A need for speed?

[AlaskaIsCold]

So here is a question that my friends were asking me a few months ago. which is faster in a purely downhill sense. I said that my skiboards would be faster, Matt said that his snowboard would be faster and James said that his Skis would be faster. And it makes sense that we would say that what we use is the fastest.

But then I started to think to myself, which -would- be the fastest. I mean I am fairly certian that it is a function of surface area. the less of it you have the less friction there is so the faster your top speed can be. So then the snowbaord would be the slowest and the skiboard would be the fastest. However on the other hand the smaller the surface area the small the control surfaces I would imagine so skiboards would be the least stable of the three.

There are alot of factors to consider. I figure if we cant come to a logical conclusion we will just have a race and see how it goes, even though I would imagine the results would be infulenced hevily by skill, in which skiboards would lose beacuse I only have about half a season of experince.

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Also as a side note. Since I broke my Soloman 99cm I am looking at buying a higher quality pair that could hopefully last me for a season or two. I am thinking about the Lacroix Titanal but I am not too sure about the length, 99cm or 110cm What is the trade off ? I am not so much into tricks, I am much more into speed.

[SkaFreak]

Based purely on the world records speeds, skis can go the fastest. Friction plays a much smaller role in slowing the boards down than the surface area does to increasing your speed. More surface area spreads the weight over a larger area, so you stay more on top of the snow allowing you to go faster.

The tradeoff between 99's ans 110's is that you will have more manueverability on the 99's. If you're tall enough to use the 110's with whatever bindings you intend on using, then those would be great speed/carving boards.

[Rink]

I am thinking about the Lacroix Titanal but I am not too sure about the length, 99cm or 110cm

Can't answer any of your questions - just a nub - but that Lacroix is such a sexy looking pair of boards. I've been eyeing up a set of the 99s for myself.

[mahatma]

Well, it appears that skiing holds a faster speed record by about 30 mph (124 for snowboarding vs 154 for skiing). Google rules.

[mahatma]

Rink,

I own the 125's. Gorgeous.

[shaggy433]

dang 154 that would be insanely awsome! well until I ate it up anyways lol

[AlaskaIsCold]

Hmmm...so in regards to top speed its ranked kinda like this?

Skis: 154mph
Snowboard: 124mph

But where is Skiboards in this ranking? Has nobody tried to measure how fast they could go on a pair while going straight down a long downhill?

If speed is related to how much surface area you have, the more of it you have the faster you go, then wouldnt alpine snowboards be the fastest? I dunno just some food for thought I guess.

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I am more into downhill speed than tricks so I am pretty much certian I am going to get a pair of the Lacroix 110cm with the bomber bindings.

[SkaFreak]

My top speed that I hit on the quick runs that I was clocking myself with a GPS unit was 55mph. I know I could go faster on an ideal slope especially using boards that have a bit more stability than the Revolts (which are fine if you aren't 6'1" and 200 lbs, but they can ride a bit like wet noodles for me at times). I'm betting that on my sherpas on a good run I could easily hit 65. Those records are set by people just bombing down steeps. If you watch the olympics, on actual runs most of the speeds are under 100mph still.

[AlaskaIsCold]

Hmmm....I hope the Titanial 110s are going to be enough for me. I was having trouble with the Soloman 99s I had before. im 6ft 1in and 190lbs.

Well yeah I mean the only way you can obtain speeds that high is going straight down a perfect slope. which would be something interesting to test out. going straight down Avalanch Gultch on Mount Shasta to see what the max speed is just before you past the base camp.

Anyways I am starting to notice that for the most part skiboarding focuses mainly on tricks as opposed to downhill, not like thats a bad thing since I enjoy trying a trick every now and then. But is mainly freestyle based or am I just not noticing the other half of the sport?

[SkaFreak]

Much of the more focused on part of the sport is the park aspect, but most of the park riders out there spend at least a little time on the rest of the mountain. You also have people like jjue, valmorel, jjue, mahatma, and several others that spend their time on other parts of the mountain. I personally am a sucker for powder, steeps, and glades. I rarely spend much time in the park but hope to change that. I'll occasionally hit a box or a small tabletop, but that's about it. When I'm not in any of that, I just enjoy bombing runs with nice smooth long carves.

[AlaskaIsCold]

But are there actual downhill/speed competitions?
I have been looking on the net for some and all I can find are freestyle/big air contests.

Well there is one speed/downhill contest that I found but it is way way -way- too much for me.

[Manlenium]

I would say skis---->skiboards-----> snowboards.

But then it all depnds on comfort level. I have actually dusted actual highschool racers on their 170+ on 90s. Just because i drop my body and put my chin over my toes. But if i went heads up with an experienced vetran skier I would probably lose. (On groomed runs)

Powder piles sometimes do throw a wrench in your wheels. I have hit powder going full tilt. Apparently i can do front flips.

If you want a great all around speed board go with 105+ If you ride in your comfort level, there is no reason you shouldnt beat your friend.

[SkaFreak]

At most of the skiboard competitions there are a downhill, fakie downhill, and skiboard cross events all of which are races. They just don't get as much camera time because it's not as impressive to watch for most people.

[kirk]

From talking to the Japanese riders at the World Cup, Skiboard Cross is HUGE over in Japan. They have a circuit that goes around and winners can make several thousand dollars. Over there, the focus is almost completely on the cross, and there isn't much park focus on skiboarding.

[mahatma]

Kirk,

Do you have any details of the circuit here in Japan. Maybe a website that would post the schedule as the season gets closer or an E-mail address I could drop a line to? Thanks.