New Harb Carvers

[RyanAllen]

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[noobSkier]

Nice! I have built two pairs so far and will build another pair soon based on the comp model (100mm rear wheels). What helped me the most was having the proper grinding wheels for aluminum and pre-drilling all the holes...of course the drill press is also a must.

You are right its easier and safer to be on a smooth, clean surface. Wheels wear fast so rotate them regularly (I do it every 3-4 sessions). Its also worth spending some time to tweak your alignment for these. I have found carvers to be much more prone to scissoring so I have extra canting on top of my regular setup to compensate. You might have some of that going on, but it looks like a good start.

Also when you wear out your brake pads, buy the harder ones they last longer.

[RyanAllen]

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[noobSkier]

The smaller front wheels are the comp model, this is supposed to make them more turny. In any case, it's the more advanced model so definitely start with the standard. You can't really twist on carvers without skidding the back wheels which you can really feel so use that as feedback. I think creating a rocker would somewhat defeat the purpose as this might facilitate twisting. Using tipping only is HARD and it should be, this is what makes carvers such a great learning tool. Carvers punish non-pmts movements in a way that even skis cannot. Buckle the boot like normal.

IMO the movement progression on carvers is as follows:

1. Learn to tip the feet
2. Challenge your tipping & CA by tightening the turns
3. Incorporate flexing-to-release

#3 is where I am and the hardest IMO because you don't have the same level of pressure feedback as on skis.

[ErikCO]

would it help to carve with my boots unbuckled?

I've never tried something like the Carvers, but as someone who has done a lot of both ice and inline skating (with a bit of roller skating as a kid) as well as a good bit of skiing, not properly tightening the boot is asking for an ankle injury.

[RyanAllen]

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[noobSkier]

moose is insanely good on carvers, definitely someone to watch. He was better on his first video than I was after a year

[razie]

not properly tightening the boot is asking for an ankle injury.

This is interesting - when I started doing my boots the way HH suggests, somewhat loose at the top, I got some "well, your ankles will not be happy..." - so what is "properly" ?

moose is insanely good on carvers, definitely someone to watch. He was better on his first video than I was after a year

you stopped pushing off, to some extent...


But - this is also interesting:
<<uhh - how do I paste screenshot?>>
if you watch carefully - he's doing the pizza slice entry, on carvers... is that because he's pushing off?

[noobSkier]

if you watch carefully - he's doing the pizza slice entry, on carvers... is that because he's pushing off?

I noticed that too but I think its too early to tell. Its so hard to get the legs synced up on carvers especially if the alignment isn't just right

[ErikCO]

This is interesting - when I started doing my boots the way HH suggests, somewhat loose at the top, I got some "well, your ankles will not be happy..." - so what is "properly" ?

I imagine you are overthinking this a little. The question was if he should be using the carvers without buckling the tops of his boots. In answer to your inquire, I would say (although I have not had a discussion with HH on the subject) the top two buckles of your boots should be tight enough that you are not able to do much lifting of your heel out of the heel cup. At least from my experience, I injured my ankle about 3 years back due to the upper buckles on my boots not being tight enough. I was skiing in crud on skis that were too short, tips of my skis suddenly dove down and I was thrown forward. Because there was too much movement of my foot, the amount of force applied to the bindings wasn't enough to get them to release but it was enough to get me to try to dislocate my ankle. That was the end of my ski season (and it was 3 months before I could hike or run). If I am note mistaken, a too loose boot is also the reason that HH managed to tear his Achilles tendon while over in Europe. If you are having to undo the buckles at the end of every run to let your feet regain circulation, that is certainly too tight. If your heels are constantly slipping out of the heel cup when you do free foot pull back, that's too lose.