The XC Skiing thread

[Philster]

So after reading this http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/0...ef=health&_r=0

...I'm questioning my decision to go to 3-pin a little bit. How do I make this safe?

Are these pinless bindings worth a damn? Rottefella Chili Cable Telemark Bindings Voile CRB Plates Black Diamond Risers | eBay

I love the simplicity of what I have but I also love functioning knees.

I've spent a lot of time at Mad River using these with full-on tele boots. My knees are not fine, but it's definitely not because of these! Now they are on a pair of Karhu Guides and are great fun. If they'll give you peace of mind, go for it.

[ned]

Last race of the season and only my 2nd XC race experience. Skied at puke threshold. Winter is no longer the off season.
Solitude Strave.jpg

[lumpy]

Knock on wood, but I've had some gnarly crashes on big, stiff tele gear with no complaints at the knees. I think there's enough play in the bindings, and crashes tend to be either over the bars or wash outs that don't stress the body too much (as long as you wear a helmet). Seems the desire for a releasable tele binding was driven more by backcountry skiers who want a binding to release if caught in an avalanche.

I second this. There's lots of flex and give in any free-heel system.

I'd say the scariest falls I ever took were skiing in the woods and having one ski go under a branch under the snow, right up to the boot, then falling downhill with that foot still stuck. Breakable crust can do similar things. If you are using three-pin bindings, the pinholes rip out of the boot with very little effort. With cable bindings, the cables stretch more than you'd expect.

The problem with the releasable bindings is they aren't accurate or very well engineered. They tend to bind or flex, they release too easily sometimes and not at all at other times.

[lumpy]

I've spent a lot of time at Mad River using these with full-on tele boots. My knees are not fine, but it's definitely not because of these! Now they are on a pair of Karhu Guides and are great fun. If they'll give you peace of mind, go for it.

That raises another good point - If you're using lighter boots where the sole can flex torsionally, the forces don't get to your knees.

[lukasz]

I second this. There's lots of flex and give in any free-heel system.

I'd say the scariest falls I ever took were skiing in the woods and having one ski go under a branch under the snow, right up to the boot, then falling downhill with that foot still stuck. Breakable crust can do similar things.

This happened to me a few weeks ago on NNN bindings and is exactly the kind of situation I was thinking of.

Thanks for the opinions folks. I think that if I took a fall hard enough to mess up a knee then it might just rip the bindings out or at least the pinholes. I was aware of the avalanche risk issue but thought there was more to it than that.

[ned]

And never tele without knee pads.

[caleb]

Looking at the forecast, we should have at least another week of skiing on chopped up ice.

[caleb]

I'll be spending most of this winter in east-central New York State, not too far from a large shrine to baseball players past. Are there any good resources for nordic skiing in New York listing trails and current conditions? Most of the trails I've located are in the Adirondacks, which will be within driving distance for the weekend, but too far for daily workouts.

[Mark Kelly]

As anyone who skis them knows, Fischer RCSs break if you look at them wrong. Mine have lasted 25 years and somehow I expected them to be the exception. Alas, I found that this was not true when I hit a bump at speed a week or so ago. The Hoppet is in two weeks and I can't afford new skis, so repair is the only option.



Bloody RCS



Sidewalls



Carbon and foam



Bonded in



Needed new top sheet



Lyrebird Skis are born.


The main body is mountain ash (Eucalyptus regnans), the tip is myrtle beech (Nothofagus cunninghamii) and the tail is black wattle ( Acacia mearnsii), all of which are endemic to the Vic alps.

I took them out for a spin earlier this week, they're a blast.

[cny rider]

Hey, I missed this post before.
This is my back yard.
We have great nordic skiing. I have 3 places I love to ski within 10 minutes of my house.
Would be happy to show you around, or send you some ideas.

[DCT]

ski season is here!

i'm looking at getting a pair of skate skies. talk to me about these options

All Sport & Racing Ski Packages / Sets - includes Cross Country Skiis Bindings Boots & Ski Poles

[caleb]

ski season is here!

i'm looking at getting a pair of skate skies.

Going up to see Zach Caldwell might be worth your while: Caldwell Sport |

The short answer is that Fischer RCSs and Carbonlites will pretty much always be fast if they're properly flexed for you. Everything else is more hit or miss - some pairs will be fast while others will be dogs.

Get whatever boots fit your feet. The boots determine the type of binding.

Poles don't really matter. You can start with aluminum ones, no problem.

[DCT]

Thanks for the info, I need to do this before we get slammed with snow.

Going up to see Zach Caldwell might be worth your while: Caldwell Sport |

The short answer is that Fischer RCSs and Carbonlites will pretty much always be fast if they're properly flexed for you. Everything else is more hit or miss - some pairs will be fast while others will be dogs.

Get whatever boots fit your feet. The boots determine the type of binding.

Poles don't really matter. You can start with aluminum ones, no problem.

[lumpy]

As a recreational/fitness type skate skier, I feel like the speed difference of having my skate skis properly waxed every time I ski far outweighs anything else. The Swix F5 paste wax works pretty well but if you like skate skiing there's an iron and a bunch of associated stuff in your future.

This addressed to Darren if it wasn't obvious.

[Mark Kelly]

Caleb: I'd not recommend Carbonlites for a novice skater, yes they're fast but they're just too fragile. Same with ultralightweight carbon poles.

I'll second Lumpy: good wax is the sine qua non of fast skating: either learn to wax yourself or find a reliable service.

In my 28th season this year, having always done my own waxing I finally bought a decent waxing iron.

Waxing-Irons_05.jpg

This is a Vitora which are Japanese, appear to be every bit as good as Swix etc but a lot cheaper. All I can say is that I should have done this 20 years ago; especially if you are using high Fluoro waxes the iron makes a huge difference.

This season I'll get a decent rotary brush having relied on a power drill with a hairbrush in the chuck for too long.

[Philster]

On the other end of the spectrum, I'm looking for a lighter backcountry boot. I'm going to use them with a metal edged ski with fish scales. I'm thinking of the Alpina BC 1575. Any opinions on these would be most welcome.

Phil

[lumpy]

On the other end of the spectrum, I'm looking for a lighter backcountry boot. I'm going to use them with a metal edged ski with fish scales. I'm thinking of the Alpina BC 1575. Any opinions on these would be most welcome.

Phil

I'm thinking about this kind of rig but I'd go for a SNS-BC or NNN-BC type binding rather than the 3-pin. The pins rip out pretty easily and the modern bindings do a better job locating the foot on the ski.

[Philster]

I'm actually using some old Rottafella tele bindings. They don't have pins. They use a cable around the heal. Do I have the wrong boots?

[lumpy]

I'm actually using some old Rottafella tele bindings. They don't have pins. They use a cable around the heal. Do I have the wrong boots?

You should be good. Only concern with a lighter more flexible boot in a cable binding is the tension of the cable can make the boot flex where it shouldn't - no way to tell without trying it.

[Mark Kelly]

On a new tack: yesterday was my wife's birthday, my present to her was a new pair of Madshus Nanosonics. They're NIS equipped (seemingly like all new skis) and she uses and loves the Salomon pilot skate system.

So, has anyone made a plate to allow the pilots to be fitted to the NIS system? If so, how did it go? I don't mean just screwing the pilots in through the NIS plates, I can't stand bodges like that.

I'm thinking of using a CF sandwich with a total thickness of 4mm, probably with an end grain balsa core, using M5 stainless C/S screws into aluminium or SS anchors. I'll need to fake something for the NIS plate adjusters as one of them is inaccessible with the normal pilot alignment.

If anyone has any ideas please fire away.