gear to ski on dry surface

GarryZ,

I didn't do any forced knee rotation movement. The ski turns quite easy by edging, in a sense too easy. I guess that since the minimum turning radius is 1.5m it may look like I rotate my knees but it's more the ski rotating it with me trying to keep my upper body static. There is a spring mechanism in the ski which can be used to make it turn easier or harder and effectively adjust the minimum turning radius. I am thinking about making tension of the spring adjustable but first will try a harder spring. Unfortunately, there is a lot of experimenting involved and working full-time in an unrelated area makes the process quite slow.
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by GarryZ 

I think my feet would explode if I wore my boots in the summer. 

They don't explode just drown in sweat :-). Ultimately I would like to have a kind of scaffolding that will hold the shinbone and foot (similar to the one used in skikes) so rather than ski boots I'll be able to use sport shoes.

After I made some imrovements including fitting larger pneumatic wheels it feels more and more like skiing

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnjYzLLYwkw

Quote:

Originally Posted by Philpug 

It looks like a design I have been bouncing around in my head. Have you taken them out of the parking lot and say a long consistent downhill? Check your PM. 

I can't wait to do it next weekend. Hopefully it won't rain. I expect that it will be fun. The faster I managed to go with skate pushes the better it worked as you can see comparing my old video with the new one.

Quote:

Originally Posted by slider 

First put a helmet on. Your on pavement. Second also ski into the camera so customers can see how your product works.

I had the helmet on in the second video when I pushed it a bit harder. I was on my own and put the camera on the hood of my car. This is only the beginning. I'll hopefully get some assistnce from a young skiing instructor so we can not only shot a better vid but you will also see better skiing then mine.

Hi Martin,

I'll give it a shot on Saturday. I'll have to try a slope with realy short grass since due to the way they are made at the moment the clearance between the beam and ground is not very ample as you can probably see from the video. The new wheels only added about 0.5inch to it and I am afraid that I'll need to have this whole thing build from scratch for grass. In this case I'd use mountain board 8" wheels. It was intended as a proof of concept and the guy who built it unfortunately decided to do a few things his own way which ended up to be quite restrictive.

It's interesting how divided people's opinions are e.g Philpug and a few others that I spoke to prefer tarmac. I know from our earier contacts that you like grass and I'd too feel more comfortable on grass as it's more forgiving in case of crash as can be seen here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJUQshR-DPA&feature=related

I really appreciate all the comments and with all contributions especially from the pros it is becoming a bit of a community project

Quote:

Originally Posted by guroo270 

I would rather do something more fun, like this (at least in reference to "skiing" that parking lot)... even if it's not so much of a training tool.

I have decided to make a new all-terrain verson with 8" wheels suitable for places such as mountain boarding trails. This should be more fun. The parking lot is just a nearby safe testing ground not my ultimate playground.

I built an all-terrain ski simulator 4 years (see below) ago but a 4-wheel design does not have sufficient stability in rough terrain. Having four rather than two points which can hit small bumps creates some problems. Also, in order to transmit tipping on the edge to a carving turn, the wheels are perpendicular to the ground which causes that the device has tendency to tip over the edge. The current 2-wheel device works way better.

Out of the parking lot and on to the road

I first went to the Cardinia Park near Melbourne which is quite hilly with a few internal one-way roads. It turned out that all the gates were closed due to the strike of the park workers so I ended up skiing on the road adjacent to the park. I was doing short and shallow turns in order not to slow down too much. Last run was the fastest. The stability of the device was quite good and I think I can go faster without a problem.

Quote:

Originally Posted by guroo270 

I don't mean this in a mean way, but it kinda looks like you're training for snowlerblading.  

I guess you mean the way I move. I started skiing some 35 years ago on unshaped skis and was using them for 15 years then had a long break and resumed skiing some 5 years ago on shaped skis first without even realising that they are supposed to be used in a completely different way. Anyway, although I can cope with most conditions I don't pretend that I am an expert skier. I will ultimately get a good skier on this thing but before doing that I have to make sure that no one gets hurt and I've been using myself as a guinea pig. As far as the device is concerned it turns on tipping on the edge so if I get an expert carver I am pretty sure it will look much better. Anyway, any hints regarding my technique would be greatly appreciated.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Metaphor_ 

Kinda reminds me of nordic trainers (you may want to mute the music): 

 

 

Nordic trainers such as powerslide XC, skikes and roller skis have rigid wheels. It's virtually impossible to make a turn on them. My wheels react to tipping on the edge and turn accordingly. I use similar wheels to those in powerslide XC and skikes.

Quote:

Originally Posted by guroo270 

I don't mean this in a mean way, but it kinda looks like you're training for snowlerblading.  

Does this look any better for ski training? Unfortunately going wider slowed me down by reducing the gradient compared to doing very short turns but there also was a layer of crushed rock that made the surface quite slow.

The ski season down under is over so I am back on the parking lot for my weekly workout. This is a lighter version of my gear which is a cross between XC roller skis and my earlier carving simulator. It has in-line skate wheels and boots. I do skate pushes to go up and then go down. It's a pretty good physical and balance exercise. When I was going on only one roller ski with the other raised above the ground I discovered that I have better balance on my left foot than the right one, something that I have never really noticed while skiing on the snow. Next week I am supposed to catch up with a well known US ski coach who is keen to give it a shot. If he agrees I'll shot a video and publish it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by cantunamunch 

 

Shift your hips further onto your skate/rollerski.     

 

Also, those look like skate boots, not ski boots?  

If yes, then when you're on your 'bad balance' foot check to make sure that your support rollerski is not a bit too far back (bumward).   This effectively translates to 'see if you can stand taller' on your 'bad balance' foot.   This 'standing taller' can feel like 'muscling the support skate/ski forward'.

 

Crushed rock is downright dangerous for inline wheels, unless it's really well packed in with stone dust. 

They are skate boots with cuffs fused with the bottom shells by rivets to make them a bit more rigid. I think that my 'bad balance' foot was too far forward but I am getting it right now. This thing is more demanding in terms of balance than skis. My balance definitely improved last ski seasons especially on more difficult surface such as crud after pre-season exercise on the old version. Given that I typically ski no more than 10-12 days each season I can definitely see the benefits of my regular workouts. 

As far as crushed rock is concerned you need 6" pneumatic wheels i.e. something like in my old version. They work pretty well on rough surface but the trouble is that the guy who made it for me stuffed up some elements which are too close to the ground. This is not a big problem on a hard smooth surface but on a rough one they tend to catch the ground. A company based in Europe is working on a 6" wheel skate boot version for me. I'll be there in December and if the place is not snowed under I'll try it and send a short video. 

I finally got a new gear made with a lighter frame and gave it to a professional freestyler Mitch Smith. After just a few test turns Mitch decided to take it for a spin down the main resort road in Falls Creek down under. This video was shot from my car following him