Cross country skiing

[limewave]

Some of you ladies seem very knowledgeable. Perhaps you can give me some basic ski maintenance tips. I used to be race down hill competitively and have a lot of experience with sharpening and waxing my skiis--had to do that before every race!

I have the Salomon Elite 6 which says it is a "waxless" grip ski. I've had these skis for 2 years and have never waxed them or sharpened or done anything. Is there anything I should do to better maintain them?

Catrin--if you ever come up far enough north, I'd be happy to meet you here for a ski--or a luge or a skate!

[ridebikeme]

Limewave,

I'm very aware of the Elite 6 ski's... very nice! In terms of maintenance, obviously there are no edges to sharpen, but you can wax them. Although they are in a "no wax" category, I would still recommend that you at least wax tips/tales. Not only will you get more glide out of the ski, but you'll also protect the bases if snow cover isn't adequate. There are times that rocks may get frozen in the snow from groomers, and with no wax on the ski(same as your alpine ski's) once you go over them, there's a chance that not only will you scratch the base but you could potentially tear a whole in it. With wax, the ski''s generally slide over the rock or whatever it may be. At the end of the season, I would put a fairly heavy wax on the ski's so they don't dry out over the summer. Lastly, if you own a thin wax, you can also put that over the scales of the ski's... they'll glide a bit better and of course it will wear off fairly quickly because of the scales.

I also wanted to ask you whether you knew anything about the Ada bike shop near Grand Rapids? Thanks for your help !

Have a great weekend skiing!!!


http://chasecyclery.blogspot.com

[lph]

XC ski season i full swing here This weekend we're getting enough snow to make the woods in my backyard skiable - w00t!

Does anyone else here use a Kuzmin, uh, "scrape"? Unsure of the right term. It's become very popular here. Instead of gliding your skis you scrape off a very thin layer, down to fresh sole. The glide is excellent, and most people think it's as good as using glider and a lot less fuss. I do it maybe a couple of times a season, so it's not going to wear out my skis anytime fast.

[limewave]

Limewave,

I also wanted to ask you whether you knew anything about the Ada bike shop near Grand Rapids? Thanks for your help !

Have a great weekend skiing!!!

http://chasecyclery.blogspot.com

Thanks for the maintenance tips! I will be sure to wax them now.

And, yes, I am VERY familiar with the Ada bike shop. I used to go to their winter indoor spin every week. And have done an occasional group ride with them.

[ridebikeme]

Thanks for the info! What else can you tell me about them? Feel free to PM me if you're more comfortable... should have done that myself.

[SheFly]

Got out for the first skate of the season this week, albeit on man-made snow. There was only 2 km open, and about 500 people on it, but it was nice to be out doing something different!

ridebikeme - how's the snow up there? We're heeading to Bethel next weekend and looking to do some skating...

SheFly

[ridebikeme]

Shefly, as of now the snow is pretty decent... we received about 6" last night. Obviously it's not your typical winter with snow fall, but this last storm has really helped. The weather forecast for Monday looks as though it might rain, but I'm hoping that they are wrong. If you're looking to nordic ski while you're here, the best area is probably Black Mtn . Obviously they made snow for Nationals and the new snowfall has only helped them out. I'm sure that the Bethel Inn, Carters are probably ok as well, just not as much snow. Not sure whether Sunday River has opened the Outdoor Ctr or not; I would tend to think that they have. Definitely keep an eye out on the weather though!! Have a good weekend!


http://chasecyclery.blogspot.com

[ridebikeme]

LPH, I'm not sure whether I'm following you about the "kuzmin". Could you explain it in more detail? It seems that the people who race here may put different textures in their base(s) or have multiple ski's. And although you obviously scrape wax off your ski's after you wax, I'm not sure that I am following you. Are you saying that you scrape down enough to be on the base material alone?

I worked today, and while I'm mounting ski's etc... I kept thinking about your email about this... didn't have time to email you before I left.


http://chasecyclery.blogspot.com