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Is a 178 Too long?


Vandalrob08

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Robby, give Derek a call, he's been hardbooting for almost 20 years and is my source for all my alpine questions. IMHO I'd say the Proton is too big, not just because your looking at my Renntiger, but I ride a 178cm Burner and it's about all I can handle at 6'3" 195lbs. Different boards true, but knowing the width, length, pitch of our slopes on Shasta I'd have to say it's a little too big. A 168 would probably be good, I had some Tigers in 168 and they were great on Highland Glide, North Saddle, even the lower half of Red Tail and Black Fox. Youth is on your side as well, so it's possible you could ride the Proton well enough to compete, but I'd still consider something in the 168cm range for GS. As far as the stiffness on the Renntiger, with the 3D sidecut the Tiger has a progressive flex and is pretty responsive. I've sold several 158's to guys your size/weight and some 163's to people a bit larger (i.e. 165lbs) Everyone here will give you honest solid advice, and I wouldn't hesitate to call Derek or talk to Trikerdad here on Bomber too, he's a regular at Shasta and can ride better than most anyone I've seen. He knows the terrain as well and can give you a "locals" perspective. Just look him up in the members search and drop him a line. Dereks number is 243-2323, he works Tues-Sat.

Good luck,

Paul

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Yeah, I've ridden the 178 Proton, and I would definitely say it's too stiff for racing GS. I find the protons to have a stiffish flex anyways. You might want to check out a prior in the high 160's range. And for a slalom board I think the Renntiger will be a bit stiff for you.

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the Oxygen gear is slightly stiff and you are smaller than usual so that board will be tough to handle

BUT here is the thing, you are 5'11, 120 and young, you are gonna put on some weight in the next couple years, then that Oxygen will be right on the money for you.

ohh and ask trikerdad if you can ride the "fornicator" I think that board would be great for someone at your weight, maybe he would be willing to sell it even.

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Guest Randy S.

I think it will depend on the set of the course. If its tight, you may find it hard to turn the bigger board. The Volkl should be great for you for SL. I'm 5'10" and 200lbs and I ride the 163 in sl and love it.

If you get down to Tahoe at all and want to try a bunch of different size boards, you are welcome to anything in my quiver (as long as there aren't exposed rocks). I have a RT 163, Donek FC1 171, Coiler 184, Donek 210, plus some other crap. I'm at Alpine Meadows nearly every weekend.

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Guest Randy S.

I'll be at the Saturday USASA race, but probably not the Sunday one. Give me a shout beforehand and I can bring along whatever board you want on Saturday. I'm easy to spot. I'm an old fart with a red beard. That will be my first weekend on the snow since last New Years. Let's hope my broken hip survives the races.

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My name is Robby and I am a Highschool racer. I am 5'11 120 lbs. I have an Oxygen Proton GS 178. I hav not ridden it yet. I am a very aggresive rider, Is the board going to be to hard to turn on a GS course? Also, is a Volkl Renn Tiger 158 stiff enough for a slalom board for me?

You are same height as I'm....just 60lbs lighter!!! :eek::eek:

I think 170 will be good size.....

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Robby, you might already know this, but just in case...make sure that whatever length and flex board you get, the sidecut radius is appropriate for the discipline. Sidecut radius is usually expressed in meters. Most slalom sidecuts run in the 8m-9.5m range, and GS in the 12m-15m range. Some boards have "3D" or "Triadic" sidecuts, like Paul mentioned, where the radius is actually different at the tip / wasit / tail - i.e. the sidecut changes as you go down the edge (9.0 / 8.5 / 8.0). For instance, I'm 6'3" and 190 lbs. and ride a Hot Blast 160 with a 9.0m sidecut radius for slalom, and an Oxygen Proton 172 with a 14m sidecut for GS. :cool:

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It's hard to say if you would be able to turn the Proton in a G.S. course. I've seen guys smaller than you make it happen, I've also seen guys bigger than you not make it happen.

I will say this about your question about your SL board. If you are questioning your Proton for G.S. a 158 Volkl is probably too much of a Sl board for you. That seems like a big SL board for your weight considering you might think that a 178 would be too long for G.S. I think Volkl has a 154 that would be a better match for you in the SL area.

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after re reading this thread, hold onto the oxygen

and pick up a madd too being on the small side a madd 170 such as the one that I had is a great board for you and you probably could make it work for a GS on the tight side but the oxygen would be better on the wide open stuff and better at higher speeds

I have been on a few of the volkl RTs, I would rather have a Madd simply because the Madd is a easier board to ride and holds a edge better.

either of those two are good boards though.

if you need a SL deck get something small, one way to go is the oxygen 149s and the next size up that show up on ebay for $50 to $100 from time to time.

and there are burton factory primes on ebay in the samller sizes too I got a new FP 151 with new bindings for $110 or so last summer as well

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