Mounting Dynafit Ski Bindings

[swaterfall]

I have found some instructions on the net, but I was wondering if anyone has any actual experience doing this.

 

Basically, is it worth doing it at home or should I bite the bullet and have a pro shop do it for me.

 

Thanks

[Freeman]

Assuming you have the tools (binding screw countersinks and taps) it isn't too difficult. Time consuming and a little figity.

 

Lou Dawson's page has all the beta

 

Lou Dawson's page

[b-rock]

I've done it. Not too bad.

[cj001f]

Assuming you have the tools (binding screw countersinks and taps)

Those aren't necessary. Drill bit & patience definitely needed. Not where I'd start if you've never mounted a binding.

 

As a Dynafit sidenote - anyone know where you can buy the rental plate (looking for more riser)? Anyone succesfully bent the TLT brakes to fit skis wider than 75mm?

[snoboy]

I did a set this Spring.

 

I would say the same thing that cj001f says, not the best binding to learn mounting on. However, if you are naturslly good at these sorts of things, and if you are really meticulous, and very careful with measuring, and you follow Lou's procedure to the letter, then you will likely be OK.

 

The problem with Dynafits is if the mount gets screwed up, then they can prerelease, or not release, as the relationship between toe and heel effects the alignment of the boot in the binding. If you screwed up a Fritschi, for example, the only real problem would be that your ski might be a little crooked on your foot.

 

Taps will be neccesary if your skis have any metal sheets in them.

 

I measured everything about three times before I drilled, and put aside a whole morning so I was not rushed.

 

cj001f, this is the only place I've seen the rental plates.

[cj001f]

Taps will be neccesary if your skis have any metal sheets in them.

In my experience the metal sheets in most skis are thin enough the screws self tap with little ill effects. Nevertheless taps are "recommended"

[Freeman]

Anyone succesfully bent the TLT brakes to fit skis wider than 75mm?

 

I made some wider ones to fit some MegaBangs. We turned some stainless rod down to the correct metric diameter, then bent it in an 80 ton brake press to the radius of the stock brakes. They aren't perfect but do work ok. btw - I think that straightening and rebending the stock ones would be very difficult (we built a jig for our new ones) and I have heard of folks cutting and welding an extension in to each side but I think that would be even worse (strenght and corrosion issues)

[cj001f]

You posted on ttips, no? I saw that. Way more involved than I'm willing to go - don't have access to much of a machine shope right now. I was wondering if it were feasible to take the brake arm from Comforts and put it on Techs (basically swap out the attachment plates).

[Freeman]

Yea, I was the one last year on ttips. It was a huge project and really didn't come out that well (and I do work in a machine shop). As I recall the brake arms from the TriStep and TLT have the same bend radius and both attach under the heel plate with a little piece of plastic tubing - the TriStep has a one piece bracket that sort of pushes onto the heel piece while the TLT has two little brackets that screw onto the sides of the heel. I would suggest taking your brake arms to a shop and just comparing them. Should be obvious if it would work.

 

Again, here are Dawson's comments on this subject

 

"My skis are too wide for the TLT brake, can I swap on a brake from a Tri-Step, or mod the TLT brake?

While the TLT brake can be bent outwards to fit wider skis, such bending quickly reaches its limit. To adapt the Tri-Step brake to the TLT would require using parts from both type of brakes, and doing a major tear-down rebuild of the brake. Not recommended. An easier way would be to cut and extend the TLT brake prongs so they fit over a wider ski. A competent metal craftsman would have no problem with this, though it could be expensive and time consuming"

 

My feeling is that if you were going to weld an extension in you should consider having them replated afterwards. It is possible that the weld would end up in the location of the bracket holes which could cause some jamming. Thats why I chose to make new ones.

[Nick]

Pro Ski Service mounted my dynafits on some extra tall risers for my fat skis. They came out great and are a big improvement. I am a craftsman, but I still would rather pay a pro to get the bindings on dead right than experiment on an expensive pair of skiis. That said, I had dynafits mounted on my old skiis, then switched to a slightly smaller pair of boots which theoretically no longer fit the bindings, however the location of the existing holes made it impossible to move the bindings to the new location. I left the bindings alone and skied with the bindings a bit too far apart, and they worked fine. They never released prematurely. Make sure you really like your boots before having dynafits mounted though!

[Briang]

I found the best solution for me was to build a drill jig/template. I used 2.25" x .188" aluminum flat bar (any flat bar steel or alumnium will work, but al. is much easier and quicker to work with). You will need two pieces. The first pc. is 4"-5" long, drill this with the heel piece pattern (best to use the bit diameter required for a pilot in your specific ski). Drill the pattern as far back on the 5" pc. as possible. The second pc. will need to be about 16" long. Drill the second pc. with the toe pc. pattern at one end. Scribe a line lengthwise in the centre on both pcs. of flat bar (this scribed line is used to centre the jig width wise on the ski). Establish the distance required between toe/heel pcs. Overlay the heel pc. template on the toe pc. template to suit the required distance. If the drilled holes in the heel pc. template are blocked by the toe pc. template either drill the toe pc. template (this creates a perfect drill jig for your boot only) or cut the toe pc. template back to suit. This then creats a re-useable jig/template you can loan to your friends.

notes: aluminum flat bar is cut easily and safely with a normal chop saw or skill saw; a drill press is nice, but a hand drill and a steady hand will suffice; centre punch all holes for ensured precision

This set up worked well for me, and should only take 30 to 60 min. The aluminum flat bar is only about $1.50 a foot and if a mistake is made, well it is only a few bucks, and not your new ski! I'm in the Fraser Valley (B.C.) if you want to borrow my jig.

Brian