FasterSkier Forums » Gear

1. ulrkaa
   Member

   Anyone out there how trieded both V2 150 SC or V2 125 RC for classical skiing. I can not find anyone here i Europe who is such experienced as many of you are.

   I want XL speedreducer and XL brake and I will use the rollerski for classicskiing. I have been a offroad skater with pneumatic wheels (Streetfeet)for some years and a classical xc-skier since 40 (help! years. I have Salomon Combi Boots now.

   My questions:

   Is the 150 SC with outriggers stable enough for classical rollerskiing if you are a beginner?

   Same risk with V2 150 SC or V2 125 RC
   - to touch the ground offroad with the chassi?
   - not to achive a good classical technic while rollerskiing?
   - for example not to lift the rear wheel(-s) from the ground after kicking?

   I love pneumatics, but hate punctures. Has someone experiences with the XL 900 and the new XL speedreducers?
   One option för me: continue crss skating with my Streetfeets and have punctures and use 900 XL on road withaut punctures.

   The german who lives in Sweden and loosed his english...

   Posted 1 year ago #

2. ulrkaa
   Member

   Sorry, forgotten explanations: RC 125 is the 3-wheeled Jenex Aero roller and the SC 150 the Aero 2-wheeled Combi roller.

   Posted 1 year ago #

3. Lawrence
   Member

   For skating offroad, there is nothing like the Aero 150. With the outriggers, you should be fine classic skiing with the 150SC. This is not a beginners classic ski, but if you are skating off-road with Streetfeets, you should pick it up quickly.

   The 125RC is a really great, classic-only, off-road ski. But it doesn't skate.

   I have used Aero 150 SC's for 12 years, and I have never had a puncture. Maybe I'm just lucky. I will tell you, though, changing tires is difficult and time-consuming. I know that Len at Jenex sells a jig to make it easier. I've done it with tire irons, and it is not easy. Still, if you want one ski, the Aero150SC is a beauty.

   Lawrence

   Posted 1 year ago #

4. ulrkaa
   Member

   Thank you Lawrence for your kind advices. No puncture in eleven years sounds like heaven for me. I have had about 10 punctures in just one year.

   I read almost everything about Jenex Aeros written from you and others on Fasterskier.
   Can you help med with some more informations about the aeros - I perhaps have missed these info?

   How well does the XL speedreducers works on nonpaved roads? Any risks for small stones get stuck/fast?
   And how does the XL speedreducers works when its raining? Risks? Not working as good as in fine weather? Spatter much more with muds than without?
   Are the Jenexbearings tightened against water?

   I am rollerskiing about 2-3 hours a time – is there a risk to get tired balancing with classic skiing on the 150 sc? I am impressed that you don’t need outriggers! I myself have no problems with tiredness while skating on the Streetfeets, but they have soft boots. I use not to tighten the boots much at all – I like them loose and I am skating best if I am balancing all the time, feeling that the wheels always are in line with my body – you wrote about that earlier.

   Thank you for helping me

   Posted 1 year ago #

5. Lawrence
   Member

   Ulrkaa,

   The speed reducers work well on non-paved roads, but deep, sandy pockets are quite dangerous, as are large stones. The best roads will be well-packed, without loose sand or stones. A rule of thumb might be that if you can ride a road bike fairly comfortably on the road (that means taking turns without sliding), it will be alright for 150's. I have had stones jamb between the front fork and wheel. A stone needs to be over 2 centimeters to do this. Smaller stuff is no problem (it often is with small-wheel roller skis). I have never fallen because of a rock jamb, though, and it has only happened twice in 12 years.

   The speed reducers do not like rain! They will work fine when wet, but water gets driven between the 2 bearings and winds up penetrating the bearing seals. I have discovered my speed-reducers completely frozen a couple of days after getting them wet, and have had to use vise-grips to break them free. I have not found a spray or wax that helps. My recommendation is not to use them at all in wet conditions. I have even put tape around them to protect them from water. Also, if the road is wet, dirt will begin to cake on the speed reducers, making the skis slow down. I don't consider this at all dangerous, but it is not great.

   Yes, absolutely, as you get tired, balancing becomes more of an issue. Heck, I even topple over on my snow skis when I'm beat. If I am going long on the 150's, I have my fairly rigid combi boots very snug. When I get tired, I do more double poling. Like you, I prefer to ski without stiff boots, and believe that skating is fine with a low boot if the boot is snug around the foot. But, when I get tired, my ankles seem to go first. I'm not a great or strong skier, though.

   As for the outriggers, I have never tried them. Adding outriggers on the outside of the skis seems like a good idea, though. But they are heavy, and will make the tails drag when skating.

   Lawrence

   Posted 1 year ago #

6. Lawrence
   Member

   Ulrkaa, I wanted to mention one more thing about speed reducers. I used to change the bearing on the previous model of speed reducers, and replace them with SK bearing. This required cutting rivets, etc. The new speed reducers look like this might be easy to do, as all one needs to do is remove the screws holding the speed reducer axles to the arms. I haven't tried it though, but it was a good money saver with the old ones. I'll post if I try it.

   Lawrence

   Posted 1 year ago #

7. rbladel
   Member

   I use Aero 150 CSs with one outrigger on the outside of each ski for classic training. I used it without the outriggers at first, but it requires complete focus on every kick to get down the road without a stumble. Though I haven't compared directly, my guess is that one outrigger is less weight in the rear of the ski than the three wheel Aero RC. I should weigh a 150 wheel plus an outrigger assembly vs. two 125 wheels to get a better idea.

   I have had flats, but pretty rarely on the 150 wheels. I wear 'em down to the cords, 'cuz I'm a cheapskate. (or, sometimes, a cheapclassic. . .) Changing tires used to be a real struggle, but I now have it down pretty well. The secret is to clamp a Phillips screwdriver or other rod in a good vice to slide the wheel's axle hole over, so that you have a solid setup to push on with your hands and thumbs. I used to use some silicone lube spray, but I gave that up as I've gotten better. Some careful, judicious use of bicycle tire levers is a help, too.

   Randy

   Posted 1 year ago #

8. Lawrence
   Member

   I have one more observation about Aero 150s. Many good skiers have found these skis difficult for classic skiing. I know others, including myself, who use them regularly and love them. I think that skiers who are competitive and in a challenging training cycle might have difficulty with Aero 150s because they cannot immediately do the workout they are used to doing with this ski. There is definitely a learning curve involved with these skis, and one cannot expect to get on them and do normal workouts during the first couple of weeks.

   On the other hand, I think there is a big payoff to learning to use Aeros. Dirt roads are really terrific for many kinds of training, as they provide natural resistance and allow a great pole plant and push.

   Posted 1 year ago #

9. rbladel
   Member

   Okay, with a combination of a scale and official weights from Jenex, I have figured that a pair of Aero three-wheeled Retro Classics weigh about 220 grams more than a pair of Aero CSs with one outrigger on each ski. That's about 8.6% more. With two outriggers per ski, the CSs would weigh 100 grams more than the Retro Classics.

   The Retro Classics are also 5.4 cms longer, though. As most would mount the bindings so that extra length is in front of the binding pivot, they likely balance about the same or even better. They still won't skate, though.

   Randy

   Posted 1 year ago #

10. rbladel
    Member

    P.S. I use the regular (115) red skating bumpers in my classic Aeros, and the hard (125) red skating bumpers in my skaters. You can also add a bead of hot melt glue to the rear of the bumper to add to the compression.

    Bottoming out on rough surfaces can be a problem, especially with the longer CS. At the suggestion of Robin at Jenex, I've started to add a replaceable sacrificial strip of duct tape to the bottom to protect from scratches and dings that may serve as focal points for stress and earlier failure.

    Randy

    Posted 1 year ago #

11. ulrkaa
    Member

    Thank you Lawrence and rbladel for the perfect informations you gave me. Checking upp the weight/length off the 125 rc and 150 sc is an important question for a god ski like ride. You have a high discussion level here on fasterski!

    For to show you my gratitude I open a new thread with some links just in case you have to change the tires.

    Thank you!

    Posted 1 year ago #

12. ulrkaa
    Member

    Just want to thank you all for your good advices. I bought both Jenex aero 125rc and Marwe classic cap 700. I will have many phantastic years with my gears...

    Posted 1 year ago #

13. tradesmith45
    Member

    ulrkaa, you've gotten advise from the best. Enjoy your new gear!

    We've had discussions about speed reducer bearing here in the past. This season was really wet for our team. We were surfing in 1-2" of water during many roller ski sessions. We didn't have a single speed reducer bearing freeze up. A couple classic clutches did freeze & need lube.

    I was surprised. But we are always on pavement. I suspect the problems Lawrence has reported may be the mix of water & very fine clay soils. Mt. bikers will tell you how hard dirt is on gear. MTBers have told me they have to make a repair about every other off road ride they do when its muddy. You might expect the same RSing off-road.

    We do use the 150 w/ out rigger wheels some. It works fine but off road could produce some bobbles - -its a small narrow wheel that could be stopped by small stones.

    Lawrence, your test for surface requirements - road biking - is perfect.

    Posted 1 year ago #

14. rbladel
    Member

    The outrigger wheels on my Aero SCs are quite worn, plus adjusted so that they are at their highest level off the pavement, so they rarely touch, until I get tired or lose focus and bobble. They are of course worn mostly to the outside, so they are shaped like a truncated cone.

    I don't use them off-road, but I have had the same problem as Lawrence with water working into the seals and corroding the bearings of the speed reducers. I had one fail completely on a long downhill where the bearings just flew apart, leaving the outer ring dangling on the reducer arm. My rule of thumb is now to replace them when they start to sound like a swarm of angry bees.

    Randy

    Posted 1 year ago #

15. Lawrence
    Member

    Angry bees!! Yes, exactly. I like it when one speed reducer is buzzing and the other one is quiet: hhmmmmm ZZZZZZ hhhmmmmm ZZZZZZ.

    I just made a very happy discovery. When I had the old one-arm speed reducers, it was quite a project to cut the rivets on the bearing axle to remove and change the bearings -- worth it to save the money for a poor old fart like me.

    But the new u-lever speed reducers are amazing! Just loosen a nut, slide the axle out, and there are the bearings. I just popped the seals and cleaned and lubricated the bearings, and it took only a couple of minutes. (For those who have never opened a sealed bearing, it is very easy to slip a sharp blade under the part of the bearing seal near the center, and just pop the it out.)

    When I need to replace the bearings I get SKF bearing number 608-2RSH. Exactly the same size, and at least the same quality. SKF are made in Italy, home of Campagnolo. Very, very good bearings!

    By the way, I had emergency surgery last month for a burst appendix. Infection so bad I was on intravenous antibiotics for more than a week, and my incision (only about 3 inches long) was not sewn up -- it was left to close my itself. I was told to do nothing for 2 months, but I was on a spin bike in 12 days, running (barefoot on an indoor track) in 2 weeks, and back to rollerskiing in under 4 weeks. The lesson? The nice, strong abdominal muscles you get from cross-country skiing stand you in good stead when they cut into your abdomen.

    But I am f-ing slow!

    Posted 1 year ago #

16. ulrkaa
    Member

    Now i have tried my Jenex 125 rc for about 5 hours.

    The quality seems to be very good. I wanted to have a safe hard training tool with three wheels so I don’t need indoor training in the cellar…. Now I have best possibilities for pooling and diagonal sliding with substantial charge.

    First conclusions:

    - I can balance safely also on only one ski, easy handling over all and they goes very straight, good training cause of the weight…

    - downhill is really safe because of the speedreducers, the effect can easily be increased

    - brake functions is perfect, I believe due to brake slopes on both the batch wheels on this model

    - on non paved surfaces the 125 rc is 15 - 50% slower than my crosscountry skis on snow, I think they are more slowly than Jenex aeros for skating, good for me: masses with hard training this summer

    - on paved surfaces can I nearly reach ski similar speeds, but I even bought a pair common Marwe RS for speed training too. I will use the 125 rc speedreducers for interval training and hillsimulations.

    - surprising: corner functions (?) nearly as on skis

    To sum up

    - they can function well for beginners perhaps also for those without ski experiences, but they need to be welltrained - otherwise they will get welltrained the good old/hard way, but start carefully with short rides…

    - perfect for experienced people who want to train hard, whereever you want, even on poor surfaces

    Posted 12 months ago #

17. Jon44
    Member

    Thanks for the report.

    How about the "fun" factor. I always imagined that these skis would be so stable (3 wheels) that it would feel less like skiing and more like being on a nordic track (or being on very wide BC skis). Did you find this to be the case?

    Posted 11 months ago #

18. ulrkaa
    Member

    Hallo Jon44,

    for me its more! like BC, it feels as secure as BC skies in the track, not so much balancing, not so much correcting the direction like with other rollerski.

    The funfactor is not about speed but that I get a great workout....

    The german who lives i Sweden and tries english...

    Posted 11 months ago #

19. auteneric
    Member

    Lawrence, or anyone else in this discussion:

    "When I need to replace the bearings I get SKF bearing number 608-2RSH. Exactly the same size, and at least the same quality. SKF are made in Italy, home of Campagnolo. Very, very good bearings!"

    Where can I get these?

    Posted 10 months ago #

20. Lawrence
    Member

    auteneric: I just walked into a bearing supply store here in Montreal and bought a few. There are places online, such as:
    http://www.bearing-king.co.uk/bearing/608-2rsh-skf/3554/United+States

    Sorry I don't know more. I had the bearings taken from a speed reducer in hand, and they gave me the SKF bearings, which work perfectly.

    Posted 10 months ago #

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