Hi everyone,
I live in Australia where as you may know we have rather short snow seasons lasting at best three months and pretty poor quality snow. The situation seems to be getting worse during the past decade which made me think how we could enjoy a bit longer something that at least remotely resembles skiing. I have finally came up with a relatively simple design of skiing device that can carve on dry surface.
I had earlier tried rolling tread based ski and researched many other products such as roller ski, Herb carvers etc. and they do not seem to be anywhere near carving ski in terms of turning and speed control. I spent a few bucks on patent applications and building prototypes but I am not sure if I should risk more funding to make a few more pairs (short series manufacturing is quite expensive). This brief video taken on the day my gear was made, although not very exciting, shows how it works. The front and rear wheels turn in sync on edging. The turning radius can be as short as 1.5m (6feet). I am sourcing larger wheels and will try them on grass. I'll also add brakes to the rear wheel assemblies that engage in sharp turns in order to add safey on steeper slopes.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eiSip6J03Q[/youtube]
I have been trying to collect some feedback from skiers around the world and would appreciate your views which would help me make my mind whether I should try taking it further or just stop here and enjoy riding my prototype in preparation for the skiing season. Please let me know if you think that this is something suitable for learning, training, preparing for the snow or just enjoying in summer.
I live in Australia where as you may know we have rather short snow seasons lasting at best three months and pretty poor quality snow. The situation seems to be getting worse during the past decade which made me think how we could enjoy a bit longer something that at least remotely resembles skiing. I have finally came up with a relatively simple design of skiing device that can carve on dry surface.
I had earlier tried rolling tread based ski and researched many other products such as roller ski, Herb carvers etc. and they do not seem to be anywhere near carving ski in terms of turning and speed control. I spent a few bucks on patent applications and building prototypes but I am not sure if I should risk more funding to make a few more pairs (short series manufacturing is quite expensive). This brief video taken on the day my gear was made, although not very exciting, shows how it works. The front and rear wheels turn in sync on edging. The turning radius can be as short as 1.5m (6feet). I am sourcing larger wheels and will try them on grass. I'll also add brakes to the rear wheel assemblies that engage in sharp turns in order to add safey on steeper slopes.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eiSip6J03Q[/youtube]
I have been trying to collect some feedback from skiers around the world and would appreciate your views which would help me make my mind whether I should try taking it further or just stop here and enjoy riding my prototype in preparation for the skiing season. Please let me know if you think that this is something suitable for learning, training, preparing for the snow or just enjoying in summer.