Fritzski’s Ski Tip of the Week #3
If you bring your skis into a shop to get the bases and edges tuned and say nothing, they may likely use 1 degree edge bevels on both the sides and base. It’s kind of a shop default for routine work. A “one & one” works great for rental skis and is the most durable bevel.
Okay, so what should we ask for? For anyone but serious racers, the base bevel should probably always be just 1 degree. This setting provides the best performance with reasonable forgiveness and lack of “grabbyness”.
On the other hand, the side bevel angle can be varied to create a more or less acute and sharp edge. The main advantage of a higher angle or sharper edge is better grip on hard pack or icy snow. The main disadvantage of going too sharp is less durability of the edge. The sharper it is, the faster it will wear down. World Cup racers with side edges up to 5 degrees claim they can feel the edges go dull from the start to the finish of a single race.
So for serious or expert skiers, here are some recommended side & base edge bevels. You should specify these to the shop tech when you drop off your skis and make sure they annotate it on the ticket. They can easily adjust their file guides or tuning machines to any setting you request.
3 side / 1 base for aggressive front side carvers (<90mm)
2 side / 1 base for mid-fat / all-mountain skis (90-110mm)
1 side / 1 base for fat powder skis (>110mm)
When filing or tuning your own edges, it’s recommended that you can do the side edges, but not the bases. It’s better to leave the base edges to the “stone grinder” at the shop. This is because the P-tex bases along with the edges must be done at the same time to remain true. That being said, a light file with a diamond stone to smooth out and remove any burrs should be just fine.
It’s also worth mentioning that snow conditions definitely play a big role in determining the best bevel angles. For east coast skiers in typically icy conditions, these edge angles will be felt much more acutely. In soft snow, not near as much.
Hope this helps and remember these are just my recommendations. Don’t just leave it up to the shop. Figure out what works best for you and ski ya later!
