What
you see here is one of the types of skeleton sled that I sell. This
is a fibreglass sled - that means that the grey body on the bottom of the
sled is made of fibreglass, although the frame and saddle (and runners)
are constructed of steel, as is required by the rules. Eventually,
I'll add pictures of my steel sleds to show the difference. You can
check the Rules section of my website to get more technical information
on sled construction.
Skeleton sleds are fairly simple in construction. Frame rails have minimum dimensions, and must be solidly connected to the runner boxes (the mounting locations for the runners), either by welding or bolting. The frame rails and runner boxes must form a continuous, unbroken line. No suspension devices are allowed - for example, no rubber or springs are allowed where the runners mount to the sled. A saddle is mounted on top of the frame rails to hold the slider in place, and handles are attached to the saddle so the slider can hold on to something while driving. Bumpers are required at both the front and rear of the sled, and must meet minimum dimension requirements. The top surface of the sled is covered with padding to make for a comfortable ride. No "active" steering components are allowed, which means there is nothing like a steering wheel to change the direction of the runners. Although the frame rails are joined together solidly, the sled is flexible, and can be steered when the pilot bends the sled, using pressure from the knees and / or shoulders. The amount of steering response is relatively limited, which often makes it difficult to accurately steer the sled in the direction you need to go.
The first question an athlete needs to ask himself when buying new equipment is how much money to spend on it. In my opinion, unless an athlete is able to qualify for the second heat at World Cup races, a fibreglass sled is unnecessary. I haven't done any back-to-back testing to accurately determine the performance difference between the two types of sleds, but I think it's around 0.3 seconds per run, with the fibreglass sled being faster due to superior aerodynamics and better suspension characteristics. It's virtually guaranteed that athletes who can't qualify for the second heat at a World Cup race (or can't even qualify for their World Cup team in the first place) are making far more than 0.3 seconds worth of mistakes each run. Spending an extra $1000 - $2000 on a fibreglass sled is not necessary for such sliders - they are better off using the money to pay for track fees to get more driving practice!
If everybody followed my advice, I would sell about 80% steel sleds and 20% fibreglass sleds. As it turns out, I sell about 90% fibreglass sleds and 10% steel sleds - of course, everybody wants to go faster in a sport in which the final ranking is determined strictly by the finish times. Also, because fibreglass sleds are considered more desirable by the sliding community, their resale value is much higher than that of steel sleds, which makes them more attractive to buy.
A fibreglass sled is generally more flexible than a steel sled, and a fibreglass sled will therefore drive somewhat more responsively than a steel sled, although the difference with my sleds isn't too great. Since I have a considerable amount of sliding experience myself, my sleds are naturally based around what I wanted when I was competing. My fibreglass sleds are probably slightly firmer in steering than most other brands of fibreglass sleds, and my steel sleds are probably slightly easier to steer than most other brands of steel sleds. Of course, equipment development never stops, and I will likely continue experimenting with sled stiffness, but for the time being I am quite satisfied with the amount of steering response of my sleds, and it is unlikely to change over the next couple of years.
Currently,
my fibreglass sleds are sold in two different "sizes". The picture
at the top of this page is of a long-bodied sled. The body is approximately
113 cm long. Short sleds are around 104 cm long. The difference
between the two designs is most obvious on the tail end of the sled - most
people who use a long sled will have their knees on the sled, whereas the
same person on a short sled might have their knees hanging off the end.
Whether the knees are on the sled or off is mostly a matter of preference.
Although I use a long sled myself, I am actually more comfortable with
my knees hanging over the back end, probably because I have ferocious knobby
knees.
The front of a fibreglass sled is also different, depending on the body length. Long-bodied sleds have a smaller neck cutout, so the sled's body comes closer to the pilot's neck and chin. Short-bodied sleds have a larger cutout, giving more room for the chin. I think the long bodies are better aerodynamically, but obviously the pilot must be able to drive the sled without dealing with the distraction of banging his chin on the sled body all of the time, so for some people, the short body is a better option. For athletes shorter than 5'4" (163 cm), it is probably better to use the old, short body, but I can make the long body work for most athletes by changing the standard body mounting location.
I have recently modified my existing fibreglass long body mold to once again cover the front bumpers by the sled's body. The original version of the body also had this feature, but those bumper ears were cut off when a rule change in 2000 made its concave shape illegal.
Steel sleds are also available with short and long bodies. In this case, the difference is strictly on the tail end - the neck cutout is the same large size on both sleds.
Here you see pictures of two different saddle designs. The picture on top shows a sled built with a standard saddle. The picture below it shows a saddle variation that uses a two-piece construction. The two-piece saddle is longer and holds the slider's body more firmly in place. It is also taller because of the bar added on top, and is designed so that any pressure placed on the pilot's body is located away from the hip bone, pressing against the muscles of the upper thigh instead. As can be seen by the third picture, the open space in the middle of the saddle leaves room for the slider's elbow to press against his body, resulting in improved aerodynamics. I also use the difference in height between the top of the saddle and the top of the handle to help optimize my push start for the first few steps immediately off the starting block.
Unfortunately,
although the two-piece saddle is definitely superior in performance, it
is also much more difficult to fit correctly. The increased length
of the saddle requires the handles to be moved farther back, leaving less
room for the slider to adjust his position on the sled when setting the
centre of gravity. Notice that I am grabbing the handle with only
the end of my index finger - there is not really enough room to wrap the
hand completely around the handle. This does have its advantages,
as stretching rearward to reach the handle has the effect of forcing the
pilot to keep his arms straight, and it also results in knuckles protruding
outwards less than when the handles are held differently. Some athletes
do not like the fact that the front of the saddle is closer to their armpits,
and complain that they can feel it under their arms more than a standard
saddle design.
I have dimensions for all previous saddles that I have built, and I can always make a best guess based on your body size compared to that of any of my previous customers, but since everybody is built differently, the only way to be certain of a comfortable fit using a two-piece saddle is to be measured on my sizing jig. With this jig, I can adjust the saddle components in all directions, resulting in a finished saddle that fits correctly without guesswork. If you plan to be in Calgary during the off-season for training or competing at the iced push track, or if you plan to purchase a sled in the future and want to be fitted while in the city for a sliding competition, make sure you arrange to be fitted using my jig. I have recently built a portable sizing jig, and I bring this with me when travelling to competitions to support my customers, so it is also possible to be fitted while I am on the road. However, this portable jig is not as completely effective as the one I use in Calgary, and I can not determine the balance point and resulting handle location as accurately as I can with the full-sized sizing jig I have at home. For Japanese customers, I have constructed another saddle sizing jig and have sent that to Koshi-san for your use.
Sleds are not the only primary piece of equipment. Runners are also extremely important to the performance of the sled, and I sell a number of different designs. Note that a rule passed at the 2003 FIBT Congress has made everything illegal for FIBT races except for runners made from a proprietary steel supplied directly by the FIBT and marked with a special FIBT stamp. (Note - steel with counterfeit FIBT stamps has been found in the USA.) Since FIBT steel is now the only type of steel legal for the production of runners, I no longer list any other alloys on my price list.
An infinite number of runner groove designs are possible, but the basic theory behind the groove is to have something that gives steering control and stability without damaging the ice and therefore slowing down the sled. Generally, the more control you have, the more damage you are doing to the ice. Some sliders will go faster using runners with large amounts of control, because they are unable to steer the sled correctly when they have less control. Other sliders don't need as much stability, and are able to control the sled and steer it correctly when the runner has a less aggressive groove. Combined weight of the sled and pilot also plays a role in determining ideal groove design. A heavy slider won't need as much stability as a lighter slider, because his increased weight would press the same runner groove deeper into the ice. The difference between the combined sled and pilot weights for men and women requires a different groove design, so grooves come in different widths for men's and women's sleds.
My most commonly sold runners are built using either a "Standard" groove or a "Big Wheel" groove. The Standard groove is suitable for most sliders and most conditions. The Big Wheel design doesn't cut as deep into the ice, and is better for experienced athletes on ice that isn't too hard. For most of the better World Cup athletes who use them, Big Wheel runners are a better choice when ice temperature is about -8° C or warmer. Some of that is dependent on track design. A track like Winterberg needs very little runner control, whereas a track like Altenberg needs much more control. Because of this, you would be able to use Big Wheel runners on colder ice in Winterberg than you would in Altenberg. Single groove runners are available which give you excellent control while still achieving good speed. If you skid too often, then single groove runners could be a good choice.
Of course, every slider is different, so feel free to contact me for more information regarding your own particular equipment requirements. Note that I only sell runners to athletes using DSS sleds with DSS bodies. Sorry, but I'm far too busy as it is, dealing with my own sled customers!
Davenport Skeleton Sleds - last modified July 4, 2007