Standard or Wide

[Stevie Boy]

Ok Guy,s & Girls, this is where I,m at. I am about to do the unthinkable, but I,m gonna give it a go, do I buy a standard 9900sl or do I go for the wide ride, its very unlikely that I will get to demo the ski as I will have to ship it another person in the states and pick it up a little later to reduce costs, I have studied various people on the standard ski and it appears to tick all the boxes when it comes down to acceleration & turning and creating angle, I have only seen one wide ride in action as there is not many about in the UK.

Any constuctive advice, ideas or thoughts, would be gladly received, As far as the purchase is concerned , I know all the Pros & Cons so no negative comments on that subject please, I am going to take the plunge, its only money, if it don,t work out, Hey Ho I will have to buy something else. ( pssst, just have to keep sneaking those few dollars away each week )

Best Regards to you all and I would like to thank the Author of this Forum for all his time and hard work, John must spend hours keeping this site up to date.

[swerveit]

Stevie

 

 

where abouts are you in the UK?

i know a guy that is on a wide ride and hes super knowledgeable and someone thats (possibly) sponsored, kinda narrows it down too who that is ;]

 

if i know them, they'd be happy to give you some pointers...

[Stevie Boy]

Hi

I,m in the in the southeast, the only people I know who have the wide ride is Nigel M in the cambridge area and Steve G in the Thorpe area.

Regards

[ForrestGump]

Certain styles fit the standard Goode I think. I've really only seen a couple of people who ski with a fluid no slow down style do well on it(Parrish comes to mind, but he could run 39 on a 2x6).  It seems to suit those who slow the ski past the apex, hook up, take a hit, and then accelerate. Like Chad Scott or Regina J(man can that girl take a hit!). If you're a newer style skier that does all of your slowing down by the apex and then carry that speed all the way into the hook up, I think you'd probably do better on the WR. Just my thoughts.

[Stevie Boy]

Yeah! I am a TURN & BURN merchant, a little bit of technique, but I do get in deep, and I do work a lot harder than I should, generally I get wide but narrow, if the ski didn,t work out, I,m just a bit concerned with going back to a narrower ski.

[skidawg]

Elite!

[scoke]

 

Even though Skidawg is an animal riding the Elite, the 9900-SL might be better served for you than a wide ride. It's a unique ski with it's own issues. If you aren't a strong edge changer, it might not be the correct ski. The 9900SL is an advancement of the more forgiving 9800.

[swerveit]

Stevie

 

Yeah Steve is on a wide ride but figure this one, hes on the RFF version and hes a lefty???!!!(or vice versa)

Also Nic is on the 9900 although shes gone north, Aiden is about and he knows a whole heep about technical stuff.

I think Marco is on the 9900 also??

 

wide ride is a crazy looking ski...would love to try it out.

[Auski]

I have a 145AMP 66" 9900SL (left). I will give it to you, it just delaminated under the heel of the front foot. No screws, Dual lock 250, single strip either side. Ski is Toast.

I weigh 150lb and 5'10", ski into 38 most tournaments. Ski did not even last 12 months of skiing on it (with a layup for winter). No reply from Goode about my extended warranty.

Have re-booted my 9700 but as yet have not been too enthused to hit the water on it. My first 9700 broke too.

 

I just ordered an Elite 65.5".

[DW]

Auski:  How did you like your 9900 compared to the 9700?  The 9700 works well for me.  I am about your size, so it would be one of my choices.  If no takers on it, I'd be interested in it.

[Auski]

The 9900 changed edge differently, and turned differently to the 9700. Comparing to the 9700 the 9900 rolls onto edge more before the ski starts to move.

I noticed this at the first pull out for the gate, felt like my hips were going to hit the water before the ski came under the line. Likewise in the turn the 9900 seems to roll onto edge more than th 9700. To me in the turn the 9900 felt less supportive than the 9700 - the ski wanted to be on edge a lot more and gives the impression you are falling away from the ski at the apex of the turn.

The trade off is the 9900 changes edge and heads out better than the 9700. I get this same feeling on edge change - the ski heads away from the handle before it starts to move (like at the gate pull out), which actually makes for a great turn as the ski travels away from your body further and runs back under the line easier. It just doesn't feel as secure as 9700.

 The 9900 I felt is marginally faster than the 9700, but could be because the 9900 is slightly longer and slightly stiffer: 9700 = 140AMP 65.75", 9900 = 145AMP 66.25" (don't quote me on the lengths - check Goodes web page for the AMP no's)

My PB on the 9700 is 1.5buoys better than the 9900.

 

I figure the Elite is about half the price after you break the first Goode.

Elite was actualy cheaper in Australia than importing a 9900 Goode.

[Stevie Boy]

Just on the verge of purchasing, and every time this crops up, had a re-think, going to demo the Elite, after that the only ski I haven,t tried is the Prophecy, would give RCX a go but every D3 I have tried just dosen,t suit, I got the Devcon out last night had ago at repairing my old ski, really awkward to clamp it together, looks ok tho, but I am going to have to get on something else.

Regards the Elite anybody know the weight ranges for size of ski ? 

[scoke]

 

Stevie, I rode an elite for 20 sets. a 67" is a BIG ski with quite a bit of surface area. there are a couple of threads talking about different skiers-heigh/weight combos.

 I rode my brand new 9900-SLR last night, WOW. big difference from my 9800 and much better (for me) than the Elite was.

 

[Stevie Boy]

Ok my weight  Yo Yo ,s  170 - 180 LBS or tho they have found some answers to some of my health probs so looking to go 175 LBS and below and keeping it there, I,m vertically challenged  5' 6" , I seem to get on better with a 66"ski. I struggle to get position on a 67", I do not know whether this is a height thing or not but I end up on the back of the ski, just cannot get onto the front foot and make it stick.

 

Been skiing well on a Sixam 2 point  "66  but my  trusty steed took a nasty battering from the handle, gonna have to let it go  

The Elite , I think puts me on a 67"  am I likely to get away with the 65.5" or am I grasping at straws, I have been looking for official chart but I cannot find one. Nothing on O'briens website.

 

 

 

[Stevie Boy]

Just in case anybody is interested , got this from waterski.com for the elite  65.5" = 125lbs - 150lbs  /   67" = 150lbs - 195lbs   /   68.5" = 185lbs & UP

http://www.waterskis.com/O-Brien-Elite-Slalom-Waterski-p/obrien_elite_2009.htm

[ForrestGump]

I'd say those weight ranges are a bit off. The Elite has a lot of surface area.  stevie Boy, you are right in the middle I'd say. You could go either way. I'd try em both.

[jdarwin]

Stevie - I'm 210 and the 68" felt a little big - the 67" felt a bit small so I would recommend the 67" for two reasons.  1.  I think it is the right size for you.  2.  If it doesn't work, that it the most popular size and resell will not be an issue.

[Stevie Boy]

Hi Guy,s regarding the Elite anybody give me measurements on the widest point of the ski and also front of binding width for the 65.5 and the 67, I want to compare this measurement with my 66"  2 point.

 

Cheer,s

[Stevie Boy]

Gents anybody got settings for the 65.5 Elite just in case I can get that as well as the 67 to demo.I got the numbers for the 67

[lkb]

65.5" numbers 6.840, .765, 2.495, 9 deg, and 29"

[Stevie Boy]

Much Appreciated . Thanks

[swerveit]

im on the 68 elite, aways had 67`s. Easier to tune a big ski to feel smaller, than a small ski bigger..