nekdut Posted March 28, 2023 Report Share Posted March 28, 2023 Last minute trip to Summit county. Hit A-Basin yesterday and Copper today. Holy crap COLD, but I had a great time. On the walk back to the car, I hear a metallic clink and see my TD3 toeclip on the ground. WTF! I was riding all day today just fine and didn't feel a thing. Big lesson learned to closely check key bolts every day out on the snow! I was able to find a replacement screw that seems to fit well and snug down, but the real issue is the other end of the toe clip bolt. It seems to be spinning freely and has worn down the overall bolt itself from holding position. I can see this starting to take place on the rear as well. Are any of you having a similar problem? Seems to be a materials or design issue to be honest. I'll be ordering new parts ASAP but not soon enough for a few hours at Eldora before heading to DEN. Is this a death trap or will this hold? I will check the tightness every single run! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slabber Posted March 28, 2023 Report Share Posted March 28, 2023 Blue loctite wouldn't be a bad idea. Would help reduce the need to check every run. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big mario Posted March 28, 2023 Report Share Posted March 28, 2023 Walker is in Georgetown, you may be able to pick up parts directly from him, depending on your schedule. Enjoy our early spring cold snap! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barryj Posted March 28, 2023 Report Share Posted March 28, 2023 (edited) Could it work - Yes. ...on the bunny hill! Is it asking for trouble - Absolutely if your hard charging I'd say the decision here has more to do with what level of Health Care you got! I am definitely jaded in these situation now, but is a few hours at Eldo worth a possible $100K med flight/hospital bill with broken bones as a souvenir ? .....because This Is An Accident Looking For A Place To Happen! Edited March 28, 2023 by barryj 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nekdut Posted March 28, 2023 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2023 1 hour ago, big mario said: Walker is in Georgetown, you may be able to pick up parts directly from him, depending on your schedule. Enjoy our early spring cold snap! I will call him first thing tomorrow! Thank you. 1 hour ago, barryj said: Could it work - Yes. ...on the bunny hill! Is it asking for trouble - Absolutely if your hard charging I'd say the decision here has more to do with what level of Health Care you got! I am definitely jaded in these situation now, but is a few hours at Eldo worth a possible $100K med flight/hospital bill with broken bones as a souvenir ? .....because This Is An Accident Looking For A Place To Happen! I will definitely take it easy. Tomorrow's day at Eldora is really a nice-to-have, and I'll treat it as such! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
st_lupo Posted March 28, 2023 Report Share Posted March 28, 2023 Imagine what happens if you are charging down a run at 40 to 50 mph and discover that one of your boots is no longer connected to the board. Then imagine how much torque that board is going to put on the one leg that is still attached. Then imagine this happening while your velocity vector is pointing off to the side of the run into the trees... This sport doesn't tolerate marginal equipment. At the very least, to have fun, you have to trust the gear that you are riding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corey Posted March 28, 2023 Report Share Posted March 28, 2023 If the bolt tightens fully, doesn't allow the lug to move laterally off the bigger shaft, and it isn't pinching the lugs against the toe block - I'd ride with that. Getting new bolts is preferred though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolf Posted March 28, 2023 Report Share Posted March 28, 2023 Here's another "emergency fix". I had to repair a toe bail during the time that Bomber was out of operation, and used a 5/16" hex bolt with a nylon lock nut as a lug shaft. The Bomber lug shaft is 8mm diameter, but 5/16" is so close that it didn't really create any extra play, and I could buy the 5/16" bolt more easily. I used stainless steel but standard hardware would do fine in an emergency. Ideally, you want a bolt that is unthreaded for most of its length so that the aluminum TD3 lugs aren't riding on threads. In my case, a 5 inch long bolt had just the right amount of shaft vs thread. I ended up cutting about 1/2 inch off the bolt when I was done, but it wouldn't have done any harm other than looking ugly if I had left it sticking out. And the double washers you see on the nut side keep the nut out just far enough so that it doesn't bottom out at the end of the threads. This worked out so well that I never replaced the bolt with new Bomber parts. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barryj Posted March 28, 2023 Report Share Posted March 28, 2023 48 minutes ago, Wolf said: This worked out so well I'd ride that! Wolf you got skills Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolf Posted March 28, 2023 Report Share Posted March 28, 2023 1 hour ago, barryj said: I'd ride that! Wolf you got skills Actually, it's all off-the-shelf parts and cutting the bolt is optional. So a Home Depot or Lowes might be enough to keep some TD3s on the slope. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corey Posted March 28, 2023 Report Share Posted March 28, 2023 Nice work Wolf! Fin just woke up in a cold sweat from his afternoon nap, feeling a disturbance in the Force... Get a bolt long enough that the unthreaded shank runs almost to the end of the lug, so the lug isn't pulling on the threads. Then trim to match. FYI, a Grade 5 or Grade 8 bolt is stronger than stainless, but they corrode if water gets on them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Gendzwill Posted March 29, 2023 Report Share Posted March 29, 2023 3 hours ago, Corey said: FYI, a Grade 5 or Grade 8 bolt is stronger than stainless, but they corrode if water gets on them. Do you think there's enough force generated to trouble a 5/16" stainless bolt? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dredman Posted March 29, 2023 Report Share Posted March 29, 2023 Looks like a temporary fix I would go with. The shaft hold the strength, screw is only keeping things in place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corey Posted March 29, 2023 Report Share Posted March 29, 2023 12 hours ago, Neil Gendzwill said: Do you think there's enough force generated to trouble a 5/16" stainless bolt? Good point - heck no! But there is a common thought that stainless steel is stronger than even a grade 5 bolt - it's not! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Gendzwill Posted March 29, 2023 Report Share Posted March 29, 2023 2 hours ago, Corey said: Good point - heck no! But there is a common thought that stainless steel is stronger than even a grade 5 bolt - it's not! So get stainless if you can in this situation, there's effectively no penalty for the corrosion resistance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nekdut Posted March 29, 2023 Author Report Share Posted March 29, 2023 It worked! I didn't die. Now to order proper replacements. Eldora was pretty fun for a quick hit by the way. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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