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Episode 8
Fiberglass
Fiberglass
Pretty much nonsense. There’s no such thing as “race room titanal”. The aluminum alloy sheet trademarked Titanal and made by AMAG comes in different thicknesses. You can pick which ever. There’s a reason race skis use metal, but I doubt any current consumer available gs race ski approaches the stiffness of the race skis of the straight ski era that had no metal.
The RC One 86 GT is really impressive in it’s torsional stiffness, i.e. ability to hold an edge on steep solid snow. It’s not a beginner ski, and is probably best appreciated by upper intermediate to advanced skiers. But it’s not a punishing ski outside of that range. Just go demo it, even if you have your B game that day.
Well it is more than just aluminum, it’s an aluminum alloy. It’s a bit like walking up to an airplane and saying, “that’s nothing more than aluminum”. (You can make airplanes out of wood too)
One of Titanal’s important properties is being able to bond with resins. The surface is treated for that.
Carbon fiber and fiberglass cloth is pretty floppy, and the wood cores used in skis would not support your weight probably by itself. The sandwich gets pretty strong once you bind everything together with resins.
Even big airplanes can be made of wood!
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Howard Hughes’s Spruce Goose, 1947
Made almost entirely of laminated Birch wood. Pretty impressive.
The Spruce Goose - Evergreen Museum
The Spruce Goose was first conceived during World War II, when German submarines were sinking hundreds of Allied ships. She now has a home in the heart of Oregon Wine Country.www.evergreenmuseum.org
Nice. Yes, I was going for the Brobdingnagian example for the shear insanity of it.Can't help but think a plane that made one (and only one) flight and never got out of ground effect is not such a great example.
Maybe something a little more successful....
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Yes. K2 Mindbenders were offered in metal and non metal versions.Are there any skis with the exact same layup except add metal?
There’s also the thickness of the metal that’s rarely mentioned, though early Kastle (the redo) gave the thickness of Titanal in different skis
Right but we don’t know the amounts of anything. As Cyrus was saying, just a small change in core thickness can change things a lot. So that could be slightly different or there’s more or less fiberglass etc. It’s impossible to know what the exact recipe is outside of the factory.Yes. K2 Mindbenders were offered in metal and non metal versions.
As well as thickness the difference between "Race Room" Titanal and non "Race Room" Titanal could be phosphoric acid anodizing (PAA). In order to cut costs some manufacturers use plain Titanal that is mechanically abraded before use, this sometimes results in adhesion gaps. Atomic only uses PAA Titanal in a few of their skis, the other large manufactures likely do the same.Further, it is often referred to as "Race Room" titanal.
You think. There’s no way to know they are “the same” besides the addition of metal vs carbon fiber. It’s more likely than not they are not the same.2019 Bushwacker and 2019 Brahma are identical except for 2 sheets of titanal(probably.5mm) in the Brahma Vs an
carbon sheet in the Bushwacker.
Yes. K2 Mindbenders were offered in metal and non metal versions.
Hi Jeronimo. Good catch!! The website is incorrect — we use 2mmx2mm edges (always have). In the video, I should have stated a thin/cheap edge is ~2.0x1.5mm and a thick edge is 2.5mmx2.5mm. Fixing this on the site asap.So, I love the honesty you use in your "choosing a ski" blog on your site. In the edge video, you point out that 1.8 mm edges are for weight or cutting costs. I saw that at least the endurance 88 and 98 have the 1.8 edge. Can you talk about that choice in those skis?
Love this mini-series...he's very good at explaining all this. I live the fact that some will cut a a hole in the metal and call it "technology"....lmfao....seems like a scam to call it that.Episode 7
Metal
Premieres July 5 at 5:00 PM
Thanks Toni. I didn't understand a word you said.As well as thickness the difference between "Race Room" Titanal and non "Race Room" Titanal could be phosphoric acid anodizing (PAA). In order to cut costs some manufacturers use plain Titanal that is mechanically abraded before use, this sometimes results in adhesion gaps. Atomic only uses PAA Titanal in a few of their skis, the other large manufactures likely do the same.
Sorry Scotty, Aluminum alloys don’t bond well without a surface treatment. The preferred surface treatment is phosphoric acid anodizing (PAA), a process invented by Boeing and described in ASTM D3933-98(2017) Standard Guide for Preparation of Aluminum Surfaces for Structural Adhesives Bonding (Phosphoric Acid Anodizing). AMAG the Austrian company that manufactures Titanal offers phosphoric acid anodized Titanal but it is considerably more expensive than plain untreated Titanal.Thanks Toni. I didn't understand a word you said.
At least it’s real. It’s the ski industry, meaningless claims and “technologies” are everywhere. “Flip core” ?? Everyone building small boats could say they’re using flip core technology.. I live the fact that some will cut a a hole in the metal and call it "technology"....lmfao....seems like a scam to call it that.
Pretty much. Two people using, “two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, and a sesame bun,” could come up with very different big macs.what I hear you guys saying is there are a lot of different ways to make the sandwich: you will have a top bun and a bottom bun and will have all the core elements to include some meat, cheese and some kind of dressing or mayo to keep it from being dry. In the end, how you combine all the elements..the amounts and layers etc determines how good that sandwich will taste in the end.
Such things are likely done to a certain degree with worldcup race skis. Change one thing and test. It requires testers, time, and money.Its not a matter of just taking one thing out and you [c]an calculate exactly how it will change its taste.
I believe it was two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun.Pretty much. Two people using, “two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, and a sesame bun,” could come up with very different big macs.