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Dave Petersen

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All Things RD Research Dynamics

RD Skis

RD Skis - Pugski - Petersen.jpg


Snow Country Oct 1994 - RD - Pugski - Petersen.jpg
 
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TS
Dave Petersen

Dave Petersen

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'88 Buyer's Guide
image.jpeg
 

crgildart

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Lange skis here too? Wasn't/Isn't it R.D. Lange? Can't remember why I thought Research Dynamics was a part of Lange. Just remember thinking it was..
 
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Philpug

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In for some Bad Dogs and Bad Bitches
 

Dan

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Anybody know anything about these? Tails say "SPECIAL" In similar graphics.
 

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Bruuuce

My advice is worth what you paid for it.
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200cm RD Coyotes were the ski of choice at our shop back in 86/87. Learned to ski the CBMR bowls on those. Wish I had a pair just for old times sake.
 

Doug Briggs

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@Bruuuce , you are welcome to relive your youth with my RD Bad Dogs and Raichle Flexons. Obermeyer 'Absolut Vodka' one piece, optional.

150327 - Absolut skiing - 11071804_858387273152_4926519834615942322_o.jpg


Seriously.

If you want to take them out, I'd be happy to set you up. BSL is about 315, IIRC. Boots are 27ish? I wear a 26 and they are a skoch too big. That doesn't stop me from skiing them on occasion.
 

Bruuuce

My advice is worth what you paid for it.
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@Bruuuce , you are welcome to relive your youth with my RD Bad Dogs and Raichle Flexons. Obermeyer 'Absolut Vodka' one piece, optional.

View attachment 62771

Seriously.

If you want to take them out, I'd be happy to set you up. BSL is about 315, IIRC. Boots are 27ish? I wear a 26 and they are a skoch too big. That doesn't stop me from skiing them on occasion.

I might have to take you up on this sometime to get my RD fix. My feet are about the same size as yours so it would definitely work for a retro day. Now I just need to find a neon North Face.
 

skipress

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Way back when I did some work with RD skis and bikes here in the UK, also with Mark Archer's ARC1, which as I recall flowed from RD until Atomic got mightily grumpy about ARC and their ARC skis. I recall a RD ski with, what was at the time a pretty eccentric sidecut, a sort of Atomic HV3 slalom tail but rather wider.

Tim K was also working with Swan goggles, I think importing into the USA and also directing them to international 'partners.

Drove from a meeting in Boulder to the offices in Sun Valley. I'd not quite mastered American driving distances and wondered why some people looked baffled when i mentioned it was only about a thumb wide on the map. Great drive as the rental company upgraded me and recall driving rather too quickly through Wyoming with 'Biko' on the 'cassette' player on repeat.
 

ted

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Rather than continue thread drift, I copied this from the Crosson skis thread-

RD really did start as a 'garage brand' - they were made in a garage, then a workshop in Ketchum and they really were one of a kind, hand built stuff. This article gives the early days and name checks Ken Crosson referenced above:


brunetto.png



I was involved after the garage days, when Tim Kohl came into the company changed it into a 'brand' . Mike was there as a sort of figurehead, albeit an influential one. RD really became, as with Pre a sort of branding exercise [of the sort that lots of smaller brands are today - go to a factory Y with a graphic and order 10 000 of model X by length]. I have a feeling they were mainly Atomic but stand to be corrected on that.

Tim also developed a relationship with Swan and they sold their goggles and Poles in the USA. Mark Archer was involved on the bike side - this a long time ago but I think they started as RD bikes with Archer then starting up ARC 1 [one?] bikes much to the annoyance of atomic.

Someone will know better than I, but I seem to remember Tim previously being involved with Scott [or perhaps Pre] and leaving. RD [with Tim, who I remember as a fun guy] etc struck me as an effort to create a sort of Scott version 2.

My girlfriend at the time worked at Bahnhof Sports in Park City where they had the All Mountain and Powder Skis. I lusted over the all mountain ski. Something about the shape flex and lightness was appealing as I was skiing a lot of backcountry at the time. This was in the days of skinny tele skis and I couldn't quite comprehend going as wide as the Powder ski. But the price was high and I waffled. An employee snaked the All Mountains and a Patroller ended up with the Powder ski. Both were happy. I eventually bought a pair of RD SLS that were made in Yugoslavia. Elan, I'm sure. They had a similar shape and a very light balsa like core and were fun powder skis. The later RDs were much more serious metal skis and I'd agree that they were likely built by Atomic.
 

ted

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Anybody know anything about these? Tails say "SPECIAL" In similar graphics.
These look similar to the All Mountain or the Powder ski as I remember them. There is something about the tip shape and curve that was unique for the era.
 

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