Is it true that skis out of the box like that are routinely tuned poorly?
Byron -- as Max said, it depends on the manufacturer. Some are good, some not. But keep in mind that some manufacturers may do a perfectly good tune, but it's the
way their skis are tuned (edge bevels, structure, etc.) at the factory that may not agree with your preferences. For example, Dynastar seems to tune their base bevel angles quite flat -- probably 0.5 degrees or less -- and there is nothing wrong with that, some skiers like it that way, and the tune may be perfectly well executed. But for my taste it makes the edges kind of grabby. I prefer a 1 degree base bevel to make the edge-to-edge transitions a bit smoother (I know what you're thinking -- how can a 1/2 degree make any difference? Trust me, you can feel it!). So I always retune a new pair of skis to my own preferences, and reset the bevel angles the way I want.
A good way to check if the edge angles are beveled the way you like them is to do what I've described in this thread:
http://www.realskiers.smfnew.com/index.php/topic,1984.0.html See Reply #6, the comments on using a black felt marker on the steel edges.
Time and experience will tell you what will work for you, and where and how you ski. Then you can custom tune to your heart's content.
Home
Login
Register