I skied the Marine OBrien race Sunday January 30. The forecast during the week started with a prediction of 5*f or colder at the start. Temps on the drive over at 8:30 am were about 15*f.
Kick wax recommendation all week (Toko) was white (9-19 range) over base green binder. I had that on with a couple layers of Blue sandwiched in. Testing in the track gave me fabulous glide and no kick. I asked someone in Toko team gear for advice and he claimed to be putting Rode on-- skiers lie about wax.
I tested Blue and finally settled on violet which degraded my glide a bit, but I had good kick.
This episode is about how to set yourself up so your wax won't suck on race day.
1- Pay attention to the forecast and how it is trending.
2- Prep your skis early, but save your final wax comitment until late.
Assuming you have one pair of skis--
3- Think about the weather trend, and what is the worst thing that can happen. In the loppet in years past it has been both much colder than expected and much warmer and wetter than expected.
4- For glide wax- it is usually better to be waxed for colder than forecast. You can always work in some structure on race morning. The cheapest temporary way is with the $3 plastic scrapers sold by Toko or swix that have a serated plastic edge. You can put grooves for a day in the ski that will come out with one or two wax/iron cycles.
5- Kick wax can be trickier. My Sunday white, blue, violet challenge was simple to solve. The skis as waxed would have been good down to 0*f, maybe colder. One reason I use Toko is because "too-soft" wax doesn't ice up and has a fair amount of durability. One or two cover layers of mint or turquoise would have set me up for the race. With warmer temps--
a- I got to the race 90 minutes before the start. That got me a good parking spot, a short line at the indoor toilet, a short line at the registration table, and the time to ski out to a good testing uphill to make my wax trials.
6- For much warmer temps, rain, wet sloppy snow, icy tracks with fresh fluffy snow, and ice turning to slush--all waxing nightmares-
a- know your core wax brand. For example- with Toko I have two binder choices, base green or klister. There are reasons to use each as a binder, but mainly I know that I can leave home with either as my binder and still have a chance to adapt with minimal fuss at race start.
b- get there early and bring what you need- a good scraper, cork, rilling tool, the waxes you may need. If bringing klister I bring it in a ziplock that I can keep inside clothing- to keep it warm without having it leak onto clothing or skin- unless of course you have missed your bikini wax this week. For smaller races you can bring a wax bench and maybe a propane torch and hand (non-electric) iron, but for a race like the Loppet, Mora or the Birkie where you will be bussed to the start and from the finish, you need a more compact kit.
7- The biggest thing- get there early. The days you are most likely to need extra time to adjust your wax are the days that the weather is dragging out the bus system, parking, etc.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Waxing
For those who saw my wax demo at Jeff's jumbo wax palace-
The first sequence will be the step-by-step complete wax job for skate skis.
The second sequence will include some variations or add-ins that will increase durability and speed.
The third sequence will be the shortened version for when you just want to get out and ski. This works best when your skis are well cared for.
Equipment- wax bench, iron, scraper and sharpener, groove tool, cleaning brush, stiff nylon hand or roto brush, cheese grater. I also have and use a razor scraper. All scraping should be from tip to tail and done very carefully.
1- Brush out the ski with the cleaning brush- these are usually fine bristled metal brushes. This removes any dirt and old wax.
2- Razor scrape until the scrape is clean. I only do this once or twice each year before a big race like Mora or the Birkie (not both).
3- Crayon on a soft cleaning wax. I prefer Toko yellow, my second choice would be Fast wax base prep. We also had Swix red bulk wax available. I did not like that as it was too gooey and not my preference. I hear great reports about Rex Base Oil, but have not tried it yet.
4- Iron and then hot scrape the cleaning wax.
5- Apply a harder wax (I used Rex Blue for the demo, several of you applied Fastwax Teal which was probably the correct choice), crayoning first if possible then applying wax to the iron as you work your way down the ski. This method saves wax by the ton.
6- Go to the second ski and repeat steps 1-5.
7- If you have more skis to wax- your own second pair, or the skis belonging to your spouse- repeat steps 1-5 on each ski you are waxing.
8- After the first ski has cooled (room temperature, not outside unless you want to buy new skis), scrape and brush the ski thoroughly. It should be glossy when held up to the light.
9- Apply the HF glide wax of the day. This coat can be reheated after the ski has cooled- you get another "coat" without scraping.
10- Repeat step 8 and 9 on all the skis you are waxing. If it is a very hard wax, apply it with the cheese grater.
Sequence 2- add-ins
9a- Scrape and brush the step 9 wax layer and re-apply. This will give you a top wax coat that has less of the previous softer wax layer mixed in. You can then reheat the 9a layer as many times as you wish. I usually apply some of that wax to the iron before I start each new iron pass as the ski should have absorbed some of the wax and it's safer to do so.
11- Rilling- use a rilling tool to apply structure. No structure was needed today- you want a perfectly flat ski when it is cold. When it is above about +10f structure helps remove water/suction from under the ski.
12- Pure fluoro- For shorter races I have a Toko block with dedicated application pad that is crayoned and then buffed. This is a universal. For colder days I have a Fastwax Green paste wax and similar application pad. For the longer races you can get pure fluoro. If you want to take this step, take a $100 bill and a few of it's smaller friends and go to a very good ski shop. Get their help.
The low-tech way. I own only Rex TK-72 fluoro. I only apply after I am absolutely certain I am waxed right. I have a dedicated cork that is kept in a ziploc with the TK-72. I cork and cork and cork and then do a light brushing with a horsehair brush. The Toko polishing pad can also be used.
Sequence 3- for most of the time, especially in a winter like this where we have been blessed with continuous cold clean snow. This will get you out the door with skis that will be great for training.
1- Brush out the ski with the cleaning brush- these are usually fine bristled metal brushes. This removes any dirt and old wax.
skip steps 2-3-4.
5- Apply a harder wax (I used Rex Blue for the demo, several of you applied Fastwax Teal which was probably the correct choice), crayoning first if possible then applying wax to the iron as you work your way down the ski. This method saves wax by the ton.
8- After the first ski has cooled (room temperature, not outside unless you want to buy new skis), scrape and brush the ski thoroughly. It should be glossy when held up to the light. If it is a very hard wax, apply it with the cheese grater.
Sequence 3 works very well with consistent mid-winter snow. I adapt my procedures when we start to have transformed snow. Transformed snow is melted and refrozen. Those waxing changes are well beyond today's lesson.
The first sequence will be the step-by-step complete wax job for skate skis.
The second sequence will include some variations or add-ins that will increase durability and speed.
The third sequence will be the shortened version for when you just want to get out and ski. This works best when your skis are well cared for.
Equipment- wax bench, iron, scraper and sharpener, groove tool, cleaning brush, stiff nylon hand or roto brush, cheese grater. I also have and use a razor scraper. All scraping should be from tip to tail and done very carefully.
1- Brush out the ski with the cleaning brush- these are usually fine bristled metal brushes. This removes any dirt and old wax.
2- Razor scrape until the scrape is clean. I only do this once or twice each year before a big race like Mora or the Birkie (not both).
3- Crayon on a soft cleaning wax. I prefer Toko yellow, my second choice would be Fast wax base prep. We also had Swix red bulk wax available. I did not like that as it was too gooey and not my preference. I hear great reports about Rex Base Oil, but have not tried it yet.
4- Iron and then hot scrape the cleaning wax.
5- Apply a harder wax (I used Rex Blue for the demo, several of you applied Fastwax Teal which was probably the correct choice), crayoning first if possible then applying wax to the iron as you work your way down the ski. This method saves wax by the ton.
6- Go to the second ski and repeat steps 1-5.
7- If you have more skis to wax- your own second pair, or the skis belonging to your spouse- repeat steps 1-5 on each ski you are waxing.
8- After the first ski has cooled (room temperature, not outside unless you want to buy new skis), scrape and brush the ski thoroughly. It should be glossy when held up to the light.
9- Apply the HF glide wax of the day. This coat can be reheated after the ski has cooled- you get another "coat" without scraping.
10- Repeat step 8 and 9 on all the skis you are waxing. If it is a very hard wax, apply it with the cheese grater.
Sequence 2- add-ins
9a- Scrape and brush the step 9 wax layer and re-apply. This will give you a top wax coat that has less of the previous softer wax layer mixed in. You can then reheat the 9a layer as many times as you wish. I usually apply some of that wax to the iron before I start each new iron pass as the ski should have absorbed some of the wax and it's safer to do so.
11- Rilling- use a rilling tool to apply structure. No structure was needed today- you want a perfectly flat ski when it is cold. When it is above about +10f structure helps remove water/suction from under the ski.
12- Pure fluoro- For shorter races I have a Toko block with dedicated application pad that is crayoned and then buffed. This is a universal. For colder days I have a Fastwax Green paste wax and similar application pad. For the longer races you can get pure fluoro. If you want to take this step, take a $100 bill and a few of it's smaller friends and go to a very good ski shop. Get their help.
The low-tech way. I own only Rex TK-72 fluoro. I only apply after I am absolutely certain I am waxed right. I have a dedicated cork that is kept in a ziploc with the TK-72. I cork and cork and cork and then do a light brushing with a horsehair brush. The Toko polishing pad can also be used.
Sequence 3- for most of the time, especially in a winter like this where we have been blessed with continuous cold clean snow. This will get you out the door with skis that will be great for training.
1- Brush out the ski with the cleaning brush- these are usually fine bristled metal brushes. This removes any dirt and old wax.
skip steps 2-3-4.
5- Apply a harder wax (I used Rex Blue for the demo, several of you applied Fastwax Teal which was probably the correct choice), crayoning first if possible then applying wax to the iron as you work your way down the ski. This method saves wax by the ton.
8- After the first ski has cooled (room temperature, not outside unless you want to buy new skis), scrape and brush the ski thoroughly. It should be glossy when held up to the light. If it is a very hard wax, apply it with the cheese grater.
Sequence 3 works very well with consistent mid-winter snow. I adapt my procedures when we start to have transformed snow. Transformed snow is melted and refrozen. Those waxing changes are well beyond today's lesson.
Saturday, January 8, 2011
How you win a race!
I saw this picture on a Rossignol report (linked from skinnyski). This is Liz Stephen winning the National 20k. Notice that on an uphill V1 there is air under both of her skis!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)