Salomon 320 DH

After approximately two years riding my beloved Crossmax and their 247mm frame, I’ve decided to change a little thing. Thanks to the metal plate I’ve put on the strange white blob of my left skate, my boots are still useable though they’ve been through a lot of pain. Having also changed my style from so-called freeride to an almost exclusive downhill ride (the streets in Lausanne are just begging to be ridden at full speed), the only thing I really wanted for some time now was a longer frame. I’ve been considering 5 wheels frame as it’s quite common among the few downhill skaters here, but it required firstly a frame (which is not easy to find) and secondly some adjustments to fit it on the UFS boot of the FSK range (these abbreviations look quite barbaric, don’t you think ?). So, the idea have been on my mind for a few months, but the only thing that made me jump in the long frames world was the good deal I’ve found on a shop. Half price on the 320mm DH (downhill) frame made by Salomon, don’t think for too long if you see that.

Obviously the frames fit perfectly on the boots, it seems that standard systems for skates are more standard than the one encountered in other specialized world such as computers. On a side note, I’ve read on some forum that a few trustworthy skaters had mounted the frame backward in order to centre it more appropriately. I must admit that I’ve tried, but I didn’t like how it looked. It seemed to me that it was too long in the rear and not enough in the front. It also seemed to be not that well attached to the boot, but I would leave that to more experimented long frame skaters. Having said that, I must admit that mounted as it’s supposed to be, it doesn’t look as centre as it should be. Too long in front, not enough in the rear, but that didn’t pose any real problem while riding. At least for the moment…

Before going into further details, I would add that I’ve ridden on three main different setups on my 247mm. A rockered one, a hi-lo and a flat 4*80 setup. I rode these three setups on the same course, so it’s easy to see any kind of difference in how they handle. On my new 320mm frame, I ride a 4*80 setup (hyperplus wheels).

The first impression with this new frame was horrible. It felt like I was on rails or even worse, back on my anti-rocker aggro setup. At first it seemed impossible to just turn. But after a few strides and half a dozen turns, it seemed way less weird, but still not the most easier skate to handle. Before dropping from top of my city, I tried a few slides and that was my first really good impression. Hockey stops and magic slides were not that much harder to initiate, but were way more stable once sliding. Really good thing when you intend to go downhill. It also seemed to stop faster but I don’t really know if this is just the product of my imagination or a real fact. Anyway, I felt confident enough to take the bus all the way up to my usual course. To describe it, let’s say it begins at the approximate height of 720m and finishes by the lake somewhere near the 370m mark. Its length is about 7 Km and if there’s not too much traffic, you can make it in approximately 20 minutes (around 15 if you don’t have to stop and decides that pushing is more fun when going downhill, which in fact is true). That’s a brief description of my spot*.

So here I am, getting out of the bus feeling really enthusiastic about trying my new toy. The first thing that struck me was speed. I had the feeling that I was going faster that usually. The stride seemed to produce more power and even going down without pushing felt faster. After a few minutes I arrived at one of the best part, a nice straight slope. Wait for the cars to pass by… push… push… push… get into position and enjoy. Second surprise ! I’m nowhere near any speed wobbles phenomenon. The first time I did this part, was while riding the rockered setup. It was pure hell. It began to shake really hard when I hit the 40-45 Km/h limit. Then I’ve done it with the flat setup, better. Began to have wobbles when overtaking a car (so approximately 50-55 Km/H) but I could feel them coming before that. This time with the long frame, no worries at all, not even the slightest indication of anything coming. Next time I promise, I’ll push like hell to see if I can see the beginning of some vibrations.

Next test, another nice slope with two 90 degrees turns in 40 meters. I was a bit anxious about the manoeuvrability, but I’ve been able handle the skates perfectly. I’ve even been capable of changing my trajectories to overtake two cars. First time, I’ve cut the turn and overtook it by the inside, second time I overtook it using the opposite lane so, going outside. It means a lot to me. Although they’re long, they’re still quite versatile and allow a lot more then expected (this inside-outside thing was important to me as I wasn’t sure I could handle that kind of situations).

So, this is pretty much it (expect for a few slides that went quite well). My closing comments would be that this frame is really good in what it’s supposed to do : helping you going downhill safely at high speed. In this situation, its advantages exceeds by far its disadvantages. Though I don’t really know if I would recommend this frame for anything else than serious downhill, neither if I would buy it at the price they sell it here (around 140 euros), I have to admit I really like this piece of equipment. I won’t switch back to my 247mm, at least not for going downhill.

Cédric

* I say my spot since I’ve seen that Gumbzilla found quite funny that I knew every turn…

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