Rocker, that the revolution begin!
by Federico Casnati
The new trend is now marked by a year and is summed up in one word: rocker. We're not talking about music but skiing, and winter does not arrive unprepared and unaware of this little revolution, here's a brief guide on the main novelty of the 2012 season: ski rocker!
The term comes from the freeride, where this construction technology is used by at least a decade. When one says that rocker skis are not revolutionary emphasizes. They are in fact completely the opposite of traditional skis, which have a "rib" or camber average high: when placed on a flat surface the central part of the ski touches the ground, but rises with a slight curvature. To touch the ground are in fact the tip and tail, parts waisted ski.
Skiing with the rocker (who was also known as reverse camber) instead touches the ground with the central part, the under the boot, while the tip and tail remain detached. If the world freeride rocker is very high, and the skis once and coupled together with the ski stopper seem "svergoli", the rocker is applied to traditional skiing only limited to the tip and tail, with very few degrees of opening. To put it in jargon free ride, you are in the presence of a "tip and rocker trail", a rocker that is limited to the tip and tail.
But why this change? The camber it helps compact and icy terrain and adds significantly to the estate, extending the contact area of ​​the sheet by the pressure of the weight of the skier that leverages the sidecut. The rocker instead acts opposite, "shorten" the length of the foil in contact with the snow, and significantly increases the ease of turn initiation and reversal.
For those who believe they have caught on the wrong page must think again : Many models of houses on the World Cup has, more or less in secret, introduced the rocker during the season ended, especially in giant models. In so doing is in fact allows the athlete to use a ski slightly longer than the usual step, increasing the flowability of the material and the stability in the central part of the curve, but eliminating the problems of inversion between a door and the other, Thanks to the spatula curved upwards!
If he had not understood, we will find in the racks of stores for the season 2011/2012 a good number of skis with rocker.
Elan has bet everything with the new line Amphibio: the high range will a rocker on the part of the outer foil and the camber of the inner normal. Different models are available, the more stringent racecarver dall'allround classic. Neveitalia them had already tried to preview in March, with an extensive review.
Rossignol offers a rocker ski giant 9GS (also tested in the preview), will be present both in the version store that replica World Series Cup, largely successful World Cup and the positive feedback from athletes in spring testing. Obviously Rossignol has also proposed some models rounder, as the series Temptation and Experience, designed to make this last series of even the traditional approach to this technology, but declined over the first all'allmountain and freeride.
Dynastar propose a whole series all-rounder, the Outland, with rocker technology. Various models are available with similar structures and lengths but with different centers, and also to space dall'allround all'allmountain a freeride soft.
K2, the American company specialized in famous off-piste, even propose the full range of all-round track, the AMP (All-Mountain Performance) rocker with more or less acute.
Austrian Völkl is certainly not watching the series and prepare RTM (Ride The Mountain) with six models, all with rocker profile and studied, as Dynastar, to suit every skier to have fun on and off piste: it will range from RTM 84 (with a center of well 84 mm) through the RTM 80 but with a pronounced rocker, until reach 73 mm of the RTM 73, suitable for skiing all day.
How Not to forget that Salomon surprised everyone with his BBR, which will be produced in its different forms, but both with an accentuated rocker. Even Blizzard
propose rocker on part of its range, with its Cochise (winner of European Ski Award 2011 for the freemountain), fat skis for freeride with 108mm in the center and rocker, bamboo wood core, extremely flexible way to tap the best powder of 2012.
Stay tuned, many of the slopes described will be tested and reviewed on these pages!
Stampa
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