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"Bar" Riser Project

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  • "Bar" Riser Project

    Last season, I picked up a pair of Ospreys from Jeff, mounted semi-direct with Spruce’s clever dyna-plate binding set up. These work slick, and being able to adjust these bindings to fit different boots “on the tailgate” is super-handy in a lot of situations. I’ve liked the Ospreys from day one and also have a bare pair for use with risers. Riding these two Osprey versions back-to-back a few times, I enjoy them both but somewhat prefer the riser version. A lack of suspension is one of the few negatives with zero camber boards, the ride can be a little rough in hard-snow/ice conditions. This is all we ever have at home. I believe the riser’s cantilevered design lets the board itself absorb more of the shock. Spruce risers have a miniscule footprint, taking up only about 5 1/8” of the board’s length, which is even shorter than nonrelease bindings (Receptors are aprox. 11 ½”), much less a direct-mount.

    This led to wondering about ways to get to an absolute minimum footprint, and the result was this “bar riser” contraption---which only touches the board directly above the inserts. It’s true that the same thing could be done by shimming a Spruce riser with four washers, but I was also curious to see if any weight could be shaved off (the answer is: not much!).

    I tried this briefly last season but never really got a chance to shake it out to see if there’s any noticeable benefit. Probably not, but it’s been an interesting project!



    [URL=http://s376.photobucket.com/user/TractionBooster/media/bar%20riser%20top_zpsrclrnwbb.jpg.html][/URL

  • #2
    Too cool, beautiful work Bill, you have been busy.

    Riser meets Lotus!


    Just these, nothing else !

    Comment


    • #3
      Yet another work of art.
      171cm/190lbs
      Current Favorites:
      RVL8 Yin/Yang Blunts, Spruce Sherpas (x2) & Ospreys, Coda custom Yetis v1 140
      Spruce Pro Primes w/Attack 13's (x 4), Bomber Elite 1
      Other boards I'm trying:
      Summit Custom Carbon 110, Dynastar Twin 85, Coda custom Yetis v2 145

      Comment


      • #4
        Beautiful. I see the toe and heel pieces sit on plates - are those adjustable fore and aft for various sized boots (loaners) or for setback?


        Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

        Comment


        • #5
          Absolutely awesome looking risers Bill!
          sigpic


          Osprey, Sherpa, Custom Coda 120WT, Custom DS110, Condor (Green), Spliff

          Custom Twist Out duck foot bindings, Bombers (custom duck foot base plate and 3 pads), releasable S810ti on custom duck foot riser

          Nordica N3 NXT ski boots (best so far)


          Wife: 104 SII & 100 Blunt XL with S810ti bindings on custom "adjustable duck foot" risers

          Loaners: 125LE, 105 EMP, 101 KTP, 100 Blunt XL, 98 Slapdash, 88 Blunts

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          • #6
            The little too direct/harsh ride on frozen surfaces of my rockered Raptors was noticeable to me too. I think some sort of suspension type riser, which has up-down flex, might be the answer. Bill's beautiful design looks very rigid, probably more so than the original Spruce Riser. Maybe a section of ski with bindings mounted on it, raised over a low 4x10 or 4x4 plate, thick just enough to allow upward flex of the board?

            Also, folks with small boots will have harsher ride. Folks like me, with nearly 40cm sole length, will mount at the far ends of the riser, thus getting some more flex out of it, whether we like it or not...

            Maybe I'll give that a try and chop off the middles of a pair of old Head skis with rental bindings that have lived beyond their useful life and are just sitting in the basement...

            The problem with aluminum is that it has to be shaped as a fairly rigid 3D structure to be strong enough. A composite riser, from a wood core and carbon would be lighter and more springy. I've done some Greenland style wood core kayak paddles wrapped in composite carbon or carbon-Kevlar sleeves, and they can be made as rigid or as flexy as needed. Plus the shape can be curved up nicely to allow progressively more contact with the riser as the board ends flex up, without slamming into a square base and offering a way to stiffen softer boards at extreme loads (like hard carving or lean backs, without compromising the nice soft flex at less extreme situations...

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by macrophotog View Post
              Beautiful. I see the toe and heel pieces sit on plates - are those adjustable fore and aft for various sized boots (loaners) or for setback?
              Yes, but it's awkward. The bindings rest on plates, attached with machine screws. The plates are attached to the bars with a series of evenly-spaced flat-head machine screws. The bindings themselves cover these up, so they have to be removed in order to access the plate-to-bar screws...then reinstalled.

              That's how they make cars and other equipment these days, you have to remove parts to get to parts :-(

              Comment


              • #8
                Originally posted by Kocho View Post
                Bill's beautiful design looks very rigid, probably more so than the original Spruce Riser.

                The problem with aluminum is that it has to be shaped as a fairly rigid 3D structure to be strong enough. A composite riser, from a wood core and carbon would be lighter and more springy..
                This particular setup is very rigid, so there's no ride buffering benefit to be had from that aspect. The original molded composite Spruce Riser did in fact allow a bit softer ride, much like Bad Wolf's plastic risers. There isn't much here that Jeff hasn't thought about through, over, and around. Like you suggest, a possible material might be wood, a wood composite, or some fancy resin-impregnated microlam. Of course durability and moisture resistance are always issues. Valmorel has made functional risers from simple wood blocks, maybe he'll chime in with some of his thoughts.

                The idea with this thing wasn't to build suspension into the riser, it was to let the skiboard itself provide suspension by minimizing board contact. I haven't ridden it enough to know if it makes any difference or if these will end up in the box with other pointless projects ;-)

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by Kocho View Post
                  Plus the shape can be curved up nicely to allow progressively more contact with the riser as the board ends flex up, without slamming into a square base and offering a way to stiffen softer boards at extreme loads (like hard carving or lean backs, without compromising the nice soft flex at less extreme situations...
                  That's an interesting concept. Wendell did a similar thing years ago using Spruce Risers. He wanted to customize the ride on 120's, so he placed a rubber bumper underneath each cantilever section of the risers.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    When I made my riser I did consider the contact footprint, because my entire riser is in contact with the top sheet. It is not fixed and the riser does flex with the board, so it may be fair to say that the risers effective contact footprint is just the area of whichever insert pattern I'm using. Either 4x4 or 4x10. It does give a nice soft ride without any harsh feedback, plus there is no sharpe edge for the board to lever against. The more you think about this stuff the more complex it gets.
                    Just these, nothing else !

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Originally posted by Bad Wolf View Post
                      The more you think about this stuff the more complex it gets.
                      That's the truth!

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                      • #12
                        Wow - that riser is a gorgeous piece of work!
                        In pursuit of Peace, Harmony and Flow.....
                        Think Like a Mountain

                        Boards ridden, some owned: Sherpas, Spruce 120 "STS", Blunts, DS110 custom prototypes, Rockered Condors, Revolts, DLPs, Summit Custom 110s, Summit Marauders, Head 94s, Raptor prototypes, Osprey prototypes.

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                        • #13
                          Nice!

                          What's the overall height of your riser?

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                          • #14
                            Originally posted by Scribbler View Post
                            Nice!

                            What's the overall height of your riser?
                            Thanks Scribbler. They're one inch, overall.

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