Dreaded crust + yeti ski

[Niseko]

Less yanking bars and more leaning of the ski!

Crust on a Yeti Ski... try less yanking of the bars and more leaning of the bike / ski!

Similar to skiing in crust and crud on skis.. the ones you put on your feet!... keep the tips pointed into the crust and increase the angle of lean to turn. This will push through the crust in line with the ski, minimize side to side pull... and keep your skis connected to the boots and knees out of surgery. Also works on the bike...

The Yeti ski has a natural turn angle when you lean it... same as those skiing skis!it has side cuts with a wider tip and tail.. narrower middle... so keep ski pointed straight and LEAN. It will turn through its shape in a natural arc.

Lean in an exaggerated motocross style.. elbows up. Sit on the side of the seat like your railing ruts in a berm on the pro circuit!!

Really bad crust in a straight line... put a lean the bike so you are always turning slightly from one side of the trail to the other. The ski is more stable when not in a neutral position... this is true of ANY ski in crust.

Other skis are more parallel... wash out easier if pushed hard... but are more forgiving for the average rider.

Meh!!! But yeah if Im feeling lazy and just want to cruise I temporarily put an old (Not NEW) timbersled ski on front and cruise!...

 

[Norma Stitz]

Crust on a Yeti Ski... try less yanking of the bars and more leaning of the bike / ski!

Similar to skiing in crust and crud on skis.. the ones you put on your feet!... keep the tips pointed into the crust and increase the angle of lean to turn. This will push through the crust in line with the ski, minimize side to side pull... and keep your skis connected to the boots and knees out of surgery. Also works on the bike...

The Yeti ski has a natural turn angle when you lean it... same as those skiing skis!it has side cuts with a wider tip and tail.. narrower middle... so keep ski pointed straight and LEAN. It will turn through its shape in a natural arc.

Lean in an exaggerated motocross style.. elbows up. Sit on the side of the seat like your railing ruts in a berm on the pro circuit!!

Really bad crust in a straight line... put a lean the bike so you are always turning slightly from one side of the trail to the other. The ski is more stable when not in a neutral position... this is true of ANY ski in crust.

Other skis are more parallel... wash out easier if pushed hard... but are more forgiving for the average rider.

Meh!!! But yeah if Im feeling lazy and just want to cruise I temporarily put an old (Not NEW) timbersled ski on front and cruise!...

Trust me i tried different approaches but the ski went haywire at times and we have crusty snow here a lot I’d say. Yes it would turn when leaned, and then hook and turn too much. Straighten out and then it would shoot too straight. It sucked. Yes it may have carved a little harder but the trade off isn’t worth it to me.

 

[chumbilly1]

Im very eager to try the new CMX ski. For you with the yeti skis, have you cut the edge profile off of the front of ski as was suggested years back? or mellowed out the hump in the center keel? Both of these option detune the ski slightly and IMHO improve its crusty habits. I really like the look of the triple point skag mounted inside the yeti center keel. Gonna try it.

 

[Norma Stitz]

Im very eager to try the new CMX ski. For you with the yeti skis, have you cut the edge profile off of the front of ski as was suggested years back? or mellowed out the hump in the center keel? Both of these option detune the ski slightly and IMHO improve its crusty habits. I really like the look of the triple point skag mounted inside the yeti center keel. Gonna try it.

I shaved the center skag a little and it didn’t really change much. I never cut any plastic on any of them.

 

[byeatts]

Crust on a Yeti Ski... try less yanking of the bars and more leaning of the bike / ski!

Similar to skiing in crust and crud on skis.. the ones you put on your feet!... keep the tips pointed into the crust and increase the angle of lean to turn. This will push through the crust in line with the ski, minimize side to side pull... and keep your skis connected to the boots and knees out of surgery. Also works on the bike...

The Yeti ski has a natural turn angle when you lean it... same as those skiing skis!it has side cuts with a wider tip and tail.. narrower middle... so keep ski pointed straight and LEAN. It will turn through its shape in a natural arc.

Lean in an exaggerated motocross style.. elbows up. Sit on the side of the seat like your railing ruts in a berm on the pro circuit!!

Really bad crust in a straight line... put a lean the bike so you are always turning slightly from one side of the trail to the other. The ski is more stable when not in a neutral position... this is true of ANY ski in crust.

Other skis are more parallel... wash out easier if pushed hard... but are more forgiving for the average rider.

Meh!!! But yeah if Im feeling lazy and just want to cruise I temporarily put an old (Not NEW) timbersled ski on front and cruise!...

Agreed , the 19 Yeti ski is fantastic, Those looking to ride a couch should stay home and watch Oprah.

 

[Norma Stitz]

Agreed , the 19 Yeti ski is fantastic, Those looking to ride a couch should stay home and watch Oprah.

Lol well I’m not describing a 19 ski, whatever they did might be a miracle, but what I had going on was ruining the experience. All I can say is that it wasn’t right that’s all. If you could feel it you’d agree. And I compared to other kits on same day and it was night and day difference. So, I’ll take the couch and a well handling bike too thanks.

 

[Niseko]

Yeti Ski - What it gives in performance in good conditions it can takes away in ease of use in crusty conditions. (19 somewhat better, 18, 17, 16 they all had a similar character in crust!)

My point was it's still a good ski in bad conditions... but much more demanding and less forgiving. But agreed not everyone wants to ride like its a race all the time.

We run lots of tours - Ive seen 25yr old MX racers tear up crust like its nothing... and others struggle to move. Technique, fitness and intent have a huge effect.

I would recommend getting an old TS spindle and ski - watch the snow conditions and bolt on whats best for the day. I have always found the old TS Ski to be the best all round ski if you don't push it...

In the end though it's about what YOU want from the snowbike - and some people are more focused on whats on the horizon, being out in the mountains than ripping turns.

Other options are vary the terrain you are riding... stick to trees... stay away from wind exposed areas and change your route to suit the conditions.
If you learn an area well enough you should always be able to find alternate routes to better suite the conditions.

Its easier then chasing the perfect ski, ever seen a skier with just one pair of skis.. nope..

Final thought... bike setup also affects ski performance ALOT... enduro or mx bike?... An enduro bike with stock soft front springs can make the front dive under pressure... swap in harder springs... I am not talking about needing to take your forks to a suspension specialist...which is good ... but just swapping the springs... it quick and cheap.
DON'T buy a Trio or similar solution... harder springs are cheaper do the same thing and are soooooo much lighter - crazy to add unsprung weight to the front - I pity the poor bastards having to race with those things due to sponsorship.
Things that are free and also help alot - push down the fork tubes (similar to sand tracks) with a little as possible sticking out at the top of the triple clamp and make sure rear strut isn't too long - the seat / rear should NOT be sticking up.

 

[brad1960]

That’s weird because the side runners seem so far back to me.

Are the Yeti and Timbersled spindle hole Diameters the same size ?

 

[Popik]

So having had the chance yesterday to ride both the Yeti and the TS Ski back to back in various conditions I came to the conclusion that the Yeti ski is as rideable as the old Timbersled Mountain Ski. It was terrible on cost and hard pack and incredibly vague in Deep pow as well as deep spring like pow. I was pleasantly reassured that the TS Aro ski is the best of what's out there. Ill add that I haven't had the chance to try a CMX ski but in 6 yrs of snodiking I have also yet to even see a CMX kit in the flesh so it cant be that good either lol.

 

[sotien]

I got the ts traverse ski to fit with the 22 yeti by dremeling the ski slightly and using the yeti rubber. The yeti spindle is shorter and using the ts one would make it have way to much ski pressure.

 

[byeatts]

I do have the CMX skis here complete just one bolt and shes done $550