Hello Patrice,fivat wrote:I knew you would say this.
You made a mistake. You wrote "top riders" instead of "top racers". It's not the same, the goal in a slalom is very specific.
Real top riders should not need any plate.
Actually it's more related to the board. A real good board, which is well designed and built, should not need any artifice or any plate to work properly.
Of course there are also the bindings: how the bindings are working with or against the board.
Now some racers are complaining about the weight. A few ones are already going to thinner plates (soon you will see no plate), and even to lighter bindings (I have the example of a German racer using Redline instead of F2).
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Patrice Fivat
I don't want to comment your first statements here. Maybe your account was hacked and/you want to correct this a little bit later on, if the comments are related to race boarding at WC level
![Think :think:](./images/smilies/eusa_think.gif)
Concerning the statement on the German racer using the Redline binding..
Probably this needs some clarification..
You know, that i have bought a Redline binding to replace my F2 Race Titanium.
I am from Austria and i am a simple freecarver, using actual top race boards with Allflex plates and Point951 boots.
I have different requirements than racers have and continuously try to optimize the equipment for my needs.
Currently my board/plate setup is the best compromise for riding at all snow conditions with the best performance - from ice, groomed, bumpy, slushy to < 30cm powder on slopes - for me. For 80% of the time i use a plate because it is better and more safe and more fun for me. At certain and special conditions i prefer a plateless setup to have more fun.
I also select the weight of the equipment carefully for freecarving - not too heavy, but also not too light - and safe.
The advantage of the Redline for me is its small stack-hight, its low weight at high quality metal engineering (safety advantage over F2?).
In combination with the Allflex plate it is only 5mm higher than the F2 mounted on a board directly.
Additionally i wanted to find out if the provided sideflex is an advantage for me.
Note: We are not talking about equipment for your special EC riding in this thread, because this is already well designed for that purpose and well proven. I have nothing to add on that.
![Cool 8)](./images/smilies/icon_cool.gif)
Cheers,
Luci