Ski & Snowboard Waxing and Tuning

Performed by skilled workers - not by part-time kids saving up for new video games.

Our hot-wax is a genuine hand ironed, hand scraped, hand brushed, hand polished job which lasts longer and applies more wax than the high production waxing machines used in many other shops.

What is a tune?

We are asked this often enough so I thought I'd give the answer here.

A Ski or Snowboard tune includes the following:

1. PTEX: PTEX is a plastic/wax compound that is melted to fill gouges. In the old days, a PTEX candle was ignited and the PTEX was dripped into the gouge - this is OLD SCHOOL!! We apply PTEX with a special fitting on a propane torch that presses the melted PTEX into gouges while heating the surrounding base material to help the PTEX bond better.

2. Hand Base flattening. Using a combination of bastard files and razor blades we remove excess PTEX to acheive an "almost" flat base.

3. Base Grinder. We use a Fontaine Belt Grinder which is essentially a 500 lb oversized wet belt sander with a pressurized power feed. We purposely pre-wear our belts so they remove very little material and result in almost zero "hairs" - hairs are typically the negative side-effect of belt grinders.

4. Edge Sharpening. We typically do progressive base bevels (the angle of the bottom edge of the base) from about 1 degree under foot to 5 degrees at the tip and tail. The Side edge angles are sharpened to 1, 2, or 3 degrees depending on the brand of ski. We use the base grinder for sharpening as hand tools (files) typically cannot effectively sharpen edges that have rock hit marks.

5. Detuning and deburring. Tips and tails are detuned to reduce the length of the fully sharpened edge. Typical skiers cannot handle a ski that is sharp from tip to tail. Deburring is generally done with a few passes of a gummy-stone. This results in a sharp edge that is smooth to the tough - less likely to slice your hands open.

6. Wax. Wax keeps your base from drying out, protects the base and "lubricates" the base to achieve higher speeds. Waxes are temperature dependant - softer wax for warm weather, harder for cold temperatures. We recommend hard waxes for those people who don't wax often. We recommend waxing at least every 3rd day of skiing. Wax is dripped onto the skis base, then ironed into the base. After the wax has cooled, we scrape off the excess, brush for an even finish then do our magical polish treatment. Some bases absorb more wax than others - typically the more expensive the ski or board, the better the base material, the more wax will absorb.

Thanks Paul Lavoie

While the name, Paul Lavoie, may not mean anything to you, his name is recognized on the WorldCup ski circuit. Paul has been responsible for the "behind the scenes" ski tuning and waxing of men and women from Canada and USA who reached podium positions. Paul was generous enough to share his knowledge and skills with me in 2003 after the original shop opened in Calgary. This was a huge confidence booster for me. After doing ski service work in a couple shops in previous years, I desperately wanted to know what the best in the business did.

So, to answer that little voice in your head. Yes, although we are primarily a bicycle shop, we take great pride in applying the techniques learned from years of ski tuning and those secrets learned from Paul. We actually know what the hell we're doing here.

(403) 932-7010

Bike Bros.

#6, 122-4th Ave. W

Cochrane, Ab