Power Kite Forum - land skis completed.

land skis completed.

CHICKENKOOP - 7-9-2016 at 12:17 PM

here's my answer to summer field skis.
because I live in ski country, all parts were from free piles.
the wheels are off my mbs grom6 I bought for $20.
the bindings and skis are Solomon free.
random aluminum for the brackets free.
12mm bolts for axles $12
using skis as the frame gives them a lot of spring. they roll over edges and junk well. fairly light.
I use a two buckle ultralight ski mountaineering boot.
haven't had the wind yet. cant wait to ride them!

CHICKENKOOP - 7-9-2016 at 12:18 PM

Feyd - 7-9-2016 at 12:21 PM

Impressive. The question now is how long those foam cores are gonna last.

Windstruck - 7-9-2016 at 01:28 PM

Home brew!!!!!!!! :thumbup:

I love seeing these projects. It will be fun to get a report once you've test driven those bad-boy "wheels of doom".

Gotsta love giving these a whirl in So. VT! I grew up on a dirt road on the outskirts of Westminster West, which for those of you less familiar perhaps with Southern Vermont geography is about half way between Putney and Saxtons River. When we moved to Westminster West in 1965 the town had seven houses on one side of the road and six on the other. Things have exploded since them of course and I suspect "downtown" has at least doubled in size. The owner of one of those houses (on the six side, of course) had converted his living room into a General Store and had a gas pump out front. By "pump" I was being literal, as in the type of gas pump that you would hand pump the gas up into a glass cylinder and then drain the cylinder into your tank via the hose.

Now, back to our regularly scheduled program!

Bladerunner - 7-9-2016 at 07:05 PM

I have never used Doom Wheels. There were some folks on here back when I first joined who broke their legs with them.

Do those bindings automatically release?

skimtwashington - 8-9-2016 at 05:39 AM

Doesn't look Like bindings release.. and if they don't...

....The longer the wheel base the more risk of injury( by leverage)....which again.... makes Coyotes( or a skate type)- not just more agile- but safer.

But still... good job on a 'home brew'.

DialedN_07 - 8-9-2016 at 05:54 AM

So would the "wheels of doom" style skate be more dangerous simply because of a longer wheelbase? What specifically about them causes the potential for problems?

Bladerunner - 8-9-2016 at 06:06 AM

Yes , the longer they are the more likely they are to break your leg.

Also makes turning without a step turn very difficult.

Can you put quick release bindings on them?

CHICKENKOOP - 8-9-2016 at 07:48 AM

its true, they do not turn. hold a line like a rail though. as far as dangerous with non release binding I would say yes for sure.
the end brackets are self contained, so un bolt them cut the tip and tail off your favorite alpine skis with release binding, and bam!
I wanted light weight on this setup so chose the sno blade binding.
my regular setup in winter is telemark with no release bindings and hefty boots big, skis. knock on wood I haven't hurt legs yet..
the old x-scream ski I used not foam core. they wood core with top and bottom metal cap (Ti?)

skimtwashington - 8-9-2016 at 07:54 AM

Quote:

What specifically about them causes the potential for problems?

First, anything that deflects too many degrees from your straightline forward progress can be a problem.... be it a delfection from ground debris, or a sudden sharp redirection of the kite.

Then..... the deflection of a wheel much farther from center of wheel base has more potential travel along the circle whose radius is the distance from that center point under your foot to the(end) wheel...... but also very important is the increased force from leverage by greater distance from same center point during a side force deflection ...thus it will twist your foot/knee many more degrees, and with increased force.....

I can actually not just carve, but at times turn by pivot( twist and smear) my Coyotes on hard sand when using the kite to unweight.

Long wheel base means typically step turning-like Bladerunner said. Mis-stepping too many degrees or not enough may cause problems and set you up for a fall.

Feyd - 8-9-2016 at 09:57 AM

Glad to hear it's not foam core.

The critical difference between your tele set up and the non-release system you've used (which is relegated to short ski blade items due to thier short length) is that there is a ton of flexibility in a tele system in a crash. Between the boot and the cable combined it's fairly rare that a non-release tele can cause much injury in a crash. When I first got into tele I was concerned about non release systems. Had some pretty spectacular crashes and was amazed at how little I felt I was going to blow a knee. Having replaced both acls prior to that I was concerned.

When on a ski blade, unless you're a little kid, a crash on a ski blade is essentially the same as crashing on skates. You're not likely to lock in an edge and experience the classic backward twisting fall that commonly blows ACLs.

:P

I'm with SMW. I don't take my coyotes out much. But they do work amazingly well. Which is awesome considering I got them about a gizzilion years ago and I had never heard of power kiting at the time. Never would have guessed that they would get more use now than they did when they were current. :D

I guess the bottom line with stuff like this is you try it and see. As long as you err on the side of caution, have a bail out plan, then go for it.

As long as you are cutting up X Screams and NOT X Mountains. (arguable one of the best kite skis on the planet.) :P

Windstruck - 8-9-2016 at 10:20 AM

Interesting discussion. In my limited Wheels of Doom kite skating experience (limited to grass and hard pack Ivanpah playa, but never beach sand) I was nervous about ligament and meniscal damage in my knees in a twisting fall. I'd also be reluctant to boost with dooms versus coyotes for the same reason, viz., come down in one direction and have the kite pull you in another - bam - blown knee. Wheels of Doom setups are already inherently heavy to start with and adding a true set of releasing bindings would really up weight and probably length too as you'd need to get the binding mechanism wedged between boot and wheels. That would be one extremely long doom setup. Great for holding a tack, but probably a real chore to step turn not to mention increasing all the torques already described leading to bad bad things happening potentially in the knee.

I too am a telemarker and agree with Feyd; knee damage is way, way down the list in bad tele falls. Snow down your underwear, high up the list. :D Fellow tele shout out - get going with your lunges now!

abkayak - 8-9-2016 at 11:01 AM

i always thought blade skis were spring loaded and released at some point??

skimtwashington - 8-9-2016 at 06:52 PM

Hey you pinheads!

Yes...one more telemarker here.

My first ever blades on the beach was a 'home brew' which I actually got as a present from another PKF member and friend from the 'Nahant crew'.
It was Coyote frames screwed to a wood base and mounted w/ a telemark binding(Rainey super loop) .

With separate Tele boots, the set up was quite heavier than complete coyotes. Not light but much safer than what you are using.

I concur with Feyd on safety difference, and add..be careful. A Tele binding on your home set up might not be bad...and safer. You got the boots!

Sidenote:I just changed out that crappy Coyote liner and put in a Garmont G-Fit heat moldable liner. Wow:o... what an improvement.... not just on comfort... but keeping my foot , knees more aligned and thus balanced. What took me so long!:P I'm literally kite jumping in the air for joy :thumbup:

What is the base length of your set up?

Windstruck - 9-9-2016 at 03:10 AM

Quote: Originally posted by skimtwashington

Hey you pinheads!

Yes...one more telemarker here.

My first ever blades on the beach was a 'home brew' which I actually got as a present from another PKF member and friend from the 'Nahant crew'.
It was Coyote frames screwed to a wood base and mounted w/ a telemark binding(Rainey super loop) .

With separate Tele boots, the set up was quite heavier than complete coyotes. Not light but much safer than what you are using.

I concur with Feyd on safety difference, and add..be careful. A Tele binding on your home set up might not be bad...and safer. You got the boots!

Sidenote:I just changed out that crappy Coyote liner and put in a Garmont G-Fit heat moldable liner. Wow:o... what an improvement.... not just on comfort... but keeping my foot , knees more aligned and thus balanced. What took me so long!:P I'm literally kite jumping in the air for joy :thumbup:

What is the base length of your set up?

Who would have thunk this thread would get hijacked by a few free heelers? Outstanding! Last season was my first for both Snowkiting AND telemark skiing, but I didn't combine the two. Too many degrees of freedom so I stuck with alpine setups when under the motive power of the wind. Will most certainly consider combining these two snow-bound loves this winter. I was a little nervous navigating the turns and not going ass over tea kettle due to the front pull of the kite in certain settings (yes, pilot error situations mostly).

I know Chris (fewd) has some experience in tele Snowkiting too. If this general setup works (as you all attest it does) then I agree that this could be a superb setup for Doom rigs. I'd be interested to hear about that in more detail. :karate:

ssayre - 9-9-2016 at 04:45 AM

"I know Chris (fewd) has some experience in tele Snowkiting too. If this general setup works (as you all attest it does) then I agree that this could be a superb setup for Doom rigs. I'd be interested to hear about that in more detail. :karate"

Who is fewd? is he a forum member? I know Feyd knows a thing or 2

abkayak - 9-9-2016 at 04:51 AM

i pin or did pre-K...i dont leave the beach anymore
never tried those fat new fangled things, skinny skis and leather...good times
Chickenkoop you go have fun w/ those and report back :thumbup:

Windstruck - 9-9-2016 at 04:52 AM

Quote: Originally posted by ssayre

"I know Chris (fewd) has some experience in tele Snowkiting too. If this general setup works (as you all attest it does) then I agree that this could be a superb setup for Doom rigs. I'd be interested to hear about that in more detail. :karate"

Who is fewd? is he a forum member? I know Feyd knows a thing or 2

It's a family affair.... :karate: Ssayre - keeping me honest one keystroke at a time. :D

CHICKENKOOP - 15-9-2016 at 11:51 AM

after testing these are gonna work fine I think. now if<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/0hoDLBMZsGA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> some wind would happen when I'm not at work!

CHICKENKOOP - 15-9-2016 at 11:55 AM

heres a link to some testing with bonus ropetow footage
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hoDLBMZsGA

B-Roc - 15-9-2016 at 05:14 PM

Pretty cool that you have a rope tow in your yard. Do all the kids sled and ski there?

The end of the video reminded me of why I hate inland kiting days (lulls, fences, posts, etc.)

skimtwashington - 16-9-2016 at 07:47 AM

That's some deep grass. Don't turn too many degree or you'll pay for your ride:

'Cash, grass or ass..no one rides for free'
(if you're finding above hard to read highlight it w/left click of your mouse!)

Good to see home brew rolling, anyway. You just needed more wind.

Beautiful sky...