Attn: X-C geeks, Swedish Clap Skate Ski?

[yesIsaidyes]

Can someone explain the binding system this Swede is using during the Olympic sprint?



It looks like a clap skate...never seen this before.

[bossass]

Isn't that the idea behind the Salomon pilot binding? There's that little metal bar under the middle of the forefoot that attaches to the arm that slaps the boot back to the ski. Been around for quite a few years. I would guess this is some new version of that idea.

[yesIsaidyes]

yeah, that is the idea behind the Pilot binding...but I have never seen one with this much rise or that small a boot (no cuff?) - wondering if any mags have some beta on this. Solly's new boot is the one Cookie is wearing, black ones, full carbon wrap, call the Skate Lab or something. None of the other Solly athletes got the crazy Swedish clapper so I don't think its Solly.

[AKPogue]

Having been a speedskater that is exactly what it looks like. It looks like he is using a paul marchese boot which would make sense and possibly be better that what is out there. Could this be the new revolution in skate skiing? I see they are starting to get ski's with a sidecut out there now and I think you would be a lot more efficient with a speedskate boot.

[AKPogue]

Kind of looks like these? Marchese boots for long track speedskating.

[mrw]

Swedish Clap....fun to get, so tough to get rid of

[yesIsaidyes]

Having been a speedskater that is exactly what it looks like. It looks like he is using a paul marchese boot which would make sense and possibly be better that what is out there. Could this be the new revolution in skate skiing? I see they are starting to get ski's with a sidecut out there now and I think you would be a lot more efficient with a speedskate boot.

interesting...although they are moving away from sidecut now at the WC level. Last year, Fischer had its RCS Skatecut ski with a decent sidecut, supposedly better for edging. But they also had the RCS 610, which was in limited production and mostly at the demand of WC skiers - it had a wider tail then pretty much tapered from the boot to the tip. This "javelin cut" is supposedly more efficient because the force from the foot (skating motion) is not diminished by the sidecut...now the RCS as well as the Solly WC skate skis both do Jevelin cut exclusively. But maybe next year its speedskating boots?

[AKPogue]

Having done a lot of speedskating and then coming over to the skiing side of it I was wondering why the boots are so flimsy. I was thinking it was the weight maybe but ya might make up for it in the efficiency(is that spelled right?) of the push.

[ak_powder_monkey]

that does look like a skate, weird.

[MnO]

This system is originally an idea from a swedish sprint skier. There were some news about it in swedish sport medias last season. At that time the skier (I think it was Tobias Fredriksson or Mikael Östberg. Anyone know who that is on the picture?) had made his own prototype and tested it on the world cup circuit. The main idea was to translate more power into the snow and to reduce the force needed to edge the ski. Just like a riser on alpine skis. Now it looks like he have sold the idea to some manufacturer since it looks more like a final product than something home build.