What to do with your old boards:

[Guest krstofer]

A long story short:

1990 I started snowboarding after watching Cross M train at Boreal.

1991-'94 raced USASA, made Nationals every year.

Worked as a wildland firefighter in the summers.

'94 at Sierra at Tahoe, Mike Masterpool asked me to train with Cross M.

Did that for 2 years. I was good, but not *that* good.

1996 to 2000, Did some time in the Military as a USAF 1C451 .

2000 Returned from Military, worked summers as a firefighter, raced USASA in the winter.

Here we are at Sierra:

31 October 2001, broke my back on an arson fire in Clay County, KY.

I can no longer feel or move anything below my chest.

What the hell does this have to do with alpine snowboarding? Well, as all of you know, an alpine board will turn by itself if set up on an edge.

I've come into contact with a group of individuals in Montana who are interested in adaptive snowboarding.

You've all seen someone in a "sit-ski". Skis have to be made to turn, while a raceboard turns by itself. So I said "Why not adapt a sit-ski to use a snowboard?" They said "We don't have any snowboards."

So I sent them 2 of my old ones. A Burton Factory Prime 7.3, and an old Rossi I had laying around.

Apparently I single-handedly kick started their adaptive snowboarding program.

So why am I telling you all this? I know that many of you have "Garage Queens". That board (or boards) you have in the back of the garage you don't ride anymore?

We want them. Unfortunately, being a Not for Profit Corporation, we can't give you anything for them.

However, if you would like to donate one or more of your old boards, please box it up and send it to:

DBA BLAST

PO Box 458

Whitefish, MT 59937

Contact persons would be myself , or Kimberley Barreda, kb@bigsky.net

I hope to get this program up and running, as one of the things I miss from my 'previous life' is going out and playing on my snowboard.

[Stan]

While I do not have any old boards I can send in at the moment, I'd like to point out that donations to NFP Organizations usually qualify for tax deductions. Folks - send in your boards that you don't ride anymore and get some tax relief!

(Note: I am not a tax professional, so double-check this idea with your CPA).

Stan

[Mike T]

Is there a maximum waist width you can use for these, or will you take freeride boards as well? If fereride boards are OK I've got one I can donate laster in the season.

[Guest krstofer]

Freerides are cool- We're still in the process of figuring out how to get the seat attached, so more options (different board sizes) gives us a better chance of getting it done.

Thanks guys-

[AaronG]

Bob, I noticed in your post that you designed some suspension systems for bicycles with a link to the Seven Cycles site. I know that they use a rear suspension designed by Paul Turner of Rock Shox fame, did you have input with this suspension system? And have you had input on other suspension systems for mtn bikes, if so, what others? I'm just curious.

[AaronG]

Bob, yes I am a avid cyclist. Currently a cat 3 roadie, expert class MTBer and a cyclocross geek in the winter months. I'm not sure if I ride carving boards for my cycling off season conditioning or ride bicycles for my on season carving?? did that make sense?? i'm very familiar with the bikes that you mention. One day I hope to own a 7, be it a road, mtn or cross bike.

I currently have a steel roadbike, steel hardtail mtn bike, steel cross bike and a aluminum ful suspension. BTW, I live in Redlands, Ca, home of the Redlands Bicycle Calssic, ever hear of it?

PS, If you are designing the dropouts for the road fork, could you design it where there are no lawyer tabs? I hate those things!!

[AaronG]

Bob, sorry won't be making it to SES this year. Wish I was going now, always nice to chat with a fellow cyclist. You have enough ti there to make some jet engines. A Ti DS bike, never even heard of one, must be a one off. Usually, the riders of DS want a ultra fat aluminum tubed frame so there is no give when they're poundin on the pedals. I read in the issue of Velonews that Reynolds is working with Independent Fab to design some different offset forks for the IF bikes, were you aware of this?

Major Taylor is the best American cyclist!!

PS, are you running Vbrakes on your cross? do you have enough room for mud clearance?

[AaronG]

Bob, that is a sweet Seven, Are you going to throw on a triple chainring on there to tackle the mtn stages? I can't believe a ITT up Alp d' Huez. It will definitely make the most interesting tour yet. Telekom is going to be a problem this year with Ullrich, Vinokourov, Botero and now the Heras has jumped ship who knows??we better lay off these bike posts or someone might say something.

[Guest MahatmaBlondie]

Ha, this site just keeps getting better!

I rode for Merlin Metalworks, back when they were still Merlin and not owned by Saucony and rob was still around. I have two merlin XLM's, custom frames. I also have an Ellsworth, Heckler, Trek 9800 OCLV, Carbon Cadex from 1991....yes its purple annodized all over ;) with the original mag 21 fork from the first year it came out. This is nostalgia forum!

As far as old boards, great cause! Let me see what I can round up.

Cheers

Jenn

[Art]

Just when I thought it was safe to get back on the computer, along comes the bike porn! That is an awsome cx ride. Im not quite that fortunate but the old Bontrager (pre-Trek) keeps spinning along. Also owned a few Bridgestones and (sorry AFL-CIO) a Fuji. Hell, the price was right. Havn't had a license in years but I use to head down to the old Revenge of the Syskiyous every year. I used to dream of the Redlands when my dreams were bigger than my legs. cool to see some quality stuff, but then why would I expect different on this site? Anybody read Dirtrag?

[k_t]

If any one know how to get in touch with Glenn Plake, yes the ski dude with a Mohawk, he used to do a show where he would show different places, skiers, and amusing things on the snow. I do not even remember the name of the show or what channel (maybe Outdoor Life?). On one show I remember him skiing next to a guy on a sit-ski chair/device mounted on an alpine board and if was great. It couldn’t have been more than 3-4 years ago.

Anyway I think that a standard sit-ski device was mounted on the board with very little or not much modification. It carved very well and one of Glenn’s comments was something like “ It sure leaves a nice rut!” The rider said that he got the idea watching alpine riders and it seemed obvious to try this set up.

In my imagination all I think that would be needed is a wider and maybe a longer mounting platform to attach it to the board

No need to completely re-invent the “wheel”. Good luck in whatever you do.

kt

[AaronG]

Art, hey! I own a Bontrager Race, in fact, I still race on that little sucker, it climbs like a mtn goat. Nice to see bontrager are still reperesentin' even though they haven't been made for 6 years now. I mean the real Bontis, not those Trek wannabes. Only weakness to the Bontrager that I have experienced is the 1" head tube, not alot of fork manufacturers out there that make em. Just to throw a little more retro at you, I'm runnin' it with Suntour XC Pro thumbshifters.

[Guest Surfer_D]

I have a 5 year old NItro GT (I boarded with it for about 15 times thats all) and I can send it, but I just checked the postal from Europe would cost me more that a new board costs.

Is there any way to send this for free since it is fo charity or ???

Regards;

Surfer_D

[Art]

Used to have the XC Pro on my Bridgestone MBII. Great Stuff. I am partial to the rapid fire though. And the 1" head tube can be a drag. Thats what you get when Keith puts his own fork crown in place for the responsive steering. At least thats how I understood it!

[Guest krstofer]

Here's a pic of what's in my back now:

Yes, it's a tattoo. I figured "It's in me, maybe it should be on me". Think about that the next time you look at that old board out there in the garage.

Maybe send it to us, and let someone else get a little enjoyment out of it.

[Art]

Krstofer, I used to spend my summers at Lake Almanor when I was a kid. The highlite was a trip to the Plumas County Fair. also lots of travels to Chester. Lassen and the Feather river. If they can use a soft set up let me know. I'll hunt around. Art

[Guest krstofer]

Originally posted by Art

Krstofer, I used to spend my summers at Lake Almanor when I was a kid. The highlite was a trip to the Plumas County Fair. also lots of travels to Chester. Lassen and the Feather river. If they can use a soft set up let me know. I'll hunt around. Art

Anything will expand our "mounting the seat" options- Bindings aren't necessary, as at this point we're looking at bolting straight to the board.

Thanks-

K

[Sean]

Krstofer-

Think I may have a line on a 168 Proton GS for you- been sitting around my shop gathering dust and the colors even match the tattoo. Drop me a line at rideon@qwest.net and we'll work on getting it out to you.

Happy Holidays

-Sean

[Guest Pre School Rider]

In my experiences with fitting seats to boards,I've found that the "freecarve" type boards work very well.Old Burton Alps,Wires,Volkl Splines,Nidecker Patrols,that kinda board is great,as they're manuverable on edge,and not too demanding gliding fairly flat.The width of +- 21cm is good too,as it's easy to tip into a turn without being either too nervous going flat,nor too difficult to get up on edge.Having a slight tail,believe it or not,is an advantage.I've found that there are a few times when 'reverse' is needed,though thankfully not at any great speed.It's interesting to compare the ride of freecarvers to the Swingbo(Bi-Ski in PSIA parlance),as the Swingbo really hooks up tight turns,but dosen't want to go fast,nor does it like to sideslip or particularly skid turns.A freecarver can be sideslipped,though outrigger-crutches are good item to have just then.In skidding a turn,twisting at the waist can break the edge free from a carve,though I suspect that individual strength is problematic,so I'd never expect that from a student.Herein is a problem with an overly aggressive board;Can it be de-tuned enough to comfortable at slower manuvering speeds?Of course,a softer-than-spec. flex and/or shorter length board could be used thus giving that manuvering while keeping a good edge feel. So,with that in mind,keep your eyes out for those freecarve type of board,as they'll often be fairly cheap used,and are in many of our personal quivers(Those are the boards you keep around even after having'outgrown' them,just because they're so much fun!).I would suspect that there are quite a few sitting in storage with readers of this site.Dig 'em out,dust them off,put 'em to work for a good cause!