In terms of materials and construction, how are a pair of, for example, GS race skis unique?
I assume that there is some kind of super- secret material and quasi magical design considerations that make them fast (and expensive) however, I am just wondering what it would take to make a pair of skis that felt and handled like race skis for training purposes.
GS race-like skis
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skidesmond
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Go to any website such as Fischer http://www.fischerskis.com/en/products_ ... rent=50443 or Volkl http://www.volkl.com/ski/tech.php and read what they put into their skis and the shape/length. Of course they don't tell you everything but it's a good starting place.
I think all gs skis have a 21m turning radius nowadays.
I have 2 pairs of gs skis.
The 188cm k2 mach gs from about 9 years ago are fairly soft from use but I'm not sure they were ever that stiff. I use these for early season recreational/training type skiing. They can be carved and will slide as well. These skis respond well to speed due to their damping qualities.
I have a pair of 7 or 8 year old 193cm volkl p50 skis that are super stiff. These skis do not slide and must be carved. They feel like you're on rails and have no speed limit. These skis are not as damp as the k2s, they feel kind of taut.
Both skis have a wood core and at least 2 layers of titanal in them. The volkls are thicker, have a hybrid sidewall/cap construction with ridges on the top while the thinner k2s have vertical sidewalls and are flat on top. Neither ski has any damping device at the positions of resonance on their tops. The shape of the volkl topsheet is like the old dynastar omega construction. This by itself makes the ski stiffer. I also think that under the ridges there might be some kind of tapered metal rails. The topsheet says "powered by titanium" this might be a reference to the aluminum titanal layers or could indicate that there are "titanium" rails inside of the skis.
These skis are built in a similar fashion but have different characteristics. They both allow the skier to go really fast.
I suspect the k2s use fir which is intrinsically damp and the volkls use stiffer/harder "sensorwood" or some such type of wood.
The edges on the k2s terminate under a rubbery tip cover while the volkl's edges stop just beyond the running surface and there is no tip cover. Both pairs of skis use the super thin racing edges. The edges on both pairs terminate just beyond the running length inside of a piece of ABS plastic.
The k2s are race stock skis while the volks are from a volkl rep that I think are high end rec racing skis and not race team skis but I'm not totally sure about that.
I have 2 pairs of gs skis.
The 188cm k2 mach gs from about 9 years ago are fairly soft from use but I'm not sure they were ever that stiff. I use these for early season recreational/training type skiing. They can be carved and will slide as well. These skis respond well to speed due to their damping qualities.
I have a pair of 7 or 8 year old 193cm volkl p50 skis that are super stiff. These skis do not slide and must be carved. They feel like you're on rails and have no speed limit. These skis are not as damp as the k2s, they feel kind of taut.
Both skis have a wood core and at least 2 layers of titanal in them. The volkls are thicker, have a hybrid sidewall/cap construction with ridges on the top while the thinner k2s have vertical sidewalls and are flat on top. Neither ski has any damping device at the positions of resonance on their tops. The shape of the volkl topsheet is like the old dynastar omega construction. This by itself makes the ski stiffer. I also think that under the ridges there might be some kind of tapered metal rails. The topsheet says "powered by titanium" this might be a reference to the aluminum titanal layers or could indicate that there are "titanium" rails inside of the skis.
These skis are built in a similar fashion but have different characteristics. They both allow the skier to go really fast.
I suspect the k2s use fir which is intrinsically damp and the volkls use stiffer/harder "sensorwood" or some such type of wood.
The edges on the k2s terminate under a rubbery tip cover while the volkl's edges stop just beyond the running surface and there is no tip cover. Both pairs of skis use the super thin racing edges. The edges on both pairs terminate just beyond the running length inside of a piece of ABS plastic.
The k2s are race stock skis while the volks are from a volkl rep that I think are high end rec racing skis and not race team skis but I'm not totally sure about that.
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MontuckyMadman
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skidesmond
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- Joined: Tue Apr 07, 2009 3:26 pm
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I also have a pair of Volk P50 188cm. They are very stiff as jono says. I still race on them in a GS style course. I've had them for 5-6 years. Probably the stiffest ski I've skied on many many years. They will carve a nice turn but you better lean into them hard to get the ski to bend. They hold great on hard pack and ice assuming they are tuned. They can handle just about anything excepts bumps.
As for "sensorwood"... I think that's Volkl marketing talk. You can't cut down a sensorwood tree. I'm sure its a mix of hard wood and shaping of the core. Either way it's a stiff ski
As for "sensorwood"... I think that's Volkl marketing talk. You can't cut down a sensorwood tree. I'm sure its a mix of hard wood and shaping of the core. Either way it's a stiff ski