APOLOGIES FOR LONG POST but I need assistance with some tuning issues I can't solve myself.
Several years ago, I special ordered a Gentemstick 144 Rocket Fish through an upstate New York shop. The board was hand-tuned in Japan to Gentemstick's specifications (basic "Factory Tune" specs are 1.0 base edge / 89 side edge). Unfortunately, this board arrived from Japan with some minor top sheet damage. In hindsight, I should have accepted it but I decided to have a replacement sent. Due to COVID supply and staff issues, I agreed to have the board shipped untuned from Japan so that it would arrive without significant delay. The shop assured me that their in-house tech would be able to do the initial tune to Gentemstick's specifications.
The board worked great in powder and soft snow. However, when carving on corduroy it did not live up to expectations. I was still able to lay down decent carves but it required more effort than my K2 boards with less performance, almost as if I had to finesse it to do what comes without effort on my other boards. After checking the base and side angles using the sharpie-erase method, I came up with these ridiculous measurements:
base angle > 2.0
side edge angle approximately 5.0 (85)
This is way out-of-spec for what Gentemsticks recommends given the deep sidecut of the Rocket Fish. I primarily ride several boards from K2 and they are all 1.0 base / 88 side edge which is a fairly standard advanced all-mountain snowboard setting. I recently ordered a 176 Super Fish Outline Core direct from Gentemstick in Japan and the board was hand-tuned to the above-mentioned 1.0 base / 89 side angles. This board and the K2s all ride great in all conditions and I can easily verify these angles when tuning on a regular basis (no issues at all tuning my other boards).
I have no idea what the tech was thinking, as those angles make no sense. It's as if he set the base angles for freestyle / rails and the edge for slalom racing.
"Edges sharper than 87° are used by racers who sometimes use up to 2° base angle and 85° of the side edge. These can offer really excellent grip but the ski either catches or not! Edges this sharp also require really dynamic skiing, lots of movement and good power."
So in conclusion, I need to find someone knowledge who can PROPERLY reset the base with a proper stone grind, and then hand tune the edges to the recommended 1.0 base / 89 side. I hear a lot of stories about shops that don't know what they're doing and I really don't want this board messed up further or ground down too much. I attached a few photos showing how well the board works in powder, as well as one shot of carving fairly well (but with too much effort and the wrong feel).
Appreciate the help, thanks!
Several years ago, I special ordered a Gentemstick 144 Rocket Fish through an upstate New York shop. The board was hand-tuned in Japan to Gentemstick's specifications (basic "Factory Tune" specs are 1.0 base edge / 89 side edge). Unfortunately, this board arrived from Japan with some minor top sheet damage. In hindsight, I should have accepted it but I decided to have a replacement sent. Due to COVID supply and staff issues, I agreed to have the board shipped untuned from Japan so that it would arrive without significant delay. The shop assured me that their in-house tech would be able to do the initial tune to Gentemstick's specifications.
The board worked great in powder and soft snow. However, when carving on corduroy it did not live up to expectations. I was still able to lay down decent carves but it required more effort than my K2 boards with less performance, almost as if I had to finesse it to do what comes without effort on my other boards. After checking the base and side angles using the sharpie-erase method, I came up with these ridiculous measurements:
base angle > 2.0
side edge angle approximately 5.0 (85)
This is way out-of-spec for what Gentemsticks recommends given the deep sidecut of the Rocket Fish. I primarily ride several boards from K2 and they are all 1.0 base / 88 side edge which is a fairly standard advanced all-mountain snowboard setting. I recently ordered a 176 Super Fish Outline Core direct from Gentemstick in Japan and the board was hand-tuned to the above-mentioned 1.0 base / 89 side angles. This board and the K2s all ride great in all conditions and I can easily verify these angles when tuning on a regular basis (no issues at all tuning my other boards).
I have no idea what the tech was thinking, as those angles make no sense. It's as if he set the base angles for freestyle / rails and the edge for slalom racing.
"Edges sharper than 87° are used by racers who sometimes use up to 2° base angle and 85° of the side edge. These can offer really excellent grip but the ski either catches or not! Edges this sharp also require really dynamic skiing, lots of movement and good power."
So in conclusion, I need to find someone knowledge who can PROPERLY reset the base with a proper stone grind, and then hand tune the edges to the recommended 1.0 base / 89 side. I hear a lot of stories about shops that don't know what they're doing and I really don't want this board messed up further or ground down too much. I attached a few photos showing how well the board works in powder, as well as one shot of carving fairly well (but with too much effort and the wrong feel).
Appreciate the help, thanks!
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