Binding Placement

[katievilla]

Hi guys!

I just bought volkl attiva tierra's. I demo'd them and absolutely loved them in over a foot of excellent powder conditions!! They worked on groomed too! The perfect all mountain ski for me!

Now they came with bindings ( i purchased them online for 664$ whole deal, what a great buy!) I can get them mounted and waxed etc for 40$ here locally, but my question is, where to place the binding on the ski?

I have read different things. I am a level II skier, I am just learning powder but can ski double blue intermeidate runs and depending on my mood can be agressive or relaxed on single blues runs. should i go for standard or mount forward on the ski? It is all males in the tuning shops around here....They are not much help when i ask them for help with demo skis:( i always have to do my own research.

 

[volklgirl]

When you demoed them, where was the binding placed?

If you purchased the Tierra with the iPT binding, its normal mount point is 1.0cm ahead. If you got the LT, it has 2 sets of mounting holes....1 set for standard mount and 1 set for 1.5cm forward. If you got the LT, I'd have the guys do a standard mount 1st. It's super simple to pull the pins on the motion system if you decide to try it in the forward position later. It just requires 2 allen wrenches of the correct size to remove the 2 pins, then the entire plate can be pushed forward by hand and the pins are reinserted into the forward set of holes......it took me less than 1/2 hr to move a set of motion bindings from my AX3 Gammas back to the GCs they came on. It's a breeze!

 

[perma-grin]

Did you mean type 2 skier? Your description sounds more advanced than a level 2. The Tierra is a Lady's specific model. It's waist is already a little forward. I would be a little hesitant to move the binding even more forward. Did you demo it fore of the mount point? Just wondering. I was so excited to take my Firefox out when they came, that I really didn't take the time to watch my mount point with my boot sole. I was a little to far forward. They skied well, but they didn't feel quite right. Not the way that I remembered them, not quite that rock solid feeling. I didn't realize what I had done until my rep pointed it out to me. Which was really embarrasing since we had already had a little kibitsing about my ability,( or lack there of) to install my own bindings. He knows that I can be severly A.D.D.! "Binding tech, I don't need know stinking binding tech!" I lined them up after that, and they skied much better, the feeling I remembered. Locked and loaded. Sometimes the worst thing about having to eat a little "crow" is learning to spit out the feathers and pass the salt. I think I'm learning to develope a taste for it. Have fun on your Tierra's that is a great little ski!

 

[katievilla]

They were demoed with Marker IPT in motion bindings and that is also what i bought.
I am a type II skier..

I am also not sure where the bindings were actually placed when i demo'd them, as the guys in the shop as i stated are not helpful...They just say that they are "all set" I do know the bindings were set at level 5 for my type of level skiing. They felt stable when demo'd.

 

[Little Lightning]

A few years ago I bought Volkl skis with the iPT binding. The shop set them for me and I skied them for 3 years. I was using heel lifts and the more lift I had the better they skied.

Then I got the Lotta Luvs and began skiing so much better, especially in bumps. I was telling my shop this and was told about the 2 different settings. I assumed that because I was a woman that the binding was set in the forward position.

This year I got new boots that put me in a neutral position and got rid of the heel lifts. The Lotta Luvs were fine but the Volkls were horrible. Thinking it was the tune I took the skis back to the shop. It turns out that that the binding was set in the standard mount. The shop moved them forward and they were better but not perfect, so my bootfitter drilled new holes in the rails and moved them more forward (I have a very small foot and and am very lightweight and without heel lifts I'm not able to pressure the shovel of the skis). I don't have the same problem with the Lotta Luvs because they have softer shovels and I bought the skis flat.

Going more forward made all the difference in the world for me. My old skis feel new and very different.

In the standard position the tips of the skis "waved" at me and I had a hard time turning them. I had to push hard on my forefoot (stand on my toes) to get them to turn. In the more forward position I was still using my toes to get them to turn. In the new 3rd position I can keep my foot flat and they now turn nicely for me.

It is very simple to move the bindings on the rails. If you don't like them in the position they're in ask the shop to change them. Or ask them to show you how to do it. My friends husband did it for her after the shop showed him what to do.

 

[volklgirl]

Just give them a try first. If they don't feel like your demos, have the binding moved. The forward mount is really not for everybody. Some benefit, some don't (personally, I generally hate it). Much also has to do with your stance in your boots.....how much forward lean, how stiff, how much Zeppa, and then how much Delta the binding has (if this is all Greek to you - pun intended - read the "What you need to know about...." threads. )