Mt Top Ski
- Thread starter byeatts
- Start date
I have the 2025 MTN top. I have about 15 hours. Regarding the ski, really to early to tell, but I have some adjusting suspension to be impressed. It can grap and dart more than prior skis. I'm not sold on the live keel yet, it may be the reason I get some twitchy feedback that I don't remember on the other skis. Even though I hate the yeti ski on crust, at this point I prefer it to the live keel ski on trail and in the deep. Maybe related to weight on the ski, but it lacks directional stability, go straight no twitch, as compared to my yeti or cmx ski. I am also interested in feedback from others. Does the 2024 MTN top have the live keel?
good info . I,m always cautious when i see things like the live keel, The CMX is straight non parabolic and little better in crust than Yeti , but in powdwer the yeti is fantastic, I will be playing more and altering all 3 skegs profile on the yeti ski as well. the outer runners can have 3/8 inch removed to help minimize the crust dart .
Yes, the '24 MT TOP has the live keel ski.
M
mtnthumper
Member
I just set up a 25 xfer and one thing I noticed when the ski doesn't have any weight on it there is a lot of free play. I can slide the ski rubber back and forth and wiggle the ski up\down and left\right easily. I haven't ridden yet, but concerned that is may cause issues.
T
teal_210
Well-known member
Something is not right, it should be very tight when new. Make sure that you have the sleeve in your spindle.
Ski should be tight and tipped up at the front about 20 degrees when new.
M
mtnthumper
Member
Thanks I will check that out. The ski was on the spindle when I picked it up so I didn't look very close at it.
I have a new 25 Mt Top and went for my first ride last week. I thought the front end was a little heavy and darted too. I have ohlin forks which were sprung for 200-220lb. I called the folks at MT Top and suggested I reduce the spring weight which will help settle the front end and work better with the kit. As of now I went back to my stock forks WP AER 48 set for 175 pound rider. Waiting for more snow to see if it changes the ride.
On another note regarding the live keel ski, I purchased one last year for a RALE kit I had and it was a really great ski for that kit
On another note regarding the live keel ski, I purchased one last year for a RALE kit I had and it was a really great ski for that kit
M
mtnthumper
Member
Update on the ski situation...
After looking closer at the ski, all the parts were there and the ski bolt was torqued. It just seems to be a sloppy fit. So I cut a few pieces of tin and shimmed up under the rubber; tightened it to the point I needed pressure to get the bolt in.
I have a few rides on it now and it handles great. No darting, or feedback from sled tracks. Compared to an aro with a trio front shock is night and day. The comment from the other rider was "I can actually relax!". I do think this is mostly a ski pressure thing and not just the ski.
After looking closer at the ski, all the parts were there and the ski bolt was torqued. It just seems to be a sloppy fit. So I cut a few pieces of tin and shimmed up under the rubber; tightened it to the point I needed pressure to get the bolt in.
I have a few rides on it now and it handles great. No darting, or feedback from sled tracks. Compared to an aro with a trio front shock is night and day. The comment from the other rider was "I can actually relax!". I do think this is mostly a ski pressure thing and not just the ski.
MTN top has good feedback if you paid 10K usd 14K canadianpeso I can assure you yourfitment should be better and should not require shim stock. Give dealer/mfg a call they will for sure help you out.
I rode the 126" Mtn Top and my 2025 TS Riot 3 Pro back to back all day yesterday and was super impressed with the 126 kit and especially the Mtn top ski on the trail. Could ride 5th gear 1 handed on the trail on the Mtn top, it was that stable, my TS is a handful on the trail in comparison. The Mtn top kit rode a full gear higher than my TS, too, in the goods. Both bikes were basically the same. 2023 KTM 450 XCF on the TS and 2024 Factory edition Gas-Gas MC450. On The Mtn top/gas-gas we were only running 175psi in the air fork and on my TS I have to run 200-205psi or it bottoms out.
Yah the track magic is the 3.5 pitch with the tall soft paddles. It does not pull RPM down at all on my 3.25 yeti build,the other facter is all the kits except Yeti have a skeleton metal chassis and they pack with as much as 30 lbs snow and ice , I weighed my CMX 129 kit after a ride completly packed with snow and it was over 30 lbs additioal weight typically when temps are warmer and snow gets sticky and freezes,All brands with metal framework collect snow,the yeti holds almost no snow at all it simply sildes off the Carbon framework ,Im not sold on the Mt top ski live keel and always skeptic about gimmicks,its heavier and far less agressive than the Yeti and CMX for powder riding and washes out when put into hard turns. When people test skis theres far more to the picture , fork height , Fork pressure,strut adjustment,spindle mount location, Skid preload ect.
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Less than Recommended TSS length (tried diff settings) and have tried several adjustments on Susp. TS ski works well on hard banked pow turns and doesn't wash-out in the goods but is very darty and harder to turn on the trail.
A few years ago we took a CMX, Timbersled, and MtnTop ski's out and tested them all side by side. We swapped them between a Riot 3 and CMX 120. in the powder that day It was hard to tell the difference. The road was freshly groomed and not icy and the MtnTop was better buy a little bit, then Timbersled, then CMX. That said I have been riding all 3 again this year on the crusty snow and icy roads and the Timbersled is WAY better than the other 2. CMX is darty in the crust but great on the road and the MtnTop is darty everywhere and really heavy to steer on the icy roads. Timbersled was the best overall for those conditions. Side note as mentioned above the MtnTop has a bit of play in the system. I replaced the spindle bushing and that helped but it still is not tight like the other 2. One upside to the MtnTop is $30 skags vs $100+ for the other 2 brands. We need more snow to continue our comparisons but for now in the crust we are all putting Timbersled and CMX ski's on.
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