruglede as is said in Norwegian).  Bruce confirmed a 0-degree on the base and 1-degree on the side-wall.  If it is too grabby in the lift-line I plan on bevelling the base to .5 degrees.  After time I plan on sharpening the sidewall to the 2 degree that is standard in our household. I guess that it is sufficient to take a magic marker to the edges and just continue sharpening until the magic marker is completely worn away?  

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If you use an iron to apply wax you MUST remove the bindings, or at the very least back off the screws. Otherwise you get an ugly condition called “binding-suck” where the heat-softened P-Tex is pulled up toward the screw inserts.

 

I'm not sure ironing causes binding suck, but I'm pretty confident it  exacerbates it.

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