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Mapple Torque


jedgell
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An observation and a couple question.

 

I have never seen Andy ski with "less load". To me he loads more then most but is the ultimate at dealing with every bit of it off the second wake. His video even speaks to that.

 

So what does allowing a ski to twist do? I know I'm very wrong but seems counter productive. And not a big success for Goode.

 

Patent pending is interesting. Any other ski company have a patent on the entire design of the ski itself?

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All I know is that all the Mapple team members are skiing their best on the new design for a few months now. Time will tell, but who would not to add a few balls to their PB? Patent pending means that an application for this invention is pending, that the priority rights are reserved worldwide and that Andy is serious about this. Can't wait to try it out....
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I find the marketing conversation around Mapple Skis interesting.

 

Andy specifically addressed the question that seems to surround his ski design the most - "Do I have to change my skiing to be on this ski?"

 

It's a crazy paradox for Andy - he's the best skier in the world because he can ski like no one else can, but when he designs skis people are afraid to give it a go because they think it's designed for him alone.

 

If Nike said that Michael Jordan was involved in the actual designed of his shoes, no one would have said they can't wear them because they can't play like Jordan.

 

And the paradox is that everyone knows that Andy is offering genuine value and substance over just stylistic tweak. He even says (paraphrase), "I'm excited because... we've got something that is making a difference."

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Interesting, the one thing I didn't like my 6.0 was that I couldn't ski it aggressively. When trying to get through 28off I would try to really lean hard and it would continue to gain angle and pull the handle out of my hands.
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@gregy‌ yep. If I understand the video he has put a soft torsional flex with a stiff longitudinal flex. This allows the ski to address my theoretical concerns about over-rolling the ski up onto its edge, and stalling it, by letting a portion of the ski stay flatter. Airplane wings do this by a designed in twist of the wing called "washout" which means the tips of the wings are built with a slightly less angle of attack than the root of the wing. That way when the wing stalls due to too much angle of attack the wingtip is still flying so it's a gradual stall. Same with this ski. You don't have to be on the razors edge to get max lift a 1/4 degree away from a stall angle of attack (heavy on line)

 

Darn that Andy Mapple. I'd have figured this out in a century or so.

 

I want one. Bad.

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@E_T I have to agree. That 1-4 proves it's a runnable pass, he was in good shape at 4 ball. Just 4 buoys is a big enough tease for the skiing community and clever not to show all 6 - but if he runs that pass in a tourney on his new ski - he'll have a marketing wet dream. @disland, when he was here giving lessons last month he acted pleased with his radar manufacturing relationship. I doubt he switched mfr's
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Talked to Andy about 43 this summer. He said the course is narrower now than when he set the world record at 1@43 because of the bouy height. For every inch lower the ball is the skier can be 4 inches narrower. Interesting to think about. Asked him his best at 43 and he smiled and said I've gotten a piece of 5. Made me feel like he may have seen the exit gates but didn't want to say that
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Didnt Radar learn about this twist with the 2012 and 2013 stradas?? The 2012 strada, they made the ski torsionally stiffer to resist the twist, they later found out it put too many people on the back of the ski and wasnt the answer. The 13 orange strada was just the opposite, allowing the ski to torsionally flex more, but "controlling" it. Thats why the 13 strada was the best I think, it turned in better and came back to center easier. Mapple took it to another level
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@rq0013‌ I am under the impression that Radar and Mapple do R&D separately.

 

Pretty much every company in the sport has worked on torsional flex in the last few years.

 

 Goode ★ KD Skis ★ MasterCraft ★ PerfSki ★ Radar ★ Reflex ★ S Lines ★ Stokes

Drop a dime in the can

 

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@gregy- I rode the T2 back in June and now have a T1! The ski turns effortlessly and comes back under you without a feeling of load like Andy said. It also seems to ride a bit deeper that my 6.0 which feels more stable to me. I will be at the booth tomorrow and here at Nationals all week of you want to talk more. Of course Andy will really be happy to spill the scoop now. It was hard keeping this design a secret, I have seen it being developed for over a year! Exciting stuff for Mapple Skis!
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I stand corrected. We're dealing with some expiring patents right now at work, and of course those were under the old rules so that's what's on my mind. Also, I was accidentally right because any hypothetical waterski patent would have also been under the old rules. :)
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So if Jeff is on a ski that allows more torque under the bindings, wouldn't the bottom of the binding impact the torque of the ski? It looks like his standard Wiley setup, but only he knows if they have cut them down the middle or something... A solid Sequence plate lets the plate flex front to back but not sure it lets the ski twist.

 

Maybe a new binding plate that allows more torque would be beneficial? I don't know, but I remember that Goode came out with the 9100 or 9500 and touted it having less torque, and I skied pretty good on both. We all know the shortcomings of his more torque ski, not to compare Andy's design to Goode, but that is what I know and have seen.

 

Andy and Jeff can run into 43 on a 2x4, so when the masses start seeing crazy results, I will jump on the bandwagon.. Now if @OB ran into 41 all of a sudden, now we're talkin!!

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@mwetskier. Sort of. It cracks me up when people say (without irony) "I was right" when in fact the entire premise of their idea proved totally wrong and by some bizarre coincidence they came to the right answer anyhow. I tell my kids all the time "If you can't correctly explain HOW you got the answer, then I can only assume you're wrong." That's exactly the stance I have to take in any engineering meeting.

 

And so it kind of is related to being an engineer that it's important to qualify that I came to the right answer by mistake, not because I was actually right about anything.

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So, between gator1's theory on roll angle and this ski design, I'm really confused- everything I thought I know about ski flex may be wrong. At least these discussions are happening before I've bought a ski, not after, I guess, but I need a new ski (when my wife tells me it's time for a new ski, I know it). Theoretically, this kind of makes sense, even if it goes against conventional ideas, but I've never been able to ski on one of Andy's designs (even after setup advice from the man himself), so if I get one, is it the soft lateral flex or some other design feature if I can't master it? Right now I'm sucking on the ski I've run my PB on so at least I know it's me- maybe I'd better just relearn how to ski before I expect a new ski to fix me... How many skis with soft torsional flex and still longitudinal will we see in a year?
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@OB I will be your photographer/film maker and put it all together for you and with Andy just down the road.... of course I'll need the same number of paid sets so we know you were not BSing. Makes for a better study don't you think.?
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