can one skis be significantly faster

Hi,
had a chance to take my new Fisher RX8 to Snowmass/Loveland Co last week
for 4 days. It is pure pleasure and everything what I read was indeed
true, at least to the my level I can verify it at.

One observation though - I was carving behind my friend and some other
guys following their tracks as precisely as possible. The easiness I
could catch them up and the speed it happened was just astonishing. Also
opposite was true, my friend just could not catch me.

So it posses question: is it due to ski itself, skills or what?

Andy

Walt wrote:

New skis with fresh bases and a good factory supplied wax will have less
friction and be faster than old bases. So, yeah, you may be faster.
Which may or may not be a good thing.


it was significantly faster. I remember year ago the difference between
waxed and not-waxed skis and it did not feel so radical. plus we were
carving - so I would think that speed on edges is less dependent on the wax.

could it be possible the the faster ski bends in the turn the way the my
mass is more equally distributed over the edge and thus the overall
friction is smaller.


but hey, why it might not be good thing?

A.

On Tue, 13 Mar 2007 18:53:41 -0600, alf ask@me wrote:

Hi,
had a chance to take my new Fisher RX8 to Snowmass/Loveland Co last week
for 4 days. It is pure pleasure and everything what I read was indeed
true, at least to the my level I can verify it at.

One observation though - I was carving behind my friend and some other
guys following their tracks as precisely as possible. The easiness I
could catch them up and the speed it happened was just astonishing. Also
opposite was true, my friend just could not catch me.

So it posses question: is it due to ski itself, skills or what?


There can be a variety of reasons.

Properly waxed skis certainly will be faster when gliding than ones
which aren't.

But your skills make at least as much difference, almost certainly
more unless you are *just* gliding.

And your weight makes some difference too, heavier tends to mean
faster at recreational level.
--
Alex Heney, Global Villager
The facts, although interesting, are irrelevant.
To reply by email, my address is alexATheneyDOTplusDOTcom

alf wrote:
Hi,
had a chance to take my new Fisher RX8 to Snowmass/Loveland Co last week
for 4 days. It is pure pleasure and everything what I read was indeed
true, at least to the my level I can verify it at.

One observation though - I was carving behind my friend and some other
guys following their tracks as precisely as possible. The easiness I
could catch them up and the speed it happened was just astonishing. Also
opposite was true, my friend just could not catch me.

So it posses question: is it due to ski itself, skills or what?

New skis with fresh bases and a good factory supplied wax will have less
friction and be faster than old bases. So, yeah, you may be faster.
Which may or may not be a good thing.

//Walt

Walt wrote:

Or your path is more in the fall line?

I followed his track quite precisely. It is also pronounced when I made
deeper turns i.e. distance I skied was significantly longer at greater
speed while the descent pace was the same.

alf wrote:
Walt wrote:

New skis with fresh bases and a good factory supplied wax will have
less friction and be faster than old bases. So, yeah, you may be
faster. Which may or may not be a good thing.


it was significantly faster. I remember year ago the difference between
waxed and not-waxed skis and it did not feel so radical. plus we were
carving - so I would think that speed on edges is less dependent on the
wax.

Maybe you and the RX 8 are making a cleaner carve than your buddy? Or
your path is more in the fall line? any number of possibilities present
themselves.

I ski regularly with somebody who's a better skier than me. I'm often
faster, but that's because he's better at control in the fall line than
I am. If we raced, he'd probably beat me, but freeskiing he's making
more/shorter turns than me and I pass him a lot.

but hey, why it might not be good thing?

Sometimes you want to go fast, sometimes you want to slow down.

"alf" ask@me wrote in message
...
Walt wrote:

New skis with fresh bases and a good factory supplied wax will have less
friction and be faster than old bases. So, yeah, you may be faster.
Which may or may not be a good thing.


it was significantly faster. I remember year ago the difference between
waxed and not-waxed skis and it did not feel so radical. plus we were
carving - so I would think that speed on edges is less dependent on the
wax.

Unless you are carving on glare ice, there is more base on the snow than
edge.


could it be possible the the faster ski bends in the turn the way the my
mass is more equally distributed over the edge and thus the overall
friction is smaller.


but hey, why it might not be good thing?

A ski that slides easier turns easier - not a problem.

Bob

Bob F wrote:

Unless you are carving on glare ice, there is more base on the snow than
edge.

It's not ice until it's clear enough to see a fish through it.

//Walt

alf wrote:

Walt wrote:


New skis with fresh bases and a good factory supplied wax will have
less friction and be faster than old bases. So, yeah, you may be
faster. Which may or may not be a good thing.


it was significantly faster. I remember year ago the difference between
waxed and not-waxed skis and it did not feel so radical. plus we were
carving - so I would think that speed on edges is less dependent on the
wax.
A poorly scraped and brushed ski will be slower than a ski with no wax
remaining after a large number of runs. Try to ski on a un scraped pair
of ski's. Its like you left the parking brake on.

could it be possible the the faster ski bends in the turn the way the my
mass is more equally distributed over the edge and thus the overall
friction is smaller.

If you kickup a lot of snow in a turn your scrubbing speed. The object
with the largest mass will tend to go faster which is one reason
downhill racers are not small people. I followed an 70 year old
downhiller who skied with his ski's flat kicked up no snow when he
carved turns and he flew. The only way I could match his speed was to
drop into a tuck on the fall line while he carved away.

but hey, why it might not be good thing?

A.

down_hill wrote:

The object
with the largest mass will tend to go faster

Galileo Galilee objects.