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Athletes!  Join us October 7th and 8th for our annual Race Weekend.  Meet your reps and sort out your gear.  Ski reps from Atomic, Blizzard, Fischer, Head, Nordica, Rossignol, and Volkl will be on hand to answer any questions you have on race equipment.

All race skis & bindings are marked at race price!

Questions on tuning or race setup?  The West Coast's best tuners will be available too to help you and your coaches dial-in the right edge angle or stack height.

All race supplies are limited throughout the country- place your orders and be done with it the weekend of October 8th!  See you there!

Every year around late July and early August we get our annual influx of ski racers heading to the whiter pastures of the Andes and Southern Alps. Others are heading up to the summer camps of Mount Hood. This presents a good opportunity to take a look at your gear and see if it’s still up to the task. Have you outgrown your boots? How many holes are acceptable in race gloves? How about socks? What are the condition of my ski boots and skis?

We all have heard time and again that your boots are the most important article of gear- which is certainly true for ski racers. It’s hard to race when you’re hobbled in pain, or if your canting is catawampus. Summer camps are a great place to dial in gear and work on techniques or work on overcoming bad habits.

The following is a list of things we see and think are great items to be looking into at summer camps.

Ski Boots

If you’re in the same boots as the previous season approach the obvious questions first. Have you outgrown your boots? If yes obviously

At Giant Bikes, they take pride in hand build bikes from the ground up.  The family owned business strives for quality over quantity, and this principal shows in their bikes. Take a look below at this behind the scenes video featuring their factory operation.

Pinkbike.com published a new feature on the 2017 Trance Advanced, claiming the modern trail bike with a composite mainframe and 140mm of Maestro suspension “showcases what Giant does best.”

In his review, Pinkbike editor Richard Cunningham talks about the mountain biking culture at Giant USA’s Southern California headquarters, and how that passion helps to create bikes like the Trance Advanced.

“You’ll be hard pressed to find fitter or better bike handlers,” Cunningham writes. “Here, where climbs are sustained, the soil is sketchy, and speeds range from switchback survival to eye-watering ridgeline descents, the Trance is their weapon of choice. These are the men and women whose job it is to mix it up with Giant’s pro athletes and develop their next enduro, downhill and cross-country race bikes, so it should come as no surprise that the crew regularly updates their favorite trail bike with lessons learned on the professional racing circuit. So, the Trance Advanced is literally Giant’s

When selling a mountain bike or simply talking upgrades with customers, one of the most common topics we cover is pedals. Pedals can be a tad tricky to choose: first there are myriad of brands and models many of which have fairly specific biking purposes. Second, there are two major camps in the mountain biking world which can be occasionally fanatical; the clipless vs. flat pedal crowd. But what we’d like to point out that at the end of the day we don’t feel one is better than the other, both have their distinct advantages, and the key is finding the right solution for your needs.

Clipless pedals is one of the one of the more confusing terms in the bike industry, as they are the pedals with specific shoes and cleats which clip into the pedal. For clarity sake we often refer these at Start Haus simply as “clip-ins” when discussing pedal options with customers. The term “clipless” derives from the pedals with straps around the foot, which were referred to as “toe clips” (not a pedal option

At Start Haus we’ve had quite a number of people come looking for a way to speed up the bases of their skis in this warm spring snow. Several people have decided to invest in a ski waxing setup to wax their own skis, and we think this is a wise move!

Waxing your own skis means you’re not relying on a shop to turn you skis around. Taking the cost of waxing over time you’ll eventually save money. This of course, is dependent on how often you ski, because a proper wax setup initially is fairly spendy. However, if you ski a lot, or have multiple pairs of skis, the investment will pay off! Waxing your skis regularly protects the base and will result in a longer life of the ski, further protecting your investment. Having a good wax on your base can also reduce the risk of injury due to sticky spring snow.

If you’re the hands-on type, waxing your own skis is a rewarding venture. It’s fairly simple to deliver a basic Iron wax to a pair of skis, and you get the obvious benefit of being faster

Start Haus is pleased to announce our partnership with Norco Bicycles! Norco is an innovative Canadian bicycle brand that has been building excellent bikes since 1964. Norco builds everything from urban/townie bikes to some of the meanest and fastest downhill bikes around. They’re best known for their sweet mountain bikes.

Come in and check out the all mountain Sight in both 27.5 and 29” wheel size.

Or this enduro beast, the Norco Range, also available in the 27.5 and 29er variety.

Hungry to hit the Truckee Bike Park? We are excited to announce we have some beautiful Dirt Jumpers from Norco as well! Available in both 26 and 24” wheel sizes the Ryde 26 and 24 come in at the unbelievably low price of $499!

Along with Giant, Liv, and KHS we feel that Norco is a tremendous addition to the Start Haus bike offering. Come on in today and see what’s new in the bike world or take a test ride. We love to answer all your questions about bikes and gear!

You’ve heard the old refrain, “boots are the most important part of your gear setup.” This is for good reason; a pair of uncomfortable boots can ruin a weekend, an expensive ski holiday, or a whole season. After buying a pair on sale that were too big and a rushed job you finally bit the bullet went to the reputable boot fitter and got yourself a pair of well fitting boots that are snug, relatively comfortable and can take your skiing to the next level. Now you’re thinking “Well now what?”

We’d love to pass on some tips to help you protect that expensive investment and get the absolute most out of your prized ski boots.

 Custom Footbeds

 Custom footbeds are one of the best upgrades you can make to your boots! We all want our houses built on a solid foundation, and you should demand the same with your ski boots. Custom footbeds give you the solid platform that will get your foot in a powerful neutral position creating less foot fatigue throughout the day. At Start Haus we carry Sidas heat

The bike industry is ever changing. It seems like every year a new wheel size comes out making your beloved bike less valuable by the minute! For many it is unfeasible to upgrade to a new bike every other year and at a certain point it’ll probably make more sense to replace components to make the bike perform more to your liking. At Start Haus we’ve had the pleasure of upgrading many bikes installing more modern components on and making them more fun to ride!

One of the common upgrades we’re doing is converting drivetrains to 1x11. By converting your bike from a two by drivetrain to a one by achieves several significant benefits:

• Weight loss. Obviously by taking the front derailleur off the bike eliminates weight, but don’t forget that the front shifter and cables also get eighty-sixed. Depending on what the component spec is the bike is usually losing ¾ of a pound!
• The cockpit gets significantly cleaned up. With the advent of dropper posts we find one shifter on the handlebars is all we

Fresh now overnight with sun Saturday.  New snow on Sunday.  Stick to your Reds!

U10/U12 - Swix CH8 mixed with LF8 or Holmenkol Beta Red / Race Mix MID with Race Mix WET.

Good luck racers!

Start Haus is pleased to announce a 2017 Speed Ski Leasing program!

Partnering with Blizzard (with more to come) our racers are now able to lease DH and SG skis for a fraction of the cost of owning a pair!  With so many racers needing a pair for just one or two events late in the season, the speed ski leasing program is the best way to grab a fresh and fast pair of SG or DH skis.

The following Blizzard skis are currently available for lease:

Down Hill Speed Skis in a 212cm and 218cm

Super G Speed Skis in a 185cm, 205cm, and 212cm.

Pricing starts at $125 for a day, $75 a day for 3-5 days, or $50 per day for a week lease.  These skis are ready to mount to your boot specs and tuned to your preferences. Contact us for more information!

Come join us at Start Haus Tuesday December 27th at 6PM for a wax clinic and tuning workshop! Learn the basics of ski upkeep, wax selection, tip & tricks, and more. We'll walk you through the basics, demonstrate procedure, and offer up a free Start Haus World Cup tuning DVD!