Harb Carver Story

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Harb Carver Story

Postby Harald » Wed Apr 28, 2004 8:18 am

Had an interesting experience yesterday, Harrison, my son who is now fourteen, got on the Harb Carver, Pro model, for the first time? Within fifteen minutes he was making slalom turns in a slalom course. A half hour later, he was doing tricks like 360s of concrete walls. I?ll have some video up some time later this summer. When the kids get on these Carvers and start playing, there will be a whole new sport developed.
What this demonstrated to me was how quickly one can learn the Carvers with a background in skiing, ice skating, and inline skating. The reverse is therefore also true; Carvers will accelerate your level of skiing performance immediately. Erik Schlopy is now training on them and next week the National Downhill Champion; Bryan Friedman will have a pair to train on.

We will have 150 of all models starting next week. Diana is testing a new prototype with longer wheel base. This is a more high speed model for GS. The next model I am working on is a variation of the slalom model with bigger wheels. We are having fun testing all these varaiations as every pair we invent has new and different characteristics.
Harald
 

Harb Carvers

Postby Mac B. » Wed Apr 28, 2004 10:41 am

Harald, there are three versions of the Carvers listed on your site. Is one model better suited for one thing or another, is the top of the line model more durable, etc?
Thanks in advance
Mac B.
 

Postby *SCSA » Wed Apr 28, 2004 1:16 pm

harald,

That's great. Will there be upgrade discounts? I certainly don't want to buy a pair, then you come out with something else, then have to dump the carvers I bought a few months ago...
*SCSA
 

Postby Guest » Thu Apr 29, 2004 1:26 pm

The Harb Carvers you see on the http://www.harbcarver.com web site are the models we will offer for the foreseeable future. New models will be developed, designed and tested, but changes to the existing models will only happen if test results demonstrate huge performance advancements. I don?t see models we presently offer becoming obsolete in the next two years. The great thing about Cavers is that no model will wear out or be inoperable, regardless of how long you own it. For less than the price of a lift ticket, you can replace all the wheels, bearings and running gear.

We are offering an upgrade program if you start on a Slalom or Pro model and are ready to move up. The different models are equally durable. Very little can go wrong with the basic components, we have thousands of hours of testing with elite athletes, no blow-outs.

I can?t suggest strongly enough how, if you are ready to try something totally new to accelerate your skiing performance, the Cavers will do it. A large group of USSA Western Region Masters racers are already attending a Harb Carver Camp this June in Lake Tahoe. More events like this will become available, look for one in Colorado soon.
Guest
 

Postby Harald » Thu Apr 29, 2004 1:28 pm

The Guest post is mine, sorry, forgot to insert my name. I think it is fairly evident anyway.
Harald
 

Postby Lisa » Fri Apr 30, 2004 5:32 pm

Is it OK if I ask a dumb question? :oops: I never got into skating due to chronic ankle sprains as a kid. I realize that what I'm about to say will show my age, but back in my day, the skates did not have boots that support the ankle. Remember the song "I've Got a Brand New Pair of Roller Skates, You've Got a Brand New Key?"
Those kind of skates!

Will you folks be giving any kind of skate classes in Colorado over the summer, so of like what those "skate to ski" people do with inline skiing?
Thanks!
Lisa
 

Postby tommy » Mon May 17, 2004 4:37 am

Lisa,

if your ankle allows you to ski with modern ("tipping") technique, then you will be able to use the carvers! I just got mine, and the technique to use the carvers is very much like using modern carving skis.

I'm fairly experienced riding inlines, I can appreciate that a bad ankle makes it hard if not difficult to use them, since on inlines you are forced to constantly fight the tendency of the skate to tip laterally/medially, while on carvers you need to apply some force to get them to tip (that's the general idea, actually!).

Standing static on inlines is a bit tricky, while on carvers you are almost as stable as on shoes, at least in the lateral/medial directions (you still need to have some fore/aft balance).

I've only spent a few hours on the carvers so far, so I don't want to go into much details yet, but already I can say that the carvers force you to use correct skiing technique for turning to MUCH greater extent than inlines.

Cheers,
Tommy
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Postby tommy » Mon May 24, 2004 12:16 pm

Having spent a few more hours experimenting with the carvers, I can say that in comparison to inlines, the carvers demand much more precise movements. Not only when linking turns on a (at least for now, gentle) slope, but also for basic manouvers.

In linked turns you really have to work with releasing, flexing, tipping the free foot and counter rotation to get the carvers to turn anywhere even close to the "radius" you can get with inlines. You also have to "commit" to each turn much more explicitly than on inlines. Any hesitation in transition and the carvers will let you know.... ;-)

Also in basic manouvers you need full commitment for the move, or you will be in trouble. For instance, on inlines, I often use a "Mohawk" turn in narrow spots, e.g. when stopping for a traffic light. The turn is done by placing the skates "heel-to-heel", so that one skate (the outside) continues forwards, while the other one travels backwards, pretty much "in line", tracking the first. The desired result is to spin a 360 almost on the spot. This is fairly simple on inlines, but first time I tried it on carvers, I almost took a fall, only barely avoided by hopping around a good while on one set of wheels after the other, almost like some not so pretty version of some local folk dance... ;-) And this was even though I had almost no speed. After several attempts I started to become able to do these turns, but again, the margin for error is much less, you basically have to commit fully to the move, and get the carvers exactly in the correct edge angle, otherwise you will take a fall.

An other basic movement demaning more precision on carvers is doing "crossovers", i.e. where you (on flats) can accelerate through a turn by letting your outside leg "cross over" in front of the currently stroking inside leg. You need to make sure that when that crossing leg is placed on the pavement, it has the necessary big toe edge angle or else it will go straight, while the other, currently stroking on its little toe edge will turn...

I also find that I get less leverage using the heel brake on the carvers as compared to inlines, it takes more distance to stop from any given speed. I don't know if this is because the brake pad on the carver is smaller, or because the angle of the brake pad arm is different.

Other things you might do on inlines, e.g. like riding only on the forward skate's backmost, and the tracking skate's frontmost wheels: don't do it on the carvers, at least not with the model with the front bumpers - when the front bumper hits the pavement, that leg will stop...

I plan to mix my use of inlines and carvers - it's going to be interesting to see if muscle memory is able to keep these two ways of moving separate, if not, I'd better wear full ice hockey gear when skating on either of them.... :-)



Cheers,
Tommy
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Postby Harald » Fri May 28, 2004 11:23 am

Everyday Harb Cavers get more exciting, here is the latest:

Coaches from across the country are finding out just how effective the Harb Carvers are for making immediate improvements in their skiers. Coaches from Colorado, the mid west and the east are using carvers to train their skiers. Now we are getting feedback from athletes who are on the US Ski Team development path. The results are immediate says, Mel Brown, coach in the mid west.

The proof of course is what happens on the snow after carver training. We already have those results as teams from California and Colorado have been using the Carvers for two summers and this summer are skiing right after Carver training at A-Basin.

The response is overwhelming. We knew the Harb Carves were good and that they were fun, but the response is so fast, faster than we figured. We are getting orders from skiers, racers and coaches from all across the US.

One ski instructor called me yesterday asking about Carvers. I asked him how he heard about them. He said he heard a rumor that Harald Harb was developing a new summer skiing tool. Well, he was right and the story goes on from there. Now we have Harb Carvers in Austria, with the Austrian ski team. We have Carvers in Sweden with Tommy and we have Carves in Canada, and all over the US. These are new adapters. The followers will come on fast. I just hope we can produce them fast enough.
Harald
 

Postby tommy » Fri May 28, 2004 1:00 pm

Just a follow-up comment on public interest for the Carvers:

when I got back home from H-tux camp, with 2 pairs of carvers in my luggage (purchased by me & Missus), I email:ed the leading Swedish ski magazine, with a pointer to http://www.harbcarver.com, with the message that I have 2 pairs available for demo purposes.

It took less than a day before I got the answer, stating that "we are really keen on testing the carvers, to present our findings in the 1:st fall issue of our magazine. During summer we'll send a photographer and a skier to pick up the carvers up for testing and demo shots!"

The magazine, ?ka Skidor, is the most renowned skiing/fitness/outdoor magazine in Scandinavia since 75, and their chief editor was quite exited about the carvers.



http://www.akaskidor.com/
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Postby Harald » Fri May 28, 2004 1:28 pm

Thanks Tommy, I know that the Harb Carvers will be an International success, skiers everywhere will realize the potential of skiing all year with these great sking simulators. If the editor would like to talk, I'd be glad to bring him up to date with skiers and racers who are already using and training on Harb Carvers. I can also let him know about how different levels of skiers react to the Cavers and how quickly they can learn toimprove their skiing?

How about Stenmark or Anja Paerson do they need some?
Harald
 

Postby tommy » Fri May 28, 2004 1:35 pm

I don't know about Stenmark (don't have his email, even though me & kids shared lifts with him back in december!), but Minna does meet Anja from time to time at Arlanda Airport, and rest assured, if I know my wife at all, Anja *will* get to know about the carvers, whether she wants it or not...! ;-)

--T
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