Dynafit comforts heel gap

[keksie]

Got dynafits mounted on anti-pistes couple weeks ago by a shop. Skied some days with no problems, first full day of skiing hard snow with them I prereleased out of the same binding some times in situations where the binding definitely shouldn't have released.

A look at the bindings when boots are in them showed that the boot length was incorrectly set by the shop. The binding that is prereleasing has a very narrow gap between foot and binding, narrower than the other one.

1) wildsnow Dynafit FAQ tells that the correct gap length should be 6mm http://www.wildsnow.com/articles/dyn...faq1.html#gap2 . But where do you measure this at the comfort heel which does not have the bump on it below the pins (like photo in wildsnow faq shows). The comfort heel piece has a slight curve in it which makes a difference in measuring from different spots. I don't have the manual and couldn't find it online.

2) What would the comfort plastic feeler gauge shim have looked like? I got the bindings in a box and there were some parts in there, I didn't check that thoroughly, just gave the whole box to the shop and only got skis mounted with bindings back (no shim).

3) A rant: Why can the shops not get the binding adjustments done properly. I got a bloody lip and a small bruise below my eye because of an incorrectly set binding. To be honest it looks like the other binding is set wrong also, the gap looks to be less than 6mm.. (not confirmed yet). I guess I'm a gaper for not spending an hour researching the inner life of dynafiddles, reading wildsnow faqs etc before this, and trusting the shop instead, I mean that's what I thought I'm paying for. Had these been an alpine binding I would've doublechecked the shops work but as its my first pair of Dynafits and I didn't know shit about them I didn't do it, thought I'd be OK if I just cleared out all the snow and clicked in properly etc.

[AsheanMT]

6mm is correct. The shim that I have for my comforts is grey with two raised bars on it. My new shim is white with a circle on it. I'd bet they are the exact same.

CHECK BOTH YOUR BOOTS IN BOTH YOUR BINDINGS.

Some people/shops don't use both boots to mount because they are not used having to use both boots.

Dynfits have ZERO tolerance and I've had boots where the soles where different by half a mm. HALF A MM!!! Thats nothing!!!! But its enough to fuck up the release. You might have to mark your skis Left and Right after setting the proper gap for each one.

[Tye 1on]

I can picture how even a couple of mm's too MUCH space could lead to pre-releasing, but can some dyna-savvy mag help me understand how that could happen if it's a hair tight?

And, i can't seem to find my plastic spacer. Is there any trick you guys know to rig one, using a couple coins or sumpin?

[keksie]

The skis were marked L and R when they came out of the shop (had them in right feet also). Gonna go back to the shop and ask if they have the shim, there definitely was a grey extra part in the box along with the screws but I didn't know what it was for. The binding(s) were definitely set completely wrong since in touring mode my boot scratches the heelpiece every now and then.

Thanks for the tips AsheanMT.. I'm in Missoula at the moment, probably gonna take a trip to whitefish for lifts or touring at some point, mind showing a European around? :P were you at whitefish the opening weekend, how's the base over there?

[pechelman]

check your din

maybe the missed one of them since they have two DIN adjustments on each heel

[keksie]

I can picture how even a couple of mm's too MUCH space could lead to pre-releasing, but can some dyna-savvy mag help me understand how that could happen if it's a hair tight?

And, i can't seem to find my plastic spacer. Is there any trick you guys know to rig one, using a couple coins or sumpin?

Not dyna savvy but here's my guess: I think if you got too much space you're not really 'prereleasing', as in the binding itself is not releasing your boot, your boots heel piece just comes out of the pins because theres too much space. (= you 'slip' out of the binding)

If its too tight then the force that your boot exerts into the binding is stronger than if the binding was set correctly = binding releases more easily.

[Conundrum]

I can picture how even a couple of mm's too MUCH space could lead to pre-releasing, but can some dyna-savvy mag help me understand how that could happen if it's a hair tight?

And, i can't seem to find my plastic spacer. Is there any trick you guys know to rig one, using a couple coins or sumpin?

If the bindings are a hair tight, either the pins will hit inside the boot holes or the heel block will hit the back of the boot when the ski flexes too much. This will push the boot forward and pop the toe out the toe binding if you are not skiing with it in tour mode.

[keksie]

check your din

maybe the missed one of them since they have two DIN adjustments on each heel

Yea, the dins are set correctly

[JoeStrummer]

And, i can't seem to find my plastic spacer. Is there any trick you guys know to rig one, using a couple coins or sumpin?

3 stacked quarters has always worked for me.

[Tye 1on]

If the bindings are a hair tight, either the pins will hit inside the boot holes or the heel block will hit the back of the boot when the ski flexes too much. This will push the boot forward and pop the toe out the toe binding if you are not skiing with it in tour mode.

Thanks man, makes perfect sense.

Any thoughts on a substitute for the plastic guage?

[pechelman]

a ruler
a drill bit
calipers
a 6mm bolt

[Conundrum]

Thanks man, makes perfect sense.

Any thoughts on a substitute for the plastic guage?

Anything p said. It's about 2 mm with your heel in flat tour mode to the back of the boot...at least on mine when they are adjusted to 6 mm in ski mode.

I don't actually make mine tight with the little plastic fellow in there. When I do that, my heels catch the heel pieces on the flat parts of tours. I leave it just a touch loose.

[Jonathan S.]

The shim that I have for my comforts is grey with two raised bars on it. My new shim is white with a circle on it.

Just a note that both the old shim (first sentence in quote) and new shim (second sentence in quote) have been made in a couple different colors.

The only shim not to get mixed up with those is the Speed/Classic shim -- just a plain rectangular slab, and only 4mm.

I've also set the gap using digital calipers, just out of curiosity. Came out to the same as the Dynafit-supplied shims. I've also seen a custom shim made out of some very nice wood. Anything 6mm will work. (And if you don't have calipers already to measure this, you should -- comes in handy for plenty of things.)

Back to the OP, are we going to have a public outing of this shop? (Set the bindings incorrectly, probably didn't torque test them, didn't supply the shim to the customer, didn't provide a brief overview of adjustments?)

[AsheanMT]

Thanks for the tips AsheanMT.. I'm in Missoula at the moment, probably gonna take a trip to whitefish for lifts or touring at some point, mind showing a European around? :P were you at whitefish the opening weekend, how's the base over there?

I'd be glad to show you around. I'm a dad and a husband so I don't have all the free time in the world but I get up the hill damn near every day for at least a couple of hours.

Backside of the mountain is doing great but we need some snow. Two good storms and everything will be open.

One more thing to mention on dynafits- not sure if you already read it or not but its imperative to always make sure that your toes are completely free from and ice/snow/debris. And I mean COMPLETELY. On a wicked cold day last year I found myself coming out of my dynafits on every turn. It took me a while to realize that I had the teeniest tiniest little bit of ice in my toe socket from snow refreezing into my toe sockets after they had warmed up in the lodge. The way to avoid that kind of release is to simply pull the lever all the way into tour mode and then put it back in ski mode. If it doesn't make it all the way to the last click in tour mode then you've got something in your toe socket or ice is under the springs in the toe piece.

Drop me a line when you come up and I'll show you why we are a drinking town with a skiing problem.

[wooley12]

First, I don't trust McDonalds clerks to put the right burger in the bag.

Three quarters! Brilliant! I's just a touch under 6 mm so 3 quarters plus a touch more. All that time I wasted getting to the heart wood of that 100 year old walnut tree. I have heard of pre release caused by the boot toe not pushing down far enough to lock the toe down and that might not be noticed in the average shop rat. Believe the measurement is made at the top of the binding heel and the plate on the boot.

[slobmonster]

I can mail you a Dynafit 6mm gauge thingie, just PM me your mailing address etc.