Skwal riders?

[mikel45]

Anyone care to explain the advantage of decambered tip and tail.

[RobertAlexander]

the tip/tail radius extends in an inward direction past the end of the side cut radius. when the board gets up on edge, the tip radius starts/initiates the carve in that direction, the tail holds on to the carve. the advantage would be the board will bite into the carve easier and hold the carve better in a variety of conditions. board will lock in until you tell it to release.

[RobertAlexander]

I started last year. I used 3 degree front and rear, 90 front/87 rear, the rear leg with 87 does not hit the front leg. 16"/17" stance, it works for me. also it took 3 or 4 days to get comfortable enough to really throw it around. good luck R

[sabestian]

90° front and rear, 6° toe & heel lift and 4 cm between boots. Rear boot in the most forward position of the lean adjuster, front boot much more upright. Job jobbed

[*Ace*]

Decambering basically creates a pre-bent ski. In the tip it sets the board into an ideal shape for soft-snow flotation. The resulting early-rise tip allows you to float easily over powder and crud, and drive the board more aggressively in soft snow conditions—much like you would on-piste—without worrying about over-flexing the tip. Turn initiation is smoother and effortless in soft snow, and allows the board to change direction far more quickly than traditional camber designs.

My angles are somewhere near 85* front and back. 3* cants front and back. 40cm stance centered on the board.

Board production...maple/poplar mix!


Base material...




Stay tuned!!!

[digger jr]

Nice work Ace,

Will you have a couple done in time for SES?

Ron

[*Ace*]

Maybe one...if I'm lucky...I wanted to have the first board done a while ago, but I have been really busy and the budget has been tight. Original plans were to have a fleet of DEMOS, but that is nearly impossible now. Things are moving forward though...

[mikel45]

40cm stance centered on the board.

Chris, standard suggestion is 4 cm (1.5") distance from back toe to front heel.
Having trouble visualizing your 40 cm (15.7") stance.
Is that centre of boot(s) or are your boots (back toe to front heel) actually 40 cm apart?

[mikel45]

Anyone out there soft booting on a Skwal?

[mikel45]

Skwal for sale here on bomber via *Ace*:
http://www.bomberonline.com/vbulleti...ad.php?t=36370

[*Ace*]

Chris, standard suggestion is 4 cm (1.5") distance from back toe to front heel.
Having trouble visualizing your 40 cm (15.7") stance.
Is that centre of boot(s) or are your boots (back toe to front heel) actually 40 cm apart?

I tried that really narrow stance my first night. Immediately changed it after the first run!

Its from center to center of bindings. Maybe this will help visualize a little better. 2 skwals on the right, stance maxed out on the Easy Jungle. The boards on the left are a little to wide to be skwals. This is my riding quiver, the best boards I've ridden to date!

[John H]

How wide is the new BP cant disc? Would it work on a Skwal? Nice quiver Ace!

[*Ace*]

How wide is the new BP cant disc? Would it work on a Skwal? Nice quiver Ace!

Thanks John, long time narrowing it down to those 4.
This is a top priority when I visit Fin next week. I'll try and post pics of the interface.

[obi one]

enjoy ... and looking forward for the upcoming season : )

[mikel45]

obi one; enjoy ... and looking forward for the upcoming season : )

Obi, great video, best one yet for newbies like myself to view technique, e.g. bike stance and pull back shoulders upon initiating turns.
Comfortable with speed, big problem here (eastern canada) is finding suitable wide terrain.
Thanks also for bring the thread back to life.

[sabestian]

I hate skwal, too!

As always a pleasure to watch you ride, Obi One.
Very good video if you want to analize a good technique.
I hope you don't mind that I linked it to Skwal Polska http://www.facebook.com/pages/Skwal-...01058896716561

[mikel45]

I really like Catek OS 2's . . . I highly recomend the Catek OS 2's.

Don, can you help me out. Like you I also have a Volkl monocarver and a pair of un-installed Catek OS2 which I would like to mount on the Volkl. In a earlier post you mentioned turning Cateks 45 degrees to fit the inserts on the monocarver - yes? Also, the Catek baseplate is wider than the mono, what did you do - cut the Catek baseplate or mount as is with overhang? Any other suggestions to get these puppies on the board would greatly be appreciated - thanks!

[mikel45]

From reading general carving community forum, the opinions suggest that the OS2 bindings exert substantial "lever" pressure to pull-out inserts or delaminate metal boards. What is the scoop with Catek OS2 bindings?

[sabestian]

From reading general carving community forum, the opinions suggest that the OS2 bindings exert substantial "lever" pressure to pull-out inserts or delaminate metal boards. What is the scoop with Catek OS2 bindings?

I have OS2 mounted on MR173 and can't imagine this happen. If you use 3d elastomers or other isolation, of course. I wouldn't put them directly on any board, they are very hmm... hard core.

BTW they are a revelation on a skwal - infinite adjustments make a huge difference! Plus a super - direct power transfer... actually this may be the best part.

[RobertAlexander]

For Sale; I have 2 sets of OS1 Long Plate, one set bail =$150, 1 set step in=175, comeswith all screws for each set
you could mix them and have two boards ready to go, I also have a Left and Right of F2 step in heels, if there are 2 people one Lefty, one Righty. Or we can work something out.

[monodude]

Don, can you help me out. Like you I also have a Volkl monocarver and a pair of un-installed Catek OS2 which I would like to mount on the Volkl. In a earlier post you mentioned turning Cateks 45 degrees to fit the inserts on the monocarver - yes? Also, the Catek baseplate is wider than the mono, what did you do - cut the Catek baseplate or mount as is with overhang? Any other suggestions to get these puppies on the board would greatly be appreciated - thanks!

I have the D3 elastomers. I rode my Volkl for 2 seasons. I rode it quite hard. While it does appear that the camber seems less in the tip area, the board rides just fine. (I think a few bad ass nose stuffs may have a little to do with that). The Monocarver is a metal top board. As far as the overhang I would'nt worry about it. Unless you can eurocarve on it you will never notice it. On my Donek I bought the Catek Plexiglass plates. The plates seem to "slow down" the arching of the board. Truth be known I feel that the damage we hear about has more to do with the conditions than anything else. Stuffing the nose, plow berms, sitzmarks, etc...
Altho I'm not an expert Skwal rider I can't imagine a better binding for a Skwal. The seemingly infinite cant/lift adjustments allow one to ride any board to it's/your full potential. To sum up... If you want to run the OS-2's, and are worried... then run the plexi plates.

Don

Feed the addiction..

[mikel45]

Plus a super - direct power transfer... actually this may be the best part.

Sabestian . . . great, thanks for input! Just installed the Cateks on the monocarver with 3d elastomers.

[mikel45]

Don, thanks for mentioning in earlier post about turning Catek plates 45 degree.
Okay I'm now officially stoked . . . the OS-2's are now installed on the Volkl monocarver.

[mikel45]

PSA: found a great little tutorial on proper way to mount Catek bindings.

[sabestian]

PSA: found a great little tutorial on proper way to mount Catek bindings.

They are a bit tricky to mount but once you get it, it's easy (still time consuming, though).

The outward cant I put on mine instantly made me a 200% better rider. Not that I recommend it for everyone but I definitely encourage everyone to make lots of adjustments to find a sweet spot of yours. It may be outside the box just as well!

Now I ride (regular):
Front: 0 deg; 6 deg toe lift, 3 deg cant to the left (outward)
Back: 0 deg; 6 deg heel lift, 3 deg cant to the right (outward)

Oh so comfy.

[mikel45]

They are a bit tricky to mount but once you get it, it's easy (still time consuming, though).

Can anyone confirm please that a rubber o-ring is required for binding plate before tighten the Kingpin bolt to the Spherical nut? ...... ALSO ...... who would recommend using something like Loctite threadlocker?

The outward cant I put on mine instantly made me a 200% better rider. Now I ride (regular):
Front: 0 deg; 6 deg toe lift, 3 deg cant to the left (outward)
Back: 0 deg; 6 deg heel lift, 3 deg cant to the right (outward)

Sabestian, thanks for the cant recommendation, wasn't even on my radar, will give it a try.

CHEERS!

Mike

[mikel45]

What is everyone riding?

Me quiver:

- Lacroix SK 200 (1992) with original Elfgen bindings, sidecut 15m.
- Volkl mono carver (2001) with original Volkl plate bindings, sidecut 14.5m (muchas gracias Two Ravens)
Just installed Cateks OS2 on mono carver (thanks Don) - awesome upgrade.

You quiver?

[*Ace*]

Just going to say this one time so I won't have to respond to your post about the POOR customer service you will get from Catek. Catek has the WORST customer service. Not only that, think about this. You are posting in a forum that is owned by a manufacturer that makes his own parts in house and has fantastic customer service. IMHO Bomber makes a better product. PERIOD.

[mikel45]

IMHO Bomber makes a better product. PERIOD.

Hi Chris . . . duly noted, totally agree. Just new to this sport, budget wise forced to work with what I got in the closet. As I improve (debatable), future plans are for custom skwal & Bomber bindings. BTW, seen any hot off the press skwal(s) lately? CHEERS! Mike

[*Ace*]

My board building process has been slow to get going. Extra time and money are hard to come by. There will be something to show soon, stay tuned.