race room ski too grippy

[tube77]

I bought a pair race room skis that was previously used by u17/18 athletes. (world cup fis SL)
The skis were excellent condition as it was only used on racing days and it was meticulously maintained as far as I can tell.
Especially, the edges were super sharp when I received it and I pretty much likeed it at super hard conditions. It's super carving machine.
But as a recreational skier, it's not always fun to drive.
It's too grippy even on soft snows that I occasionally have, especially this year in east coast.
It doesn't allow me skidding. It keeps gripping the snow that makes me feel sometime awkward especially when I side slipping to stop in the crowd.
It's currently tuned 0.5/87 tip to tail constant.
I tried to de-tune tip and tail little bit which made it much better but it's not good enough.
I am thinking to file 0.75 or 1 degree base while keeping the side 87.
What's your recommendation?
As far as I can tell, it's not a burr issue.

 

[Primoz]

It certainly depends on preference, but thing is properly tuned race skis are "too grippy" for someone not used to that. Especially SL skis, as most of racers actually use 0 degree base for SL. Changing base angle to 0.75 or even 1 degree would certainly make it less grippy. But honestly, I would give them chance first before doing this, as way to get back to 0 or 0.5 is more complicated then way from 0.5 to 1degree. So in my opinion, give them chance, ski them, try to get used to that, and if it doesn't work, change base angle to less aggressive one.
Another thing, which does really do ski less grippy but makes it easier to ski (especially skid, what most recrational skiers do anyway at least to certain extent), is to make it less sharp. Normally race skis are super sharp, which is normal as they are used on pure ice (not ice you can see on open slopes), and once skis are this sharp, it can be quite challenge to ski them normally, especially is snow is soft(er) and less aggressive. So taking some sharpness off, or just ski them day or two, will help.

 

[François Pugh]

Agree with the above. A one degree base, sharp tip to tail, will make them a lot more willing to ski sideways on, and a lot more forgiving, but less responsive and less precise at low tipping angles.

 

[Philpug]

You bought a police trained German Shepard and are expecting it to be lap dog and play fetch, no. This is a ski that was breed to perform at it's best on hard injected snow and to expect it to skid and relax in softer snow...to quote Mr. Spock...is illogical.

 

[François Pugh]

My Fischer WC SCs (the year just before they put the hole in the tip) came with a 1:3 tune. I remember the first day on them; I got the impression I could be skiing down the run reading the Sunday paper. First base grind I put a 0.5:3 tune on them and they skied much more like a race ski.

 

[Tom K.]

A .5 base bevel is going to want to HOOK UP!

 

[OldJeep]

Why would you buy race room slalom skis for recreational skiing? Sell them and buy something more suited to your purpose

 

[James]

Yeah they’re garbage, I’ll take them. Just leave the edges though.

 

[ScottB]

I would be reluctant to touch the base bevel. I have skied on a range from 2 down to 0.25 base bevel. The 1.0 and below range is where you want to be, but I personally don't feel it is a drastic change going from say 0.5 to 1.0. Its noticable, in how quickly the skis hook up, but I also notice the lower base bevels are grippier as well. I believe this is due to the increase in edge angle increases the overall sharpness. (included angle of the point) My suggestion, lower the side edge angle which you can change at will with a file and side edge tool. The other thing you definitely should do is run a soft gummy stone back and forth lightly along the entire edge to knock off a bit of sharpness. This will do the same as skiing them for a few days to dull them. If you are calibrated to sharp skis and know these are "overly grippy" then I would also question how you know the tune #'s. What a shop says and what they do aren't always the same. Your numbers are reasonable for that ski, but if its not skiing like the numbers say it should, they are probably not correct. Believe your feelings, not what a shop tells you. (I always measure my skis so I really know what they are).

I recently measured a pair of GS skis that skied very overly grippy. They were very sharp on the edges, but the root cause was the side angle was 7 degrees. At 7 degrees the skis won't slide, once they hook up they are locked until you roll them back to flat. I guess some racers like that, but I didn't like it using them recreationally. The skis also had a 2 degree base angle. I guess this gave them some forgiveness when running bases flat, but once they were on edge, look out.

Not to question you, but in soft snow edges don't make the ski turn and can be as sharp as you want with very little effect. If you are in mixed snow, overly sharp edges can drive you nuts as you transition from hard to soft with the ski on edge.

A tune that will allow an all mtn ski to slide turns nicely it 1.0 base / 2.0 edge. I personally would not like that on a SL race ski, but it might give you more of what you want. I want a race ski to not slide "much" and "how much" is a very personal choice.

 

[WheatKing]

I'd leave em sharp and bring them out when it gets hard (icy) enough to use them.. get a pair of rec skis for everyday use when the hill doesn't resemble a vertical hockey rink.

 

[crgildart]

You bought a police trained German Shepard and are expecting it to be lap dog and play fetch, no. This is a ski that was breed to perform at it's best on hard injected snow and to expect it to skid and relax in softer snow...to quote Mr. Spock...is illogical.

This. There is no such thing as a race ski that is "too grippy".

 

[cantunamunch]

This. There is no such thing as a race ski that is "too grippy".

A Race Rossignol with influenza? (3,6)

 

[tube77]

I would be reluctant to touch the base bevel. I have skied on a range from 2 down to 0.25 base bevel. The 1.0 and below range is where you want to be, but I personally don't feel it is a drastic change going from say 0.5 to 1.0. Its noticable, in how quickly the skis hook up, but I also notice the lower base bevels are grippier as well. I believe this is due to the increase in edge angle increases the overall sharpness. (included angle of the point) My suggestion, lower the side edge angle which you can change at will with a file and side edge tool. The other thing you definitely should do is run a soft gummy stone back and forth lightly along the entire edge to knock off a bit of sharpness. This will do the same as skiing them for a few days to dull them. If you are calibrated to sharp skis and know these are "overly grippy" then I would also question how you know the tune #'s. What a shop says and what they do aren't always the same. Your numbers are reasonable for that ski, but if its not skiing like the numbers say it should, they are probably not correct. Believe your feelings, not what a shop tells you. (I always measure my skis so I really know what they are).

I recently measured a pair of GS skis that skied very overly grippy. They were very sharp on the edges, but the root cause was the side angle was 7 degrees. At 7 degrees the skis won't slide, once they hook up they are locked until you roll them back to flat. I guess some racers like that, but I didn't like it using them recreationally. The skis also had a 2 degree base angle. I guess this gave them some forgiveness when running bases flat, but once they were on edge, look out.

Not to question you, but in soft snow edges don't make the ski turn and can be as sharp as you want with very little effect. If you are in mixed snow, overly sharp edges can drive you nuts as you transition from hard to soft with the ski on edge.

A tune that will allow an all mtn ski to slide turns nicely it 1.0 base / 2.0 edge. I personally would not like that on a SL race ski, but it might give you more of what you want. I want a race ski to not slide "much" and "how much" is a very personal choice.

I was also very reluctant to touch the base as I screw things totally up once in the past.
I already did little de-tune the tip and tail to make it more skiable in a mixed condition (from early morning to afternoon crown in poconos) which helped a lot.
But I still felt awkward sensation when I was side slipping through the crowds especially when I was slipping through the freshly made non-packed snows. It was similar sensation that I had with some burrs on this kind of snow.
It was just super early in the morning with pure carving on the firm snow before the whole mixed up of snows and crowds.
I can definitely try de-tune the whole edge a bit to see how it goes before bring the skis to shop for 0.75 or 1 base.
Thank you for your suggestion!

 

[cantunamunch]

Before you do any work on the skis, go do some one-leg drills. Nothing fancy, start with just traverses across the fall line.

 

[tube77]

I'd leave em sharp and bring them out when it gets hard (icy) enough to use them.. get a pair of rec skis for everyday use when the hill doesn't resemble a vertical hockey rink.

I have already couple of recreational and cheater racing skis (not FIS spec race room though) for everyday drive all under 70mm waist.
I just want to make this beast more skiable at every conditions/situations (which might not sound right for you maybe?)
Skis are fine. It doesn't demand too much. I can still ski whole day. Soft bump are ok (still scared to try hard icy moguls but eventually I will try when it's comfortable enough on the flat slopes).
It’s just weird sensation (randomly grippy) on certain condition of snow.

 

[tube77]

Why would you buy race room slalom skis for recreational skiing? Sell them and buy something more suited to your purpose

why not? Not everyone who has ferrari drives it only on race tracks. Sometimes they might want go to grocery shopping in the NYC.

 

[tube77]

Before you do any work on the skis, go do some one-leg drills. Nothing fancy, start with just traverses across the fall line.

How does that help to remove the awkwardly grippy sensation on the soft snows, may I ask?

 

[tube77]

It certainly depends on preference, but thing is properly tuned race skis are "too grippy" for someone not used to that. Especially SL skis, as most of racers actually use 0 degree base for SL. Changing base angle to 0.75 or even 1 degree would certainly make it less grippy. But honestly, I would give them chance first before doing this, as way to get back to 0 or 0.5 is more complicated then way from 0.5 to 1degree. So in my opinion, give them chance, ski them, try to get used to that, and if it doesn't work, change base angle to less aggressive one.
Another thing, which does really do ski less grippy but makes it easier to ski (especially skid, what most recrational skiers do anyway at least to certain extent), is to make it less sharp. Normally race skis are super sharp, which is normal as they are used on pure ice (not ice you can see on open slopes), and once skis are this sharp, it can be quite challenge to ski them normally, especially is snow is soft(er) and less aggressive. So taking some sharpness off, or just ski them day or two, will help.

Thank you for your suggestions!
Surely I will try to ski a few more days on it before I do anything on the edges.

 

[Sibhusky]

I'm not sure about the difference between "grippy" and "grabby" here but on SOFT SNOW? Usually the tune is not an issue on soft snow, but maybe this is hardpack pack with a dusting? Now, the wax might be an issue on soft snow, but I'm thinking this soft snow needs to be defined a bit better. Is the edge biting into something? Or just along for the ride (in actual soft snow). Maybe we're talking about that packed chalk type of condition?

But aside from all that, the tune of .5/3 is usually for the more accomplished skier that is dealing with ice and is wanting more precision than the average. Personally that would require more attention than I want to devote. My "ice skates" are at 1/3 and we don't really get that much ice. I could see going to 1/4 way before I'd go to a .5 base level.

And for unpredictability, I'd be looking for a burr first.

 

[cantunamunch]

How does that help to remove the awkwardly grippy sensation on the soft snows, may I ask?

It changes your sensation of lateral balance on the ski.