Salomon StreetRacer 10 (2005)

Once again, Salomon misses the mark. I really tried to like this one but it came up short in almost every category. I would not recommend this ski to anyone, because there are too many great skis out there for anyone to settle for mediocre performance especially at a premium price like this one. Autocarve is definitely NOT Autodrive. However, on a positive note, technically challenged "sperm turners" and posers will probably love them.

Brian, 
 
You know how I hate their skis. I actually liked this one. It initiated a turn much better than the crossmax 10. I found it much more versatile. The weight was only an issue hanging from the chair, and carrying them to the hill...after all, it is a gravety sport right? 
I really think you need to give them another shot. Maybee they're not for the most aggressive, but for most on the hill they are perfect.

Steve, Your comments do have merit, and yes they arer better than the CrossMax 10, and knowing you, I know you gave them a thorough work-out, at your "base melting" speeds. Its just that for the consumer's hard earned money, I truly feel their are better choices in this catagory, that will deliver better performance and in the end, help the skier improve by being a bit forgiving without tolerating the blatant bad technique that this ski and a couple of other Salomons seem to encourage. Sorry about the run-on sentence. 
B

If you don't love these skis you don't know how to ski.

If you don't love these skis you don't know how to ski. 
dido....sorry i need all the help i can get

I'm perplexed by some of the comments above. I'm coming off of a set of old Volkl Worldcup GS skis and I've demoed everything under the sun to replace them but nothing in my mind comes close to these for having true fun on the slopes. They turn like rockets edge to edge. If you know how to carve (as opposed to sliding like most people), you will love these skiis. The only gripe I have is that they get a bit chattery at warp 1 but then they aren't GS boards so I can't really complain. They ski faster than I can see ahead anyway and they turn so well I just want to spend all my time on the edges. I'm heading out to buy a set tomorrow.

Ah, feedback in stereo. While I defend your right to your opinions, in the future, you might want to research the object of your verbal assault before you condem them or question ability. I seriously doubt that we share the same credentials or alpine skills. Keep developing yours (ski and literary) and keep testing equipment. Its good for the soul.

As there is limited space in the title box in this forum (Who Knew?)  
I am compelled to add . . . . .  
 
The above comment title should read 
 
"A NOTE FOR THE "IF YOU DON"T LOVE THESE" DUO

I am not a carve fanatic. Still today I rented a pair just to see. Listen, these skis DO bring lots of fun on the piste. They may be poser-skis yes, but definitely worth trying. Carving was an amazing pleasure I still feel in the legs.  
Yet I would not consider buying them since my wallet is thin and they have a narrow scope.

I am an athletic 50 year-old ski instructor and have been skiing for 42 years. I think the Streetracer 10 is a great ski. Today I was carving hard at 40 mph and felt very secure on my edge. And the tighter I turned the better it seemed to carve. Then I took it over to a steep mogul run and it really seemed to come alive. It was very quick edge to edge and full of energy. I also skiied the Volkl Supersport 6 Star today which seemed lethargic in the bumps, though it was also a fantastic carver. I also felt the Streetracer 10 wildly outperformed the Volkl 724 EXP in these environments.

2005/Feb - I demo'ed 10 sets of High Performance Skis and found the Street Racer 10 to be the most fun and responsive ski during the demo session. 
 
I am an athletic intermediate skier (age 38, 5'8" 185 lbs) and for the first time in my 20 times skiiing, I was able to agressively execute high speed carves, it was a really neat feeling, I am going to buy a pair on the web today.

just skied the pilot version which I believe has different side cut. Loved em but didn't have chance to get on hard stuff. Not particulrly easy at slow speeds but got better and better the harder I went. Has anyone skied both pilot and std SR10 and what was their finding. Wouldn't mind if ski had a little more pop out of turn but these were really fun when hauling!

Demoed the SR9 a couple weeks ago, but haven't been able to find a SR10 in Denver to demo. Has anyone skied both and how do they compare. I've been skiing on 5 year old Solomon X Screams, 187 but they need replacing. I'd like something better in the bumps. 
Thanks.

I just picked up the SR10 at the season end sale here in Ohio after I road a demo out in Wyoming earlier this month. I am an advanced skier and ski mostly out east but head to Jackson Hole at least twice a year. I also demoed the Nordica Speedmachine 12 for a day(these were the 2 models I was looking at based on feedback from fellow skiers and a lot of conversations with folks in the shops about my style and desire). What sold me on the SR10 was the ease of transition from edge to edge. The Nordica beat the SR in terms of stability at speed but just wasnt as quick on the edges as the SR. Thats my take at least. The SR is probably the best carver I have had under my feet. Also the hardpack (i.e. ice) here in the Northeast was no problem and the SR handled it well with no loss of grip. I am very pleased with the new purchase and would reccomend it to others looking for a ski in this category. 
 
 

As one of the 'sperm turners' and posers I would like to say Solomon skis are popular because they are fun and forgiving. 
 
There seems to be an elitist atttude among many that you have to ski a certain way or with a certain technique. In reality there is no 'correct' way to ski. If you can get to the bottom of the hill and can stay in control and have a smile on your face in between then you are skiing. 
 
Fun..that's why most of us ski- not try to win an ward or impress others with your skill or go to the olympics. 
 
I take safety seriously. I know the rules and etiquette, Stay in control, styop when neccesary, and follow the rules. 
 
The StreetRacer is a fun Ski that makes it easier for me to do things I enjoy doing. 

I demoed probably 12 different skis this season, mostly carvers, and just bought a pair of Streetracer 10s. I found the sweet spot with this ski. I loved the sensation this ski produced in the turn. I am an athletic advanced skier. I will use these skis at home in the east but will rent when I go the mountains. I am female. I have no idea what a "sperm turner" is.

...it's a derogatory terms and refers to someone who makes those fast zigzag turns with ther feet close together. 
 
It doesn't take any skill but some think it makes them look like they know what their doing. 
 
When someone says Skis like the Salomon SR10 are poser skis for sperm turners they are saying the ski makes it easy to do these things will little skill or training. Basically you don't have to know what you are doing and easy to give the impression to others that you are skilled etc. The Salomon 10 is forgiving of stance and balance errors and makes it very easy to whip the skis around. 
 
Usually its easy tio tell the experienced though as they will ski with a ryhtym in turns and don't rotate their upper body all over the place whereas the posers basically have no rythym and usually their upper body is moving in wierd undulations as they keep from whiping out when they bomb the hill at a zillion miles and hour. 
 

Speaking of posers I have a good story. 
 
Last weekend I was at Holiday Valley in NY and some guy was showing off to his girlfriend. It was obvious he didn't know have much experience or know how to ski that well but he was walking around like he owned the mountain. He was on a pair of Head rentals that looked like they were 10 years old. 
 
He was chiding his friend who was reluctant to take a ride down a fairly steep run about 'being a man'. 
 
The guy took off and ripped the line. He had his arms straight back in a contorted position holding his poles and he was in some sort of messed up tuck stance like he was sitting on the can and was severely constipated. HIs skis wobbled back and forth all the way down and when he got near the bottom he was doing some serious speed. He stood up and tried to do a hockey stop and he never got his left ski out of a wedge. 
 
He kind of turned sideways and his arms were flaying around and he headed right towards the kiddie snowland where there was a bunch of 5 year olds learning how to walk around on skis. 
 
You could see the instructor grabbing the kids out of the way as the guy came careening through. 
 
He eventually hit a red garbace can with the tip of one ski and ended up skiing backwards and ran into the snowfence and did something that looked like a new funky style of progressive tailgrab. 
 
Man did that guy look like a dork. The ski patrol zipped over t him and I heard they confiscated his lift ticket for the day for not staying in control. 
 
hee hee...he made his girlfriend proud. 
 
 

I rented a pair in Austria en they are GREAT. Two days later I bougth a pair. 
 
Don't worry about the sperm turner gay........You know.....snowborders don't like skiers

Read this column- terms of abuse are usual-because most people don't have enough ability/technique to determine how a ski really skis... 
 
Skis don't skid-they arc... and i'm talking two well defined, two footed GROOVES THAT ARC ABOUT 180 DEGREES 
 
If you skid them you're correcting/ regaining balance by jamming the ski at the finish of a turn. 
 
( True-WC technique goes sometimes from a skid INTO a clean high G-force completion). 
 
What is important is how a ski hooks up and how big the sweet spot is 
Can you get it to start turning if you are a little back on the tail? 
When you are tall and projecting down hill can you land in the big welcoming sweet spot? 
Can completion be accomplished through a subtle ankle motion -ie a little more edge to send it across your line of motion- way up hill of your inclined postion. Does it hook on you or pick -up smoothly with a minimum of input? 
Also-if you're not down -unweighting and booting-out once in a while-its not reallllly skiing  
Ciao Paul 
 

Ciao Paul.. 
 
Jamming the skis at the end of the turn to regain balance is part of learning and keeps people from breaking ankles and/or tearing tendons. That's why novices don't use GS skis. 
 
The Streetracer is an intermediate ski, not a GS racing ski. 
 
We were all novices once and all had to learn....you included. There are no exceptions.  
 
Remember at one time you looked like a bumbling novice snowplowing around the slopes and falling over your feet just like everyone else who just started out..whether young or old. 
 
If it wasn't for skidding and sliding none of us would have ever learned to refine our technique and would have ended up in traction at the hospital. 
 
 
 
 
 

I have not tried this ski. However, if a skier with ability less than than that of Bode  
Miller and "poster" Caledonpro finds these boards are more forgiving and easier to ski, then isn't that precisely the reason that some folks would like them a great deal? 
 
When I was a jarhead at Parris Island they told me I was defending a free country. 
 
If you like them, then buy them. If they are beneath you, then buy something else.

I've skied roughly 30 days so far since taking up the sport 2.5 years ago. I can now get down a groomed black w/o drama and with some enjoyment. I started on rentals like everybody else and then bought a used pair of '01 170 atomic R9's (for the last 16 day's) and did well with them. However, I decided to demo some other skies and find out the style I liked. Started with some wider mid-fats, found them slow edge2edge compared to the R9, so they gave me the SR10 175 to try. My long turn carving improved instantly, they never felt like they ran out of grip, but I could still execute shorter turns. I started using leg muscles I never knew should be involved and was sore within an hour. In comparison the R9's are like noodles on my feet, I'm 6' 220. The SR10's had great pop in the turns. Am I good enough for GS skies? I think not, but the SR10's seem perfect.

What would you guys reccommend for me to ski on. I am 16 bout 5, 9 and about 11 stone. i have skiied for about 8 weeks and i think i can ski black runs confidently linking short radius carving turns down the fall line. im hoping to be skiing 2/3 times a year for the next two years and then i am taking an instructors course for 10 weeks. I like carving and the feling of acceleration through turns at high speeds. Will this be for me?

Rode the sr10 for about 18 weeks guest skiing in alta badia italy last season, really reaaly good for work, guest skiing with bimbly clients, a little unstable at significant speeds , prone to chatter, fab in tight carves, terrible in fresh snow, ( went back to old x-screams on those days) but they do what it says on the tin. probably overpriced. Wear wise after a season the finish looked like crap, any scratches abbrasions on the surface wewre highly visible, also you need to keep checking the nose end of the 912 as we had two clients rip out the front binding which was a right pain in the arse miles from home. just seen / sold a load of 06s popular as hell but I wonder if the people buying will get the best out of them?

I wrote the comments on 2005-05-03, finally got to use my pair. Went to Breck on Thanksgiving weekend, conditions were packed powder, skied off in places since no fresh snow for a week. These skis were perfect for this. I skied 2 days on my own and then a buddy joined me who is much better than myself, he was amazed how much better I was on these compared to skiing on '01 Atomic R9s. They didn't seem great in crud...but then again I'm not great in crud. They did seem to make moguls a bit easier to negotiate, but again they aren't my thing either. On groomed they were wonderful just stayed hooked up the whole time.

Hi, not sure I can keep up with all this & make a sensible decision - would these suit a relative newcomer, done 4 weeks, like reds & game for some blacks, bit reckless (should know better, I'm 50, ex-m'cycle racer) 5'7 & 10 stone. There's a secondhand pair of 160 cms coming up for sale - are they too good or heavy for me? Will be my first pair skis, doing Banff in Feb. 
Thanks for any opinions, Cheers, Paul

Just demo'd a pair of 165 SR 10's at Whistler on hard, icy snow. Had such a blast I couldn't wipe the grin off my face. The grip on ice was amazing. Short to medium-long radius turns were effortless. Just hang on for the ride. Sadly could not test on soft snow, and would not expect great things off-piste. Still, for a second pair of skis to use on the groomers and moguls I'd highly recommend them. Skills recommended. These are not intermediate skis unless you're advancing rapidly. I'm puzzled about the comments on weight, but I was skiing, not doing leg raises. For the record I'm a 50 year old athletic 6' 180 lb expert, skiing for 40 years.

Ever since my skiis were nicked a couple of years ago, I've been skiing on hired Crossmax 10, which I enjoyed but were hard work sometimes. Just tried the SR10 in Val Thorens and loved 'em so much I bought a pair. SO easy to turn, real fun on the moguls.

I am 45 about 172cm and 90kg (about 5'7 and 14 stone) good skier. Bit OW I know! Anyway, these skis look like me but what length should I be going for? 160s or closer to 170? Cheers guys - PS love the chatter

I think "Who cares?" hits the nail on the head. People do not come here to read experts smashing intermediate and beginner equipment because the gear is below them.  
 
They come here for good reviews of gear at their level so they can make informed purchase decisions. 
 
I think a good reviewer first needs to incarnate the persona and gauge the equipment from the perspective and skill level that the equipment is designed for. 
 
It's nothing short of useless and self-totting to write a review that basically says nothing more than "I'm too good for these skis!! Yay me!". 
 
I'm a 33 yo instructor looking for a ski I can have fun on my home mountain with (lots of crud, thick snow and powdered ice on very steep terrain covered with bumps). I'm more focused on Atomics and Salomons but the reviews I read here seemed to have a slant against Salomon so it's hard to make an objective comparison.

Going to buy a set this year 
i am 6ft3 and about 14 st should i go for 165 or 170 ? any ideas. 
cheers.

Tried and bought a used set of sr10's, shopped around got a great deal and really love the ski [I always consider used, you can save big $$ compared with new off the shelf, if you use them you're gonna nick and scratch them anyway so who cares what they look like]. Im 6'0, 195lbs skiing 10 years with k2's and atomics. great grip on sr10s, less chattering than im used to, good on moguls, nice turns on demand = +++ fun! They do what well what they're advertised to do and that's all I can ask for.

If you still haven't decided.I own SR10 165. I've been strongly adviced on the lenght by an ex-racer, currentky ski instructor. I could have purchased a slightly used 170 demo model for half the price.I am 184 cm, 84 kg, skiing for 30 years. I find them stable enough at speed for slalom skis. Haven't tried the 170. The skis are just great.

I use 165 SR10s on-piste (I'm 175cm, 75kg and ski quite aggressively). Having got my head round their instability off the edge at speed (they’ve never spat me off but sometimes give the impression they want to) I find they do everything I need: a top piste weapon and a genuinely exciting ski to use.  
 
All the harsh talk here about “sperm turning” seems really uninformed. Short fast turns across the fall line are an essential part of any expert skiers technique. How else do you get down couloirs or steep narrow paths through trees? Maybe you don’t have such things in the vast snowy paradise of the American west! (Only kidding – I know you do - maybe you just barrel straight down them).

Take not a jot of notice of negative comments about these skis,I have used many types since carvers were introduced to us and i am a very good skier having worked in the ski indutry for 25 years i know a fair bit about it.These skis will give you loads of fun and carve superb on all piste conditions at any speed,of piste yes a 10 80 will be better but they are not bad a little bit more speed is required,in the bumps they are great,at the bottom of the bump run rip the piste up all the way to the tow again.Highly recomend these skis to anyone apart from powder and off piste masters.

How would you compare the SR10's with the SR08's? I tried the 08's last jan and really enjoyed them. I am an advanced skier. Are the 10's worth the extra money? Cheers from Barcelona

Im 46, 5'8", 155lbs., advanced skier. i love the fall line, crankin off efforless turns with a mix of short and long arcs (no sliding aloud), on and off piste. guess im another "sperm turner/poser" cuz i demoed a bunch of skis this season and found these to be the most FUN. with FUN being the important factor in my decision. i found the 170cm to be the best for me, althought most recommend the 160-165. they never feel "long", even at my size. i found them used, end of season sale for $200 w/bindings. SOLD! i have to admit i have always liked salomon skis.

Just purchased a brand new pair of SR10 Pilots on ebay for $299 w/Salomon 912 Ti bindings. I guess the person didn't know what they were selling! Can't wait to use them in 8 months.

I did come off old straight boards, and I do know how to get down the mountain. These skis are a blast... Luv Em

I've just tried last year model (2006) Val Thorens. They were great. I heard that this year model is even better. Only for these skis I am going to skip my summer vacation. Val Tho..here I come again. This time with my own pair of Salomon SR10.

I like all of you professionals who bash this ski as if you were professionals...the fact of the matter is...you probably are not! 
 
I have been skiing since birth and for all of that time I have never stepped into a pair of skis more versatile or reliable than the SR10's or their cousins the SM10's.... 
 
If you consider your self an intermediate skier these are great to learn on...AND if you are a competitive fearless mountain skier these are good too... 
 
In my own opinion these skis are better than B5's on nearly everything and the turns are so easy they allow you to push the limit... 
 
Have a good season guys. 
 
For those in Michigan I am praying for snow I heard about the midwest drought and heat wave!

Lighter skier (150 lbs 5'10") - Have a pair of SR 10 160 (and Fischer RC WC SC 160 and Atomic M10 164 and Volkl 6-star - far too many). Anyway the SR's are a great little carving ski - very forgiving as many have alluded to. Do most if not all of my skiing in western Canada on sometimes icy runs. In my opinion the SR's are lightning quick edge to edge and a ton-o-fun to ski. Edge grip cannot match the 6-star, Fischer, or M10 but still a great ski that you can relax on and/or make a mistake (unlike the Fischer or 6-star) without ending up in the trees.  
 
But try the Atomic M10 (I am on 164 cm) for an all-rounder with very good edge grip and stability (trosionally stiffer than the SR) - great short and medium turner. 
 

Bought a pair of skis from Ebay Germany for £149. An absolute bargain. Upgrading from 02 Atomic r:9's, 2002 my.  
Not so hot in 50cm freash powder, but awsome on freashly pisted reds. Super quick, with a hooked in ,railed feel mid carve. I love to carve HARD, these skis generate so much force i found myself 'winding up the windows' mid turn, normally reserved for airtime,they seem to jump very smoothly too.  
I got the 170cm model as i'm 6ft, 12 stone, fit but not athletic. The SR's enable me too ski faster , easier , and safer. a good surefooted piste orientated ski, speed without the need for race lessons.

I'm a 46 year old fit athletic aggressive skier. Been skiing for 35 years.  
 
I can't stop smiling when I ski with these skis. Carving on hard stuff is effortless. I have tried them in powder and although this is not my forte they seemed to get me through ok.  
 
As for the "poser" issue; I'm not even sure what these folks are talking about but if they have a camera and want me to pose for a picture, I'll be smiling cause the fun-factor is very high with these skis.