Boots pinch front of ankle... Tall Rider

So I ended up getting a pair of DC shoe Radians (last one in the
store), but was originally looking for the Phantom3's. These
particular boots have a liner with a pumpable air bladder above the
ankle that helps keep you foot in place. "Sounds" like a good idea and
for the most part it seems to work so far. I didn't really get
bothered by heel lift while riding. It's a little weird at first
because you can pull your heel up a little while just standing still,
but bend your knees and the crease of the boot presses down on the top
of your ankle and keeps your foot down.

I've only used the boots during the last two days of the season so I
have yet to full break them in and or test their durability (I found
the Salomons already started breaking down after like 10-15 days of
riding). The only thing I noticed is that I got a fair amount of "heel
rubbing" in the boot while hiking the halfpipe. Hopefully this will go
away after the boots break in... I actually experience something
similar with my new pair of ice skates but they went away after a week
of ice skating (hoping the snowboard boot will be the same). Also I've
noticed that I've develop some hefty calluses on the back of my heels
(from ice hockey) so it hopefully won't bother me this season.

--arvin


"Brett" wrote in message news:M5agb.49533$%h1.33696@sccrnsc02...
Hi Arvin,
Well, It seems I've found someone who rides like me and knows EXACTLY what I
am talking about.
I have a low instep so cranking up the boots to keep my heal in the pocket
has been an issue, but never in ski boots.
But in the the Salomon Dialogues, I'm running for the lodge after about 3
hours on the slope tryingto rip the boots off my feet...
And like you, I am a big knee bender.

I'll probably take your advice in finding that little elastic frabic and
cutting it out. I can resolve the heal lift issues, if any should arise,
in other ways.

After one season, I've already found that the Salomon boots are softer, or
are softer than at the beginning of the season. They seem to break down
fast.
Like you, I've been asking around and several shops have pointed out a
couple of DC Shoes boots that should fit my needs. I'm waiting for the
shops
to get their inventory in so I can try on as many boots as possible to avoid
the same mistake.

Thanks for confirming that I'm not wierd in believing my boots are the
cause. Too many shops wanted to sell me new boots and bindings!!!
Going with a binding with a polymer heal cup probably won't do as I'm as
bruttal on bindings as boots. I prefer the metall and carbon fiber heal
cups...

Which DC Shoes boots dod you go with?

I'll let you know how it goes, here on the group, so others can benefit...

Brett


"Arvin Chang" wrote in message
m...
Hey Brett... I think I "might" know what is happening as I had a
similar problem at least with the Green/Black dialogues (02-03)... I
had the Orange/Black ones too (01-02?) but they dug into my shins and
I traded them in. I had severe pinching pain in front of my ankle on
the top and sides near my arch. It always starts after a few hours
(right around lunch). Turns out there is this tough piece of
semi-elastic fabric in the liner that goes across the sides of the
liner right in front of your ankle. It's purpose is to help control
heel lift I think... however, if you are a big knee bender like me...
that piece of tough fabric start digging in a LOT into your foot (if
you remove your foot and take off a sock you will see the impression
it leave). My solution to this was to just take a scissors and cut
this part out. That helps a LOT.

However, after 2 pairs of Salmons and talking to several other
people... I've decided that Salomon boots just aren't very durable...
they break down in stiffness very quickly and your heel/ankle begins
to lift... it's a particular problem for me because I have narrow/feet
ankles... I got a pair of DCShoes at the end of last season as I'm
told they last forever.

"Brett" wrote in message
news:VLueb.644606$Ho3.134494@sccrnsc03...
My current boots, 2001-2002 Salomon Dialogues, pinch the front of my
ankles,
towards the inside/arch... I ride 15 degrees front and 9 degrees back,
toed
out to keep an upright stance... But after about 2 hours in the boots,
I'm
ripping them off in severe pain. It feels like they are too soft and
are
transfering the pressure of the binding, Ride Team EX, to my ankle...
I'm
an ex slalom skier and have a tendency to beat on my boots by using alot
of
knee angulation. The guys in the ski shops dropped dead when they say
me
flex a 2002-2003 Salamon Crossmax 10.0 ski boot.

Any pointers? Other than the pinching, the boots are great. But from
what
I am hearing from the guyns in the shops, someone of my size (6'2", 195
lbs)
should be in a stiff boot. I'm an advanced beginner and will be
progressing
through to Advanced Intermediate this year. Very quick to catch on as I
grew up on snow and on skateboards...Would like to eliminate the
pinching
and have been considering modifying the boots to make them stiffer.

So what do the experts on the group say? Any advice for a tall,
agressive
boarder? If it means anything, I have a size 11.5 foot and ride a Ride
Mountain board.

Would like to move to a narrower board this year as well but will
probably
need some sort of riser to keep heels and toes from catching...

Sierra Rider

Alpine Hardboot. Meaning a specific alpine carving board, much skinnier than
your typical snowboard, and plate bindings with hardboots. Maybe a donek,
the axis or freecarve. http://www.donek.com/products.htm, and boots/bindings
from this place: http://www.bomberonline.com/store/

I just looked at the Ride Mountain specs, even though it is a wide board it
looks pretty maneuverable in terms of sidecut radius. I found these specs:

Lengths 155, 159, 163, 168, 172
Sidecut 8.2, 8.4, 8.6, 8.7, 8.8

For a wide board those are fairly small radiuses which, in a true carve**,
determines the turning radius of the board, smaller sidecut being a smaller
turning radius. The 172 has an 8.8m sidecut, I ride a Palmer Honeycomb 161
and the sidecut on my board is 8.8m also which is on the large side for a
161 but the board is made for speed. Assuming you're not riding the 172 you
should, when truly carving, be able to make a tighter turn than I could on
my 161. You may find a non-wide board a little bit more maneuverable due to
lighter weight, but I would say that you're not going to notice much of a
difference. If I were you I would buy some risers, and then perhaps rent a
few high-end demo boards, try out a couple of normal width boards with the
risers on, see if you notice much of a difference between your wide, and the
normal boards. From what I understand the Donek Wide for example rides
extremely nice for a wide board. When I buy a new board I mainly pay
attention to the sidecut radius as this, in my opinion and riding style,
determines the maneuverability of a board more than other factors. Here's my
interpretation of what board specs mean:

Length = speed and stability (longer = more effective edge, better edge
hold), also float (in powder)
Effective edge = ability of board to hold an edge at speed and also in less
than ideal conditions (ice, etc)
Sidecut = turning radius / maneuverability (also speed, larger sidecut =
wider turns which means you can carry more speed in those turns)
Waist = How much toe/heel drag may or may not occur, and perhaps how fast it
can make edge to edge transitions (maneuverability), also float (in powder)
Weight range = will the board flex too much or not enough in a carving
situation when the board is weighted in the turns, also stability, don't
want a board that rides like a wet noodle, nor one that rides you, instead
of you riding it.

** non-skidded turns in which the track your board leaves in groomed snow is
perhaps an inch or two wide

-Tom



"Brett" wrote in message
news:8eagb.49587$%h1.33597@sccrnsc02...
Tom,

Everyone has experience that may be beneficial to others.. I have no
problems with people
giving their opinins on particular products and models... I di plan on
looking at the Ride boots coming out this year as they
sem to have put alot of work into them... Many new models???

I swear by the Superfeet insoles!!! They're in every book I use. The
shop
guy placed them in my new Salomon ski boots to
tweak the fit and I will never take them out. They took a boot that was
just a bit too short to an absolutely perfect fit. And that comes
from skiing over 31 years in about a dozen boots.

What do you mean that you're considering adding an alpine hardboot setup
to
your gear?

After this year, I'll probably be picking up a second, narrower board,
that
is more versatile. With the Palmer risers... Which means
looking at a gear made to ride parks, etc but built to handle my size...
Any suggestions?

"My Name" wrote in message
news:CrPeb.36594$gv5.35760@fed1read05...
I would suggest trying on some different (non Salomon) boots. Salomon
boots
are a love hate relationship, they either fit your feet like a glove, or
they put you in foot pain misery, there's no inbetween with salomons.

I personally can't wear salomons, after 15 minutes in the boots my feet
are
screaming.

Go the store, and start trying stuff on, leave it on as long as you can,
walk around in it, tighten a binding down on it, do whatever you can to
simulate riding pressure points. Some boots just don't interface well
with
some bindings. I use Ride bindings as well (SPI), and I have a pair of
Burton Zones that I rode for 3 seasons which were awesome, now I ride a
pair
of Ride Neos which are nice as well but probably not stiff enough for
you,
sometimes of benefit is buying boots & bindings from the same MFG as
they
will design their boots & bindings to interface with eachother.

Ask the store folk to reccommend some stiff boots (other than salomons).
I
will refrain from making any reccommendations as boots are a totally
individual experience and what I like, you may abhor. Consider some
superfeet insoles too, they're always a nice addition if you've got the
money.

I have a size 10 boot and use Palmer Powerlink risers for both the added
leverage and decreased heel/toe drag (I can really lay a board down to
the
point I'm turning uphill at the end of my turns). The added leverage
makes
my edge to edge transitions faster, but even with the risers and 20+
degree
angles I can still get drag (which is why I'm considering adding an
alpine
hardboot setup to my gear), don't want to go much more on the binding
angles
because it will sacrifice my terrain park and switch rideability.

Good luck

-Tom
AASI 187640

"Brett" wrote in message
news:VLueb.644606$Ho3.134494@sccrnsc03...
My current boots, 2001-2002 Salomon Dialogues, pinch the front of my
ankles,
towards the inside/arch... I ride 15 degrees front and 9 degrees
back,
toed
out to keep an upright stance... But after about 2 hours in the
boots,
I'm
ripping them off in severe pain. It feels like they are too soft and
are
transfering the pressure of the binding, Ride Team EX, to my ankle...
I'm
an ex slalom skier and have a tendency to beat on my boots by using
alot
of



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