Ski Racing - March 29, 2010

Spring is also when all the dust, dirt, pollen and other grime that’s been collecting in the snow during the winter resurfaces. These impurities literally drag at your bases and rob speed, so be sure to clean them regularly. Although some folks instinctively reach for citric or petroleum base-clean-ing solvents to do this, you should avoid them if possible since they often leave behind traces of unwanted residue that can hinder a base’s normal wax-absorbing qualities.

Instead, reach for a soft, warm-temperature hydrocarbon race or base prep wax. Iron this in and immediately scrape off the excess with a plastic scraper. Repeat this process until wax scrapings no longer look dirty or discolored. This indicates that your bases are really clean and ready for a good race wax application.

Suggested Ski Bevel Angles Discipline Base Bevel Side Bevel Slalom 0 - 1/2 3 - 4 GS 1/2 - 3/4 2 - 3 SG & DH1 2-3

Turbocharge
Your Wax
Fluorocarbon
(fluoro) race waxes
can literally turbo-
charge your glide in
wet snow. They are
more hydrophobic
than regular hy-
drocarbon waxes,
meaning they’ll
better repel the un-
wanted advances
of overabundant
water underfoot
that otherwise sucks away speed. In addition, they also excel at repelling
dirt and other gunk commonly present in spring snow.

Whenever possible (and whenever you can afford it, since fluoro waxes are pricier) build up your race wax foundation layer by layer. Start with the appropriate temperature hydrocarbon wax for race day and overlay that with a low-fluoro wax, followed by a higher-fluoro wax. Hot wax in each of these layers, letting the skis or snowboard cool at least 30 minutes before scraping and brushing bases between each application. When snow and race conditions warrant — and especially for speed events — you can consider applying a final 100 percent fluoro overlay

Hotscrape until wax scrapings are clean.

You can also use an automotive feeler gauge to check the gap between your base edge and a true bar that is laid flat across the base. Here are the measurements: Bevel Angle Feeler Gauge Thickness 1/2° 0.0015” 1° 0.003 1 1/2° 0.004 2° 0.005 2 1/2° 0.006 3° 0.007

BACKSHOP

atop all this for top speed.

Stonegrinding Notice Stonegrinders are great tools for getting your bases back in good shape, but can also create some microscopic base and structure roughness that increases drag. To avoid this, spend extra time fibertexing, hot-scraping, waxing and brushing your bases repeatedly after any stonegrinding. And ski on them a fair bit before your next race. These steps will help polish the freshly-ground base and structure, as well as impregnate your p-tex base with a fresh wax “ foundation” to help achieve optimal speed. Without this attention, your race skis may actually run slower than before.

Go Graphite Another formula to consider is graphite or moly ( molybdenum disulfide) wax. As your ski slides over snow, friction creates heat in the base. This can contribute to faster melting of the snow, which leads to more water underfoot, which (especially in already wet snow) creates more unwanted suction. Graphite or moly wax can help transfer some of this unwanted heat away from base surfaces and in toward the ski core, thus reducing speed-robbing suction as well as repelling dirt more effectively. For the most uniform and effective application, rub — rather than drip — graphite or moly wax on your base, then drip your hydrocarbon race wax on over it. Heat both waxes in together with an iron before allowing the ski to cool for at least 30 minutes, then scrape and brush to remove all excess wax on the surface and in the structure recesses. Add your choice of fluoro wax layers atop this and you’re ready to go off to the races!

Measuring Bevel Angles
A simple way to measure base edge bevel is with
a true bar laid across a ski at or near the waist
where the ski is about 60 millimeters wide. Hold
the bar so it’s sitting flush atop the steel base
edge on one side — this should cause the other
end to lift up slightly on the other side of the ski.
This raised height (in millimeters) equates to the
degree of base bevel you have.