Burton Rat Trap Noob - a few questions for you gurus

[jmars]

Hey all,

Picked up my first carver, this will be a secondary stick for me as I'm still a die hard pipe rider and find myself in the park often to a lot....but I'm 32 and falls are starting getting rough but my brain is still boosting me. I grew up riding pipe boards as all mtn sticks so I can rip some serious turns on the groomers and enjoy narrow waist stiffer freestyle boards. I've always admired carving boards and those that ride them, I feel (no offense) that carving is the road biking of snowboarding. I took to an old Factory Prime 67 very quickly and loved it from 8am-10am...then back to my daily driver......I'm an East Coast SoVT guy, just for more background.

I bought a complete set up (from a very active bomber memeber) that came with Burton "rat traps". They perform well mechanically and I have completely disassembled them (last night) to review the metal. No stress marks that I see, bails are all in really super shape(thick too) and the baseplates are as well, even the rubber pads on the bind bases are in tiptop shape.

I have a few questions regarding the binders for the guru's out there.

1) There are numbers on the plate next to the bails along the toe and heel - What do these reference? I know they are for adjusting the boots to the bails but is there something specific I should know as to how they correlate to the set up?

2) The heel mechanism which brings up the rear bail is in just awesome shape, I noted some light grease in there. Should I apply some fresh grease? I was thinking either marine bearing grease or white cycling bearing grease,...thoughts?

3) The cant plate.....its the two piece cant plate with the independent alum middle kingpin one(multi cant??) ....can anyone explain(if possible) how to properly mount this? I see that it referecence angles 1-8 but im not sure if lower plate referencing 8 should face the tail and then front referencing 0 should face the front....then rotate the top plate around to achieve the desired cant (heel high)....I'd like to start with 3 on my rear foot. Yes, I have read the flaws with this design but I'm going to work with what I got for the time being.

Thanks everyone, this is a nice community. I just love the amount of centralized gear trade that goes on.

-James

[inkaholic]

Jmars,

I don't know enough about those binders so no comment about that but Welcome. Check the ride boards for your area to meet up with others. You will gain a lot of knowledge about equipment and technique from the locals. Once you get to know the locals they may even let you demo some of their equipment. This makes things much easier to determine your next purchase.

Again, Welcome to the forum.

Ink

[jmars]

Thanks Ink.....not really looking to demo (althought fun I'm sure) at this time or figure out my next purchase but I do agree that this route will be very useful in the future. There are a few hardbooters that are at my home hill which I plan on reaching out to this weekend.

Any burton info on this thread would be helpful if anyone knows.

thanks

[ibrussell]

Hi A little white grease will do. The numbers are for boot size ref. For the cant the metal peice goes on first, engagetab pointing forward. look on bottom of cants one should be marked lowerpart downside, put that on with 0 pointing forward set top peice on with open notch at # of angle you want put binding on. Ride try different angle Charlie

[jmars]

ibrussell, thanks.....but do you know in what way?

I figured as much on the cant plate.

Sorry for the noob question but I figure it can't hurt to have this info out there for others too.

Thanks

[Wolf]

If your Rat Traps are the type with a plastic toe block with a micro-adjust screw to set the binding length, there is an aluminum plate inside that can break. The plate is what retains the toe bail, so you'll want to check to be sure. Here's a picture showing the underside of a toe block with the broken piece. If yours aren't broken, keep an eye on them. Once you know what to look for, you'll know one has broken if the toe bail can be wiggled more than usual. I used a set of those bindings for years without breaking one, but have also seen a couple that have broken.

You wouldn't want to ride on a broken one - the toe bail would just be supported by plastic.

Happy (safe) Riding !!

[jmars]

Thanks Wolf but mine are all metal where yours are plastic on the toe and heel. The bases are metal too. The toe and heel are adjusted buy removing screws(no micro adj screw) from the toe and heel block which hold the bails. The toe and heel blocks then screw back in the base where there are 2 rows of inserts going into the metal of the base plate.

[icebiker]

Thanks Wolf but mine are all metal where yours are plastic on the toe and heel. The bases are metal too. The toe and heel are adjusted buy removing screws(no micro adj screw) from the toe and heel block which hold the bails. The toe and heel blocks then screw back in the base where there are 2 rows of inserts going into the metal of the base plate.

Ok, those sound like Race Plates vs Rat Traps. If so, they might look like the pic below? The numbers simply allow you to center the boot over the bindings once you've figured out what length to set the blocks/bails at to fit your boots.

[Wolf]

jmars - It sounds like you have the older rat traps. They're definitely beefier, but can be a pain to set up. Since they don't have the micro-adjust, you may have to choose between setting them on the tight side where they might not engage smoothly, or on the loose side where they feel sloppy as far as boot fit. Tighter is more secure but you might need to help the step-in mechanism with your hand - make sure the release lever flips all the way over to fully to secure the heel bail. It will take some effort to get them open too. If you can get them set just right, they're really slick.

[jmars]

Thanks everyone

Wolf you are correct in your guess (sorry for no pics), I set them up last night. Not to difficult at all to set but I saw what you meant by being in between sizes. I went with slightly tighter but the fit really was good IMO. Since I went tight I do have to help the bail up. I agree, pretty slick and I'm going to use these until I see fatigue....if any these really are in terrific shape and I abuse gear. I am using my Dalbello Kryptons for now...glad thats the boot I randomly own for when I ski (I have very narrow feet)

Icebiker, thanks, mine are like yours interms of adjusting the heel and toe bails but I 100% have Rat Traps as there is a mechanical heel.

I can see why the cant plate can easily be the failure point though.

Thanks everyone, happy turns!

[Wolf]

I've used those, also set tight, and being a wimpy wimp I found I could barely open the release lever with one gloved hand, and not at all with heavy mittens. The lever ended up too close to the side of the boot to get a good grip.

Happy riding (I hope your not a wimpy wimp)!

[Markus]

Until last year I have exclusively been riding two Burton "Rat Traps" on my race boards. Only last year the aluminum block in the toe bail broke - that is extraordinary endurance. I had a local machine shop made a replica of the alumninum block and this works perfect. Nevertheless I started looking for alternatives and ended up with a TD 3 step-in. I like the robustness but it is much heavier than the Burton.