Fischer R&D

I went to the Friends of Fischer event last night, and this benefit
raised a record amt for the City of Lakes Ski Foundation (I think
that's what they called it). The big purchases of the evening were
Kate Ellis buying some Fischer skis and Peter Hanson buying some Marwe
rollerskis.

Hans Hubinger was the guest speaker and Hans has a background in the
Fischer R&W department and has spent some time on the World Cup
circuit. Anyway, he had a few snippets that were intersting:

-Most of the men skate on 192 cm skis, and the women on 182 skis. I
got the feeling that this was so that skiers could exchange skis. Most
of the men classic on 202, 207 and the women on 192, 197.
-Skate skis are made with carbon fiber, but not 100% carbon fiber
because of durability issues. The classic skis have lower carbon fiber
content because the skis would be too springy (rebound too quickly).
-Speed is the primary concern on the world cup. (So things like
stability and weight are secondary.)
-He talked about macro and microstructure, and that the base material
is important in grinding. The petex molecular wt is a factor in
hardness, but additional graphite makes the ski grind as if it's
softer. If a base is too hard, it's almost impossible to grind it
properly for cold snow. He was in charge of petex and has tested 100s
of different petexes.
-They've measured (by survey) that recreational skiers more easily
notice changes in swingweight than changes in ski stiffness.
-There was talk about the changes in the classic ski camber (812 mold)
having a more even pressure distribution when the wax pocket is set.
-There were cookies (grin)
-He also had factory video's of how skis are made. (Don't mess with
the screws!)

I'm sure someone who attended probably remembers more and remembers it
a bit differently...go ahead and chime in.

Jay Wenner

"Sly D. Skeez" wrote in message
om...
snip
-There were cookies (grin)
-He also had factory video's of how skis are made. (Don't mess with
the screws!)

Thanks for the post!

But what did you mean about the screws, have you found out
something we should know about?
Mike

"taywood" wrote in message ...
"Sly D. Skeez" wrote in message
om...
snip
-There were cookies (grin)
-He also had factory video's of how skis are made. (Don't mess with
the screws!)

Thanks for the post!

But what did you mean about the screws, have you found out
something we should know about?
Mike

The screws adjust the mold and in turn, the camber of the ski. If you
want a bunch of PO'ed Austrians, bring a wrench on your next tour of
the factory and start turning screws.

Jay Wenner