stan@clyde.UUCP (Stan King) (02/24/84)
A few weeks ago I posted a query about what the forward/backward ankle
adjustment on my ski boots might be for. The replies have trickled
off to nothing (so has the snow around here), so here are the replies
and their return pathways. The more interesting ones are two or three
pages from the beginning.
Thanks for taking time to reply.
Stan King phone: 201-386-7433
Bell Labs, Whippany, NJ Cornet: 8+232-7433
room 2A-111 uucp: clyde!stan
beginning of replies:
From: ulysses!utah-cs!hansen (Chuck Hansen)
Just try skiing with your knees bent once and with them straight once
and you'll know why knees are meant to bend. A tip: keep your weight on the
ball of your feet and pressure against your shin and front of your ski boot
for maximal control. I keep my boots adjusted to lean as far forward as possible
Try it ... you'll like it
Chuck Hansen {...!utah-cs!hansen}
From: ihnp4!drux3!drutx!druca!jt
The idea is to have your knees bent, upperbody up and weight squarely
over your skis. This will keep you balanced and help when turning etc.
Jeff Turner
druca!jt
From: floyd!harpo!hp-pcd!jason
My girlfriend purchased a pair of Dachstein ski boots this last season which
had the same camber adjustment. The dealer (remember that dealers are often
the most ignorant as well as imaginative story tellers) maintained that it
was an adjustment to keep the ski flat on the snow thus improving glide. He
further claimed that "most women are bow legged and thus tend to weight the
outside edges ( /\ <-- picture ). Adjust the camber by standing on the
snow and insuring that the skiis are flat even" (I suppose you bring along
a straight edge?). Anyway, my girlfriend is only an intermediate skier and
it's continually go-go with what they're asking for lift tickets. I suppose
that one of these days we'll try tweaking it to see if she bites the big one
more often (Hey could be fun!).
-Jay Su
!hplabs!hp-pcd!jason
From: ihnp4!hsi!hogue (Jim Hogue)
The idea in skiing is to "drive" your legs foward. You should always be
skiing with knees bent and shins pushing on the front of your boots. Your
weight should be foward on your skiis, even when in powder. Some
years ago several boot makers decided to add the angle adjustment so the
boot would fource you foward. The concept never went over very well and
personally I don't think it was a good idea. But since you have them I
would recomend setting them for very little foward lean. If you set them
foward alot you will discover that when your weight gets over the back
of your skiis it is hard to recover with out falling. If you have the
boots that also have the side lean adjustment take the adjuster off. I
know of no skiier that ever found that adjustment of any use.
----
Jim Hogue, Health Systems International, New Haven, CT
{kpno, ihnp4}!hsi!hogue
From: cmcl2!rna!esquire!opr
This is my first attempt at mail through thhe net. Hope it works out
O.K. In answer to your boot question... My general understanding of the
adjustment is that it helps control the degree to which you lean forward.
Leaning back on the tails of your skis in anything other than powder is a
definite no-no. So, the adjustment helps keep you centered over your skis
affording you more control. As for bent knees, this adjustment may affect
you to some degree, I've never really been conscious of it. However, you
really must bend your knees when skiing to absorb the irregularities of the
terrain. Think of your knees as shock absorbers. Good luck. If there's
anything else I can help you with, feel free.
Glenn Leppla
Davis Polk and Wardwell (!esquire)
212-530-4046
--------
From: ihnp4!minn-ua!tim (Tim Giebelhaus)
I think what you are talking about is an adjustable lean. Usually, the more
you knees are bent, the better you can ski (to a point). It helps absorb
bumps and make turns. Having your knees bent all the time can get tiring,
though. When you ski the bunny hills, you want to stand up more. When you
ski down some steep mogals, you want to bend more.
From: allegra!tektronix!tekecs!steveh@hammer.tek
This acts as a canting adjustment... To adjust it right, find a friend
and stand on flat ground. The soles should be flat when you are
standing comfortably in normal position. If you are bow legged or knock
kneed then you will need to adjust them.
From: masscomp!decvax!tekred!richa
I have a pair of the little red racers too, and am quite
happy to have that ankle adjustment. Think of it as
adjustable shocks for your car... rougher roads require
different settings.
More bend at your ankles DOES cause more bend at the
knees. Your body will naturally compensate in order to
keep you from falling forward, so you bend your knees
more. And more knee bend gives you better shock absorbsion.
So what do you need that for??? Ever hit a bump at high
speed? The better you get and the faster you ski (especially
if you ever intend to race), the more you'll appreciate
a boot with a forward tilt.
Rich Amber
Bend, OR (Mt.Bachelor conehead)
From: masscomp!decvax!tekig!jm
I am posting this to to the world because it may be of general
interest.
Why do some ski boots have an ankle adjustment? Well, there are
two kinds of ankle adjustments: foreward lean and camber. I assume
that the adjustment in question is foreward lean.
Foreward lean is adjustable for two reasons, 1) to lower your center
of gravity and 2) increase your effective pressure against the front
of the ski boot. Both of these results are desired by "higher performance"
skiiers, primarily racers (not hot-doggers or ballet-types -- that's a
different story entirely).
Lowering the center of gravity is desirable as it makes short radius
turns easier (due to greater horizontal knee travel). In current
ski-teaching circles, the turning pressure is not applied with the
balls of the feet, but with the shins at the top of the ski boot
(try this, if you aren't already, your calves will stop hurting
and turns will happen more quickly). [By turning pressure, I mean
the fore/down-ward pressure that, when the knees are rolled to the side,
forces the skis to flex and carve a turn.] By angling the neutral
position of the boots foreward, you can more easily apply pressure
*down* on the front of the ski instead of just foreward.
The beginning-average skiier shouldn't need to have a foreward
lean adjustment in his/her boots. It isn't bad, it just isn't
necessary yet. Most important is a good fit in a not-real-stiff
(foreward) boot. A very stiff boot is very unforgiving as it
will transmit every shift of weight directly to the ski. Skiing
on "bent knees" is not only desirable, it is essential. Undulations
in the terrain (bumps) are absorbed with the legs by flexing
the knees, not crushing the joints. As you ski, your upper body
should travel along smoothly while your legs absorb all the bumps.
Hope this helps.
And The Beat Goes On...
Jeff Mizener
Tektronix Inc., IG/ADG
Beaverton, OR
uucp: {ucbvax,decvax,watmath}
{pur-ee,ihnss,cbosg,uw-beaver}
{harpo,zehntel,lbl-unix,allegra}!tektronix!tekig!jm
ARPA: tekig!jm.tek@udel-relay CSnet: tekig!jm@tek
From: masscomp!decvax!linus!wivax!evans
The ankle adjustments on ski boots are for forward lean. People who are
concerned with this are usually racers who need to be able to lean more
forward to increase the forward pressure on the fronts of the skis.
For non racers, the forward lean can help keep the weight forward,
creating more stability and better turning control on the skis. Your
weight should be forward, with the legs bent, arms out in front, and the
shoulders approximately over the toes of the boots. If you don't have much
of a forward lean then your weight is apt to be back a bit, and there is loss
of ski control. This can be tested by trying something while skiing.
(be warned, this can cause a fall!). But, what you can do is try leaning
back on the skis, or simply stand up with *no* forward lean, and, while
moving down a slope, try to turn either way... it will be difficult. Now,
lean forward on the boot, enough to feel pressure on the ankles, and try
turning the skis - this will be much easier.
Unless you are a racer and need the most control of the skis, then the
ankle adjustment on the skis probably won't do all that much.
As a side note - I'm not an instructor or anything, but I have been skiing
for 17 years (since I was just a little kid), and have raced for many years.
Have fun!
-barry
From: masscomp!decvax!uw-beaver!cornell!wally
I think what you are talking about is the "forward lean adjustment."
A higher forward lean gives you a more aggressive skiing stance but makes
walking harder. I think you should try it out and then decide.
By the way, I have Raichle Flexon Sports, which have shims you insert
in the back to increase forward lean. Last year one fell out while I was
skiing. The dealer gave me a new one and suggested I use silicon sealer
to keep it in.
From: watmath!watcgl!mwherman (Michael Herman)
Bent knees give you a lower center of gravity and permit you to more
readily absorb shock over rough terrian. The most natural way to ski
with bent knees is to lean into the front (tops) of your boots. As to
which angle is best, I'm not sure. My only experience is with boots
that have an almost rigid ankle.
Michael Herman (ex-Calgarian)
Computer Graphics Laboratory
Department of Computer Science
University of Waterloo
Waterloo, Ontario, Canada N2L 3G1
{ihnp4,ucbvax,teklabs,allegra,watmath}!watcgl!mwherman