Wistful wonderings about a wax-free world...

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In article ,
Jan Gerrit Klok wrote:
You're right, the nominal cost of a stable of ski's may not be too much
worse than with bikes. However, in my case I do notice how it scares the
heck out of me. Not just buying the relatively cheap wax, but the KNOWLEDGE
required to use it, and use it properly. I'm a competitive person, and just
started training really hard on my skates to not look like a fool the happy
day I find myself on snow, at a starting grid. I cannot live with the idea
that however hard I train, someone perhaps less fitness with a pro waxman
will just glide right by me.

_ Then ski racing of any kind is not your sport. I think you'd be
happier on snowshoes or skates. Dealing with the vagaries of the
snow is part of what makes ski racing what it is. There are many
other sports that don't require dealing with external
conditions, but people that like ski racing generally enjoy this
aspect of the sport. If you don't you should quit now.

_ Booker C. Bense

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Rules changes only make a sport more expensive if they're not thought out
well or executed correctly. It does take a legislator some serious thinking
to get rules such, that the intended effect is triggered.
Fear of dozens of different nowax ski's? Make it worth it to racers (time
bonus/penalty) to keep showing up with the same ski's. Allow ski changes
through a season (we all shop or wreck), once or twice, with sufficient
back-up plans for eventualities.

"Camilo" schreef in bericht
oups.com...
This is a great thread, very interesting and most of my opinoins have
already been stated very well by others. Basically, I agree that
"basic" waxing can be very simple, cheap and will be very close to the
"best job possible". Not close enough for those who want to save every
1/10 of a second for long races that are decided in seconds, but very
very adequate for people who race just to "do as well as I can" whether
that be a very fit and competative, but not winning, person all the way
back to those of us that ski for fun, fitness, and to set PRs in
various events (mid-back of the packers).

As for the concept of no-wax races. What it would end up being is that
serious people would have even larger quivers of skis. There is
absolutely no doubt that in a no-wax situation, the competitors would
find individual skis that would perform best in the condition of the
day. Yes, a competative skier currently has multiple skis, but some of
the differences can be mitigated or overcome by waxing and structuring,
therefore requireing less of a variety of skis. No wax rules would
make it an even more expensive sport for those that really want to
compete- and they are the same people who go to great lengths in wax
products and techniques.

In article ,
Jan Gerrit Klok wrote:
I cannot live with the idea
that however hard I train, someone
perhaps less fitness with a pro waxman
will just glide right by me.

Then ski racing of any kind
is not your sport. I think you'd be
happier on snowshoes or skates.
Dealing with the vagaries of the
snow is part of what makes ski
racing what it is. There are many
other sports that don't require
dealing with external
conditions, but people that like
ski racing generally enjoy this
aspect of the sport. If you don't
you should quit now.

Quit? He hasn't even started. I don
think he has ever been skiing, let alone racing.

JFT

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On Sat, 18 Mar 2006 00:42:57 +0100, "Jan Gerrit Klok"
wrote:

Rules changes only make a sport more expensive if they're not thought out
well or executed correctly. It does take a legislator some serious thinking
to get rules such, that the intended effect is triggered.
Fear of dozens of different nowax ski's? Make it worth it to racers (time
bonus/penalty) to keep showing up with the same ski's. Allow ski changes
through a season (we all shop or wreck), once or twice, with sufficient
back-up plans for eventualities.

Do you organize sporting events? I've been involved in that sort of
thing, and the concept of adding another thing for
organizers/officials to do, for a "minor sport" in my country,
disturbs me greatly.

I can see in small kids leagues putting in place some good faith
recommendations that kids and their parents avoid going overboard on
spending for wax (spending for time on snow would probably be better
much of the time anyway). But a rules structure? No way.

JFT

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Quit? He hasn't even started. I don
think he has ever been skiing, let alone racing.

JFT

It's a testament to the kindness of the rsn ng posters that this guy hasn't
been flamed to a crisp. I imagine his computer melting to a puddle if he had
tried to tell the bike racers how to run their races before ever getting on
a two-wheeler. And, c'mon: waxing is too hard or expensive? Good technique
is hard to learn but when you do, it will make you a lot faster then the
tiny delta going from LF8 to HF8.

Bob

I gotta say, I like waxing. It helps to get my head into the day,
connects me to the snow and gliding.
I am reminded of a story. I have a friend that is a furniture finisher.
He had a complex formula that produced a fantastic effect. A friend
asked him for the secret formula and he gladly wrote it out and shared.
Some weeks later the guy called him up and said that the formula did
not work even though he followed the instructions to the letter. My
friend told him, "you are not thinking about it properly".
That is what I think about waxing. As I wax I begin to think about the
weather and the snow and the skis and everything else - it makes me a
better skier.
At least I think it does....
/john

In skating, having a bad wax job can be like having a dragging brake.
It slows you down, but sometimes a good day (cardiovascularly) will
make up for a bad wax day. You just have to work harder. On the flip
side, if you know you have good skis, that can really change your
mental outlook on the race.

In a classic race, having a bad wax job can be a real big problem.
People drop out of classic races because they miss the wax. Also, I
think that mastering grip waxing is much more difficult than skate
waxing. So at this time of year, you have to make a choice if having
grip in the icy, sunny sections and _slow_ skis in the shade, or ok
glide in the shade and almost no grip in the sun. Or, maybe you go for
grip in the sun and the grip ices up. Damn. Also, how do you deal with
fast rising temps. Kick waxing really rewards experience, and if you
don't have the experience, you bail and use waxless skis. Hell,
sometimes waxless are just plain faster. If grip waxing favors
experience, that kind of seems fair to me. You've done a lot of classic
skiing, so you should do better.

Jan, you need to go skiing....on snow. Maybe you'll get hooked for life
like the rest of us. Maybe it won't be your thing.

Jay Wenner

I guess that's why grip tape is so popular. It short circuits the
learning process (probably not so good), can get one out the door
quickly on backup skis (good idea), and mostly solves the dilemnas of
spring kick waxing. I'm told tape doesn't have the glide properties of
kick wax and klister, but don't know whether or why that would be true.
For Rex, isn't it Power Grip on paper?

Gene

"Bjorn A. Payne Diaz" wrote:

In a classic race, having a bad wax job can be a real big problem.
People drop out of classic races because they miss the wax. Also, I
think that mastering grip waxing is much more difficult than skate
waxing. So at this time of year, you have to make a choice if having
grip in the icy, sunny sections and _slow_ skis in the shade, or ok
glide in the shade and almost no grip in the sun. Or, maybe you go for
grip in the sun and the grip ices up. Damn. Also, how do you deal with
fast rising temps. Kick waxing really rewards experience, and if you
don't have the experience, you bail and use waxless skis. Hell,
sometimes waxless are just plain faster. If grip waxing favors
experience, that kind of seems fair to me. You've done a lot of
classic skiing, so you should do better.

Jan, you need to go skiing....on snow. Maybe you'll get hooked for
life like the rest of us. Maybe it won't be your thing.

Jay Wenner