How bad off are ya with bad skis, wax, grind?

I like handicaps so I'll press on regardless but still I'm curious.

How much difference do hot skis make these days in the Citizen Racing
scene?

I suspect that our top 5 citizen skiers a *choosing race day ski
from a couple waxed sets, *have ski quiver to match likely conditions,
*have skis that match their weight/druthers, *have pro grinds for
conditions, *have a couple careful wax/brush jobs to compare and choose
from.

So how much difference does this make compared to the yokel who skis
and trains on the same jiffy waxed pair of skis bought off the rack?

It always is indeed more fun to have skis that glide right along and
kick right, etc., and I did notice at my last race that my skis did
neither.

Think good gear relates pretty likely to the leaders gliding away from
the rest?

It almost makes me want to spend some cash and time doing it right next
time...

But how right do I have to go to even get close to on par?

Man, two sets of skis to choose from that match skier and conditions
sure would be dandy...

Ah, begone wild thoughts of financial ruin!

--JP

We can get carried away ($), but there is tempting & convincing
evidence in favor of choosing at least a couple flexes & suitable
grinds.

I feel I need:

* A cold fine grind, perhaps on a stiffer ski, or a softer one for
those "cold as it gets" races in the UP, but also can be used in the
drier middle temps

* A killa all-rounder

* A warm / wet option with some "structure"

Classic is different though. I have two skis with the same grind, and
they each present their own strengths, clearly.

But with 3 skaters, you got yer cold option & warmer option basically.
Or, your drier & wetter option.

Is it supposed to be 0 F ? Bring the cold ones, and also bring your all
rounders with a warmer wax (perhaps w/fluoro) & you are covered if
they miss the forecast by 15 degrees (which happens regularly !). Then
you've got your fluoro all-rounders all set to go next time if the
forecast was correct. Very handy system.

I'm mostly curious as to how badly one goes off the back when they just
slap wax'o'the'day onto their one pair of skis.

Here are figures from a test glide conducted by Peltonen

5=2E0 % difference due to skis
1=2E5 % difference due to grind
0=2E5 % difference accross top line waxs

Fastest skis at -10=B0c were slowest at O=B0c

(I'd like to now the difference beetween base line and top line wax.)

Keep in mind, though, that theses figures are produced by a ski
manufacturer, whoses objectif is to sell skis....

Vandel emphasize that the overall quality of skating skis is not only
glide tests in a straight trails. It's also and mainly skating ability
; uphill, dowhill etc.. (remember Fisher problems with early "skate
cut"). If you'd like to maximize glide ability you'd take classic
skis...

Laurent.

Thanks. I'd also like to know the difference between "proper wax AND
base prep/brushing" and "close wax plus marginal base handling." I'm
wondering how much all those brushes used in all those proper sequences
will help. Plus things like taking care of bases so they're not badly
gouged, etc. Like a pair of beater skis with wax just tossed on em and
a guess-brush, versus doing it by the book or optimally. I also like
the idea of optimizing base handling, etc., for given region. If you're
skiing daily in a region where you race you get a good chance to see
what really works for what conditions, which
brushes/wax/ski-flex/grind, etc.

If you'd like to maximize glide ability you'd take classic
skis...

Laurent.

I always thougth this was the case but I was curious to read that at a
recent (one of the last two) WC Sprint races that were classic, the winners
skied on skate skis and double poled the whole race. This also says
something about the course itslelf.

Dave

Hey Jeff,

If you want an example of bad wax....

I waxed too soft for the 10 km National Masters. I tried Solda Iper
Ivory (meant for right around freezing), and even through the temps
were about 28-30 F, the wax was too soft. Also, I corked in my Cera F
(040), vigorously, but it was still corked and probably didn't last.
The snow was tilled up ice and my skis got slower and slower at the
race went on. My wife was giving me splits during the multilap race and
I was 3 second up on Tom Krenz at about 1 km into the race (my skis
were great for a few km), and then I started losing time, and ended up
losing maybe 5-10 seconds/km in the last few km. Tom had really great
skis with Toko Red and Streamline (I assume warm). BTW, I didn't give
up...in fact I killed myself trying to make up for the bad skis. Since
my skis slowed drastically during the race, I don't think this was a
case of bad flex or bad structure.

On Thr for the pursuit, the roles were switched. I had good skis and
Tom had poor skis for both events. I waxed with Swix HFBD8 with Cera040
on top and I think Tom used some Fast Wax, but I'm not sure. The temps
were much warmer that day, and the sun was really cooking the snow for
the afternoon skate race. In spite of that, I didn't rill, but others
did. Yeah, my skis were slower in the sun, but rippin' in the shade. In
theory, I waxed too cold for the event, but I learned from Tues that
the snow was agressive.

You can check out the results for yourself at the National Masters
website.

Jay Wenner

On 24 Mar 2005 04:47:36 -0800, wrote:

Thanks. I'd also like to know the difference between "proper wax AND
base prep/brushing" and "close wax plus marginal base handling."

These questions depend a lot on the snow. If it's frosty corn snow at
25F, a lot of stuff will be fast and the difference woudl be small.
But with in trickier situations, like high humidity and new snow above
freezing, or dry cold new snow, having things right can make a bigger
difference.

JFT

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Jeff,

Here in Michigan it is a quiver of 2.

You could cover 90% of all races with two skis and two waxes.
1: Cold soft, fine structure with your choice of Start Green or
equivalent from tokosoldaswixskigostar etc. just not Rex Green.
2: Medium flex, all around grind with Rex Blue. Moist? Add Fluoro.

The other 9% Soft Rilled Toko Yellow Fluoro or equivalent.

That last 1% everything else. Add money.

Sure the Mich Cup playa's have big bags full of skis, but that is
mostly so they don't have to wax everything every weekend, just
whatever they used.

Buy two pairs, spend the difference on skiing.

....says the guy with 12-15 pairs of skis in his truck.

How old and out of flex were those skis I saw you on last wekend?

How far off the back with crap skis and the wax d'jour?

You should have seen the beaut's I wore for the White Pine.

where do atomic rs 11's fit into this scheme?
(soft flex).
TIA.