by
Lou Dawson
All randonee bindings allow more
boot movement than good quality alpine bindings. Some skiers
find this to be a trivial issue -- others take it seriously.
The "one-rig" breed of randonnee bindings, comprising
the Fritschi Freeride and Naxo NX01 and Naxo NX21, are
the bindings most often taken to task on this issue. Yet all
bindings wobble and bob, with the Naxo NX01 having
slightly more movement than the Freeride (the Naxo NX21 has virtually
the same stability as the Freeride. If you like the Naxo's features,
but want it to equal the lateral stability of the Freeride, here
is a modification that makes makes the 04/05 model Naxo NX01
equal to the Freeride.
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| Naxo binding with Torque Plate installed for an approximately
6% increase in torque resistance. Click image to enlarge. |
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| Torque Plate being inserted in rear
of Naxo plate reails, notice rabbits milled on sides of plate,
creating flanges that fit in rail slots. Click image to enlarge. |
When we bench
tested the deflection of both bindings, I
noticed that both allowed quite a bit of movement at the toe
and heel, but the Naxo NX01 plate appeared to torque more,
presumably due to it being two small bars arranged side-by-side
and easily twisted, probably due to their having an open slote
on the inside, rather than being a closed tube. It seemed that
manufacturing a plate that inserted between the bars could stiffen
them significantly, so we did just that.
We started with 1" x 1/4" hardware
store aluminum bar stock. Using a router with a cutting guide
and straight cutter, we milled two shelves (known as "rabbits"
in some trades) in the sides of the stock so it would slide tightly
between the Naxo plate rails, with the milled side flanges fitting
the existing slots on the inside of the binding rails. We then
cut the milled stock to length so it would fit in the gap between
the Naxo to and heel units, once the binding was adjusted for
boot length. To insert the plate, we removed the binding plate
end-cap and slide the heel unit of the rails -- an easy process
that only took moments. The whole project took about three hours.
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| Detail of custom built Torque Plate. Click image to enlarge. |
We measured the results using
a side-by-side comparo and test rig, and found the plate beefed
the Naxo to equal the torque resistance of the Fritschi Freeride.
Necessary? You judge.
Fun with power tools? You bet.
[Wildsnow.com
Gear Review Policy]
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