183 Bro mounting point/review

wow you really are a physics ta
youve got no sense for reality :p ;)

gimme a break though, machines might be nice and repeatable, but just because its a CNC machine doesnt mean the process isnt prone to mistakes

coming from a strong machining background and lots of precision hand layout and jigging its definitely possible with the right tools, methods, and techniques to hand layout an entire jig pattern to within .003 without much trouble. I did this routinely for points in three dimensionsins spanning FEET, and not just 300mm over a 2d FLAT surface. .003" is the thickness of a standard sheet of paper and i can assure you that makes no practical difference in a ski mount

I didn't mean for this to turn into a debate. Like you it seemed strange to me that a 3mm change made such a difference. I've done plenty of machining and with a little care with measurement, a good center punch and a centering bit you can get ~0.001" accuracy. It's way faster for me to stick it in the milling machine though and takes less skill to get the same result. Just wondering if there's a better way.

We have a shop in Vancouver that does tuning and binding mounts exclusively. Wouldn't it be marketable to guarantee a perfect mounting every time?

So yeah, how 'bout them Bros? I hear they kick ass. Might get me some next year.

cool. yea. :)

will definitely be posting impressions after i spend some QT with them


with regard to the mount line, Ive never had the ability to just shift my mounting point like that between runs, but Id think it could make a slight difference to where someone would notice, especially on hard snow.

Ive spent probably 35 days on my legend pros on the line, then got new boots which have a shorter BSL, and moved me forward 4mm. After another 15 or so days at the new location, while I wouldnt say its night and day, they do ski a little different, and thats with keeping the toe\ball of my foot in the same location. Figure moving the entire toe and ball of your foot would make a more noticeable difference methinks.

The -.5cm inclination i have right now is because my 183s and 186LPs are nearly the same length (cause the lp is more like 184), and thats where I want the mount on my LPs in relation to where the reccomended line is right now. But ill be measuring the hell out of them first before doing anything.

I have a couple days on mine on ice, wind buff, crud, ~2500 vert of untracked pow, and touring.

I mounted + .5 cm and Im overall happy.
They do everything well, very stable, and float well in pow.
I notice a hint of wobble in pow running at speed occasionally when I poorly distribute weight on my feet and the lighter foot shimmies a bit. My fault though, and not the skis.

If I had to do it over, being these are BC skis, Id have probably just gone on the line, but im very happy where they are. Im sure come spring time Ill be even happier of the slightly forward mount.

I came to this mount point as it was -9.5cm from chord center and I usually like -9.
I also found the balance point, putting the toe there, and the midsole fell right around -9.5. And proportionately, from my 186 LPs which are only about 1'ish cm longer, and really just because of a larger shovel, thats where Id want my LPs mounted.

At this point its a tad early for a review, but impressions are good.
Great edgehold
Damp
Good energy out of turns
Wish they had larger shovels.
Tracks extremely stable, i think largely in part due to the rear half of the sidecut.
Tips are a tad hooky and needed a quick detune. They are *sharp* from the factory....sharp damn near all the way up to the front 1/3rd of the shovel.

more when i have more days

I had the 183s out today in powder, good crud, and a little windbuffed whipped cream cheese snow. The 3mm forward of the centerline mounting point was right on once again. They float, blast through, and do all turn shapes.

^^^agreed

just mounted mine on the line with demo's....figured i could moved them and get a feel for all the postions mentioned. saw it somewhere here i think, 1 click forward is about 3mm??

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Originally Posted by Vets

I had the 183s out today in powder, good crud, and a little windbuffed whipped cream cheese snow. The 3mm forward of the centerline mounting point was right on once again. They float, blast through, and do all turn shapes.

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Did you demo at the wood?

I just got out on my 183's this past weekend and had them mounted up at 3mm in front of the line. I am 5'8" 145 lbs and it was way to far back for me. It felt like I was on the tales all day. The ski reminded me of the 188's which is to much for me. I took them back to the shop and had them remounted 1.5 CM in front of the line. For me it was money. I was afraid they would be a little far forward for me in the pow and I was wrong. They floated great and I never had one problem with tip dive. The snow was pretty deep in Mammoth and I never had the feeling of going over the tips once. On the groomed they made any turn shape I wanted. I really like the stiffness of this ski. They are way stiffer than the 179's of the last few years. I would recommend for any of the shorter mags on 183's to go at least go 1cm forward. It was a huge improvement for me making the move forward. I was bummed I had to put another set of holes in the ski but it was well worth it. I hated them the first day and loved them the second day.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Magnus_CA

Did you demo at the wood?

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I had them at Heavenly. Western Perimeter and Firebreak provided a nice variety of conditions. Splat has me holding on to some 183 demos in order to continue my demo ways as I have done in the past.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Vets

I had them at Heavenly. Western Perimeter and Firebreak provided a nice variety of conditions. Splat has me holding on to some 183 demos in order to continue my demo ways as I have done in the past.

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Nice. I was trying to find a ride to KWood on Sunday to demo some 183's but never made it. When I saw your post I had to ask. I was in Nevada Woods at Heavenly myself. Should be a good week!

I put my order in for a pair Sunday night. Can't wait. What bindings are you putting on them? I'm thinking about Jesters or px14s.

Just got my 183's today. :yourock: Very fuggin stoked!

I can't decide weather to mount them with DUKES or Freerides?


Anyone out there have either one of these setups? Pros? Cons?

What do you guys think of a Praxis / 183 Stiff Quiver? Would that nail the whole spectrum of conditions?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by abe froman

Just got my 183's today. :yourock: Very fuggin stoked!

I can't decide weather to mount them with DUKES or Freerides?


Anyone out there have either one of these setups? Pros? Cons?

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The Dukes provide much better downhill performance. I have Dukes on my 179 Bros and I love that setup. I previously had Freerides on 188 soft Bros, which I also liked, but to me the Dukes feel better.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Magnus_CA

What do you guys think of a Praxis / 183 Stiff Quiver? Would that nail the whole spectrum of conditions?

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Yes. The 183 would be your 'everyday' kinda ski and you'll be hauling out the Praxis for the big days.

This is pretty much what I'm doing.....the 183 is my everyday inbounds ski and on big days it's Lotus 138 time. (I might sell the Lotus and use my 192 Fat Bro on big days though...quiver getting too big and the Lotus is a bit too one-dimensional for my liking).

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Tyrone Shoelaces

I might sell the Lotus

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Hi, how you doin'? ;)
At least let me try em first.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Vets

The Dukes provide much better downhill performance. I have Dukes on my 179 Bros and I love that setup. I previously had Freerides on 188 soft Bros, which I also liked, but to me the Dukes feel better.

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Thanks for the input Vets!

Anyone else? Anyone? Anyone?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by davep

Hi, how you doin'? ;)
At least let me try em first.

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you sonofa.... People are going to start thinking you're me!!! :D


(my boot sole length is 304mm. I will bring them this weekend)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by abe froman

Thanks for the input Vets!

Anyone else? Anyone? Anyone?

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you know, youll go uphill and go downhill with both bindings.

uphill will probably be a tad easier on the freeride due to the lighter weight, although it appears the duke has a nicer stride and is better for trailbreaking.

On the downhill, I dont think there is any argument of which is better, but again, are YOU willing to take that compromise on the weight uphill.
Also ask yourself, is the stuff you're going to ski in the backcountry, where Id assume you're going to use these most, really *that* demanding you need that extra stiffness\DIN?

Its a very simple compromise that you need to make up your own mind on.

Ill also add, that freerides have been around a long time and is pretty well proven. The ways in which it breaks are documented and easy to repair in the field with the right parts.

The duke on the other hand, seems to be going through a few issues for some people, mostly related to things which arent repairable in any way.


One more thing to consider is what boots will you be using in these?
If you're going to be using a stiff alpine boot, Id probably reccomend against the FR just because you''ll induce more slop and wear into the binding.

I got my new 183's out for the first time today. I've got new freeride plus binders mounted on the center line and i'm 180 and 5'9". I had them on evverything from fresh groomers, hard pack icy bits, some cut up crud and even managed to find a few funs with about 18 cms of mostly untracked. They performed in every condition and did everything I asked them to do. They blasted through whatever I steered them into, carved sweet on the groomers and held a great edge on the ice. They were great in the bit of pow I did find too and I can't wait to get them into some deeper stuff.

I'll have another go with them tomorrow and hopefully the forecast holds true and we get a bit more fresh on what's out there already.

After one day I'm well impressed with them. Other than my 180 exploders for the early season these will be my entire quiver and I think that's going to work out perfectly. Thanks for the great ski pmgear! FKNA!

Bump for the peeps that are gonna need this info in a few weeks... FKNA BOOYAH!

Since a lot of people who ordered their 183s on the preorder special are wondering where their skis are, this seems a good place to let you all now that the factory ran short on base material for the diecut logos and this has caused a delay that Aldo says now puts his shipping out to the end of the month. So we'll be shipping the 183s the first two weeks of December, rather than now ,as we had been led to believe. Sorry for the delay. This has convinced us that we will make the 183s in the US from now on.

Sweet.

I just got a new pair of boots in a slightly shorter BSL, and it puts the mount on my 183 softs at about +3mm.

Great thread and thanks to all for posting the mounting feedback. I'll be coming back to this when the 183's are in hand.

First weeks in December can't come fast enough.