Poster: A snowHead
|
Hey everyone, just wondered if anybody had experience of getting their skis serviced at decathlon. Living in nottingham i cant find anywhere else local that does servicing, but am a bit worried about leaving them in the hands of a non snow sports specific shop. Any advice?
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
malcolm, I've just had 2 pairs done in Decathlon , but in FranceFrance , including some 'naughty, holes. Seem fine to me afterwards. They have all the gear here.
|
|
|
|
|
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
|
malcolm, I had my skis serviced in Decathlon Nottingham at the end of last season, seemed fine to me, although I'm yet to ski on them.
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
Kramer, Have you checked the angles? If not, you won't know how they are until you ski them.
malcolm, Welcome to snowHeads.
After hearing/seeing the advice those muppets give at Decathlon Nottm re skis, boots & gear in general I wouldn't let them go anywhere near my valuable skis.
Two Seasons in Nottingham now offer tuning in their new shop next to the Fletcher Gate car park. However I called in there the other day & asked the manager what angles they tuned to & can I specify what angles I want. He didn't know what I was talking about
These are the two questions (at least) that any decent operation should be able to answer. They also offer a full service & base grind etc., but they only have a belt grinder not a stone grinder. Scary.
Even EB's at Castleford screwed up a friends B2's so badly they had to give him a new pair.
Wardy, the tech at S&R in Sheffield is very good but their equipment will only let them apply a 1 degree side angle which is no good for many makes of ski. Wardy did a great stone grind on my b5's a few weeks ago, taking a lot of care for only a fiver.
If you need regular tuning do your own. You'll soon recover the outlay cost & it's easy to do. Shop tuning using belt grinders removes way too much edge material, especially on the base angle & most of them are still detuning tips & tails on modern carvers which is a no-no these days. Even if the equipment is up to scratch the quality of the tune is down to the operative. These places pay minimum wage so how much loving care & attention from a spotty kid does that buy you? Many shops don't know what the factory specs are for many of the skis they tune & they tend to use the cheapest universal wax they can buy.
If you only want an occasional tune I'm in Lambley on the east side of Nottm so pop over & for the price of the wax & a pint I'll do them for you. I can do everything bar a stone grind. If you go the DIY route I'd also be pleased to teach you how to do it & show you the basic gear you'll need.
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
Depends on the techs they have this season, one of the guys in sheff is pretty good. The surrey quays guys seem ok, but only had wax/binding shift done there so far...Why not get it done in resort if you are worried?
aj xx
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
spyderjon, I'll let you know after my trip next week. I may take you up on your pint and wax offer as well if that's ok?
|
|
|
|
|
|
Kramer, no probs.
|
|
|
|
|
|
thanks guys for the advice and for the welcome.
spyderjon, you pretty much summed up what i was thinking, am wary of places like decathlon who dont really seem to know what they are doing. I agree about two seasons as well, when i have spoken to them they appear to have no idea about anything remotely technical. Pity really as it would be nice to have a decent wintersports shop here in nottingham anyway, thanks for your generous offer of a tune, but having just had another quick look at my skis they are going to need some fairly extensive base repair and a grind i guess, (no idea how they got that bad, did i spend all my time skiing over rocks!?) so am going to try snow and rock and will see what happens. will bear it in mind for the future though, will no doubt need a bit of a wax and tune up after my trip in jan
|
|
|
|
|
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
|
malcolm, Call Wardy at S&R at Sheffield (0114 275 1700). I normally arrange it with him so I get there at 10.00am when they open & he'll do the work straight away while you wait - there's a coffee shop up stairs overlooking the dry slope.
What skis have you got/what angles do you want? I ask because there machine is limited in what side angle it will cut & unless you have a reason for special angles (ie racing) then you are best to continue with the factory set-up - as long as S&R can match it.
|
|
|
|
|
|
spyderjon wrote: |
malcolm, Call Wardy at S&R at Sheffield (0114 275 1700). I normally arrange it with him so I get there at 10.00am when they open & he'll do the work straight away while you wait - there's a coffee shop up stairs overlooking the dry slope.
What skis have you got/what angles do you want? I ask because their machine is limited in what side angle it will cut & unless you have a reason for special angles (ie racing) then you are best to continue with the factory set-up - as long as S&R can match it. |
If they can't cut the angles you want you can have them do the repairs & a grind & I'll be happy to do the edge work & base prep/wax for you.
|
|
|
|
|
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
|
spyderjon, how much difference can you actually tell between the different angles? I have never met someone who pays such attention to these things! It's great I love ski geeks. Educate me here some.
I never bother with my edges, as long as there is some base on my skis I'll ski them. Sure it's really nice when I get a nice sharp pair of edges, of course you can tell the difference. But to keep them that sharp all of the time aren't they just going to get ground away? I'd rather loose a little performance rather than prematurely ruin my skis.
Can you talk me through the different edge angles and how that effects what / how / where you might be skiing? Please.
|
|
|
|
|
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
|
parlor, The ski manufacturers set their angles to give the best performance for the type of ski, or at least I would assume that they do. There is also quite a range of angles across the various manufacturers. I want my skis to perform as best as possible so I wouldn't want a store to change those angles.
Having different stores changing the angles greatly increases the wear so that's why if you go for shop tuning you need to know the factory angles so you can specify them to the technician.
Obviously the steeper the terrain &/or harder the snow the sharper you need the edges. For powder it ain't really gonna matter that much.
Once the edges are set then regular DIY maintenance with a fine stone (usually on the side edge only) not only keeps them performing well but actually removes less metal than letting them go blunt & then doing a full edge service. A shop tune usually means both the base & side angles being put through a belt grinder which not only isn't that consistent but removes waaay too much metal. My pal's skis needed a stone grind after only 4-5 shop tunes as they ended up with a 'high' base for this reason.
I've never had the opportunity to ski the same make/model of ski with different angles so I am unable to say how the difference feels. I just know I want the edges to perform when I need them & it's real easy to keep them in a condition that they will.
|
|
|
|
|
|
spyderjon, fair enough. I've never worked in the ski tech area - just mounting, boot fitting & ski sales. I only put my skis in for a full service twice a season because of this exact reason, I do most repairs, including core shots, myself and try to keep them well waxed but I get lazy as the winter goes on.
Thanks.
|
|
|
|
|
You know it makes sense.
|
Hi Spider, pretty new to skiing. do you offer ski waxing in Notts? Happily help if you can show me what to do@spyderjon,
|
|
|
|
|
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
|
@Simmo1969, holy thread bump...this is from 2005 ..but yes he does and it is fantastic...and he does teach waxing. Link here Piste Office
Last edited by Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name: on Sat 8-06-19 10:22; edited 1 time in total
|
|
|
|
|
Poster: A snowHead
|
Simmo1969 wrote: |
Hi Spider, pretty new to skiing. do you offer ski waxing in Notts? Happily help if you can show me what to do@spyderjon, |
Hi there.
Welcome to snowHeads.
I'm now have a specialist ski hardware and tuning/servicing shop in Lambley on the east side of Nottingham called The Piste Office. And I also offer DIY Tuning Lessons.
Click on the link in my signature below.
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
@spyderjon, thanks for the reply. That’s great. I don’t know exactly what my skis will require, so probably best to book a slot ( in early August) and learn how to do it and get advice. What would the approx cost be?
|
|
|
|
|
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
|
|
|
|