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April, 2025

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Explain sidecut to me

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mattster
Posts: 4120 - Karma: 41
so, say a ski has a sidecut of 19,5... what does this mean ? what does a higher number mean ? what does a lower number mean ?
19 years ago
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Paul-o-Rama
Posts: 3301 - Karma: 13
the higher the number the bigger the curve of the the carve, teh smaller the number, the tighter the carve
19 years ago
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yeti
Posts: 6335 - Karma: 17
its the turn radius.
19 years ago
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FUUUCK
Posts: 18426 - Karma: 4,899
no it isnt
19 years ago
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mw1235
Posts: 2036 - Karma: 9
^then you explain it

basically, its turn radius of a ski
19 years ago
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Skipig25
Posts: 10729 - Karma: 256
I thought it was the difference of the widths of tips/tails compared to underfoot. Pretty much if you stand the ski against a wall, the area of the side which doesn't touch, and how far it is. So the greater the sidecut, the smaller the turning radius. Is that what it is? But don't worry about it, cuz we all know that sidecuts don't matter and you don't have to carve hard for park
19 years ago
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Triple_Strum
Posts: 6384 - Karma: 953
here comes the real explanation. Yes, it essentially is the turn radius of the circle created if you were to extend the curve of the ski until the points met. The number is the distance of the radius of that circle. So, the small the number, the small the size of the circle it would create, hence the shorter distance the ski requires to make a "true turn". The higher the number, the bigger the circle created, the longer the turn. Make sense?
19 years ago
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FUUUCK
Posts: 18426 - Karma: 4,899
turn radius is the how long it takes to make a perfect complete turn, the side cut can be explained as when you put a ski against a wall and there is a space between the waist and the wall, the bigger that space the deeper the sidecut. turn radius is affected by side cut but theyre two different things
19 years ago
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FUUUCK
Posts: 18426 - Karma: 4,899
turn radius can also be affected by flex
19 years ago
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Poormansvault
Posts: 427 - Karma: 10
Mattster: 19.5 is the turn radius on those skis in meters (I think). The sidecut is marked as 3 numbers that are tip width, waist width, and tail width (in mm).
Made up example:
Turn radius is 20m
Sidecut is 120-80-115
19 years ago
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LC.
Posts: 5952 - Karma: 2,423
No need to make it confusing. Smaller turning radius = more sidecut = easier to make sharp turns but you can get speed wobbles. Bigger turning radius = harder to make short turns but more stable straightlining at speed.
19 years ago
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mattster
Posts: 4120 - Karma: 41
neat... thanks man
19 years ago
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