Is this mostly a function of total distance skied or degradation from the skis aging? Curious if a pair of race skis rarely used would still lose flex in 3-5 years?
It is mostly from use. How much force is applied through the core and heating the core via wax iron. A pair of skis rarely used will last longer. But life is too short so we recommend skiing on great skis often and replacing them as needed (moving them down the lineup to "B" skis, then trainers and finally rock skis). Regarding skate skis, we are seeing more rapid development so current skate ski design is much more robust vs 5 year old skate ski design. There are some outliers for sure, just from production variation, but overall skate ski design is improving with each year. Classic as well, just not a rapid.
For skate skis, they get slower and also less stable. This is because the pressure in the glide zones increases and the wheelbase underfoot get shorter. On classic skis, they also show an increase in glide zone pressure but more critically, they ride lower and cannot carry as much kick wax (drag/lose of kick wax). You can always send in your skis for us to test, we offer this as a free service. ~Matt Liebsch
Buy cheap used sample different skies for conditions not all days are packed snow trails ,try short and long short you have more leverage of ski, have fun ski safe.
Is this mostly a function of total distance skied or degradation from the skis aging? Curious if a pair of race skis rarely used would still lose flex in 3-5 years?
It is mostly from use. How much force is applied through the core and heating the core via wax iron. A pair of skis rarely used will last longer. But life is too short so we recommend skiing on great skis often and replacing them as needed (moving them down the lineup to "B" skis, then trainers and finally rock skis). Regarding skate skis, we are seeing more rapid development so current skate ski design is much more robust vs 5 year old skate ski design. There are some outliers for sure, just from production variation, but overall skate ski design is improving with each year. Classic as well, just not a rapid.
If I don’t have a machine like that, is there a good way for me to tell when my skis are done?
For skate skis, they get slower and also less stable. This is because the pressure in the glide zones increases and the wheelbase underfoot get shorter. On classic skis, they also show an increase in glide zone pressure but more critically, they ride lower and cannot carry as much kick wax (drag/lose of kick wax). You can always send in your skis for us to test, we offer this as a free service. ~Matt Liebsch
Buy cheap used sample different skies for conditions not all days are packed snow trails ,try short and long short you have more leverage of ski, have fun ski safe.