ZZ Lab : Pin Parts & Alternatives

**Vitamin I** · 08-28-2015, 07:30 PM

No response in the Salomon 9XX Binding mega-thread, so re-posting as a new thread here...

I acquired 3 used pairs of ZZ Lab 916s. I'm trying to assess which of my pairs included all the sufficient "pin parts", and I also seek advice about just mounting the connector bar to the ski, instead of acquiring replacement pin parts.

See Photo1: I am confident that the pictured 2-hole pin part of Pair1 will be sufficient and "by design".

See Photo2: My Pair2 has only small pins. Has anyone mounted a pair that included only those 2 small pins? With no 2-hole or 3-hole bar like in previous Photo1 above? If this is "by design" but an earlier design, then it is inferior to the design in the previous Photo1 above, because the Photo1 design transfers heel forward pressure to 2 toe screws in the ski (strong), but the Photo2 design transfers heel forward pressure to ONLY one hole in PLASTIC toe AFD part (weak).

*** My Pair3 has no pin parts at all, so either I ask TGR or Salomon for replacement pin parts, or...

See Photo3: Any advice about just drilling 2 more holes in ski, mounting the long connector bar to the ski with 2 screws close to the heel piece, and then I don't even bother to seek replacement pin parts. My search found only ONE reference to this idea, at http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/s...63#post3604263 , which is this quote:

Originally Posted by ZomblibulaX

…I pulled the connecting strap off one of those for a sitskier a couple of years ago who had wallered out the part on the toe piece that the connector anchors onto. I put a binding screw through one of the grommet holes right in front of the heel piece to keep the heel from sliding, and he skied it with no problems. …We both agreed that while functional, it was far from ideal, and while pretty simple, I wouldn't trust many people with that modification….

.

**ZomblibulaX** · 08-28-2015, 10:59 PM

FWIW, that mod held up longer than the rest of the binding. I think I moved those on to six or seven different skis for that guy, because sitskiers always break shit. That said, the heels were pinned and the springs blocked, so there was no concern for any sort of release mechanism. If the bindings were mounted and adjusted correctly(without rebar in the spring cans), I don't see any reason why they wouldn't have tested in range.

I actually think about that mod a lot, and if I had a pair of ZZ's with the same problem, I probably wouldn't think twice about doing it again for myself. Couple notes:

-Drill/dremel out the ring rivets and ditch the connector bar. The remainder won't want to lay quite flat because its spring steel, but it won't matter because its such a nominal variance. You'll still need to drill out the holes on the tab because a standard binding screw won't quite fit in there.

-The hole on the right indicated in pic 3 is your brake screw hole, lest you forget. Which means: 1. That screw is probably superfluous in combination with the one on the left, and is in pretty close proximity to three other screw holes. I wouldn't bother, YMMV; 2. You're mounting your brake straight to the ski, so make sure you have the right brake arms and, you know, don't break your brakes; 3. You'll need to thread through the screw plate AND through the topsheet, which could be an issue if the ski has a lot of metal in it; and 4. The connector bar is designed to allow the heel some range of motion while flexing the ski, so putting a screw where you indicate puts additional pressure into your forward pressure springs earlier. Probably not an issue unless you bend your ski tip up to, roughly, your nose.

**rabbit** · 08-29-2015, 05:24 AM

fwiw

Ive only ever seen the version in photo 1.
Salomon introduced something called "zz speed 2" in 2006, which Ive never seen.
Maybe that's what you have in photo 2.
I think I might have heard that version mounted into a specific plate but I had completely forgotten it ever existed before I read this thread so this might just be my confused mind rambling.
Salomon should have spare parts. I think...

**Vitamin I** · 08-31-2015, 02:13 AM

Thanks for the replies.

RE: Drilling the ski under the brake screw:
Before I posted this thread, I thought I eyeballed it and believed I could fit 2 screws in that brake screw column. One lower screw to attach the bar to the ski, screwed deep and low enough so as not to interfere with the upper brake screw above (which does not penetrate very low). But if ZomblibulaX's 1-screw method (in the grommet only) held up for a sitskier, then that should work for me too.

.