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What Is Radial Tuning § Brand new innovation: In the past, the common tuning technology for servicing skis has been to grind the edges on the base with a constant angle along the entire length of the running surface. Skis prepared with this MONTANA technology are ready to be used and give a great feeling on the slopes. Today, race skis have deeper side cuts and are shorter in length. MONTANA has improved the ski preparation specifically for these skis. The result is our new Radial Tuning. Just like radial tires make steering your automobile easier, Radial Tuning makes your skis easier to turn and provides improved edge grip underfoot in the binding area. Radial Tuning is widely used on the World Cup
§ How does Radial Tuning function?Utilizing the gradually changing geometry of an ellipse, Radial Tuning bevels skis more in the wider shovel and tail areas and less in the narrow waist area underfoot. The effect is easier turn initiation and completion as well as solid secure edging throughout the entire turn, regardless of speed and snow conditions. A nice side effect: the wider the skis in tip and tail, the more the base edge will be bevelled in this area. Tests have shown that there are exactly the same positive effects with Radial Tuning on snowboards.
§ Improved safety on the slopes. Thanks to a new developed ellipse tuning, MONTANA is able to bevel the shovel of a carving ski more than the center of the ski. This helps extreme carving skis to initiate turns smoothly and easily and can prevent skis from feeling "edgy"
A Story About Radial Tuning To test The area where I ski is in the Colorado Rockies, so we're typically blessed with softer snow conditions. For my test, the weather conditions were very stable at the time - sunny and cold, with a moderately soft to medium snow surface. I purposefully skied areas with firmer snow and concentrated on how the edges felt beneath my boots. My skis felt as they normally do .... effortless to steer into and out of turns, loose and easy enough underfoot to skid, yet solid and dependable on the edges even on steeper, harder snow. The next day I prepared the skis identically to the day before but this time I treated the base edges with the new HTT Radial Tuning and I headed back to Amazingly, I could feel the difference in my skis before I actually skied . . . when I first began to get on the six person chairlift! As I slid out from the lift line and prepared to get onto the chair, I could sense the closeness of the edge beneath my feet on the icy on-ramp. Again as I got off the chair I could feel more edge beneath me and as I began to ski a few runs, I noticed my skis felt different. As I skied the same routes I had the day before, I felt the effort to initiate the turn was the same but now as the skis were drawn into each turn it was easy to sense the increase in edge grip underfoot - not grabby, but precise. Regardless of how hard the snow was, the skis felt tighter underfoot, more solid on the edges, and were less prone to skid and more prone to carve. My sense of it is that Radial Tuning brings balance to the ski by blending its turning and edging characteristics in a special way, as the ski width changes. The result is a ski that is in harmony with steering and turning . . . . easy maneuverability combined with solid edge gripping security. I can remember the first time I drove an auto with radial tires and how smooth and easy the steering felt and yet how positive the traction felt when cornering - a new sensation of being in contact with the ground. Radial Tuning gave me the same sensation on my skis. |
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