dynafit question

**natty dread** · 03-01-2009, 01:31 PM

I went out on my new dynafit set up for the first time yesterday and I noticed that the pins on the rear part of the binding do not line up properly with the grooves in the heel of the boot--the toe pins are engaged perfectly, but the heels do not line up correctly. Is this an improper installation by the shop? What's the deal dynfit gurus? Sorry for the crappy cellpic.

**bfree** · 03-01-2009, 01:42 PM

Big shop fuck up. Sadly, remounting is pretty much your only choice, next time with someone that is actually familiar with mounting dynas.

Hopefully they will compensate properly...

When its close, a bit of force usually gets them in, but the toe alignment on that mount is pretty far off.

**mc_roon** · 03-01-2009, 01:45 PM

yep, that looks like a mounting fuckup. remounting is your only option, the torque of those pins being out of place will probably cause marker-ish performance and may even break the binding over time.

**snoboy** · 03-01-2009, 02:06 PM

The only possible thing to do without a remount is to try the other boot in the binding, slim/outside chance that there may be better alignement that way.

**natty dread** · 03-01-2009, 02:07 PM

Fuuuckkk!
Before I left the skis with the shop to be mounted, I repeatedly asked the ski shop staff and the head shop/tech guy if they were comfortable/sure/confident that they could mount dynfits on my lotus 120s. The shop manager said that they are one of 16 dynafit-approved installation centers in the country, so no worries. The tech guy who does the mounting said no worries, he's done many dynafit installations on wide skis--he even showed me his wide jig and it fit perfectly over my skis.
I was on a huge tour yesterday when I noticed the problem, not a good place to find out my binding were fuct. So bummed. They better make this right.
Thanks so much for the info guys, anyone else who wants to chime in, please do, the more ammo I have the better...

**squirrelmurphy** · 03-01-2009, 02:16 PM

I had a mount that ended up like that and I skied 50 or so days on them without a problem. Crank your din and lock the toe and hope for the best if you don't want to deal with waiting on shop warranty skis.

If you do it over mount them yourself with pechelman's paper jig and check your marks with a 1/32" scale to make sure everything's centered right, shouldn't run into this problem again.

**natty dread** · 03-01-2009, 02:31 PM

Originally Posted by squirrelmurphy

I had a mount that ended up like that and I skied 50 or so days on them without a problem. Crank your din and lock the toe and hope for the best if you don't want to deal with waiting on shop warranty skis.

The worst part is I was on a hudge tour with DTM and Xover and the reason I noticed the problem is that the heel came out even with the toe fully locked on a steep headwall with breakable crust, causing me to fall. I could have really injured myself and it was not a good spot to be injured. There was also some noticeable play in the heel when I re-engaged the heel, even after increasing the forward pressure. DIN was at 12.
They stayed in for the rest of 3500' descent, but I was super nervous the whole way down. At least they worked great on the walk up.

So bummed, these are brand new lotus 120s.

**Xover** · 03-01-2009, 04:37 PM

hey buddy,

make time before you leave town on this trip to roll into Black Diamond and talk to Skyler (does almost all of bd's dynafit mounts) or Dennis or Kelly .... tell them your story and that you are a very good friend of mine and Mr. Altagirl's (use our real names of course) and see what they suggest. If any one can fix it or at least give you honest, proper advice - those guys will for sure.

oh yeah, also just remembered that Trackhead had this issue a couple of years ago when he tried mountain a pair on his own - check with him to; if i remember correctly, i think SkiFishBum helped him out.

good luck my friend [fingers crossed]

**natty dread** · 03-01-2009, 05:04 PM

Thanks for the suggestions brutha, much appreciated. If nothing else, talking to those guys will give me more ammo when/if I ask for new skis from this shop. I'll hit BD tomorrow.
Also TH and skifishbum, it'd be great to have your opinions too...

Originally Posted by Xover

hey buddy,

make time before you leave town on this trip to roll into Black Diamond and talk to Skyler (does almost all of bd's dynafit mounts) or Dennis or Kelly .... tell them your story and that you are a very good friend of mine and Mr. Altagirl's (use our real names of course) and see what they suggest. If any one can fix it or at least give you honest, proper advice - those guys will for sure.

oh yeah, also just remembered that Trackhead had this issue a couple of years ago when he tried mountain a pair on his own - check with him to; if i remember correctly, i think SkiFishBum helped him out.

good luck my friend [fingers crossed]

**Camilo** · 03-01-2009, 05:15 PM

2 points:

a)this may be fixable. Loosening the front screws a bit, locking the boot toe in, and realigning the boot to the heel with some torque might do the trick. Then remove boot, crank down screws, and you're done.

iii)This may be a boot issue, and not a mount issue. I've got some old scarpas, and noticed when I was mounting them that the inserts aren't perfectly aligned. I had to mount left- and right-specific skis because of little differences in the inserts. My wife's boots are perfectly aligned, so she doesn't have this problem with hers. If the skis were jig-mounted perfectly centered, they might not be quite right for your boots. Take them to the shop and have them stick a few other Dynafit boots on the skis. This could be an answer, and would involve sending back your boots (if they're newer) to the mfg for warranty.

**natty dread** · 03-01-2009, 05:37 PM

Originally Posted by Camilo

2 points:

a)this may be fixable. Loosening the front screws a bit, locking the boot toe in, and realigning the boot to the heel with some torque might do the trick. Then remove boot, crank down screws, and you're done.

iii)This may be a boot issue, and not a mount issue. I've got some old scarpas, and noticed when I was mounting them that the inserts aren't perfectly aligned. I had to mount left- and right-specific skis because of little differences in the inserts. My wife's boots are perfectly aligned, so she doesn't have this problem with hers. If the skis were jig-mounted perfectly centered, they might not be quite right for your boots. Take them to the shop and have them stick a few other Dynafit boots on the skis. This could be an answer, and would involve sending back your boots (if they're newer) to the mfg for warranty.

Thanks a lot for the input man.

On your first point, it seems like the shop should have aligned the bindings and boots properly to begin with. When I pay for a mount, I expect it to be on the money. I don't want to have to tweak it AT ALL. Besides, it seems that the alignment is too far off to have that method make a difference.

On the second point, I will definitely check this out. The boots are brand new Dynafit Zzeus, that I bought at this same shop. FWIW, I tried both boots in the one ski that is pictured and both boot don't line up, but one is noticeably worse than the other.

Regardless, whether it's a boot warranty issue, a fucked up mount, or both, I think this is something that shoulda been caught by the tech before he sent me home with the skis and boots.

**MultiVerse** · 03-01-2009, 06:39 PM

That sucks. It’s just close enough that a remount will almost be adjacent to the existing mount. For now, you can probably further verify that your boots are not the problem by placing both soles together in a mirror image and confirming that the grooves line up (and that both work on the good ski as well.) I checked my ZZeuss’ and they are perfect… just one more potential problem to eliminate before you talk to the shop.

For the time being, you might be stuck until the shop weighs in otherwise they might blame the fix. As far as the fix goes, assuming the toe-piece is properly aligned, I would pull the heel piece and then fill the holes with some high quality epoxy, wait a couple of days for it to harden. And then remount the Dynafit heel in the correct position.

And you are right about it working from day one. I usually set the DIN myself so I don’t know if a release test is SOP with Dynafit mounts but if it is then they should have checked it and your paperwork might state as much.

**natty dread** · 03-01-2009, 08:27 PM

Originally Posted by ePiech

That sucks. It’s just close enough that a remount will almost be adjacent to the existing mount. For now, you can probably further verify that your boots are not the problem by placing both soles together in a mirror image and confirming that the grooves line up (and that both work on the good ski as well.) I checked my ZZeuss’ and they are perfect… just one more potential problem to eliminate before you talk to the shop.

For the time being, you might be stuck until the shop weighs in otherwise they might blame the fix. As far as the fix goes, assuming the toe-piece is properly aligned, I would pull the heel piece and then fill the holes with some high quality epoxy, wait a couple of days for it to harden. And then remount the Dynafit heel in the correct position.

And you are right about it working from day one. I usually set the DIN myself so I don’t know if a release test is SOP with Dynafit mounts but if it is then they should have checked it and your paperwork might state as much.

Thanks for your input ePiech, much appreciated.

I'm going to go to BD tomorrow to get their opinion, but I ain't fixing shit until I bring them back to the shop that mounted them. That will happen on thursday.

FYI, I even gave the shop tech a small bottle of Patron to thank him for giving me a small discount on the mount and for being a generally nice dood. Also to entice him to do a really good job on my beloved Lotuses. I like to take care of the ski shop employees.

If they don't take care of me (a remount is not an option, if that is required, I'm getting new sticks) I will name the shop and unleash the maggot collective on them, among other options I have at my disposal.

But I really hope it doesn't come to that.

edit: Just checked the Zzeuses and the grooves line up perfectly. It's not the boots, so I guess it must be the mount.
And to clarify, both heels are misaligned, it's just that one is much worse than the other.

**splat** · 03-01-2009, 09:30 PM

The good news is that your Lhasas ship tomorrow.

**Huckin eh?** · 03-01-2009, 09:46 PM

Originally Posted by natty dread

On the second point, I will definitely check this out. The boots are brand new Dynafit Zzeus, that I bought at this same shop. FWIW, I tried both boots in the one ski that is pictured and both boot don't line up, but one is noticeably worse than the other.

I have a difference with my new Zzeus' that I found the day before I got my FT12's mounted. When I fit my Pontoon Fritchis to my Zzeus' and did the toe adjustment, one binding only needed a 1/4 turn to slack off the pressure. The other binding needed a full 1 1/2 turn. So it seems that the thickness of the sole is a little thicker on one boot over the other.

The shop tech confirmed this when he mounted my bindings to my touring skiis so I have a specific left and right ski based on the binding adjustment being specific to each boot!

**natty dread** · 03-01-2009, 10:50 PM

Originally Posted by splat

The good news is that your Lhasas ship tomorrow.

Praise JAH!!

And my boyz at pmgear.

**jfost** · 03-01-2009, 11:10 PM

jah will provide.

**wilcox510** · 03-01-2009, 11:46 PM

Where did you get those mounted? Salt Lake or Oregon? If Salt Lake, which shop?

What do you think of the Zzeuses?

**natty dread** · 03-02-2009, 12:46 AM

Originally Posted by jfost

jah will provide.

'for I'
heh wife swap
rastafari

Originally Posted by wilcox510

Where did you get those mounted? Salt Lake or Oregon? If Salt Lake, which shop?
What do you think of the Zzeuses?

Not naming shop location til I have a word with them. Whether I name them or not depends solely on customer service.
Meaning I get new skis or they get called out massively.

Love the Zzeuses. It was between them and the factors and the Zzero. zzero had a sweet fit and is super lite, but I couldn't get over the lack of a progressive flex, it felt on/off to me. Zeus is super comfy, light enough, tour nicely (although anything would be nice compared with the Diablo 130s I used to tour in), holds your heel down, low volume fit without crunching your toes and forefoot, feels burly and high quality--time will tell, nice progressive stiff flex, I could ski these over my technicas in bounds and that says a lot.
Liner is not that great, might go intuition at some point.
I think the Zzero liner is better.
They do ski much better in ski mode than walk mode FYI.

**Kya** · 03-02-2009, 10:33 AM

Bummer! Hope it all works out.

**natty dread** · 03-02-2009, 01:04 PM

Took em into BD and Dennis (super nice, competent guy) took a look at them and measured the holes at the toes. He said the holes look pretty centered and that this might be the fix:

Originally Posted by Camilo

2 points:
a)this may be fixable. Loosening the front screws a bit, locking the boot toe in, and realigning the boot to the heel with some torque might do the trick. Then remove boot, crank down screws, and you're done.

However without trying it himself, he couldn't be certain this would be the solution. I wanted to have him try the fix, but I want to bring them to the original shop first, cause they are responsible for the screw-up.
I'll let y'all know how it goes on thurs...

Props to BD and Dennis, he spent a half hour checking things out, called dynafit to ask about the proper heel springs for the ft12 with no brakes, and sent me home with a 6 mm shim so I can make sure the gap at the heel is good. Good peeps.

**homemadesalsa** · 03-02-2009, 01:21 PM

I have somewhat of a similar problem with my comforts and Zzeros. When I go from climb (with the toepiece pulled all the way up) to downhill- I have to push the front tab down to "ski" mode before the heel inserts will line up with the heel pins. It is not a big deal, works the same with either boot/ ski combo, but is a tiny misalignment. Not sure if that is in any way similar to your issue, but perhaps...

Hope you get it fixed!

**Conundrum** · 03-02-2009, 01:21 PM

Bring back the duck stance mount and you'll be stoked.

If they were mounted with the jig, the holes are probably centered. What didn't happen is the tech that mounted them didn't mark the holes and just set the bindings on the skis without the screws in to see how everything lined up before drilling. It's a must do because the setup works within some fine limits without much room for error. My guess is, they will loosen the screws on the toe, put the boot in, and tighten them up and it will work. My next guess is they won't pull the screws all the way out to put new glue in. They should put new glue in.

The dude should hook you up and hopefully all is not fucked. Especially for a nice bottle of repasado.

**Xover** · 03-02-2009, 01:35 PM

Originally Posted by natty dread

Props to BD and Dennis, he spent a half hour checking things out, called dynafit to ask about the proper heel springs for the ft12 with no brakes, and sent me home with a 6 mm shim so I can make sure the gap at the heel is good. Good peeps.

glad to hear Dennis helped out as much as he could + some. don't forget what i told you about turning the forward adjustment screw another 1/2 to full turn after it hits the 6mm mark.

**natty dread** · 03-02-2009, 01:53 PM

Originally Posted by Xover

glad to hear Dennis helped out as much as he could + some. don't forget what i told you about turning the forward adjustment screw another 1/2 to full turn after it hits the 6mm mark.

Thanks for the additional comments/recommendations everyone.

And you were right Xover, the forward adjustment screw for the ft12 is counterclockwise to go tighter. What ever happened to righty tighty lefty loosey? Dynafit just had to be different!
Yeah the folks at BD are awesome--I thanked them by buying me a brand new set of BD crampons.

Thx conundrum, I'm gonna be watching the tech like a hawk as he attempts the fix--and fresh glue fer sure.