Were wide ride skis just a phase?

[ballsohard]

I have noticed that none of the current top of the line skis are "wide rides", is this because these skis weren't as good?

[BraceMaker]

Do you mean things like the goode wide ride obrien syncro and HO charger?

 

I think the ski companies have just gotten savvy, many skis are a bit more generous on the width overall. HO and Connelly have both introduced all around skis like the Omni and Connelly V that have wider bodies.

 

But 10 years ago a wide ride was a wide version of another ski, I think they're getti ng better at defining a shape for a wide ski. And don't overlook things like Katanas and freerides.

[Chef23]

I have been skiing this year on a Radar Katana which would qualify as a “wide” ride ski. I have been skiing 30 mph on it and it is a lot of fun. I ran 28 off this morning on it and it turns well and works through the wakes. The Katana is a carbon ski and is light and responsive but provides plenty of forgiveness. I think for people learning to run the course this would be a great ski. Better than a high end ski because you can make mistakes on it.

 

If you mean skis like the Goode Wide and Mid I think skis in general have gotten a little wider but not like that. Once I am comfortable my body can handle it I am going back on my Goode Mid. I made a mistake and moved off that for a Nano 1 which I hated then couldn’t get comfortable on a D3 Helix or the Blue Radar Senate before I got another Mid. I won’t get rid of this ski until I am sure the new one is better.

[Stevie Boy]

There were quite a few people on the Mid Ride and Wide Ride, I dont know if this is a fact but I do recall some people saying that they thought various injurys may have come about riding these skis, as I say I do not know, maybe these people may have got these injuries anyway.

[Than_Bogan]

I'd regard it more as an evolution than an abandoned direction. Many high end skis today are considerably wider than the top skis of a decade or so ago. The Wide Ride itself seemed to only be suitable to a small fraction of skiers, but I think the lessons of the Mid and Wide Rides carried directly into the N1/XT/XTR as well as many other ski brands. The Denali is quite wide, for example, in part to accommodate the huge tunnel for lift that is a key element of the design.

[Ed_Johnson]

I rode the Mid and Wide Ride Goodes when Perfect Pass was our only speed control, and set PB's in the 39's. Were great back then, but ZO would put so much load on you so fast with these skis, they became impractical, unless you used really slow speeds.

 

[Jordan]

FWIW I believe that Thomas Degaspari is on a custom widened Goode or at least he was.

[ballsohard]

I'm also curious why Goode was one of the only companies that were big on a true wide ride and even a mid

[ballsohard]

@scotchipman What about the ski feels so different when skiing on a wide ride?

[The_MS]

Kyle Tate rode the OB Syncro into 41 at many big dawgs.

[eleeski]

I built my first ski because I didn't like the feel of the narrow tips of most of the offerings at the time. It was wider at the tip only. I experimented with wider all over and had good sets on those skis. It is possible to go too wide (especially at high speeds). I ended my quest for ever wider skis on a ski that would skip out and stress my ankle (a session with the sawzall cured that problem and it was a reasonable ski once trimmed a bit).

 

After my hip injury, I pulled an old ski out of storage to ride. While narrower than the ski I replaced, it was still relatively wide. The replaced ski had a rocker that had a small sweet spot that required more skill than I can maintain with the few sets my body allows now. The old ski is easy to ski but I'm a long ways from my past performance buoy count. It's a consistency vs top score tradeoff - not a width thing.

 

INT had specs for a wide ride division. That drove some ski designs. I'm not sure if they are still doing that but I haven't seen an INT tournament for a while.

 

Marketing hype changes. When all the skis are a bit wider, "wide ride" doesn't work. Add a couple skis that were too wide and that marketing backfires.

 

If you liked a wide ride from a while ago, either keep enjoying it or look for a new equivalent that has something similar still out there.

 

Eric

[iceboating]

I have been trying my new Danali CG fin on every ski I can get my hands on. What’s impressed me the most is on wider skis that I had trouble getting up on edge the CG fin has allowed me to get these skis to hold great angle. Two wide skis that I tride that normally hit their grove 32 mph now are very comfortable at 34. The CG fin on the wide ride skis have become my favorite and very much worth a try.

[liquid d]

The beginning with the wide rides was like having one of the first parabolic skis on snow. They were very cool, and seemed to roll way out and back effortlessly. The issue I had with them was at the very short lines, if you needed to dig a big or were late, I could not keep the ski engaged at the wakes and trough. It was too large up front, and the waterpressure/hit would flatten it out. For me , the mid-rides solved the problem. I suspect a heavier skier might make it work a bit better. Tgas made it work for quite a while.

 

If you've never been on one, the first few passes will be eye openers. If you're not the type to dig and go for the last bouy possible, they are a lot of fun to ride. Very easy turning skis. My experience was with the Goode.

[Chef23]

@liquid d in my best day I was a deep 35 skier I only ran 35 once and it was on a mid-ride. I am a bigger skier when I ran 35 I was about 215 pounds. I got lost and wandered looking for a ski for a while before I came back to the Mid. I have been off the water for a couple of years due to some health issues but I am getting ready to get back to full speed and will put the Mid back in the water. I never tried the Goode Wide but at 215 pounds and 34 mph the Mid was plenty of ski in a 66".

[Horton]

I had a conversation today with one of the most successful ski designers in the sport about this very topic. I can't really divulge too much of the conversation because it was in confidence but this designer would like to go back down that path of short wide skis again for super short line slalom.

[The_MS]

And what did Dave have to say about going back to the narrow design with the new ski.

[ballsohard]

@MS that's an awesome response, I wonder what Lord Voldemort\Elon Musk of slalom\Dave had to say?

[Horton]

@ms no not Dave

[ballsohard]

@horton sorry for making assumptions, what did this ski designer say that they see as a benefit of using a short wide ski for extremely short line?

[Horton]

we were discussing if the old axiom of "ride the longest ski you can turn” is still valid in the modern era. I tend to think this was a valid idea with PU core fiberglass skis but is now outdated.

[A_B]

Lapoint’s were some of the first to widen the forebody for speed but left the tail narrow to sit in the water throughout the turns.

 

I tried Ed’s Wide Ride for a while and it just wasn’t my cup of tea. Didn’t beat my aging 9500’s scores. I like the 69” Senate but it’s hard for me to keep the tail in the water at 34 mph on a hard turn. That was the reason going to the 69.5 Pro Build. Could just be the length of these longer skis not wanting to turn sharply.

 

One of the Mapple skis was wider up front if I recall.

[Horton]

i was not trying to start a guessing game. Just saying the idea still has merit.

[Drago]

A guy I interviewed back when I had the podcast used to ski a wider ski and at the time I thought it was the best idea ever,. He said it lost its goodness in chop. But I guess nobody skis in wind or poor conditions anymore, so it should come back

[Horton]

@drago "nobody skis in wind "! Were you at regionals?

[Drago]

Oh, yeah, there’s that

[Jetsetr]

Hydrodynamics and aerodynamics are very close cousins...aircraft wings and water skis share the same traits...a short thin wing rolls quick, has a high load per square foot, goes fast but doesn’t like to behave well at slow speeds....a long, thick wing has a light load per square foot, rolls slow, goes slow but has excellent low speed control...sound familiar??

 

[Than_Bogan]

@Jetsetr When you advance into short-line skiing, you're gonna wanna get on a Denali. :) The Adams speak your language!

[Ed_Johnson]

@Than_Bogan .... Any word on when the new 7X Denali that Caldwell was skiing on is coming out? At Nationals maybe ???

 

[Than_Bogan]

@Ed_Johnson I have heard absolutely nothing, and I think Denali is still in the mode of "release it when we think it's ready" rather than timing for optimal marketing.

[Ed_Johnson]

@Than_Bogan .... OK, thanks. I'm saving my dollars for that day. The CG Fin has turned my D3 NRG into the best ski I have ever been on. I can only imagine what the whole package could be like.

 

[teammalibu]

Love watching Steve Raphael aka Mongo rippin his Wide Ride into deep 39 and beyond at 32 mph I think he's 69 years young and a tad over 200 lbs. awsome guy and a big spray!

[Horton]

@teammalibu "Tad over 200"? He is MONGO!