Replace Old Ropes

[OldGuysRule]

As I pulled my ski buddy up this evening he immediately started carving on his usual 28' off line length at 34 mph. I heard what I thought was the tension strap on the bimini "clicking" from the wind. It was actually the strands of the yellow ski rope loop around the pylon breaking strand by strand until it finally completely broke. The sound resonated through the pylon! Luckily, Bryan was directly behind the boat resulting in a not so serious fall. Frequent use of the same line length loop increased the failure of an old rope. We both vowed to buy new ropes tomorrow. Replace those old ropes!

 

[Horton]

it's dangerous for the skier and it's dangerous for the people in the boat. I really don't understand why people are so cheap or stubborn that they won't change their rope more often.

[MarkTimm]

I have a very simple policy, if you hand me a frayed or damaged rope, I won't pull you.

 

I will loan you my rope.

[Horton]

As I get older and more broken I think it is more important to change my ropes more often.

[braindamage]

Done!!

 

[braindamage]

Pic from 4 years ago when I didn’t replace it actively. 2 displaced ribs...ouch!

 

[Horton]

That is extreme. I say your should change a lot more often than that. I am planning to use 3 ropes this year

[braindamage]

@Horton I replace every other season so I’ve replaced once since this. I ski probably 50 sets on a good season.

[lpskier]

I used to replace my ropes each year when I lived full time on NY. Since I started spending the winter in Florida, I started replacing twice a year. The ropes would show wear and get stiff, leading to elbow issues.

 

In November 2019, I bought the (then) brand new ML Optimized 2.0 rope and 1.062 Custom handle. I just replaced the handle, having worn through the rubber to the metal core, but my rope shows hardly any wear, even on my longest loop (-28) and my elbows are fine. I feel sort of bad about not buying a new rope. After all, Russell has a kid in college.

[dave2ball]

@lpskier if you needed to replace your handle I would bet your rope is tired also and should be replaced. A rope wears out long before your a handle. With the Florida sun the fibers can become dry and just break. I don’t wait until my body tells me the rope is bad I change it about 1/3 of a season going through 3 ropes a year. Pay now for a new rope and be safe or pay later with a ER visit and time on the shoreline.

[swc5150]

Just wanted to plug ML too. Just received my new handle and the build quality is awesome. I've owned a few ML handles, but this one is the nicest to date.

 

[S1Pitts]

Ok that handle is virtually identical to my US Gear handle. Good to know there is an option for us who preferred it.

@swc5150 What are they calling this model?

[swc5150]

It's an ergo.