Talking of nerve - a well waxed ski, a shiny clean bike do have their positive effects, even if we call them 'placebo'.
-
For more information on how to avoid pop-up ads and still support SkiTalk click HERE.
GS Racing question: Warming up vs wasting fresh wax
Sure. It's low-hanging fruit; why not pick it?
This is the oft-repeated sentiment I anticipated above when I said,
1) Waxing isn't a "trick." (Ask Jessie Diggins if she thinks waxing is a trick.) Perhaps my frequent outings on xc gear have given me a different perspective on wax from most Pugs.
2) I agree that on a winter evening at home it would be better to forego that third layer of wax and its accompanying beer, and instead do a bunch of balance and strength exercises and then settle down to read Ron LeMaster with a cup of echinacea tea. However, I do come back to: I have no way of converting the time I spend waxing into on-hill time. It's not like it's 10:00 am on a Sunday and I'm standing there waxing instead of skiing (unless of course it is pouring rain, which is not at all unheard-of). I am guessing that the number of us amateurs who can do that conversion is very very small. Most of us are regular Jacks and Jills with regular jobs and regular commitments outside skiing.
Wasn't the original post about warm up runs and it's effect on wax for the race?
Nobody is saying don't wax, it does matter....now try to quantify...I just don't believe a few warm up runs will make a difference. Doing a couple warm up runs to warm up the body and get it ready to race would be more beneficial than "preserving" the wax.
On that note, no need to haul a second pair to the start, in beer league it isn't going to matter....better skiers will still place better (without speedsuit as well). Frankly WAX (unless one gets the temp completely wrong) doesn't matter much for tech (even Nor-AMs from what I've seen) provided it's not egregiously wrong for conditions. I know more than a few WC techs that have used a flouro on SL skis less than a handful of times over the past decade. Know MANY Nor-Am racers that effectively just use a basic hydrocarbon wax to temp for tech races. A race pair at that level is less for the "wax" and more for the edge as those do dull on icy surfaces....one can easily tell a fresh edge vs. one that's taken a few runs on a hard, ice surface.
Speed is a different animal, but unless I'm mistaken the orignal post I assume was not talking about SG and downhill. With that discipline I'd suggest the ski itself (there are fast skis) have a bigger impact than simply what wax and overlay was used.
If one wants to wax, wax away, if one wants to lay down $150 of wax overlays for a tech event, go for it! Doesn't mean it's going to help. My joke is that there is likely about $3k worth of overlay on the snow surface in the first 30 feet from start in any masters tech race lol!
Nobody is saying don't wax, it does matter....now try to quantify...I just don't believe a few warm up runs will make a difference. Doing a couple warm up runs to warm up the body and get it ready to race would be more beneficial than "preserving" the wax.
On that note, no need to haul a second pair to the start, in beer league it isn't going to matter....better skiers will still place better (without speedsuit as well). Frankly WAX (unless one gets the temp completely wrong) doesn't matter much for tech (even Nor-AMs from what I've seen) provided it's not egregiously wrong for conditions. I know more than a few WC techs that have used a flouro on SL skis less than a handful of times over the past decade. Know MANY Nor-Am racers that effectively just use a basic hydrocarbon wax to temp for tech races. A race pair at that level is less for the "wax" and more for the edge as those do dull on icy surfaces....one can easily tell a fresh edge vs. one that's taken a few runs on a hard, ice surface.
Speed is a different animal, but unless I'm mistaken the orignal post I assume was not talking about SG and downhill. With that discipline I'd suggest the ski itself (there are fast skis) have a bigger impact than simply what wax and overlay was used.
If one wants to wax, wax away, if one wants to lay down $150 of wax overlays for a tech event, go for it! Doesn't mean it's going to help. My joke is that there is likely about $3k worth of overlay on the snow surface in the first 30 feet from start in any masters tech race lol!
Right. At my beer level, when I'm talking about waxing, I'm talking about waxing AT ALL at a reasonable level of DIY sophistication and expense, vs. not waxing AT ALL, which I think is what many of the skiers in my league are (not) doing. And yes, I happen to have a pair of GS skis with very fast bases, thanks to work the mfr and the prior owner - who was a serious racer - put into them, not because of anything I did in my basement. I could probably skip waxing them for a whole season and they'd still be shiny and pretty fast.
@Tony S waxing on XC skis has an importance as it controls your grab to push and glide. Get that combination wrong you can’t get traction to go, or have to much and get stuck (might as well use them to pick up snow layers, learned that lesson before I progressed into my teen’s many years ago)
As to “waxing tricks” it was meant a little tongue in cheek, the question becomes where are your biggest loses, gains and variances coming from focus on those first. Focusing on waxing after that will greatly improve your results.
I’m a believer that using things that really make the difference at the upper level, falsely mask errors at the early stages patterning them to the point that corrections become long and drawn out. I have been involved in enough high end sports both directly as a competitor and official to see this as the biggest road block to getting to the best of your ability.
As to “waxing tricks” it was meant a little tongue in cheek, the question becomes where are your biggest loses, gains and variances coming from focus on those first. Focusing on waxing after that will greatly improve your results.
I’m a believer that using things that really make the difference at the upper level, falsely mask errors at the early stages patterning them to the point that corrections become long and drawn out. I have been involved in enough high end sports both directly as a competitor and official to see this as the biggest road block to getting to the best of your ability.
That I doubt for the season.
You're talking about classic.
I do beer can ski racing as well as beer can sailboat racing in summer, My approach is very similar, prepare equipment as best as possible, make a plan on how you are going to approach the coarse, try to the best of your ability to execute. I rarely get the results I want , but I at least can narrow it down to one thing . The Driver
I agree that wax is a non-issue if you are a bad skier... This reminds me of a discussion with my coach about racing suits. He tried to convince me that wearing a racing suit can slightly improve your speed under certain conditions. I insisted that I have many things to improve before worrying about racing suits. It will not make me a better skier. My coach agreed but replied: you will not be a better skier but you may be a faster-bad-skier 
In the end... everything adds.
Coming back to the original post about warm-up runs, nobody has mentioned the option of "express racing wax" (e.g. TOKO Express Racing Rub-On or the like). This may solve the conflict between warming up vs.preserving the wax. After some warm-up runs and while waiting for the dozens of racers taking the start before you, you sit calmly get your wax out, your cork and spent some few minutes waxing your skis. I've never used it but I got one set for next year at a discount. We'll see. Maybe that the wax and the racing suit make me gain 0.01 sec
Does anybody have experience with express wax?
In the end... everything adds.Coming back to the original post about warm-up runs, nobody has mentioned the option of "express racing wax" (e.g. TOKO Express Racing Rub-On or the like). This may solve the conflict between warming up vs.preserving the wax. After some warm-up runs and while waiting for the dozens of racers taking the start before you, you sit calmly get your wax out, your cork and spent some few minutes waxing your skis. I've never used it but I got one set for next year at a discount. We'll see. Maybe that the wax and the racing suit make me gain 0.01 sec
Does anybody have experience with express wax?