sheffy Posted November 11, 2004 Report Share Posted November 11, 2004 IM riding a 184 coiler with catek(reg bindings last years)---and was wonderin is it worth getting the heel piece to make them into step ins?????I have ups boots(last years)---and was wondering if the heel ever rips out if you use step ins---i crank pretty hard on the bindings???? are the regular ones stronger? having the bails?? wahts the advantage of step ins other than convenience??? thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Houghton Posted November 11, 2004 Report Share Posted November 11, 2004 How's that saying go - Some swear by them, some swear at them. Totally a matter of personal choice. Some like the flex of the normal bindings and hate the breaking cables of the stepin, others love the convenience of stepin and would have it no other way. As I said, you'll not get a straight answer on this forum, because there isn't one. Hope that helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trailertrash Posted November 11, 2004 Report Share Posted November 11, 2004 Sheffy, I hope they work well I converted to steps this year, haven't ridden them yet. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~tb Posted November 11, 2004 Report Share Posted November 11, 2004 I switched from catek's to Catek step ins when the olympic bindings came out. I was reluctant at first, but when Fin and several others wouldnt shut up about there TD step ins, I decided to give them a try. I have been on them for 2 seasons now and will NEVER go back. It took me 2 days on hill to get used to the additional stiffness in the step in, but now I love them. All of the "down sides" of the step in can be easily mitigated with a small amount of maintenance at the start of each season. Lube the cable, and lube the inside of the heel. Bob will tell you to lube the pins on a somewhat regular basis, but I personally do not (he is probably right though). Benefits, 1) Clip in without stopping, 2) unclip without stopping, 3) No more oh $hit break when the toe bail goes over the edge of the board while you are getting off the lift. 4) STIFFER 5) unclip quickly to skate across any flats. 6) did I mention stiffer. 7) less wear on the boot from the bails and toe lever. 8) with traditional bindings, I used to rip the heel clear off the back of my raichles on an annual basis (straight through the plastic), with stepins, I am going into my 3rd season on the same boots. 9) less pre load boot flex (ya know when you have your bindings cranked down really tight to get a stiffer feel, and as you flip the toe bail, you can feel the arch of the boot flex? . . . yeah, no more of that. . .) 10) Less thermal dependance (I used to find that I would need to adjust my bails on really cold, or really warm days to get the right fit on the boot. not nearly as much with step ins) Im sure that you will hear from some people that think the step in is too stiff . . . and for them, they are completely right. some people dont like the really stiff feel, I just personally do. Ill shut up now, because as long as your are on cateks or bombers, you are on a great piece of equipment regardless of standard or step in. -Todd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike T Posted November 11, 2004 Report Share Posted November 11, 2004 The original poster has UPS boots so this is not relevant to him... but I and others found that the heel bail on the Cateks doesn't fit a Raichle boot very well. However, when you go to step-ins, problem solved! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest dudleydudley Posted November 11, 2004 Report Share Posted November 11, 2004 Dammit, I think you guys have convinced me I need step-ins. I rode step-ins a while back and thought it made a world of difference as far as convenience, but I thought it would be better to start out with regular TD2s now that I am buying my own stuff. Step-ins it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skategoat Posted November 11, 2004 Report Share Posted November 11, 2004 I was 100% step-in last year. Now I have TD2 step-in, TD1 regular and Catek regular. I'm going to be switching around and will report back, FWIW. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tilledog Posted November 11, 2004 Report Share Posted November 11, 2004 Cateks and Deeluxe mesh devinely, both step-in and bails, for me. I never had Raichle's though. I rode Fire's up till last year so I can't speek for Raichle heel on Std. Cateks as mentioned above. Is heel configuration different from Raichle pre 03/04 to now? Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike T Posted November 12, 2004 Report Share Posted November 12, 2004 Originally posted by tilledog Cateks and Deeluxe mesh devinely, both step-in and bails, for me. I never had Raichle's though. I rode Fire's up till last year so I can't speek for Raichle heel on Std. Cateks as mentioned above. Is heel configuration different from Raichle pre 03/04 to now? Dave I forgot to mention, my Catek non-step-ins were World Cups, not Olympics. I suspect the Catek bails changed, not the Raichle->Deeluxe boots. So my post may only apply to WCs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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