New skis are hard to turn

The.Fish

Active member
I just tried out my new tom wallisch pro skis the other day. They got a preseason "tune" so I'm assuming the shop did some modifications to the edge bevels from what comes out of the box. For some reason, they are hard to initiate and release when turning. I felt like I had very little control over my skis. It is very possible that I am just used to dull park ski edges that skid and manoeuver really easy without catching, but I was struggling a lot more than usual.

Is this just a lack of detuning contact points or what? I have heard that line park skis usually turn really well, so I was confused and troubled. After a few runs I went back to the car and grabbed my old skis because I felt much safer with them. I have done demo days with a variety of skis, but I never felt this uncomfortable with a pair of skis. Granted, the conditions were very firm with that granular / sandy / shaved ice on top.
 
14228070:TH3_ARBIT3R said:
Have you taken the double sided tape off the base? There should be a thin layer that protects the skis.

Yeah they got stone ground when the shop tuned them.
 
What skis did you have before?

and what exactly did you ask them to do with the “tune”? Hard to release sounds like the tails need to be detuned a bit with a gummy stone. Hard to initiate could be because you’re not used to the ski yet. Always takes me a second to figure out the sweet spot on new skis
 
Detune the noses and tails and it should solve your problem, my shop accidently sharpened the edges on my wides and it was the same way.
 
14228077:BradFiAusNzCoCa said:
What skis did you have before?

and what exactly did you ask them to do with the “tune”? Hard to release sounds like the tails need to be detuned a bit with a gummy stone. Hard to initiate could be because you’re not used to the ski yet. Always takes me a second to figure out the sweet spot on new skis

yeah i think this is right. it's possible OP just doesn't like his new skis but it's much more likely the tuning is different, plus it just takes a day or so to get used to how a new ski behaves sometimes. believe me i feel you OP, i would never ski a sick day on new skis, i hate that feeling. so get some serious time on them now, you'll get more used to them and see if you want to detune etc
 
Is it possible the bases are railed? You’d need to use a true bar for this to check that the base is level. If not, and the base is higher than the edges, that could be the issue.
 
14228187:OhJay said:
Is it possible the bases are railed? You’d need to use a true bar for this to check that the base is level. If not, and the base is higher than the edges, that could be the issue.

Wouldn't an "edge high" ski act this way and a "base high" ski act squirrelly especially when running flat?
 
14228200:mystery3 said:
Wouldn't an "edge high" ski act this way and a "base high" ski act squirrelly especially when running flat?

Yea guess it depends on which way you’re looking at the base, I was thinking base high if you were to lay the ski down on the snow like you were skiing, but I get what you mean.

Btw op, the NS review of the Reck112 mentioned having this base leveling issue, and considering your skis came out of the same factory, it may be worth checking your pair. Just connecting some dots, unless these kinds of things are not uncommon across all factories...

**This post was edited on Jan 15th 2021 at 1:04:00pm
 
14228228:OhJay said:
Yea guess it depends on which way you’re looking at the base, I was thinking base high if you were to lay the ski down on the snow like you were skiing, but I get what you mean.

Btw op, the NS review of the Reck112 mentioned having this base leveling issue, and considering your skis came out of the same factory, it may be worth checking your pair. Just connecting some dots, unless these kinds of things are not uncommon across all factories...

**This post was edited on Jan 15th 2021 at 1:04:00pm

True! I guess I think of it as the position the ski is in when you're checking for flatness, bases up. In either case I think you're on the right path and the bases should be examined closely.
 
14228243:mystery3 said:
True! I guess I think of it as the position the ski is in when you're checking for flatness, bases up. In either case I think you're on the right path and the bases should be examined closely.

They got stone ground in the shop so I know they are flat. I'm just going to detune the contact points and try again.
 
Do Lines, K2s, and Völkls (well, völkl park skis - the others are made in Germany) all come from the same factory? My latest skis are some völkls and the base edge was ridiculous.

14228228:OhJay said:
Btw op, the NS review of the Reck112 mentioned having this base leveling issue, and considering your skis came out of the same factory, it may be worth checking your pair. Just connecting some dots, unless these kinds of things are not uncommon across all factories...

**This post was edited on Jan 15th 2021 at 1:04:00pm
 
14228245:The.Fish said:
They got stone ground in the shop so I know they are flat. I'm just going to detune the contact points and try again.

I'd love to agree with you but then I see shops mounting skis backwards and stuff and can't be so sure.
 
14228187:OhJay said:
Is it possible the bases are railed? You’d need to use a true bar for this to check that the base is level. If not, and the base is higher than the edges, that could be the issue.

this, sounds like railed skis to me. does it seem like they almost hold edge better in a gentle carve vs angling them over aggressively? Do they try and grab even hard snow when skidding sideways? If so thats the most common symptoms I've experienced with that issue
 
14228077:BradFiAusNzCoCa said:
What skis did you have before?

and what exactly did you ask them to do with the “tune”? Hard to release sounds like the tails need to be detuned a bit with a gummy stone. Hard to initiate could be because you’re not used to the ski yet. Always takes me a second to figure out the sweet spot on new skis

I normally ski on some OG ninthwards that are 80 wide and full camber. I honestly have no idea what the shop did to the new skis. I bought the skis and bindings in a "summer sale package" and they came with a free mount and "tune." I know they at least did a stone ground because the pattern in the base changes just after the contact points. I would assume they did something to the edges. I don't think they waxed them properly though. After my 3-4 runs, the bases were already white and dry along most of the base. I know a stone ground base needs to be waxed a lot right after, so I did a few wax cycles just now. I also did some detuning along the contact points.

I'm going to take them out one day and ski some normal runs for a couple hours so I can pay attention to what specifically feels off. Maybe I just suck at skiing. That is always possible.

**This post was edited on Jan 15th 2021 at 6:55:00pm
 
First thing I thought of was that your tip and tail edges are too sharp. Sometimes when I get new skis I ask specifically for the shop to detune those two.
 
Back
Top