Bode update

[Ski]

But, for whatever reason, Bode changes ski manufacturers with each new contract. Based on your comments above, does that mean he is at the end of his career because he is chasing the best deal? He certainly hasn't fallen in love with any particular ski, that's for sure. I think he goes with the money and with whomever seems to be most eager to build to his specs this time.

 

Bode is a unique case. I think he is so totally confident in his abilities that he believes he can win on any brand. Do you remember when his Rossi's pre-ejected in back to back races at the beginning of a season? That would have had other racers threatening to tear up contracts, but Bode was chill about it. He told himself that it was just too much stress in a cross rut and a huge coincidence that it happened twice. I think the bottom line for Bode is that he'll consider the highest bid, then take those skis out and run them through a hundred tests then convince himself he can win on them. It's not a bad way to go, IMO. As Chad Fleischer always says: "Confidence is king". And, yes, for sure about the specs---he considers the manufacturers willingness to do a quick turn around a huge deal.

 

 

I'm sure you have (or will dig out) the info on the points he's made with each sponsor and I'd be interested to see that kind of statistic. Of course, he was a different age with each sponsor so that's part of the equation as well. I think that exercise would be very interesting for any top skier who has jumped around a lot. I don't think being faithful is necessarily a sign of someone finding the "right" ski, I think there's a degree of superstitution and just loyalty as well.

 

I think your point about his age---and I would add his stage in life---is the key. I don't think you can do any real accurate corelation between Bode's gear and his success and failure over the years. When Bode is healthy and sober he's equally unbeatable whether on Atomic or Rossi or whatever.

 

And I go back to my observation that Atomic is not quite the hands down winner for the women. Look at the top skis in your link when it comes to the women: Salomon/Rossignol, Atomic, V

Edited August 21, 2007 by ski

[Ski]

Thanks Ski. What would I do without you? Your the best.

 

You're welcome, 1st Grade. Isn't it nice when we all get along?

[First Grade Teacher]

You're welcome, 1st Grade. Isn't it nice when we all get along?

 

You forgot:

"That's the 5000th thing you knew that I didn't."

 

AND now we are approaching 6000 with that last post. Why didn't you end that post with...... "First Grade, I'm surprised you didn't know that or I can't believe you didn't know this. Wow. You continue to surprise me."

 

Are you positive your not an Astronaut? Come on fess up.

 

Edited August 21, 2007 by First Grade Teacher

[Ski]

Every time a thought crosses your mind, 1st Grade, you must marvel at its lonely journey. And I'd like to see things your way, my friend, but I cannot jam my head that far up my arse. Do you want people to accept you as you are, or do you want them to like you? Listen, 1st Grade, I'd like to know if you still love nature, despite what it's done to you?

 

 

Damn, I knew all the crappy spam emails my dad forwards to me would come in useful some day!!!!

 

Oh, and here's a super funny one that TP4 would like:

 

Two cows are standing in a field. One turns to the other and says, "Moo!" The other one turns and says, "I was just about to say that!"

 

 

I swear, that is the funniest joke I've ever heard. I absolutely LOVE it. C'mon, Larry, lighten up a little. Summer's almost over.

Edited August 22, 2007 by ski

[sexkitten]

I see the most women skiing in K2s..like the K2 one Luv or the Phat Luvs..and I know Sibhusky is on K2s...does K2 make race skis?

 

 

That's what I ski and I love them but then again I am far from a racer.

 

Are you positive your not an Astronaut? Come on fess up.

 

He's actually a brain surgeon... no... a evil, super genius.. no a...

 

 

BTW Sib your stats were awesome. Thanks.

[Ski]

sorry, i didnt laugh

 

Damn...the beauty was in the simplicity. I'll keep my eyes out for a better one.

[First Grade Teacher]

Every time a thought crosses your mind, 1st Grade, you must marvel at its lonely journey. And I'd like to see things your way, my friend, but I cannot jam my head that far up my arse. Do you want people to accept you as you are, or do you want them to like you? Listen, 1st Grade, I'd like to know if you still love nature, despite what it's done to you?

Wow, are you loaded? Bode would be proud of you! Have one for me.

 

[Justo8484]

I see the most women skiing in K2s..like the K2 one Luv or the Phat Luvs..and I know Sibhusky is on K2s...does K2 make race skis?

 

i don't think they're really pursuing the racing stuff so much anymore. as sibby said, the majority of their customer base is in the freeride market, as their, even the non twin tip models, cater well to softer snow and more finesse-oriented skiing as opposed to a ski like something that fischer or volkl makes, that really likes to be pushed.

 

(please note: my remarks about above skis are generalizations, don't rip me apart for it por favor. finesse isnt really the word i'm looking for, but i cant think of anything better at the moment. k2's stuff just tends to be a lot more forgiving of a ski.)

[First Grade Teacher]

well, if nothing else, a pretty awesome boot got made partially because of bode's deal with head.

 

What's up with this boot you mentioned above? I havn't heard anything about it.

 

[trtaylor]

What's up with this boot you mentioned above? I havn't heard anything about it.

 

The new Raptor series. Early reviews are very positive.

 

Note: Link is a 2.3 mb .pdf download.

[First Grade Teacher]

The new Raptor series. Early reviews are very positive.

 

Note: Link is a 2.3 mb .pdf download.

 

It looks cool. Anyone try it on or ski it yet?

 

[trtaylor]

This belongs in the gear forum

It's a reply to an existing thread and the link is to Head's racing 07-08 boot catalog. Seems like the Racing forum is the right place for it.

It looks cool. Anyone try it on or ski it yet?

I've spoken with some people who skied on pre-production models late last winter. The RD models are reported to have 95mm lasts. The others are 98mm lasts, I think. All are reported to have a very low instep, similar to the Salomon Falcons.

[Glenn]

I sat down myself and came up with some interesting stats which seem to suggest that while Atomic is indeed the runaway winner for the men, that a case could be made that it is NOT the best ski for women:

 

 

Thanks for the stats Sib, this clears up any question about Atomics dominance at least as far as the mens racing goes.

[Justo8484]

It's a reply to an existing thread and the link is to Head's racing 07-08 boot catalog. Seems like the Racing forum is the right place for it.I've spoken with some people who skied on pre-production models late last winter. The RD models are reported to have 95mm lasts. The others are 98mm lasts, I think. All are reported to have a very low instep, similar to the Salomon Falcons.

 

i tried on the new RS boot in the shop tonight. we didnt get the RD in, since i dont think we'd really sell that many. the ones we have are a 96mm last and a 130 flex, i couldnt find them on head's site, but i believe it would be the raptor 120 RS? anyway, they felt super comfy to me, which means unless you have a skinny foot, they're gonna be tight. also, i thought they felt really soft for what is supposed to be a high performance race oriented boot. i'll have to double check on what model they are tomorrow.

[trtaylor]

i tried on the new RS boot in the shop tonight. we didnt get the RD in, since i dont think we'd really sell that many. the ones we have are a 96mm last and a 130 flex, i couldnt find them on head's site, but i believe it would be the raptor 120 RS? anyway, they felt super comfy to me, which means unless you have a skinny foot, they're gonna be tight. also, i thought they felt really soft for what is supposed to be a high performance race oriented boot. i'll have to double check on what model they are tomorrow.

 

What shop?

[AtomicSkier]

What shop?

nasty-ors (nestors)

[Arc & Spark]

i tried on the new RS boot in the shop tonight. we didnt get the RD in, since i dont think we'd really sell that many. the ones we have are a 96mm last and a 130 flex, i couldnt find them on head's site, but i believe it would be the raptor 120 RS? anyway, they felt super comfy to me, which means unless you have a skinny foot, they're gonna be tight. also, i thought they felt really soft for what is supposed to be a high performance race oriented boot. i'll have to double check on what model they are tomorrow.

 

Out of curiosity, did you determine which raptor model you tried on? It almost sounds like you tried on the 130 (which has a 95-96 mm last) rather the 120 (which is closer to 98 mm)

[Justo8484]

Out of curiosity, did you determine which raptor model you tried on? It almost sounds like you tried on the 130 (which has a 95-96 mm last) rather the 120 (which is closer to 98 mm)

 

it was actually some boot we got at the very end of last season but never put out on the floor, so i'm not exactly sure what model it was. the flex says 130, and its a 96mm last, but its not the same color as this year's raptor boot, so it might just be that we got them early and in a limited edition color or something like that. i know that's happened before with some lange boots in the past. but anyway, head's 130 flex is way way soft for what is supposed to be a race boot.

[sibhusky]

Bode is supposedly, now that he's all on his own, giving up drinking:

 

http://www.bostonherald.com/track/inside_t...ticleid=1033655

[Glenn]

I once heard snoop dogg quit weed also.

[First Grade Teacher]

Bode is supposedly, now that he's all on his own, giving up drinking:

 

http://www.bostonherald.com/track/inside_t...ticleid=1033655

 

I can't wait to hear what Ski thinks of this news.

 

[Ski]

Pins and needles, 1st Grade?

 

 

First off, there are no quotes from Bode and so this story is just made up, as far as I'm concerned. I mean, what the hell, is this the Boston Herald, or TMZ? Uggghh, rumor journalism.

 

But assuming it's founded in truth, does it surprise anyone that Bode acknowledges a drinking problem and wants to fix it? I recall they surveyed Summer Olympic athletes who said they'd give years off their lives for a gold medal, while Bode made a repeated decision to abuse alcohol on the eve of Olympic races.

 

Are there any jibbers or boarders out there who would rather get drunk in a bar if it meant crashing in the X Games the next morning? Are accomplishment and glory that uncool?

 

I hope the story's true. I don't know much about the Twelve Steps, but I assume this is one of them.

[DHarrisburg]

Are there any jibbers or boarders out there who would rather get drunk in a bar if it meant crashing in the X Games the next morning? Are accomplishment and glory that uncool?

 

It has less to do with being uncool and more to do with complete apathy towards competition :/

[Ski]

It has less to do with being uncool and more to do with complete apathy towards competition :/

 

I honestly don't get it, DH...aren't the X Games and the Olympics about competing? Heck, I can see people saying it isn't just about winning and losing, but about the competition. Eh, but to say it isn't about competing?

[Justo8484]

I honestly don't get it, DH...aren't the X Games and the Olympics about competing? Heck, I can see people saying it isn't just about winning and losing, but about the competition. Eh, but to say it isn't about competing?

 

its a different environment in the freeride section of the market. sure, you have guys like tanner and dumont who have made their careers by competing, and winning events like the x games, us open, etc. however, you also have guys like eric pollard, sage catabriga alose, and andy mahre, who don't really compete at all, and are pushing the freeride scene just as hard, but just in a different direction. you dont necesarily have to compete to stay in the game, whereas in racing, that's really the only facet of the sport that matters, is having the fastest time. just two completely different sides of the sport.