Cheap race ski recommendations

gmcunni said:

Can't wait to see the trip reports for the AlpineZone team racing on Tuesday nights next season @ sundown.

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I raced at Sundown tonight. I SUCKED. I raced in my mogul skis.....that slowed me down a bit. What's a cheater NASTAR ski? I DEFINATELY need a pair of those! Whose the dude willing to come down to Sundown to help with carving turns? Let me know when that happens because I am in serious need of figuring out gates. Shannon, local all mountain ski dude, told me to ski them like bumps, but this did NOT work out well for me. HELP!!! What do I need first, new skis or carving lessons?

you can be an excellent carver and suck at racing gates. Racing is all about being early and turning way before the gate, not at the gate.

deadheadskier said:

you can be an excellent carver and suck at racing gates. Racing is all about being early and turning way before the gate, not at the gate.

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What should I aim for when turning early?

I was / am not a good racer. I know part of the reason was that I was always late on my turns, turning at the gate, kind of like how you skid into moguls to control speed.

This video kind of shows what I'm talking about, but I bet a good racer could explain it to you better. Notice in the video that the change of weighting is accomplished well before the gate

MogulQueen said:

I raced at Sundown tonight. I SUCKED. I raced in my mogul skis.....that slowed me down a bit. What's a cheater NASTAR ski? I DEFINATELY need a pair of those! Whose the dude willing to come down to Sundown to help with carving turns? Let me know when that happens because I am in serious need of figuring out gates. Shannon, local all mountain ski dude, told me to ski them like bumps, but this did NOT work out well for me. HELP!!! What do I need first, new skis or carving lessons?

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You and Bart looked good out there tonight. I saw a little bobble out of you, but overall, you're far better than half the other women. I think a real race ski with a good tune will help you a lot. WoodCore (crazy I ride my MTB every day dude) is a great guy and a ripper and could show us all a lot. We should talk him into a private clinic and then get him trashed afterwards.

Shannon was RIPPING tonight. Fastest I've ever seen him ski.

Greg said:

You and Bart looked good out there tonight. I saw a little bobble out of you, but overall, you're far better than half the other women. I think a real race ski with a good tune will help you a lot. WoodCore (crazy I ride my MTB every day dude) is a great guy and a ripper and could show us all a lot. We should talk him into a private clinic and then get him trashed afterwards.

Shannon was RIPPING tonight. Fastest I've ever seen him ski.

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Thanks for the compliment. I almost missed the gate on that bobble..Opps. Also, thanks to DHS for the clip on taking gates. That really helps me get a visual idea of what the heck I'm supposed to do. Shannon was on fire tonight. Maybe I'll get him to give a clinic on gates. Alway, it was the first week. I can only hope to get better each week.

MogulQueen said:

Thanks for the compliment. I almost missed the gate on that bobble..Opps. Also, thanks to DHS for the clip on taking gates. That really helps me get a visual idea of what the heck I'm supposed to do. Shannon was on fire tonight. Maybe I'll get him to give a clinic on gates. Alway, it was the first week. I can only hope to get better each week.

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Two basic things racing turn concept that I had hammered into my head as I was growing up and doing the gate thing that helped me quite a bit.

1) your turn should start when you are DIRECTLY above the gate in the falline and you should have atleast 2/3rds of your turn done by the time you actually pass the gate (this is the concept of getting early that DHS was talking about) Many a recreational racer won't start their turns until they're practically at the gate and as a result end up having to "jam on the brakes" and skid their skis sideways, thus scrubbing speed to finish that turn and get to the next gate.

2) Turn shape wise. Picture how a stream of water flows down a waterslide. The shape of that stream is very smooth and round as it goes through a corner, NOT angular. That's what you want your turn shape in the course to look like, smooth, round turns instead of sharp, angular turns(these angular turns often happen because you're late in starting your turn and have to jam on the edges/skid which basically puts the brakes on, in an effort to get to the next gate.

if you can do 1 and 2, against all but the highest level of racer, the line you'll be skiing will be quite different than the rutted line that will often be present on a race course.

WoodCore said:

Seriously, If you guys are interested in working on carving It would be my pleasure to stop over at Sundown a few nights this season to help point you in the right direction as long as you guys buy the beer!

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That would be more valuable than finding the right ski. No joke!

I would just check eBay for the cheapest used ski you can find. Just go to the major ski manufacturer web sites and get the names of their lines (assuming GS?). Bonus if you can get one version prior to the current version (e.g. Volkl P60 instead of RaceTiger) as once the name changes, prices go down on the used gear. I would suggest getting consumer level race skis rather than race stock. Most folks don't take their GS skis off the groomers so likely hood of damage to the ski is rather slim.

MogulQueen said:

Shannon, local all mountain ski dude, told me to ski them like bumps, but this did NOT work out well for me. HELP!!! What do I need first, new skis or carving lessons?

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I can not imagine two types of skiing turns being more different than bumps and gates! As others have suggested, have the battle is just starting your turn well before the gate and "seeing" a few gates ahead. If you only have bump skis, you will need new skis for sure. If you have all mountain skis or carvers, they will get the job done and you need to learn technique. Race skis help for sure but the technique is more important.

riverc0il said:

I can not imagine two types of skiing turns being more different than bumps and gates!

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Joey Cordeau and the SVMM boys will take issue with that statement

Greg - now you're talking my langauge.

I've been in love the the Fischer RC4 SL's for quite some time now. Keep them in the running for your final decision

Rossi bump skis are basically soft GS skis, which more and more bump skis are going to (Volkl, Hart F17.) The tune will be completely different, with a lot more base bevel and less side bevel for bump skis (if they're ever actually tuned at all.)

Not Cheap, but Rossi 80TI's. 18m raduis turn and hold on ice like crazy. Also float nicely in power and crud. If you can find last years...they are the same ski. (CX80)

WoodCore said:

Seriously, If you guys are interested in working on carving It would be my pleasure to stop over at Sundown a few nights this season to help point you in the right direction as long as you guys buy the beer!

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Apres beer? We would never do that... But, if you insist I guess we can make an exception...

Ski-Depot has some Clearances ...although lots of other places for prices..
2009 Ski-Depot Clearance Another raceski is Elan SLX(friendly for a raceski I thought)...that can do the frontside.

..just a few..
Lots of good carvers out there as well, but the difference in feel between some Volkls and the rest is rather significantly felt at the end of the day..imho, but think I'm a 5'8", approaching TOG(TeamOldGuy)..LOL.
Just my $.01, and have yet to hop on the RC4s, but from skiing other Fischers I think most any Fischer raceski in the right length...will be more fun than some of Volkl's ACs...(highly subjective;-))