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glide: skating vs. traditional???



 
 
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  #1  
Old August 19th 03, 01:14 PM
Ken Roberts
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Default glide: skating vs. traditional???

This question is more complicated than it sounds -- though I can see you've
tried to keep it simple and clear.

There's lots of kinds of glide:
(a) gliding down a hill too steep to push
(b) gliding down a gentle hill, where pushing can make me go faster
Gliding on the flat or gentle uphill:
(c) with no pushing at all
(d) while also pushing with your leg, but not your pole
(e) while also pushing with your pole, but not your leg
(f) while pushing with both your pole and leg

To start on your questions:
2) Which style glides better or more (quantitative).


Classic diagonal striding delivers _none_ of (d) and (f). Done with the
normal intermediate style, classic delivers lots of (c). With advanced
style it offers a good amount of (e).

Skating offers the possibility of all six kinds of glide. Usually much less
of (e) than advanced classic striding -- but much more of (b) and in a way
that feels more fun. Advanced skating is _all_ glide.

1) Which style glide feels better (qualitative )


Classic striding is my parents' skiing.

Skating is magical.

What's magical is that I can be gliding forward at high speed, while at the
same time pushing at a 90-degree-angle out to the side -- with that pushing
at a much slower speed which is comfortable for my leg muscles. Perhaps
because the push-motion is off in a different direction, it seems like my
"glide-pleasure-receptor" neurons are able to lock into the feeling of
forward speed, so I can experience the whole stroke cycle as fun gliding.

Some people think that kinds (d) and (f) are not "true" glide. I suspect
that's because they haven't _felt_ the magic, so they _experience_ their own
skating as an alternating sequence of push-glide-push-glide. They've got
the new gear and the new trail grooming, but their concepts and neural
patterns remain stuck in the old classic physics and the old traditional
rhythms. They're still skiing "classic": only getting their push-grip now
from the edge of the ski instead of the kick wax.

For me the key was to take a good lesson at a leading ski center with
excellent terrain and rental equipment, and feel the new magic.

Ken


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  #2  
Old August 20th 03, 12:34 AM
Gary Jacobson
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Default glide: skating vs. traditional???

1. Generally I like the feeling of the glide that comes with classic more
than the glide that comes with skating. But I think it depends on what
technique I am feeling more proficient in. Mostly I like the body
orientation and symmetry of classic.

2. For unit of energy I think there is always more glide with skating, Maybe
untrue in extremely cold, or extremely wet conditions when there are good
"dry tracks" vs. unbroken snow that a skating ski has to push through to
glide. I have not heard of a high level freestyle xc ski race won by a
classic skier.

Gary Jacobson
Rosendale, NY


"GR" wrote in message
...
I have never tried skate style and was wondering which style had the

better
feeling of glide.
1) Which style glide feels better (qualitative )
2) Which style glides better or more (quantitative).
gr




  #3  
Old August 20th 03, 12:36 PM
Ken Roberts
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Default glide: skating vs. traditional???

And what's so magical about skating down a gentle slope with your skis
fluffing through 10 cm of fresh cold powder snow which is _not_ wind-driven,
over a firm well-groomed base -- on a winter morning with sharp shadows and
sunshine coming through the trees?

(first week of December 2001 at Silver Star BC)

Ken


  #4  
Old August 22nd 03, 05:23 PM
Nathan Schultz
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Default glide: skating vs. traditional???


"GR" wrote in message
...
I have never tried skate style and was wondering which style had the

better
feeling of glide.
1) Which style glide feels better (qualitative )


Definitely Classical, but this depends completely on your opinion. A
lot will depend on technical proficiency here, and if you do one better than
the other, it will probably feel better. I enjoy Classical and it seems
like a much more aesthetically pleasing style. There is nothing better than
striding along on a crisp Extra Blue morning, but it is also nice to fly
along on an icy day on the skate skis. Each style has its place, with
unique advantages and disadvantages.

2) Which style glides better or more (quantitative).


Without a question, skating. Do a skate race and a classical race on
the same day on the same course with the same conditions and you will go
significantly faster skating. Given the assumption that you are putting out
a maximum effort in both races, skating is obviously more efficient. The
skis should be faster because they have no kick wax, and the technique is
more efficient as well.

On January 1, 2003 I did a 10km CL race followed by a 10km SK race half
an hour later on the same course. It was cold that day and snow conditions
did not change significantly between races. My time was 28:38 for the
Classical race, 26:50 for the Skate. I used rock skis for both races with
CH7 for glide wax on both. My skate rock skis are in much worse shape than
my classicals, so they're probably relatively slower.

-Nathan
http://nsavage.com


  #5  
Old August 22nd 03, 11:57 PM
GR
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Default glide: skating vs. traditional???

Good answers! Thanks to all for the info.
gr
"Nathan Schultz" wrote in message
news:Yjs1b.173500$Oz4.45549@rwcrnsc54...

"GR" wrote in message
...
I have never tried skate style and was wondering which style had the

better
feeling of glide.
1) Which style glide feels better (qualitative )


Definitely Classical, but this depends completely on your opinion. A
lot will depend on technical proficiency here, and if you do one better

than
the other, it will probably feel better. I enjoy Classical and it seems
like a much more aesthetically pleasing style. There is nothing better

than
striding along on a crisp Extra Blue morning, but it is also nice to fly
along on an icy day on the skate skis. Each style has its place, with
unique advantages and disadvantages.

2) Which style glides better or more (quantitative).


Without a question, skating. Do a skate race and a classical race on
the same day on the same course with the same conditions and you will go
significantly faster skating. Given the assumption that you are putting

out
a maximum effort in both races, skating is obviously more efficient. The
skis should be faster because they have no kick wax, and the technique is
more efficient as well.

On January 1, 2003 I did a 10km CL race followed by a 10km SK race

half
an hour later on the same course. It was cold that day and snow

conditions
did not change significantly between races. My time was 28:38 for the
Classical race, 26:50 for the Skate. I used rock skis for both races with
CH7 for glide wax on both. My skate rock skis are in much worse shape

than
my classicals, so they're probably relatively slower.

-Nathan
http://nsavage.com




 




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