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11 Tips for getting, and keeping speed

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Panchuk
Posts: 1610 - Karma: 355

11 Tips for getting, and keeping speed

These are tips for people having trouble with speed.

1.) Keep EVERYTHING wet. Everything. The rail, the turf/construction fence, thelanding.

2.) A smooth tranny is KEY. A tranny, or transition, that is too sharp willlose you more speed then could ever imagine. Make your tranny smooth and curvy,do whatever you have to do.

3.) Less friction = more speed. Yes, a ladder-style drop in will have way lessfriction as apposed to a drop in with the whole ramp covered in turf. Keep thisin mind when building.

4.) Construction fence works wonders. Trust me.

5.) Taller= More speed. The taller your drop in, GENERALLY the more speed youwill get, although all of the things mentioned above could come into play.

6.) Keep everything clean of dirt and other things. This stuff will slow youdown like no other.

7.) Poles help. A lot. If your still that no-pole kinda guy, use some woodenposts at the beginning of your ramp to push off of.

8.) The condition of your skis play a big part, or the bases for that matter. Asmooth base with help with a lot of things, from reducing friction on the dropin, to keeping your speed on a rail.

9.) Wax your rail. It will keep it smooth. Candle wax with work, just slide onsome wax, then splash some water on. This should do the trick.

10.) Lube your drop in. Soap. Use it.

11.) Make sure your tranny is hard as a rock. Any moving will make you loseyour speed.

Add more tips if you want!

Jul 26 2009 5:59PM
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kylemiller
Posts: 316 - Karma: 16
12. keep turf tight
Jul 26 2009 6:44PM
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ski-swagga
Posts: 5276 - Karma: 219
good stuff thanks
Jul 26 2009 9:04PM
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TotallyTrevor
Posts: 4379 - Karma: 26,359
all this helps but i think the MOST IMPORTANT thing to a successful set up is where it is, if everything is on a slight hill, it'll help SOO much

it doesnt need to be a really steep hill, just really mellow, because then theres no spots where your really losing a lot of speed. the rail and tranny will both be on a slight hill, which are two of the easiest places to lose speed, so you have gravity on your side the whole time.
Jul 30 2009 11:14AM
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JackJohnSki
Posts: 949 - Karma: 1,944
pump your body, get lower on the drop in. everylittle thing helps
Jul 31 2009 11:10AM
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traylortrash
Posts: 1935 - Karma: 2,450
ahhhhh i wish i had a slight hill! yeah, if youve got the rail on a slight hill, then if you can get enough speed to get onto it nicely you dont have to worry bout getting speed to finish off an entire rail
Aug 5 2009 2:04AM
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C.Wood
Posts: 2524 - Karma: 180
sticky this
it will answer alot of kids questions
Aug 5 2009 12:15PM
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sklermang
Posts: 2981 - Karma: 1,953
you can also use dead leaves wet or dry as an alternative to turf.

sticky this thread
Aug 5 2009 3:26PM
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TheTristanator
Posts: 1015 - Karma: 819
i found zest bar soap to work the best  like faster than snow!!!!! try it

Aug 15 2009 4:30PM
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Bodeau.
Posts: 1637 - Karma: 48
post a link to this please ??
Aug 17 2009 10:57PM
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TheTristanator
Posts: 1015 - Karma: 819
i think any bar soap will work. i looked through the zest website and couldent find it
just try what ever is the cheapest
Aug 18 2009 12:38AM
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Sierra_P3
Posts: 19 - Karma: 40
i didnt read throu all of it so i hope im not saying the same thing but if u keep ur transition of the ground if the gound is soft then u wont lose any speed
Aug 20 2009 12:03AM
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willyg0808
Posts: 4231 - Karma: 1,364
i usually use dish deturgent... does bar soap work better?  and is this for the turf?
Aug 21 2009 9:48PM
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Lanceasaurus
Posts: 925 - Karma: 109
THANK YOU this post really helped I put wax on my rail and it was so much faster :)
Aug 23 2009 4:45AM
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TheTristanator
Posts: 1015 - Karma: 819
yea the bar saop is for turf the only bad thing about it is that it is hard to put it on
so you wet the turf then rub the bar soap on it
Aug 23 2009 3:28PM
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Lanceasaurus
Posts: 925 - Karma: 109
Try plastic white trellis fencing instead of construction fence that shit is like ICE!!!
Aug 25 2009 3:33AM
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A.P.
Posts: 667 - Karma: 135
http://www.armorall.com/products/view_product.php?product_id=24 thats all im saying
Aug 26 2009 11:40PM
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Panchuk
Posts: 1610 - Karma: 355
So I just rub this on my penis or?
Aug 27 2009 9:48AM
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Lanceasaurus
Posts: 925 - Karma: 109
That works too lol
Aug 27 2009 10:18AM
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DBAKE
Posts: 3031 - Karma: 340
i put PAM cooking sparay on my rail (pvc) and it makes it fast. It also helps on astro turf.
Aug 30 2009 1:20AM
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StowePassHolder
Posts: 592 - Karma: 29
thx this has changed my setup
Aug 30 2009 6:59PM
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Bodeau.
Posts: 1637 - Karma: 48
Just use wax, it hold for a lot longer and oesnt wash off
Sep 1 2009 11:43AM
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50in07
Posts: 3070 - Karma: 1,471
Another thing tht helps is to rub wax on your skis
Sep 2 2009 4:36PM
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Ryan*
Posts: 1827 - Karma: 1,195
Be careful about which soap you use though, because unless it's biodegradable, it will kill the vegetation around your setup, i.e., your lawn
Sep 7 2009 3:21PM
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2_fadez
Posts: 7780 - Karma: 4,180
so does detergent work better than bar or would you reccommend the bar still. i got a woods set up going on a hill so i don't care what happens to the vegatation
Sep 25 2009 9:56PM
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paolo.rossi
Posts: 26 - Karma: 98
pvc rollers also work really well, just not for going switch
Sep 26 2009 7:05PM
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HamFaceGirl
Posts: 5242 - Karma: 2,679
haha yep i learned that the hard way. Anyone walking onto our lawn can see this massive 20 foot long line of dead grass
Sep 27 2009 8:24AM
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Ftacnik
Posts: 1997 - Karma: 111
I hate having a slight hill.... My house has a slight hill and you can step on to the rail and by the end of it your flying lol... Especially when you drop in and then hit our 26ft rail
Oct 28 2009 7:52PM
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sandy615
Posts: 70 - Karma: 101
what happened to the pictures?
Nov 4 2009 9:24PM
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WVskiing
Posts: 3007 - Karma: 1,948
if i put orange construction fence on my turf it makes it faster?
right

Nov 8 2009 9:13PM
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Jack-O-Lantern
Posts: 17 - Karma: 12
Which works the best out of all of these?
Dec 21 2009 9:21PM
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Panchuk
Posts: 1610 - Karma: 355
All of them combined but I really found construction fence to be fast as hell
Dec 22 2009 6:38PM
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Jack-O-Lantern
Posts: 17 - Karma: 12
The orange construction fence?
Dec 22 2009 9:52PM
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PJS.
Posts: 11943 - Karma: 895
i have a lil rail i built, as well as around 15 feet of turf. the nearest hill is at a school, which after a few seshs i got kicked out of with an ominous warning to boot. anyway my yard is flat, and i only have a little wedge of a jump that i made out of wood, as well as maybe a piece of flat plywood thats about 4'x5'. WAT SHOULD I DO???? i cant live without rails
Apr 5 2010 12:59PM
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pelle_munch
Posts: 4110 - Karma: 502
i also found that if you make your tranny curved instead of a bunch of flat plywood put together. it helps a lot
May 1 2010 7:24PM
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Ryan*
Posts: 1827 - Karma: 1,195
It doesn't matter what color it is, I used green construction fence and it works (it also looks better with the turf, not that I care either way). But yes, the orange construction fence.
May 2 2010 8:34PM
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steezenskis
Posts: 1044 - Karma: 31

this. i used two sheets of 1/4 inch to make the curve. it bent in nice and works real smooth

Jun 17 2010 8:08PM
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pelle_munch
Posts: 4110 - Karma: 502
yeah, that's what i did too, and you just nail it down.
Jun 18 2010 9:39AM
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Emma_Watson
Posts: 4483 - Karma: 6,662
If i go to home depot what kind of astro turf should i look for?
Jul 3 2010 3:45PM
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-AP-
Posts: 819 - Karma: 335
They have basically two kinds, 39 cent and 59 cent and I have found that the 39 cent works just as well if not better then the more expensive. I think its less durable though. Also look for precut rolls and they can be as low as 35 cents a foot.
Jul 5 2010 1:10AM
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edei.the.eagle
Posts: 64 - Karma: 260

I'm not sure what turf to use for my setup. Do I get fast enough on the one on top or do I have to get the one on the bottom?

Click for larger image

Aug 5 2010 1:20PM
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-AP-
Posts: 819 - Karma: 335
The turf ive seen/used that works great is just like the bottom one, although I'd imagine that thinner would be faster.
Aug 11 2010 1:31AM
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Mr.Huck
Posts: 6096 - Karma: 14,893
Here's my take on speed.

Most, if not all, of the materials you can put down on your drop in are not as fast or have the same characteristics as snow.  The more your bases hit these materials, the slower you will be.  Sliding on lattice, construction fence or PVC means that your bases will have limited contact, and less friction.   If you put construction fence on top of turf, it may not be fast because your bases still touch the turf.  As the turf wears down, it probably gets faster.  The reason why Msnow is so fast is that the stiff bristles mean limited contact and limited friction.

Turf is really slow by itself.  To make it fast, you have to keep it really wet.  Soap and other sliding agents help, but only if the surface is sopping wet.  My suggestion is to use turf as little as possible and you will save yourself a lot of time and money, and your parents won't threaten to send you to military school when they get the water bill. 

My suggestions: 

Msnow:

If you can afford Msnow, buy it.  It is fast enough dry and will solve all of your problems.  So far it is the best surface I have seen.  No water, no soap and still has good lateral grip so you can spin off of it. It will last a long time so, even though it costs a little more, you will probably end up saving money.  Remember, no soap, no water, no wax.  It is very easy to attach to a drop in. 

Lattice:

Second best is Plastic Lattice Fence.  It is fast when dry and to make it faster and more consistent, just rub some warm weather wax on it.  Takes about 5 minutes.  The problem with lattice is that it has almost no lateral grip and, if you try to set your edges a little to get a spin off of it, you will probably break it off right at the top of the lip like I did.  Lattice makes for a great ski out. It keeps your skis from contacting the dirt as much.  Also, if you don't quite finish your rotation off your rail, you can still ski it out on lattice. 

Cost effective compromise:

Use Msnow on your drop in and plastic lattice for ski out.  Later you can always swap out the lattice for more Msnow.  

Construction fence:

Sometimes it works great and sometimes not at all.  It depends on what you are laying it on top of.  If you lay it on top of thick pile turf, it will probably be slow without soap and water.  It's all about getting the least amount of ski contact with any surface and the least amount of friction.  It is has more grip than lattice, so it will work better for your lip. 

This is an idea I had recently, that might work too.  I was thinking about just rubbing warm weather wax on turf.  I am sure it would speed it up some.  The problem is that dirt and other crap may get stuck in it.  Someone with a turf set up should try this.  Please post results. 
Nov 7 2010 12:00PM
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Ryan*
Posts: 1827 - Karma: 1,195
Yeah so I basically did everything wrong, and my summer setup is a failure, which brings me to tip number 12:

Buy a Banshee Bungee and a long runway of turf.
Nov 8 2010 10:27PM
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Mr.Huck
Posts: 6096 - Karma: 14,893
12 was already taken so your tip is 13.  Unlucky!!! Any one who uses a Banshee will be plagued with locust.
Nov 9 2010 4:30PM
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AcidKneeDrop
Posts: 890 - Karma: 279
Pool tarp works better then anything i have ever tried............. It slides like a mofo........ but be careful you cant edge on it so make the jump turf but the drop in and the flat in a pool tarp type of material.....
Nov 17 2010 1:19PM
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Mr.Huck
Posts: 6096 - Karma: 14,893
Do me a favor. Try laying the pool tarp on top of the turf and see how you can edge on it.  That might be a hella great solution.  Please do and post.  Also please post type of pool tarp and where you got it.   Thx.
Nov 18 2010 10:06PM
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Iget
Posts: 485 - Karma: 46
Thanks, this was mad helpful.
Nov 19 2010 9:30AM
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AcidKneeDrop
Posts: 890 - Karma: 279

ya i have two drop-ins coming of of a playground........ one has tarp on turf and it works really well..... i have the drop in and flat tarped but the jump just turf so i can edge....... the other one is tarp on ply and it slides faster but is a little too fast

Click for larger image

Nov 19 2010 6:20PM
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Mr.Huck
Posts: 6096 - Karma: 14,893
Let us in on what type of pool tarp you used.  if you can find a photo of it online and post it, that would be great.  If we can figure out make and model it will help us to buy in our local area.  How well has the tarp held up?  Do your edges cut the shit out of it? 

Also want to know if you tried the tarp on turf for the jump.  Was there not enough grip for spinning when you did that?  I would assume that the tarp on top of plywood would be way to slick, but I was hoping that having the tarp on top of a thicker pile turf would make it so you could get some grip. 
Nov 20 2010 2:09PM
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AcidKneeDrop
Posts: 890 - Karma: 279
The park behind my house let me have the tarp..... Tarp on ply is hella fast but tarp on turf works really well... The tarp won't get cut by ur edges and the jump I didn't tarp for two reasons..... To grab more of an edge and so I wouldn't have too much speed
Nov 20 2010 6:45PM
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