Thread: ski mount point and backseating?

Forward lean on a boot drastically changes the way a ski feels (and the boots too). You can put a trail map under the toe of the boot when you click in and see if you are more balanced. If it feels better, then the boot/binding is forcing you too far forward and you are sitting back to compensate. Most people that I have seen do this feel more balanced and less in the back seat. Try a few runs to get used to the new balance point before you decide what you like better. If you like it, there are multiple ways a shop can make that balance point more permanent. Warning, the trail map may affect the way the binding releases- take this into account when choosing which terrain you ski.

we all have different balance points, and all weight our feet differently. I have limited dorsiflexion and walk around heel heavy, and for whatever reason that translates to me needing heel lifts and an upright boot to be able to be balanced, and yet on the balls of my feet at the same time. We all need a slightly different combo, and its not just forward lean forward lean forward lean.... i think there may be a misconception that considers upright cuff angles and agggressive stiff performance as mutually exclusive which is not the case.

edit: that's what she said.

another misconcpetions about skiing that 99 percent of people think is getting forward keeps you forwards or that you actually want to be forward in the first place.

Alot of backseat driving is caused by people who simply are just hanging on to the front of their boots as hard as they can when in reality the only time you want to be forward is at the apex of the turn during the finish to start of the turn slightly aft can actually help keep you in balance.

volklpowdermaniac
-Forward lean isn't everything, but doing what I said is a lot easier to test on one's own than trying to figure out one's range of dorsiflexion. I also suggest this because OP said he switched to race boots which usually have an aggressive forward lean. The aggressive forward lean gets worse when added to binding ramp angles which further tilt someone's balance forward. What I'm suggesting actually changes the ramp angle of the binding- from what I understand most racers are flattening their binding ramp angles depending on event.

-If you walk heel heavy and have limited dorsiflexion then a heel lift will tilt your balance slightly forward. Furthermore, limited dorsiflexion allows one to only flex so far forward. If the forward lean is to great and the bootboard too flat, then your heel will have to come up as you flex all the way into the boot. Hence the upright cuff and heel lift.

-I'm not sure if the misconception you speak of really exists. Lange has uprighted their boots this year.

De-tuning might help, but I don't think that's the issue. I haven't de-tuned my Viciks at all, and as long as you drive them a bit, they come around just fine. And for those saying these are too short, I believe the running length is the same as the 191 Wrens. They just have a semi-twin tail.

I'm around day 7 on the Vicik's + Dukes - 165lb pre-gear. 1 day touring, 3 pow days, 3 days chopped+bumps.

I'm liking these a lot for allowing me to ski heavy pow and big mountain turns in the deep and I am HATING these for bumps. I ski the same terrain pow or not so to be a near everyday ski I have to be able to bump it. I can't stay out of the back seat after successive bump 4 or 5. The backseating is killing me. I spent the whole day yesterday really trying to concentrate on keeping forward driving tips. I'm noticing at the end of each carve / bottom of bump I'm getting tossed back. I A few of these days are on my quadrants, but yesterday I was on my Krypton Pros. On my Mojo 90's (hard snow ski) I don't really get tossed back in bumps anymore.

Is it the duke's? I want to drive these skis right, how do I compensate? Maybe I'm just able to fake it with the Mojo's.

Originally Posted by skbum

volklpowdermaniac
-Forward lean isn't everything, but doing what I said is a lot easier to test on one's own than trying to figure out one's range of dorsiflexion. I also suggest this because OP said he switched to race boots which usually have an aggressive forward lean. The aggressive forward lean gets worse when added to binding ramp angles which further tilt someone's balance forward. What I'm suggesting actually changes the ramp angle of the binding- from what I understand most racers are flattening their binding ramp angles depending on event.

-If you walk heel heavy and have limited dorsiflexion then a heel lift will tilt your balance slightly forward. Furthermore, limited dorsiflexion allows one to only flex so far forward. If the forward lean is to great and the bootboard too flat, then your heel will have to come up as you flex all the way into the boot. Hence the upright cuff and heel lift.

-I'm not sure if the misconception you speak of really exists. Lange has uprighted their boots this year.

that clarified things , good on ya.

Dukes have a flat ramp angle and you may have difficulty adjusting to the difference. It took me a while to get used to flatter bindings, and I felt pushed into the back seat. Now that I'm used to it, I shim all my bindings flat or near flat. Boots that were too upright also gave me this feeling. Also, differences between the boot board and forward lean of your quadrants and kryptons could also cause the problem. I am not familiar with the quadrant, but the BD factor has a very flat boot board and the krypton has a fairly ramped boot board. The forward lean of the cuff could also be different between the two boots (once again, factors are fairly upright) This may be exacerbated in bumps when you tend to keep your skis more underneath you instead of angulating and pressing them out and away from you when carving in open areas. There's a definite sweet spot in the whole mess.

I do think a more forward mount can help one get forward again after being knocked back when going through bumps. However, I doubt your viciks are mounted further back than your head skis.

Ok problem greatly reduced. First, the bumps were soft today so that helped, but I was still getting back. I noticed my tails were locking in and I couldn't get them around fast enough. I was literally hop turning every turn in anything but soft snow to disengage the tails. I had already detuned to the point of traditional sidecut. So after a few runs I ran into the lodge borrowed a gummy stone and detuned a good couple inches past. Bingo. I can bring the skis around way faster now.

2nd part: I have dynafits coming from the DOG coupon. Any reason why when I ditch the dukes I shouldn't remount +1 from the boot mark (-8cm is mark, so -7cm for dynas)? I have absolutely no float issues so far. I won't be skiing too many bumps in my FT12's but I would still like to be more on top of these skis.

finally got back out on the Viciks.

i detuned past the contact points on the front and back, and the skis were money!

really think they just needed a little more detuning in the back? but what i did worked.

Originally Posted by BushwackerinPA

another misconcpetions about skiing that 99 percent of people think is getting forward keeps you forwards or that you actually want to be forward in the first place.

Alot of backseat driving is caused by people who simply are just hanging on to the front of their boots as hard as they can when in reality the only time you want to be forward is at the apex of the turn during the finish to start of the turn slightly aft can actually help keep you in balance.

What he said, would add that mission may influence this; freestylers seem to sit back more than pure carvers. Boots? Landings? But if you're having to sit back to get the ski to work, sounds as if your line is too far forward relative to your forward lean angles.