Guest Frappe Posted February 25, 2004 Report Share Posted February 25, 2004 So here are two top-of-the-line hard plate bindings, in about the same price range too (269ish new, used going for 150 give or take 30 dollars). So what are the significant differences, advantages, disadvantages, etc. of the two? Here's a few that stand out to get the topic started: Bomber TD2s: suspended with elastomer ring of varying stiffness, disc-determined cant. Very nice bail design and step in design as well. Pretty. Catek Olympics: directly connect to board, fully customizable (to the point of insanity) cant and lift adjustment, lil' rubber grippies on the toe and heal contact points, arguably less pretty. Personally the first three of those for the Cateks make them seem like a better product for someone that wants an ulta-stiff binding-board interface, and a lot of adjustment. Whereas the suspension and preset cant of the bombers would make for a lower-maintenance and slightly more forgiving binding. (why is he talking about this? he's trying to decide which pair to try and buy/find used.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Randy S. Posted February 25, 2004 Report Share Posted February 25, 2004 Another question. Should you buy local? Catek is right next door to you in RI. Something to consider. You've covered the major points. I tend to think the Cateks are pretty also. And they do have a rubber ring/gasket between the board and the mounting plate that serves to damp some vibration (the Bombers are more adjustible in that department). I like the bombers because it is easier to set and forget them. Plus its a lot easier to switch bindings between boards and get the same set up each time (all that screwing with the cateks get confusing. The Bombers have slightly less adjustibility, but I find it sufficient for my needs. I've tried both and now own 2 pair of Bomber TD2 SI's, plus a 2nd (3rd?) board mounting kit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack M Posted February 25, 2004 Report Share Posted February 25, 2004 only one thing to point out beyond what you and Randy have covered: the "hard" e-ring of the TD2's will give you the same rigid feel as the TD1s. But the medium e-ring seems to be the emerging favorite. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Donnelly Posted February 25, 2004 Report Share Posted February 25, 2004 Also, with the TD2's you could swap the ring color to coordinate with your dress of the day and/or snow conditions:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ncermak Posted February 25, 2004 Report Share Posted February 25, 2004 the biggest complaint that I've ever heard about a CATEK is that they are so adjustable that the tinkerer will never settle down on a stance and just ride... I love 'em Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarvCanada Posted February 25, 2004 Report Share Posted February 25, 2004 catek's are sexy! they're bling blingin! plus if you know someone to anodize them, you can make them look solid gasoline puddles! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike T Posted February 25, 2004 Report Share Posted February 25, 2004 TD2 SI's and '04 Catek Olympic SI's. I generally run the Cateks on my Coiler PR 184 and the TD2s on my Donek Axis 172 although I've used both bindings on both boards. For the TD'2s I use the soft e-rings, 0 front, 3 back, slight inward cant back. On the Cateks I use about 1-ish degree lift on front with a little inward cant, and 3-ish lift on back with a little inward cant. I weigh 190 - 195 and am 5'11". So here are my opinions on the pros and cons: TD2 Pros -nice and damp w/ the soft e-ring. (I also bought mediums but have yet to use them) -very easy to set up, replicate settings, almost idiot-proof in fact -easy to see if your Intec heel is engaged -burly hardware. 5mm allen heads are not so easy to strip! -infinite adjustment on stance angle TD2 Cons -0,3,6 is quite a jump in the cant/lift. I want 1 or 1.5 degree increments. -hard to step in on the fly (not impossible, but not easy). Maybe I'll try a stiffer spring. Catek Olympic Pros -cant/lift adjustment. I have a screwed up right hip and this helps a lot. -very easy to step in on the fly Catek Olympic Cons -4mm allen heads very easy to strip (ordering 5mm head screws from Bomber to mount Cateks to board with) -stance angles in 3 degree increments. -setup and replication of settings not so easy Nothing more than cosmetic wear on either bindings. If TD2's came with cant/lift disks in finer increments (1 or 1.5 degrees) then I'd clearly favor them over Cateks. I like the dampening and I really do like the fine-tuning of stance angle too. Can I tell the difference betwwen having my front foot at 60 and 62? No. But can I tell the difference between a splay of 5 degrees and 6 degrees? Sadly, yes, but I think it's because of my hip which doesn't move freely enough. As to why I run the TD2's on the Donek and the Cateks on the Coiler. Well, my Coiler is damp enough on its own, and the Donek is not. My shins rattle when I take the Donek over anything bump in the Cateks, but not so much with the TD2s. Also, the cant/lift fine tuning seems to help me more with the higher stance angles I use on the Coiler, and less so on the mellower angles on the Donek. Qualification statement: Many or even most of you can smoke me on the hill, but everything I've said is from personal experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bordy Posted February 25, 2004 Report Share Posted February 25, 2004 Good post Mike! I own and ride all three as well TD 1s 2s and 04 olympics. I enjoy my TD2 and there is no shipping. In under 5 runs the dents the adjusting screws put in my disk on the 04 olympics made the chances of using the holes next to them unusable. This is bad for me since I own a ton of boards and only well lets just say less bindings. So my Cateks are great if I want to ride 57f 54r since that is how I set them up. However i can never ride 54f or 60f or 57r 51r since the holes have merged. I ride boards from 16cm to 22cm waist and was hoping to just swap them around as my fun pair. No dice. Also my friend Dave is having the same issue. This part will surley get me in trouble but think wisely about the SI vs Traditional I have come out of my TD2 si and TD1 si and my olympics si. In the past I have also com out of TD1 traditionals. The SI moves the flex point of the boot down a lot changing the feel. The neat thing about the cateks is the infinate canting. I hoped i would like it I have been riding bombers for so long that three and six and zero are just what I like any way! I think I just learned to ride the cant I had. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarvCanada Posted February 26, 2004 Report Share Posted February 26, 2004 even the holes merge , you can still use them rock solid. also, you can drill then screws in between holes if you prefer 61.5 degrees versus 63 and 60 with no problem at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobdea Posted February 27, 2004 Report Share Posted February 27, 2004 my only issue with cateks is that the toe block on the SI will wear out faster than on bombers bombers are on a bolt where the cateks are just bent to fit under it my only complaint about bombers is that I would love a 1.5 deg cant and there is no such thing either way you can not go wrong Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ncermak Posted February 27, 2004 Report Share Posted February 27, 2004 A corporate type response to the catek merged hole issue: You could always purchase the multi board kit direct from catek. (in other words, a pair of mounting discs for each board, then you just have to swap the binding aropund... -Noah Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Frappe Posted April 12, 2004 Report Share Posted April 12, 2004 Just for the record, I ended up getting Cateks. MMmmm, infinte adjustability. Thanks Mike. (P.S.: there's a LOT of carvers named Mike.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-Sub Posted April 12, 2004 Report Share Posted April 12, 2004 Originally posted by Pat Donnelly Also, with the TD2's you could swap the ring color to coordinate with your dress of the day and/or snow conditions:) heh. its PAT! just kiddin. bro..that pic in your avatar is AWESOME any change I could get a hi-res? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Dahl Posted April 13, 2004 Report Share Posted April 13, 2004 you missed one thing, the Bomber's DO connect directly to the board. The e-ring is a damper for the board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Frappe Posted April 13, 2004 Report Share Posted April 13, 2004 By directly I meant without dampening, it's like the difference between a solid suspension (like a go-kart) and strut+springs on a car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack M Posted April 13, 2004 Report Share Posted April 13, 2004 Originally posted by Jon Dahl you missed one thing, the Bomber's DO connect directly to the board. The e-ring is a damper for the board. Actually they don't, and the e-ring is a dampener for the binding. The baseplate is riding on the cant disc. The cant disc is "floating" on the e-ring. The center disc is the only part rigidly mounted to the board. It's job is simply to hold the cant disc down against the e-ring. The cant disc is free to pitch and roll by a small amount. However the "hard" e-ring is intended to provide a rigid feel similar to the TD1. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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