Author Topic: Rollercarving or skiing on dry land  (Read 369 times)

nosnowski

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Rollercarving or skiing on dry land
« on: May 13, 2013, 08:26:08 pm »
I started a similar thread last year and received useful feedback from this forum members but the thread has disappeared. This has been an ongoing project aimed at coming up with an off season training device. We have short skiing seasons in Australia which was my main motivation for embarking on this quest.

I have made some improvements to the device that I presented last year and gave it to a freestyle ski coach Mitch Smith. He tried it for about 15 minutes and then went for a ride down the 1km main resort road at Falls Creek. He really loved the experience and workout that it provides. We didn't have the time for more and Mitch, who is a Red Bull consultant is now in the US but when he comes back will send me more (and better shot) videos. The device works by responding to rolling knees which causes the wheels to turn in a synchronized way i.e. if the leading wheel turns right the trailing one turns left which simulates the side cut of a carving ski. It is about 3 foot long, equipped with ski bindings and used with ski boots. The wheels are 6" pneumatics and this prototype has enough clearance to work on short grass which I am going to try as soon as I have another pair made (Mitch was so hooked to it that I decided to leave mine with him for more riding). The device is also equipped with simple brakes that work by planting ski poles near outer edges but since the turning radius can be as short as 5 foot, which controls speed quite well, the brakes are there for emergencies. This gear is completely different than Harb carvers and offers pretty good fore/aft support and handling even on rougher surface.

This video shows the device in action


I am trying to get feedback from as many skiers as possible to see if it is something that they would like to try. I'd also appreciate yours.


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