 Poster: A snowHead
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Very interesting to see all this discussion on Skiers' Edge machines. http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=54494
While SE postal address is up here in Park City - where the boss also lives - office & warehouse are down the hill in Salt Lake. I used to work for them when I first came to Utah - I was the Mech Engr for five months back in 2003 - before shifting to prosthetics R & D (which I continue with to date). Taking a few steps back in time, I wish to rip a tale out of my professional diary, since I don't get access much at any other time to any kind of interested audience. Although I cannot take credit for the orig concept, I worked through & finalised the development of the fore/aft tilting mechanism of the footplates (Slope Changer); this feature is now incorporated on model such as World Cup, I believe. I can however claim credit for conceiving the means of attachment & mechanism, of the optional extra accessory - being the flag counter module - for which I also constructed the initial functioning prototype (see pic); actual as-marketed name unknown.
[img]http://www.flipdrive.com/photoalbum.php?user_id=252830&album_id=9&code=13f45b169c67694cfd9a2c8733b29db9[/img]
I wish I could say I still have a copy of all the CAD solid models and drawings I generated, but of course this would not be kosher for a professional. Same goes even for a big product endurance test rig/mechanism that I wrestled with on the edrawing board and was valiantly trying to get together out in the 'lab' - right up to the day that I fell out of favour with the boss, on account of an ongoing nose-out-of-jointing difference in opinion between he & me on how wheel bearings were mounted in the existing design (minus any inner-outer cage lateral pre-loading). I kept insisting a design upgrade for the entire family of SE machines was necessary in resolving observed field failures where the carriage underside runner wheel plastic bodies underwent 'extruding' distortion with excessive heat being generated due to the inefficient means of bearing retention. But the boss didn't agree. The failures, after all, only emerged sporadically under patterns of heavy use, such as encountered with machines installed in a commercial gym facility; in a lighter duty cycle home use situation, this outcome from a design quality problem generally wouldn't reveal itself. The boss stood by the established design, instead blaming the failures on occasional poor raw material supply, as he ordered the obstinate young engineer on an ignominous march out the door. This didn't do much for a young bloke's prof ego, but hey - whistle blowing has become a more widely respected trait in the years since passed, and if nothing else, the whole debacle only later turned into a character building event for me.
Nevertheless, I hesitate not in mentioning that to this day, the SE company is a very generous and major sponsor of Masters Ski Racing (and perhaps even the NASTAR series - though am unsure of that) in Utah & throughout the US, and perhaps even elsewhere. Accordingly, few people can speak badly of the brand, not only because of the fact that SE put up prize money significantly livens up the competitiveness, but also because these machines have for a long time been, and continue to be, genuinely a magnificent way to reinforce recreational & ski racing balance, technique and fitness - both during off & on season.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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mr_straz, Interesting - as a SE owner - like a few here. Whilst I am on the bike a lot, I find that the SE is the only really decent way I have found to work on adductor/abductor strength - and is a also great at getting rhythm as an automatic feature of your skiing.
Time to start using it again.
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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?
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| mr_straz wrote: |
Very interesting to see all this discussion on Skiers' Edge machines. http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=54494
While SE postal address is up here in Park City - where the boss also lives - office & warehouse are down the hill in Salt Lake. I used to work for them when I first came to Utah - I was the Mech Engr for five months back in 2003 - before shifting to prosthetics R & D (which I continue with to date). Taking a few steps back in time, I wish to rip a tale out of my professional diary, since I don't get access much at any other time to any kind of interested audience. Although I cannot take credit for the orig concept, I worked through & finalised the development of the fore/aft tilting mechanism of the footplates (Slope Changer); this feature is now incorporated on model such as World Cup, I believe. I can however claim credit for conceiving the means of attachment & mechanism, of the optional extra accessory - being the flag counter module - for which I also constructed the initial functioning prototype (see pic); actual as-marketed name unknown.
[img]http://www.flipdrive.com/photoalbum.php?user_id=252830&album_id=9&code=13f45b169c67694cfd9a2c8733b29db9[/img]
I wish I could say I still have a copy of all the CAD solid models and drawings I generated, but of course this would not be kosher for a professional. Same goes even for a big product endurance test rig/mechanism that I wrestled with on the edrawing board and was valiantly trying to get together out in the 'lab' - right up to the day that I fell out of favour with the boss, on account of an ongoing nose-out-of-jointing difference in opinion between he & me on how wheel bearings were mounted in the existing design (minus any inner-outer cage lateral pre-loading). I kept insisting a design upgrade for the entire family of SE machines was necessary in resolving observed field failures where the carriage underside runner wheel plastic bodies underwent 'extruding' distortion with excessive heat being generated due to the inefficient means of bearing retention. But the boss didn't agree. The failures, after all, only emerged sporadically under patterns of heavy use, such as encountered with machines installed in a commercial gym facility; in a lighter duty cycle home use situation, this outcome from a design quality problem generally wouldn't reveal itself. The boss stood by the established design, instead blaming the failures on occasional poor raw material supply, as he ordered the obstinate young engineer on an ignominous march out the door. This didn't do much for a young bloke's prof ego, but hey - whistle blowing has become a more widely respected trait in the years since passed, and if nothing else, the whole debacle only later turned into a character building event for me.
Nevertheless, I hesitate not in mentioning that to this day, the SE company is a very generous and major sponsor of Masters Ski Racing (and perhaps even the NASTAR series - though am unsure of that) in Utah & throughout the US, and perhaps even elsewhere. Accordingly, few people can speak badly of the brand, not only because of the fact that SE put up prize money significantly livens up the competitiveness, but also because these machines have for a long time been, and continue to be, genuinely a magnificent way to reinforce recreational & ski racing balance, technique and fitness - both during off & on season. |
interesting... but what is the point of the post...to tell us all that you invented a part of it or to warn people of a fault, better watch your old boss doesn't start chasing you down 
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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The post was intended to be mainly seen as commentary from a former insider on product technical issues, culminating in an appraisal that should be viewed as an honest and shining endorsement of the SE brand's merits, from an individual who could alternatively have unfairly leveraged on a past clash of personalities to instead dish out. I trust this will be viewed in such a light.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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"The Skier's Edge physically prepares you for skiing, sparing you those initial days of aching legs. "
So, do these machines cost more - or less, than a ski trip?
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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chrisdavis, About the same - but then they last for many years (hopefully).
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