Fritschi Tecton

[galibier_numero_un]

Swapped the Tecton heel with my Vipec heel today and played with it a bit. Moving the lever through the modes is an act of faith - it feels really flimsy compared to how much pressure it takes to change positions, lol. Maybe it breaks in...hopefully not literally. The heel cup seems to lock the boot down solid enough though.

Having no installation instructions, how do you properly set the forward pressure? The adjustment screw is always flush with the housing when zooming in from a loose adjustment, though the screw does pull into the housing a little if you overtighten it a bit like you could with an alpine binding. Guess you tighten until the screw pulls into the housing, and then back out a click to flush?

Took a few minutes to figure out how to attach the brake base to the heel unit. Tip: the brake mode shifter arms have to key into the slots in the heel cup, and then the heel has to be in walk mode to swing the lock nut on the adjustment shaft into the pocket in the brake base.

Looks like the upper climbing elevator will probably rattle when in ski mode (upper elevator is under the lower in ski mode), but a little glop of silicone RTV between the lifters would take up the play.

So, the brake architecture is a bit different from the Vipec (which took me a bit of fiddling to figure out). I wonder if it deploys a bit more smoothly.

This page on the Fritschi site is supposed to have instructions (videos). As of this date, it doesn't, but I'm posting the link under the assumption that they'll populate the links soon:
https://fritschi.swiss/en/medias/tec...ustment-brake/

... Thom

[summit]

Didn’t read the whole thread....can this be used in boots with the minimal heel ledge like the Atomic backland?


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I'm wondering this... wife has backland and I still have a TLT5... I wonder if the marker kingpin din adapters would work for the tecton?

[1000-oaks]

^ Just guessing, but I'd assume the lip of the heel cup would rest against the back of the boot and the "Power Rails" wouldn't be as deep into the tech fitting as a boot with an alpine-size lug. So maybe the rails would still handle the horizontal loads, but we'd have to see how the cup rotates during upward travel. If the lip follows the boot upward for awhile, it would probably work. But if the lip slides backward off the lug from the get-go, it would probably release prematurely.

[greasyslope]

A slightly useful progress report.

I got the Tectons out on snow today for a super short, mellow tour. I had the dog along and my back has been jacked up for a week and a half, so I was just looking to be outside and get us both a little exercise.

The Tectons went through all of the mellow motions just fine. Switching between ski and tour mode was no problem. The brakes did what they should when toggling back and forth. It was easy for me to flip the risers both ways with my poles (BD fixed carbon, I think?)

They toured and skied the mellow slope fine.

So, not much of a test, but a positive first impression.

[lemmycaution]

tetcon PSA

after much back and forth, just pulled the trigger on tectons. partially because on rei right now there is a 20% off if you are a member- and they did not exclude the tectons- therefore saved a good bit.

[ticketchecker]

Have a set sitting on my dining room table. Trying to decide where they go, possibly on the dynafit chugach that are also sitting on the dining room table. I have a durable GF...

[greasyslope]

2 more mellow tours. 2 more days of no complaints. Still haven’t pushed them hard, but they feel really good so far.

[thredayevt]

tetcon PSA

after much back and forth, just pulled the trigger on tectons. partially because on rei right now there is a 20% off if you are a member- and they did not exclude the tectons- therefore saved a good bit.

OK, what kind of REI voodoo did you use to make the current member's coupon work? I tried the GEARUP20 coupon but no dice. The fine print reads like all ski bindings are excluded?

Thanks!

[Muggydude]

Wondering if the added performance is worth the risk of a first run product over Vipec evo. The toe is proven, which just leaves the question of the heel

[SupreChicken]

It’s an alpine style heel. They’ve (bd/Fritschi) definitely done that before in a touring binding...

[jacob_dbu]

FYI, MountainGear is also selling Vipec Evos and Tectons for ~$480.

[ticketchecker]

It’s an alpine style heel. They’ve (bd/Fritschi) definitely done that before in a touring binding...

^this made me feel good about being a beta rider

[fly2mike]

Me too!. I ordered a pair of these thru Evo, they will price match. I went with the 120mm brake to use with a 112 ski. Will they be too wide?

[jacob_dbu]

Me too!. I ordered a pair of these thru Evo, they will price match. I went with the 120mm brake to use with a 112 ski. Will they be too wide?

I would have gone with 110mm. The brakes seem to run about 5mm wide and they don't come in too much when stowed. But I'm sure you can make 120mm work.

[Cocximus]

Are the brakes and their mechanism the same as vipecs?

[NorCalNomad]

Me too!. I ordered a pair of these thru Evo, they will price match. I went with the 120mm brake to use with a 112 ski. Will they be too wide?

Seems to depend which brakes get shipped to you. I have the second gen Vipec's that came with 120 brakes that barely fit my 115 waisted skis...and didn't someone just order some 120's and 110's that were the same size?

[jackattack]

Just checked these out at rei. Following you beta testers...

[Choucas]

Trigger pulled on Tectons from Mtn Gear. I like the fact that they will drop into the same holes as my Vipecs. I'll keep the Vipecs around as backup this year in case I run into any issues with the Tectons and have to switch them out.

[jacob_dbu]

I am so on the fence about doing that as well. If the tectons don't have issues they're gonna be awesome. I don't see why would get anything else unless you wanna go speed turns or lighter.

[skiSilent_skiDeep]

scored a pair from Snowinn for 400usd out the door. justified being a beta tester at that price. purchased with the intention of skiing'em brakeless. the 100mm brakes clear the 114mm waist skis that the binding will be mounted to, with at least millimeter or two to spare. heel-pieces are surprisingly light, more plastic than I was expecting.

[N1CK.]

scored a pair from Snowinn for 400usd out the door. justified being a beta tester at that price. purchased with the intention of skiing'em brakeless. the 100mm brakes clear the 114mm waist skis that the binding will be mounted to, with at least millimeter or two to spare. heel-pieces are surprisingly light, more plastic than I was expecting.

how so low? they're up to $520 /pr.

[skiSilent_skiDeep]

how so low? they're up to $520 /pr.

heres the breakdown... 511usd (forex adjusted?) in the basket. they floated me a PayPal code that took 15% off. applied what coINNS I had in reserve. and when adjusted for 12usd shipping, it ended up being a couple dollars over 400usd. it pays to play at SnowINN.

[jacob_dbu]

heres the breakdown... 511usd (forex adjusted?) in the basket. they floated me a PayPal code that took 15% off. applied what coINNS I had in reserve. and when adjusted for 12usd shipping, it ended up being a couple dollars over 400usd. it pays to play at SnowINN.

Slick! I guess I'll have to shop some more there. I hate their website design though. It just feels dirty shopping there.

[1000-oaks]

(X-post from Vipec thread.)

So when mounted, my "95mm" Vipec brakes fit up to 105mm. When the brake arm is removed from the binding, it springs wider to about 118mm.

Vipec brakes don't have a separate spring to rotate the arms (which most, if not all alpine bindings do), so the outward arm force against two angled plastic surfaces is what creates the brake arm rotation when your boot comes out of the binding.

With this type of "the arm is the spring" mechanism, folks that bend Vipec or Tecton brake arms to a different width must be very careful to ensure ALL bending is done beyond where the arms protrude from the plastic housing. This definitely requires removing the arm unit and clamping it in a vise. If the steel arm is bent out of factory spec at any point where it's within the housing, the brake isn't going to work properly.

[galibier_numero_un]

(X-post from Vipec thread.)

So when mounted, my "95mm" Vipec brakes fit up to 105mm. When the brake arm is removed from the binding, it springs wider to about 118mm. Since Vipec brakes don't have a separate spring to rotate the arms (which most, if not all alpine bindings do), the outward spring force against two angled plastic surfaces is what creates the brake arm rotation when your boot comes out of the binding.

With this type of "the arm assembly is the spring" mechanism, folks that bend Vipec or Tecton brake arms to a different width must be very careful to ensure ALL bending is done beyond where the arms protrude from the plastic housing. If the steel rod is bent out of factory spec at any point where it's within the housing, the brake isn't going to work properly.

Thanks! So, the Tecton brake architecture is identical to the Vipec? It was difficult to tell from the photos.

Are the brake arms interchangeable as well (same architecture/same dimensions)?

It sounds as if Fritschi finally got their brake width labeling sorted out. Better the brake should be wider than nominal spec than much narrower as was my experience which I documented in the Vipec thread (1st year black Vipecs).

Mediums purchased in the US and wides (I recall them being labeled 115, but I'd have to check that thread) purchased either through either Telemark Pyrenees or Sport-Conrad (I forget) were the same width, and neither one cleared 108 waist skis ... and hence the well documented bending game began :-(

... Thom