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I have seen quite a few people asking about a set-up that could change the ski's mount point backwards and forwards as well as accommodate different boot lengths.
The Railflex system can do both and, as it took quite a bit of research for me when considering this system, to figure out how this would work on a pair of flat skis, I thought I'd share the steps I went through as I set up my Karmas with railflexes.
1. Railflex II plates and flat skis
Firstly, there are 2 generations of railflex plates - Railflex I and Railflex II. Be aware of this when sourcing the plates and bindings; the components of the 2 generations are not generally compatible and different generations plates and bindings show up in shops, ebay etc. Note also that the normal Tyrolia/Head brakes are not compatible with Railflex bindings, so when sourcing wide brakes etc make sure to get compatible brakes.
The plates and bindings illustrated here in this example are Railflex II plates and LD12 railflex bindings (the LD12 are a 05/06 model - the 06/07 model is called RFD12, but is technically unchanged. The 14 Din quivalents are HD14 and RFD14).
The plates come as 4 separate elements per ski which, once mounted, become the ‘rails’ on which the bindings are sliding: plate marked 'front', plate marked 'back' and 2 covers for these respective sections.
The 'front' plate contains the screw element to which the binding is later fastened (note that in illustration 1 this screw mount is missing - it can be seen in later illustrations, notably illustration 3).
Illustration 1: front and back plates plus covers before mounting
2. Mounting the plates
To mount the plates, you can use the Tyrolia jig 'DRILL TEMPLATE RAILFLEX & RAILFLEX LITE', which some shops have and which should be obtainable through Head. However, as my shops had difficulty sourcing the jig from Head, we ended up freehanding the drilling section of this process. This should not be too difficult, as the holes in the plates practically function as a jig anyway.
The Tyrolia tech manual details the mounting process. I found a copy of the 05/06 version here http://www.tyrolia.com/html/dealer/e...ual0506_en.zip
One thing to be aware of is that the plates themselves don't ship 'flat' as such, due to the molding process. There are plastic 'plugs' at the bottom of the plates. The plastic plugs are designed to sit inside the gap below them and let the plate freely flex on the ski. But they can't be molded that way, so you have to push the plugs in the groove yourself. Easiest way is to put them flat on a table and tap them in with a hammer. Then everything is flush and the rest should be obvious (with thanks to Spats for helping with this)
Ilustration 2: railflex screw plugs as molded and when flush after tapping (top plate in picture)
Illustration 3: railflex plates mounted on flat skis and without and with the covers over the plates.
Steps 3, 4 and 5 are also explained in the technical manual for download at the tyrolia.com link above.
3. Mounting the bindings on the plates
Mounting the bindings is a case of putting the toepiece and heelpiece onto the sliding railflex slider, which can be done by pushing the toe and heel pieces onto the slider. Next, slide the binding onto the plates and screw the central screw into the plates’ screw mount.
Illustration 4: heelpiece, toepiece and railflex slider detached and put together.
Illustration 5: the combined slider and bindings after mounting onto the plates and skis.
4. Adjusting the bindings for boot sizes
The sliding section to which you attach the toe and heel pieces has boot sole lengths marked underneath it. Setting the right sole length is simply a case of attaching the toe and hiel pieces for the boot length in question - this is a 15 second job.
Illustration 6: sole lengths markers on slider.
5. adjusting the mount point
The mount point can be adjusted 1.5 cm forwards or backwards, depending on snow conditions or personal preference. This is done by simply unscrewing the central screw, moving the binding on the rail, and screwing the binding tight again (in this case, I mounted the plates so that the central setting is 1.5 cm in front of the Volkl FR mark, so I have a choice of freeride mark, +1.5, and +3, which is very near the Volkl Freestyle FS mark).
This readjustment should take very little time and can be done on the mountain - just carry a small screwdriver for this.
Illustration 7: central screw and the fore/aft adjustment indications.
So far for the railflex set up. I should say that once you actually have the system in front of you, it is pretty self-explanatory ;)
Because you can take the bindings off and travel with flat skis, I can now smuggle 2 pairs of skis in a single ski bag, adjust the bindings to my mood/conditions, and give skis to friends to borrow.
Finally, I weighed the 177 Karmas pictured before and after mounting them with the Railflex system and bindings, and the Karma’s weight before mounting was 1750 grammes. After about 5 coats of wax and with the plates and LD12 bindings in place they weighed 3300 grammes on the same scales. In other words, the set-up adds about 1500 grammes per ski, which tallies with the official data for the LD12 which is 2440 per pair when you add the weight of plates.
This seems heavier than some (like the latest Salomon demo bindings) but certainly lighter than a lot of other moveable bindings.
Cheers
Skibomb
Nice job.
The Tyrolia manuals are also quite useful; you can find links to them by searching on this site.
FWIW, I know that at least StormDay has had these mounted up, since his wife was skiing Volkl Auras with RailFlex LD12s yesterday. I was skeptical about raising the mount level with wide skis, but Ms. StormDay was ripping on them.
I couldn't tell from your photos, but an important step to note is that, when drilling without a jig, you need to space the front and back RF plates about 3-4mm apart before marking and drilling the holes. The space between the plates is part of the slop that allows the RF plates to not impede the ski flex. I use a binding drill bit to set the spacing.Quote:
Originally Posted by skibomb
Hi -- I was wondering if anyone who has access to a Tyrolia 92 jig could measure the positions of the holes along the ski for a carve plate mounting:
http://www.tyrolia.com/index.php?id=carve_plate_9_slr
The plates are in two pieces and I assume there should be about a 1-2mm gap between them to allow the ski to flex.
Thanks in advance,
pat
The Railflex V9 bindings (Fischer branded Tyrolia) that came with these skis have a maximum boot base of 325mm as indicated on the rail markings. I have boots with 335mm bases, does anyone know whether Tyrolia/Fisher has an replacement rail for the larger boots?
A shop just did a pair of Railflex I plates and bindings for me on a flat Volkl ski. I knew about the +1.5 and -1.5 available on this set-up, but 2 questions.
The shop pointed out that the binding plate center mark was not used, as then the boots center mark was off slightly. They elected to go with the boot being centered with the center screw mounting point. So did you have your boot center line up with the plate center point?
Second question - if anyone knows, now that the boot length is changable on your set-up of the flat ski and the plate allowing the binding to adjust, would the same hold true with the Railflex I Series?
Yes. Check the manual link for the part number.Quote:
Originally Posted by arrowhead414
In a word, Yes.Quote:
Originally Posted by RShea
the amount depends on your boot sole length. you can keep the correct distance for your bsl ,but move it forward or aft before you place it on the rail