Tuning shop services - ask your questions here
It is recommended to have your snowboard serviced as often as required. A visual inspection of your board and a feel for how your board is riding (sluggish, slow, lack of edge grip etc) should tell you if your board is in need of some serious TLC.
There are alot of different services one can have done to their board from simple waxing, edge & waxing, to a full service tune. The reason we service is to get the best possible performance out of our snowboards. Remember a board will only ride as well as its condition allows. If anyone has any questions that they would like discussed regarding services provided in a tune shop, or general tuning practices I am more than happy to help.
Is there a limit to how many times you can get a base grind on your board? and how often should it be done?
Cheers
There is no set limit on the number of grinds that can be performed on a board but the following is a good guide. You should only get your board tuned when it really needs it. If you are an average snowboarder who boards a few weeks a year you should aim to have a full service (includes a base grind) once a year. This should see a shelf life of up to 10 years. For a rider spending a full season you will need it serviced more regularly (again only when it absolutely needs it). The more you grind it the less shelf life you will have.
In my experience most snowboards die after about 150 - 200 days of riding. You should do what you can to have your snowboard performing to its full potential during this life span. The more you grind your base, sure, it grinds away a bit of p-tex and edge and ultimately shortens the life of the board… but if you time the full tunes correctly, your board will usually die of natural causes before you completely grind the base or edge away. As daz said, you should only have this done when it absolutely needs it. Having your board tuned well not only makes it perform better, but makes it safer to ride. Tuning technicians will give you an honest opinion if you bring your snowboard into a shop. They will only grind the minimum required, to remove the damage and to make your base flat.
if your board has a natural bevel on the edges, and you get a base grind, this would either eliminate or reduce the bevel… is this correct?
If this is true, then you should also get the bevel re-tuned (if I am using that expression correctly) into your board after a base grind.
Yeah you would also be grinding a small amount of edge away, reducing the bevel. Most good tune shops have machines that can put any bevel you want on the base edge. Just be specific with how you want your baord tuned when you drop it in, if you have a specific preference.
One of the things I do because I do a lot of free riding and a lot of jibbing in the park is to bevel my edges at a 45 degree along both sides, and not on the nose or tail. It’s super important after the main bevel is done from the factory board to catch the burrs and nicks that occur after doing some mad sessions in the park.
Another important part of setup that cannot be stressed enough is after a good wax, to scrape consistently in a pattern like the grain of a piece of wood. This gives the wax finish a real solid base that is not messy and sloppy with lots of minor divets and scrapes.
One of the things I do because I do a lot of free riding and a lot of jibbing in the park is to bevel my edges at a 45 degree along both sides, and not on the nose or tail. It’s super important after the main bevel is done from the factory board to catch the burrs and nicks that occur after doing some mad sessions in the park.
Another important part of setup that cannot be stressed enough is after a good wax, to scrape consistently in a pattern like the grain of a piece of wood. This gives the wax finish a real solid base that is not messy and sloppy with lots of minor divets and scrapes.
Traditionally one would detune the tips, and ‘sharpen’ the sides, your process sounds backwards at first, but interestingly so.
So, a 45deg bevel eh?
that would be 45 on the bottom, and 0 on the side wall?
Technically every tune has two sides to decide what angle would be placed on it…
someone fill in the blanks here.
I Just picked up my new board, what does it mean when they say new boards need to be de-tuned?
I Just picked up my new board, what does it mean when they say new boards need to be de-tuned?
Most boards will have a factory tune when you buy it (the tune that the board got at the factory put on it when making the board).
The edge will probably have the same amount of sharpness along the whole edge. You dont want a sharp edge on the tips of the board, and in these areas you want to reduce the sharpness of the board’s edge.This is called de-tuning.
You want to dull the edges from contact point to contact point around the tip of the board. Do this equally on the nose and the tail.
Keep the edges sharp along the sides of the board, just not on the tips… unless you plan to do a lot of jibbing and rails then you may prefer a dull edge.
There will soon be, if not yet, an article on tuning provided on this site.
Be sure to refer to it when it gets loaded up. If it isnt yet, it will be very soon, I’m sure.
And plus, Daz will likely be able to communicate this process much better than I have, so look forward to his response.
I Just picked up my new board, what does it mean when they say new boards need to be de-tuned?
Most boards will have a factory tune when you buy it (the tune that the board got at the factory put on it when making the board).
The edge will probably have the same amount of sharpness along the whole edge. You dont want a sharp edge on the tips of the board, and in these areas you want to reduce the sharpness of the board’s edge.This is called de-tuning.You want to dull the edges from contact point to contact point around the tip of the board. Do this equally on the nose and the tail.
Keep the edges sharp along the sides of the board, just not on the tips… unless you plan to do a lot of jibbing and rails then you may prefer a dull edge.
There will soon be, if not yet, an article on tuning provided on this site.
Be sure to refer to it when it gets loaded up. If it isnt yet, it will be very soon, I’m sure.
And plus, Daz will likely be able to communicate this process much better than I have, so look forward to his response.
What is the best way to dull the edges, are you able to put up pictures or a video showing how it is done?
Snowslider has explained it well, the only thing i would add on detuning is to look at starting the detune a little further in (ie towards the centre) about 2cm from the widest contact point. This is a personal preference and will vary depending on the type of riding one is doing. For example a rider who is freeriding and prefers hard tight turns may whish to detune less than a rider who spends alot of time in the park. The best way to detune is to grab a file and run it from your starting point to the tip or tail. Hold the file at an angle (45 degrees). Repeat it 3 or 4 times and you should notice that it is less sharp than the rest of the edge. There are some video footage on detuning on the internet.
One of the things I do because I do a lot of free riding and a lot of jibbing in the park is to bevel my edges at a 45 degree along both sides, and not on the nose or tail. It’s super important after the main bevel is done from the factory board to catch the burrs and nicks that occur after doing some mad sessions in the park.
Another important part of setup that cannot be stressed enough is after a good wax, to scrape consistently in a pattern like the grain of a piece of wood. This gives the wax finish a real solid base that is not messy and sloppy with lots of minor divets and scrapes.
Traditionally one would detune the tips, and ‘sharpen’ the sides, your process sounds backwards at first, but interestingly so.
So, a 45deg bevel eh?
that would be 45 on the bottom, and 0 on the side wall?Technically every tune has two sides to decide what angle would be placed on it…
someone fill in the blanks here.
It sounds like Nev has a very personal bevel setting that works for him. There is no right or wrong bevel. The best edge angle is the one that works best for the rider and the conditions he/she is riding in. The edge angle is set by bevelling the base edge and the side edge. This will give you the desired edge angle (90’,89,‘88’,86’ etc).Have a look at the tuning article in Boardworld. It explains more on edge angles and the different bevels that can be acheived. Experimenting with different angles is the key but remember to keep it in line with the type of riding you are doing.
I think I like the idea of 45 deg bevel on the base for a jib board.
It leaves some edge for freeriding, but keeps the edge clearly off the feature when boardsliding.
Snowslider- If you can it might be worth experimenting with this bevel on an old board first (or a friends) and not your favourite ride. This way you can try it to see if you like it before implementing this bevel to your main board???
Snowslider- If you can it might be worth experimenting with this bevel on an old board first (or a friends) and not your favourite ride. This way you can try it to see if you like it before implementing this bevel to your main board???
Oh definitely, that is good advice.