Why isn't there a shop that flex tests skis for us
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DIPED_IN_SAUCE
Member
Because they couldn't make money doing it? What is this, communism?
tomPietrowski
Active member
Hand flexing a ski only tells you so much you still need to ski a ski to find out how it really works. that is why shop staff demo skis so we can talk to you a out how a skis skis not just hand flex a ski infront of you.
msg
Active member
12986664:-wakes- said:
I am, and that's true. I'm not saying to gauge how a ski rides based solely on flex.
12986812:tomPietrowski said:
Again, i'm not saying to do this to see how actually goes.
It would be nice to compare the flex across the board, say with the skis you currently own versus any other pair.
tomPietrowski
Active member
12986821:ayylmao said:
but point is just handing flexing the longitudinal flex of a ski will tell you very little. Its really the torisonal flex of a ski which dictates how it will ride and this is not really somthing you can test hand flexing.
Hand flexing gives a rough idea of tip and tail flex and somewhat how stiff a ski is underfoot
tomPietrowski
Active member
12986845:ayylmao said:
But it would be really hard to get any from a video. You need to feel how it flexs and at what point it stiffens ect. Just watching a video of some dude flexing a ski would tell you nothing.
tomPietrowski
Active member
12986863:ayylmao said:
I get what you are saying but it just does not work. Take skis with rocker for example. The ski may well be stiffer but it would ski possibly softer then a softer ski without rocker.
Also the flex can change from size to size. So I do get where you are coming from but its just not practical. Demoing skis is still the best way to really find out what your getting. So if anything maybe we could work towards getting more demos during the season, so people could try out as many skis as possible.
Actually someone did this years back and it was useful (or at least interesting. I want to say it was 07-08, they tested the 'freeski' offerings from the big brands, and plotted the results on some kind layered pdf graph so you could select the skis your wanted. I might even be able to track it down, I'll look.
a_pla5tic_bag
Active member
12986888:tomPietrowski said:
I'm sure nobody disagrees with that.
Someone should
>make a standard 'center' on skis, like true center, recommended mount, or something
>clamp skis onto a stand with narrow clamp upside down so the base is facing up
>apply a particular amount of force to a determined point on the tip and tail relative to the center
>measure change in position of that point
>do math and make graphs.
then you could say ski x bends more under the same force versus ski y.
inb4 it might not actually relate to how the ski feels. I like data.
You could setup something for torsional flex too i'm sure.
tomPietrowski
Active member
12987093:a_pla5tic_bag said:
Again a nice idea but all it woul tell you is how that section of ski flexes. Move the weight a few cm and the ski may flex more. How about skis with early rise how do you determin the point to weight the ski.
If there was a universal way to test skis like this a shop would have come up with it all ready.
NinetyFour
Active member
12988002:tomPietrowski said:
@1:47
a_pla5tic_bag
Active member
12990467:NinetyFour said:
exactly. I figured there were machines out there that could measure that, there's no way people are making skis without using numbers to represent all the stuff. It would be quite the task to measure loads of ski though. That's more or less what i was imagining.
onenerdykid
Active member
12986888:tomPietrowski said:
This, coupled with the fact that what will be stiff for one customer is soft for another. "Stiffness" is for sure rather subjective thing, that if misinterpreted can for sure turn someone away from the right ski for them.
All major manufacturers (and some small I imagine) have a flex testing machine to make sure their skis get made in a consistent matter. But these machines only tell you how much force it takes to flex the ski a certain distance at one point. Even with said number you still have to interpret it as soft, medium, stiff and that will for sure change with individual preference and experience.
TheGreenBastard
Member
you definetly are cut out to work ski retail, but really i dont know why ski shops don't use the density knock test? if you dont knock on the top sheet of a ski and listen to the sound it makes how in the actual fuck can you know anything about that ski?
MartianMan
Active member
12991359:onenerdykid said:
But could we have those numbers, whether they are in psi or whatever the hell, shown to consumers as a flex number to go along with the other specs? This way we wouldn't have to rely on others opinions on what is stiff and soft, intend we could form our own and relate it to the numbers.