How long till a ski loses its "pop"

[ferniebiker]

I gave up on trying to have any structure when I erased everything I had written for the third time. I'll try to make future posts more reader friendly!

[XavierD]

You also need to decide which materials you want in compression vs. tension and base your construction off this and how you think the ski flexing will effect this.

[marshalolson]

Hah, yes!

To reiterate my point:

Stipulations:
+longitudinal flex of ski is constant when considering various builds
+adequate resins and laminates are selected, proper cure is achieved, etc.

Therefore:
+building with higher modulus materials = less reliance on wood core for ski's stiffness and pop)
+higher modulus materials can allow for fewer layers in laminate, which reduces structures overall reliance on resins.
+imprecise resin distribution is a very common issue for a skis durability
+the highest modulus materials (prepreg cf) has the most precise resin distribution, but is the most sensitive to pressing and cure cycles.

+a structure with higher modulus build materials will have, in general, less reliance on materials that breakdown thru time

QED: modulus of materials is a good predictor of long term performance (ie pop in the op's question), as long as the build itself is done correctly.

Building with lower modulus materials is less sensitive to overall build factors, since all you need to do us wet out glass and hold it in place while it cures. Just use the right resins. so it's easier to not screw up, which is why garage and mass produced skis are built this way. However there are limitations in the materials themselves.

to Ferniebike's and Xavier's point, if the ski is not laid up, cured, pressed properly, poor resins are used, etc, then the ski will decline much more rapidly than it ought to.

Anyhow, I never claimed modulus was THE REASON, only that it a good predictor for a well designed, engineered and built ski.

[SiSt]

After some hours of talking with a 60 year old research scientist in materals science with a phd in polymers, I think I can safely say that you are right about a properly built carbon laminate ski having a longer lasting original feel than other ski construction methods.

When it comes down to why, everyone here seems to be dead wrong.

Just saying, and no I will not say what the conclusion is on my part, and yes, I am being a dick.

[jfost]

After some hours of talking with a 60 year old research scientist in materals science with a phd in polymers, I think I can safely say that you are right about a properly built carbon laminate ski having a longer lasting original feel than other ski construction methods.

When it comes down to why, everyone here seems to be dead wrong.

Just saying, and no I will not say what the conclusion is on my part, and yes, I am being a dick.

whatever, "materials science" has a looooooong way to go if it's ever going to catch up to anecdotal practice.

[marshalolson]

After some hours of talking with a 60 year old research scientist in materals science with a phd in polymers

pete turner is 57

[SiSt]

pete turner is 57

And I´m sure he knows his way around a carbon composite, no doubt about that.

Harmonious end of thread? Holding hands into the sunset and everyone agrees? Rare.