merrydog
Angel Diva
this is a new one for me...
https://amp.businessinsider.com/winter-olympics-weather-its-cold-2018-2
https://amp.businessinsider.com/winter-olympics-weather-its-cold-2018-2
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So cold that skis get destroyed?
- Thread starter merrydog
- Start date
mountainwest
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Weird, I have never head of such a thing. I ski in the single digits all the time!
newboots
Angel Diva
There was an interesting conversation on pugski about this. The consensus was that this is nothing more than a common issue (I think it was called "edge burn") and that since early on there is nothing to write about, you get hysterical reporting and exaggeration in the Olympics.
One person quoted in the article said the temps were -20. He was Austrian so not clear if he was speaking of Fahrenheit or Celsius. If the latter, it’s about -4 F, which is cold but not u heard of - it’s the WINTER Olympics, after all. If the former, though, that’s unusually cold.
Still, this is the Olympics. These guys want everything to be as perfect as possible. If a ski gets a little knocked about, of course they’ll change it out. It’s like a tennis player having more than one racquet at the US Open.
rhymeandreason
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
This level of skiing is WAY out of my league, but I believe that the elite race skis use graphite in their base material for more speed. It has a smaller coefficient of friction but it is softer than regular sintered or extruded base, so it scratches more easily. I’ll see if I can find a more informed article to link to.
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rhymeandreason
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
PTex Electra 4000 is apparently the base material of choice for World Cup and Olympic level skiing. From a blog of a repair shop
https://www.tognar.com/blog/base-repairs/
“Electra base is a sintered p-tex to which 15% carbon black and graphite (or a similar metallic substance) have been added to increase electrical and thermal conductivity. The frictional heat that develops (especially at higher speeds) is dissipated better along the entire ski or snowboard base due to this thermal conductivity...it helps reduce the water film that can otherwise build up and create suction and drag. The improved electrical conductivity helps reduce static electricity build-up that attracts and holds dirt and pollutants on the base, also creating more drag.
The addition of graphite has been shown in tests to reduce friction and increase glide on snow by 20% or more over clear (non-graphite) p-tex bases in cold dry snow (under -13°F or -25°C), and by 15 to 20% more in warmer snow (over 23°F or -5°C) when humidity is 40% or above.
The drawback of Electra bases, however, is less water repellancy and both impact and abrasion resistance than that offered by clear sintered p-tex.”
https://www.tognar.com/blog/base-repairs/
“Electra base is a sintered p-tex to which 15% carbon black and graphite (or a similar metallic substance) have been added to increase electrical and thermal conductivity. The frictional heat that develops (especially at higher speeds) is dissipated better along the entire ski or snowboard base due to this thermal conductivity...it helps reduce the water film that can otherwise build up and create suction and drag. The improved electrical conductivity helps reduce static electricity build-up that attracts and holds dirt and pollutants on the base, also creating more drag.
The addition of graphite has been shown in tests to reduce friction and increase glide on snow by 20% or more over clear (non-graphite) p-tex bases in cold dry snow (under -13°F or -25°C), and by 15 to 20% more in warmer snow (over 23°F or -5°C) when humidity is 40% or above.
The drawback of Electra bases, however, is less water repellancy and both impact and abrasion resistance than that offered by clear sintered p-tex.”
