weather_nerd Posted February 20, 2021 Report Share Posted February 20, 2021 Today I had a binding failure (Nidecker Freecarves) on my last run. My GPS watch had me above 40 mph when my back foot came loose. I slid a few hundred feet on my back but I was 100% fine, luckily. I saw that my toe piece wad sliding around and figured a screw had come loose. I just took it apart to add loctite to each screw and was surprised to see that the offending screw had actually had a few threads sheared off. It looks like it was too short, despite coming with the bindings. Anyone see this happen before? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowrider Posted February 20, 2021 Report Share Posted February 20, 2021 Worse if it was a front foot coming out. Twisted the hell out of my knee but lived to tell the tale. Buy a lottery ticket and consider it a life lesson. 4 threads of engagement required at a minimum !!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lonbordin Posted February 20, 2021 Report Share Posted February 20, 2021 40 mph on Carve RS knockoffs... I hope you're on the diminutive end of the human scale. Like the esteemed gentleman wrote... Needs WAY more thread engagement! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.E Posted February 20, 2021 Report Share Posted February 20, 2021 Glad you are ok. Not sure when you bought those bindings, but they haven't been made in many years. That screw may have had an exceptional service life. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corey Posted February 20, 2021 Report Share Posted February 20, 2021 Two options: 1. That screw and all of its buddies only have a few threads engaged, and one eventually pulled out. Check how many turns of engagement the rest have. They may all be close behind. 2. That screw was loose and backed out far enough that only 2 threads were engaged, and it pulled out. Either way, thank the snow gods for the positive outcome and buy new screws and T-nuts for all 8 locations. Either longer versions in case 1, or the same in case 2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weather_nerd Posted February 20, 2021 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2021 2 hours ago, lowrider said: Worse if it was a front foot coming out. Twisted the hell out of my knee but lived to tell the tale. Buy a lottery ticket and consider it a life lesson. 4 threads of engagement required at a minimum !!! Agreed, I was lucky it was the back foot. I'm not sure if the screw was simply too short (canting + heel lift shims on that screw) or, as Corey said, the screw had actually loosened out to two threads. 1 hour ago, lonbordin said: 40 mph on Carve RS knockoffs... I hope you're on the diminutive end of the human scale. Yes, I am on the smaller side. But regardless, going fast on plastic bindings is not the best idea I've ever had... 1 hour ago, Mr.E said: Not sure when you bought those bindings, but they haven't been made in many years. That screw may have had an exceptional service life. I bought these as "new old stock", only used four days so far. The screws should still be fine. I think it was either too short or it had loosened, as Corey said. 1 hour ago, Corey said: Two options: 1. That screw and all of its buddies only have a few threads engaged, and one eventually pulled out. Check how many turns of engagement the rest have. They may all be close behind. 2. That screw was loose and backed out far enough that only 2 threads were engaged, and it pulled out. Either way, thank the snow gods for the positive outcome and buy new screws and T-nuts for all 8 locations. Either longer versions in case 1, or the same in case 2. I though of both of those possibilities too. All of the other screws have plenty of engagement, but I think that this particular screw may have been too short due to the canting and heel shims together. Either way, I'll be getting new hardware. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b0ardski Posted February 20, 2021 Report Share Posted February 20, 2021 I have a set of those 20yr old binders with stepin that I bought NOS a few years ago; the original box came with different length screws to accommodate the cant/lift shims, I will double check mine to make sure the proper screws were used. Since they're all plastic, at 200# I only use them on my powder boards Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weather_nerd Posted February 25, 2021 Author Report Share Posted February 25, 2021 On 2/20/2021 at 8:17 AM, b0ardski said: I have a set of those 20yr old binders with stepin that I bought NOS a few years ago; the original box came with different length screws to accommodate the cant/lift shims, I will double check mine to make sure the proper screws were used. Since they're all plastic, at 200# I only use them on my powder boards The box included longer screws for the heel lift for the heel shim, but not the toe shim. Lesson learned - check every screw! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eastsiiiide Posted February 16, 2022 Report Share Posted February 16, 2022 Same thing happened to me on those bindings. The bolts they provided are too short, and too soft. And given that there's just a smidge of clearance between the T-nuts and the topsheet of the board, there's very little room for the bolts to be too long either. When I use these bindings I check that they are torqued down hard before each use. I got them as a cheap interim solution and extra binding to have around; if I planned to keep using them I'd be looking for a selection of hardened bolts to replace the included junk ones. And looking for a better selection of shims. Does one have to make shims/cants, or are they available somewhere? So it's been a year, did you get them working well, or ditch em? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kneel Posted February 16, 2022 Report Share Posted February 16, 2022 (edited) Terrifying... Not the experience of the OP, which probably did have a amattering of terror, but that someone doesn't cherish their life enough to shim and/or cant a bindiing that appeared last in a catalog in 2001. Edited February 16, 2022 by Kneel oops Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odd Job Posted February 16, 2022 Report Share Posted February 16, 2022 By the way, loctite and plastic don't mix. loctite and any epoxy doesn't mix. I don't let loctite anywhere near anything snowboard related. Should use something safe for plastics or use something like vibra-tite. Despite what anyone says, the traditional loctite formulas (loctite blue); is designed to cure in an anaerobic environment (you apply it and screw it in wet). That blue dry strip on screws you see from the factory is not the same chemical. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lonbordin Posted February 17, 2022 Report Share Posted February 17, 2022 Listen to @Odd Job Vibra-TITE VC-3... This is the way... https://www.vibra-tite.com/threadlockers/removable-reusable-threadlockers/vibra-tite-vc-3-threadmate/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lordmetroland Posted February 19, 2022 Report Share Posted February 19, 2022 On 2/16/2022 at 6:09 PM, lonbordin said: Vibra-TITE VC-3... Searching "Vibra-Tite VC-3" on Amazon brought up some surprising results. Not only are my bindings now evidently safer but my pelvic floor is also rejuvenated. Thank you @lonbordin! 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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