Poster: A snowHead
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I've been offered a new pair of skis that have serial numbers that are thousands apart. All other skis I have bought before have either had no serial numbers, the same serial number or serial numbers separated by a maximum of a few 10s. Should I care?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Not really. If they are mass manufactured then the difference between one and the next one off the line is probably as likely to be the same as between the first and last ones to come off the line that week.
By the time they've had their edges done and base waxed they will be as identical as the next "pair"
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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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slikedges,
Only if you are OCD
I asked the same question a while back and was told it's not something to be concerned about.
However, if you are OCD.........................
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Make sure one number is odd and one is even, then you'll be able to tell you've got a left and a right
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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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Richard_Sideways, doesn't the odd numbered one always go on the left foot unless you are left handed?
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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I never saw pair with different serial numbers, and I saw quite few skis till now But then again, I didn't see all that much of low end skis, so things could be different in that area
Point in matching serial numbers is somewhere else... Ptex is cut from big roll, wood for core comes from huge pile of wood etc. If you have matching skis, wood in both skis come from same pile, ptex is similar since it's cut from same part of that role. Skis are glued by same guy with same glue etc. Now I agree that with recreational skis things don't matter all that much, but for someone having a bit (actually a lot) more feeling for skis, you can feel difference. Sure they use same woody, same ptex and same glue for all skis of same model, but I guess it's not rocket science to understand that ptex from top of roll is totally different then ptex in middle of roll (ptex on end part of roll doesn't even come to mass production skis anyway since it's reserved for race service). Wood today can be more dry or more wet then the one from yesterday. One birch is not exactly same as the other. Guy mixing glue put a bit more one component today then yesterday, or he puts a little bit more glue to ski as he did yesterday (yes ski manufacturing is still pretty much all hand labour). So skis are different, and even for race service it's impossible to make 2 exactly same pairs when production of these two pairs is day/week/month apart.
But as I wrote... for recreations skiing, and for someone who doesn't have years of training in their legs, it will most likely be impossible to notice difference.
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stoat of the dead wrote: |
Richard_Sideways, doesn't the odd numbered one always go on the left foot unless you are left handed? |
I was told that it was the opposite side to which you dress. Ladies should swap skis on alternate days or ski sidesaddle.
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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.
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Jivebaby wrote: |
For example, in the UK cars must have identical tyres on each axle -this is a legal requirement to keep the car balanced with neutral handling. |
Do you have a reference for that?
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RobW wrote: |
Jivebaby wrote: |
For example, in the UK cars must have identical tyres on each axle -this is a legal requirement to keep the car balanced with neutral handling. |
Do you have a reference for that? |
... so it'd be illegal to fit, for example, a space saver tyre in the event of a flat, thus making the majority of cars on the road today, unfit. Sorry Jivebaby I doubt your source on that factoid.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Richard_Sideways, I can't say for UK, but it's definitely so in Slovenia. Yes you can use different (spare) tire in case of flat tire, but it's marked and normally your max speed is limited to 80km/h or something like this. But for normal driving around (and for technical homologation) you need to have same tires on each axle.
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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.
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RobW, Just checked the regs: and it appears legally speaking that I am in fact wrong:
The requirements simply state thou shalt not mix radials/cross ply tyres on the same axle, although it is correct to say that mixing tread patterns may lead to instability,especially when cornering (differing grip characteristics etc) and braking, potentially leading to skids. I'm reliably informed via my loss adjuster that in the event of a serious accident, using mixed tyres could be grounds for reducing or avoiding insurance payments on the basis of contributory negligence.
That said my statement above is wrong: Sorry
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In answer to the original question? No provided you did not pay full Rr price.
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You know it makes sense.
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Thanks all, some useful and informed, some not so useful and not so informed answers (you know who you are... ).
primoz, thanks, hoping you or someone else in the know would show up! Is flex-matching still done by hand by an amazingly talented ski idiot savant or is there now some new-fangled automated way of doing it?
I have only owned one pair of FIS GS skis (182cm 24m ladeez ) and the serial numbers were very close. I also have, well, quite a few pairs of child slalom and GS skis (3 kids all onto their 2nd pairs of proper race skis), all of which have serial numbers that are very close. Otherwise I have a variety of skis in the garage, fat, thin, older, newer, which either have no serial numbers, the same serial number or serial numbers close to each other in each pair. The skis I've been offered are top of the range recreational (non-race dept) slalom, FIS legal 165cm. I have a shorter pair of the identical ski for indoor skiing that again have serial numbers that are very close (separated by no more than a few 10s).
If flex-matching is still done, then I think that given your description above, confirming my understanding of how skis are made and matched, the likelihood of this pair of skis being a good match is slim. Whether I could tell or not is of course another thing altogether!
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Skis are matched in pairs, numbers followed by A or B, if you have skis with two different numbers they are not a pair and are seconds. They will be fine just not a pair and that should be represented in the price.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Flex is of course measured with machines. But flex itself tells very little about ski. TGeneral flex is most likely exactly same on both skis, or at least it's very very close. This "general flex" is measured so that they put ski on bench, supporting it only at top and bottom of ski, and machine measure flex in middle of ski. But skis differ in small details, like flex of front part, flex of back part, torsional flex etc. And this difference, which doesn't show up much with general flex number measured in procedure I described above, makes ski different. But there's not much to worry about, since as I wrote before, you need a whole lot of skiing in your legs to see this small differences. Even some top racers don't have this feeling, so I don't think there's much to worry about, especially when you are planning to use this for every day's skiing.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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primoz, Cynic, thanks both!
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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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Another answer to the original question is that it is rational to write down the serial number of your skis, as it can be helpful in case they get lost, stolen etc.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Cynic, primoz, slikedges, Good evening, just picked up my sons (CH 1) brand new race skis- Salomon3v 130cm- numbers identical so presuming they are good stock,will be interesting to see how he goes on these after being on Head (non race) skis last year, the 3vs are a lot heavier and stiffer than he's been used to but he is also a lot stronger and technically far better than last season so here's hoping for a good season ahead.
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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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You may notice that they are made in Austria, nudge nudge, the 3V is now a very good ski. I hope your son does well!!!!
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Cynic, Ta ....just spent all day waxing,more of the same tomorrow.....he wants to try them out at training on Wednesday, looking forward to hearing the reports afterwards and his comparison to the Heads.
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briand6868, The swixx ordinary red makes them fly
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Ive been to a couple of ski and snowboard manufacturing plants and they always have a human being checking the skis over at the end of the process. Some skis youll see in shops will have a Quality Control sticker on them to prove it (I think Atomic do). At the end of production when the skis are being tested by hand. Flex can still be corrected at that time. If theres a consistant problem within the batch then they change things, so potentially one of your skis maybe slightly different to the other.
You can easily check your skis over to see if there are any differences. Look at tip height, camber height, when the contact points are, quality of the edges, similar layers in the ski, no delamination, vibration dampening etc. Im sure youll think of more. Having said that, if the skis are 2nd hand now, then there maybe differences caused by general use not production differences.
Some insurance companies ask for the serial number of the ski when you claim for a loss of skis. If your serials dont match then they wont pay out. For that reason, some good ski shops will replace skis with mismatching serials. (As long as they havent been used.)
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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.
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jammiefreerider, thanks for your input
All, am getting the skis changed.
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Gosh, I've never thought even to look at the serial numbers.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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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.
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Cynic, Thanks for that tip- Don't have any in the tool box but will get some and try it out, collecting my own 3vs this week (generously reduced in price by a bit of sponsorship) so will enjoy bringing them up to speed - strangely enough I was chatting with the guy in the suppliers and he mentioned that the Salomon skis in general went through a bad patch when first taken over by Amer but have come through it with a far better ski than before, I'll let you know how I get on with the Swix red. The "boy" absolutely loves his new 3vs and after 2 sessions on them is starting to get used to the extra speed and power he/they are generating.
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