New article - tuning shop services and edge profiles

Written by our resident tuning technicial Darren Morgan (daz72)

https://www.boardworld.com.au/content/category/your-tuning-shop/

Nice article, and great diagrams, too!

“A base high snowboard is unstable and difficult to control as the edges are not in contact with the snow when level”
I’ve not thought about getting a ‘base high’ base grind before, but apparently it can be done (by the right people, of course)

but, unstable, yes for riding, yet this will be more and more common on standard freestyle boards, I’m sure.

There is a difference between a base high snowboard and a proper tune with a base edge bevel. The difference being the proper tune with a base edge bevel has a flat base. The base high snowboard does not have a flat base, which is why a base grind is needed. The two should not be confused.

Right, a base edge bevel is only on the edge, not the base.

but arent a lot of companies beginning to make bases that are not flat!
the Burton Fix has a base high shape around the contact points.
and Signal snowboards is making a board with a ‘base high’ base shape to it.

I might be wrong about the Signal board, but I saw it in an ad somewhere, and I thought it was Signal.
The ad said something like “NOT FLAT” and had a close up of the base.

Here is an interesting article about the different boards that are out with various base and rockers and cambers that are new to snowboarding the past couple years.
http://www.bettersnowboarding.com/rockersnowboards.html

Yeah, again a different thing. The Fix has the nose and tail scoops for catch-free pressing, the base is still flat (edge to edge) in the middle.

These technologies shouldn’t be confused with a base high snowboard. A base high snowboard needs a base grind, plain and simple. Think of it as a round base (round from edge to edge, not nose to tail like a rocker board). The board is unstable because the board literally rolls around on the snow (edge to edge) with the edges not being in contact.

Cool, I’m going to check out that article now. Thanks.

Have a closer look at this image. You will notice the base is curved (unstable, not good).

so, over time the normal use of your board, will actually wear down some base material and create this shape apparently.

Exactly. Just like you lose wax quicker near the edges, this is the first area to show signs of damage and wear. Burton used to make the sintered progression base on some of their boards, with harder grades of p-tex near the edges (not sure why they stopped).

Nice article, thanks. I particularly like the pictures, with them it makes understanding edge angles tonnes easier.

Question for you guys - I have an edge tool with 88 degrees on one side and 90 degrees on the other (I think thats pretty standard). I’m assuming it can only file the side edge at either 0 or 2 degrees and it cannot file the base angle. Is this right? So what I can gather from the article is that if I use the 90 degree (ie 0 deg side and base) thats your standard edge angle and if I use 88 deg (ie 0 deg base and 2 deg side) its gonna have more bite during turns. So what about if you wanted a more freestyle setup, is that were a 1 deg on the base is needed (to minimse catching edges on rails etc)? And with a 1 deg base would 90 deg or 88 be better for freestyle?

I hope I got that right….

Cheers

I have an edge tool with 88 degrees on one side and 90 degrees on the other (I think thats pretty standard). I’m assuming it can only file the side edge at either 0 or 2 degrees and it cannot file the base angle. Is this right?

That’s correct. Most edge tools can’t sharpen the base edge. Unless the packaging made it very clear that your edge tool can sharpen the base edge, it is unlikely yours can. The base edge tools are less common and more expensive. That said, it is more important to sharpen the side edge. You can still deburr the base edge by hand with a diamond stone or gummy stone. Personally I would leave the full on base edge sharpening to when you get your board serviced. It should be done with a base grind as described in the article.

So what I can gather from the article is that if I use the 90 degree (ie 0 deg side and base) thats your standard edge angle and if I use 88 deg (ie 0 deg base and 2 deg side) its gonna have more bite during turns.

Correct.

So what about if you wanted a more freestyle setup, is that were a 1 deg on the base is needed (to minimse catching edges on rails etc)?

Correct. It is the base edge bevel that makes it more forgiving on rails (by giving your edge more clearance). 1 deg is fairly standard these days on the base edge (there is a good chance your snowboard already has a 1 deg bevel). 2+ deg will give more clearance etc..

And with a 1 deg base would 90 deg or 88 be better for freestyle?

If I had to choose one or the other for freestyle I would go with 90. It doesn’t make it better as such, but it give less edge bite, which is generally more favourable on a freestyle setup.

Cool thanks Jeremy!

No worries Dan.

HERE—> http://www.bataleon.com/en/tbt

Is the boards I was talking about.

The base is NOT flat.
I thought it was Signal snowboards, but it was Bataleon. They have been making boards for 5 years now, they are mostly on the west coast of the US.
I’ve not seen any in the East (the south east, at least)

What think ye about that base shape?

It’s still flat between the bindings, giving the required stability. It would make absolutely no sense making it not flat in the middle of the board. What they have done is similar to the nose and tail scoops on the Burton boards. It looks very interesting and it’s really good to see snowboard companies implementing new technologies like this.

Yes still flat between the bindings.
The Burton Fix has a little of this shape to it as I understand.
I doubt that this shape would be stable like it claims to be when freeriding and making carved turns, but still I’d love to ride it and see how it feels - see how it spins on a box. Just knowing about it’s shape is a little of a confidence boost, and at times that is all you need.