"fat" race skis?

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02-13-2006, 12:55 PM
jfk

"fat" race skis?

i just watched orf1 (austrian tv channel) that analyzed those horrible women's dh training crashes today.
armin assinger (former kick ass wc skier) suggested getting rid of all the lift underneath the bindings and to "increase ski width by 1-2cm". that would mean 80mm waist race skis. maybe even wider. i bet those would be pretty sweet midfats...
another guy (i think it was toni sailer, another (older) austrian racing legend) seems to be involved in some fis committe (sp). he hinted that at the end of the season the fis might increase the mininum radii (i think for gs 30m, sg 45m and dh 50m or something like that).
i like the idea of wider race skis though.
what are your opinions?
02-13-2006, 01:31 PM
shmerham

I'm gonna guess he meant 1 to 2 mm.
02-13-2006, 01:59 PM
f2f

as much flak as this will get pointed my way, i believe the doodz at epicski will be able to give you more interesting opinions.
02-13-2006, 02:04 PM
jfk

shmerham: no, he said cm. because the crashes today resulted from the "aggressive" snow, the skiers caught edges and didn't have enough time to react. assinger thinks that wider skis and lower binding height would decrease the risk of catching an edge and give the skiers more time to react

f2f: i guess that some of the maggots would appreciate burly long midfats as a quiver addition though, at least way more than the doodz from epicski.
02-13-2006, 05:03 PM
summit

from what little i know, his suggestion would achieve the desired effect but wouldnt it cost them edge to edge fast reaction?
02-13-2006, 05:25 PM
jfk

Quote:

Originally Posted by Summit

from what little i know, his suggestion would achieve the desired effect but wouldnt it cost them edge to edge fast reaction?

i guess that's the plan, at the same time it's more forgiving though if you catch an edge (i think...)
02-13-2006, 05:31 PM
Spats

That might work in DH or SG, where you're a lot more dependent on choosing and holding the proper line than on making a lightning-quick transition.

Of course, a wider ski with less lift means more torque on the boot and ankle, and the dynamic response of a ski will change radically if you increase the width by 25%.

In the 1970s, wasn't the racer fashion to have as *little* lift as possible? Bindings of the time had no lift at all, and I seem to remember people grinding out the bottom of their boots to get their foot closer to the ski...
02-14-2006, 03:41 AM
roorfan

wide skis also glide slower and more awkwardly