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Keep those bases fast and prevent oxidized surface wax with a simple end of season tune you can do at home.

Are your Nordic skis in need of a stone grind? We can help! Our team uses very specific techniques for servicing Nordic skis including our Wintersteiger RS 350. Learn more below. Or visit our ski service page for more details on service pricing.

The delicate nature of Nordic Skis has turned grinding their bases into an art form. The bases are very thin, and cannot take the grinding pressure from a normal stone grinder. The Start Haus has acquired the ultimate stone grinder for race skis. The Wintersteiger RS 350 is designed specifically for delicate finish work. This machine has more adjustment variables than any other stone grinder on the market. You can infinitely vary the speed of the stone, the speed of the feed wheel that sends the skis through the stone, and the pressure of the feed wheel. It can produce patterns that will work in any snow temperatures, humidity’s, and snow crystal shapes.

The RS 350 has preset patterns in a computer brain that were developed through years of testing

Tune for Speed Clinic

In Person at the Shop & Virtual
Saturday, November 25, 2023, at 6pm

Join world-renowned ski racer Travis Ganong and Start Haus lead tech Brandon Sims for an evening of ski tech and tuning. Hear directly from Ganong on how he wants his ski to be teched for a World Cup race as Sims explains his philosophy for tuning skis for race day based on conditions and the athlete. The event, hosted at Start Haus, is free and open to the public. For those unable to attend in person, the event will be recorded and live-streamed on the Start Haus website.

Watch the Live Stream Here!

Tahoe might still be in a snow globe but we have bikes on the brain and we know you will be sneaking down the hill to get some pedaling in soon. We are gearing up for singletrack season and our team is now offering bike service! Our bike service hours are still limited and appointments are strongly encouraged, so be sure to give us a call before you swing by.

Join us for our 2019/20 ski tuning clinic series!  We'll be cover all the basics to get you up and running maintaining your own gear.  Covering wax selection, application, edge beveling, sharpening, and more.  Head to our FaceBook event page to sign up!

December 7th, 6PM- Ski Waxing & Maintenance Clinic

December 21st, 6PM- Ski Waxing & Maintenance Clinic

January 18th, 6PM- Ski Waxing & Maintenance Clinic

February 15th, 6PM- Tuning for Spring

The New Wintersteiger Omega – What it Does for You

A quality grind is a critical part of a good ski tune, and with the addition of a Wintersteiger Omega, Start Haus continues to offer cutting edge options for ski tuning, whether you’re a racer or recreational skier.

Why is the Omega better?

First – it has the ability to grind separate patterns for the sides, or margins, of the ski.

On the ski, that means Start Haus can set one pattern down the middle – say an aggressive pattern designed to move water, making for a faster ski on warm, wet snow. But where a traditional grind would put that pattern right out to the edge, where it can be grabby when making turns – the Omega can give you two smooth margins down the sides of the ski.

That makes for quicker, smoother turn initiation and release without grabbing – giving your ski a sportier, more playful feel.

For racers, quick turn initiation without grab saves speed and momentum too.

Beyond the ability

Join us for our much sought after winter tune clinic series!  We'll cover an array of topics to help you keep those skis sharp and fast.  Check out the schedule below:

November 24th-  Wax and Maintenance

December 15th- Intro to Race Tuning

January 12th- Advanced Tuning

February 16th- Tuning for Spring Conditions

SALE IS NOW COMPLETE!

Thanks to everyone who made this one of our biggest consignment sales yet!  We'll be compiling sales reports in the coming weeks.  Standby for a notification of your credit.

Start planning for the annual Start Haus Ski Consignment Sale! Got skis stacking up in your garage? Bring em down and turn that old gear into new.

Accepting skis now!

Bring us your used or new skis & race suits to get checked in and priced! Choose either 80% store credit or 60% cash and clear out that old gear!

Sale happens over labor day weekend, every year. This is a great way to sell off your old skis & race suits, and shop for either newer used gear or take advantage of our store-wide sale!

Bikes, skis, and more will be on sale for up-to HALF OFF.

In Part 1 we looked at ski waxing basics, and in Part 2, we got a little more advanced with edge tuning. This week, we’ll take a look at finishing both of those jobs up with brushing and sidewall finishing.

Brushing

A common mistake we see at Start Haus is folks who think they’re trying to create a glass-smooth coating on the bottom of their skis with wax, and the more the better. The truth is, glass smooth isn’t fast – in fact it creates suction drag on the snow. That’s why ski bases have a pattern in them, and we don’t want to plug up that grind pattern with wax.

We want the wax inside the base, not on top of it. So after waxing and letting the skis cool, it’s critical to finish with scraping and brushing.

It boils down to taking the excess wax off in steps from scraping with a plexi scraper down through a few levels of brushing.

For those who really want to do a detailed job:

• Start with a wire brush to really dig into the grind structure
• Follow up with a nylon brush to start smoothing

Don’t wait until the trails are snow-free and prime to start looking at your mountain bike – now’s the time to get it dialed in for the season.

To get the most out of your bike, there’s a few things you can do at home, and a few you might want to schedule some time with our amazing mechanics for.

Tires:

First off – check your tires. Do the treads look ok? Are the side knobs undercut? Center treads worn smooth? And if you’re running tubeless (we hope you’re running tubeless) – now’s a great time to open up the bead to see if you still have sealant, or if it’s formed a big snot ball at the bottom of the tire.

If it’s time to replace tires, check out our tire guide here. And if you don’t have the tools to get a tubeless tire off or back on the rim to check sealant, swing by Start Haus.

Suspension:

Quality suspension makes or breaks a good mountain bike – and too many of us neglect these high-tech pieces of our bikes, resulting in degraded performance and diminished lifespans. Fortunately,

Home Ski Care 101 – Part 2

Last week we talked about the first step you can take in home ski maintenance – waxing. This week we’ll take a step up in technique and tools for edge tuning. This can be a little more intimidating than waxing, and if in doubt the expert tuners at Start Haus will get your skis singing – but if you’re ready, follow this simple guide.

Like last week, we’ll assume you aren’t a ski racer for today’s blog. For most of us, a few files and a few guides to set base and edge angles will give all the performance we’re looking for.

Guides - Setting the Angles:

The most common ski tune at the Start Haus is a 1-2, or a 1 degree base bevel and a 2 degree side bevel. That’ sharp without being crazy sharp, keeps the ski from catching when it’s not on edge, and works in a variety of conditions.

So we’ll need a 1 degree base bevel guide and a 2 degree side bevel guide.

It isn’t required, but a custom clamp will help keep the file on the guide.

Files – Shaping and Smoothing:

We

There’s nothing like a freshly tuned and waxed pair of skis from the Start Haus award-winning ski tuners. But many of our customers like to take on some of the regular tasks of keeping there skis running smooth and fast, and we’ve got the tools to get you started.

First, let’s talk waxing- a great way to regularly keep your skis running smooth.

We’ll assume you aren’t a ski racer today – who have there own special waxing needs for training and race day. The rest of us can get a whole lot of benefit from a much simpler regime done regularly.

The Wax:

While racers deal in all sorts of high-tech additives, overlays and such, the rest of us can happily start off with simple hydrocarbon wax. Regardless of brand, colors typically correlate to temperature ratings.

Blue Hydrocarbon: for the coldest conditions we see in the Tahoe-Truckee area. It’s harder wax to stand up to the sharp crystals of truly cold temperatures (below 21 degrees F).

Red Hydrocarbon: If you just