mounting tele bindings on a race plate?

[teleclub]

I'm getting ready to mount NTN Freedom bindings on an Atomic removable race plate that fits to a Beta 9.20 from about 2001.

The race plate held by four big screws at the toe and four more at the heel. It's a strong plastic race plate that had its alpine binding just screwed into it, no backing nuts under the plate. Despite that, it feels too thin to mount a tele binding on it this way since the rear two screws of the NTN Freedom would be an inch or so behind the plate's front screws.

It's an atomic race ski meant to have free flex under the plate so the middle span of the race plate is meant to flex a little between the fore and aft bolt pattern. That's fine for alpine bindings that mount over the race-plate screws, but a tele binding puts a couple screws into that middle section of the race plate and a tele binding pulls up hard on the toe piece.

My plan is to reinforce the middle section of the race plate with a 8mm sheet of UHMPE carved to fit under the race plate in this little area of space between ski and race-plate and supporting the whole middle section of the race-plate. The tele biding screws would bolt through that. I'm thinking that will be enough since about half the NTN tele binding bolts right over the race-plate screw locations. But maybe I should screw the race-plate down to the ski behind the tele binding toe piece too.

I don't have an option to forgo the race-plate since the ski has no flat deck underneath it--just buxom Beta tubes all the way. If I added a couple screws to hold down the middle section of the race plate, they'd go right into the highest point of the Beta tubes just like the other 8 screws that hold down this race plate. Surely 8 screws are enough to hold a race-plate but four of those are far to the rear of tele toe plate.

The race-plate also gives a little height which is good since the ski has a 62mm waist. I guess I should post photo of the plate if anyone has some experience with mounting tele binding on alpine plates like this.

[Johnny]

My plan is to reinforce the middle section of the race plate with a 8mm sheet of UHMPE carved to fit under the race plate in this little area of space between ski and race-plate and supporting the whole middle section of the race-plate.

Sounds like a good plan... Extra work, but probably worth it!

I mounted several pairs of NTN bindings right over race plates without any problem. But some plates are softer and thinner than others, sometimes I felt it was not the wisest thing to do. I always try to remove the plates if possible. Yep, it will affect the flex when carving but it cuts the weight a bit for those already super heavy racing skis.

That is one cool thing about the Freeride vs the Freedom, with the adjustable mounting plates, you can sometimes cheat a bit when screw holes are about the same or the ski is not flat under the plates...

Please share pictures of that nice reinforced plate if you go for it...!

[TomH]

I'd go with your approach or reinforcing the thickness in the middle, but don't see the need to punch in any additional screws into the ski. Those 8 screws on the plate extremities should handle you just fine.

My bigger question would be.... were those skis never used? I didn't experience great longevity with those old foam core betas, and would expect that ski to be an unresponsive noodle by now if it's seen any decent use. I think I decambered a pair of race-stock SL-11's circa 2003 in about 4 seasons to the point that they were a throwaway ski.

[teleclub]

Thanks Johnny and Tom for the views on the plan.

...That is one cool thing about the Freeride vs the Freedom, with the adjustable mounting plates, you can sometimes cheat a bit when screw holes are about the same or the ski is not flat under the plates...

That is a good thing about the Freeride. I use Quiver Killers so I can share a couple sets of Freedom bindings with a few pairs of skis. But it still doesn't have the adjustment fore-aft that the Freeride plate allows.

I'd go with your approach or reinforcing the thickness in the middle, but don't see the need to punch in any additional screws into the ski. Those 8 screws on the plate extremities should handle you just fine...

That would be great if you're right. If I add two screws to the ski mid-plate, I would use Quiver Killers so the plate is still removable. It would be nice if that's overkill and not worth it.

...My bigger question would be.... were those skis never used? I didn't experience great longevity with those old foam core betas, and would expect that ski to be an unresponsive noodle by now if it's seen any decent use. I think I decambered a pair of race-stock SL-11's circa 2003 in about 4 seasons to the point that they were a throwaway ski.

Ha, you must be crushing them in turns
The Atomic Beta skis aren't beefy inside it's true--mostly densolite under the shaped top sheet. I haven't been able to decamber a pair yet though, and I thought I hammer them pretty hard (no big air though). My first Beta skis were a remaindered NOS (new old stock) never-mounted pair of TM26 in 1998 in 200cm. I usually skied 200cm back then and those were my first shaped skis, 97-62-88. I loved them (Superloops and 2-buckle blue T2s) and they still today have so much camber it looks like Nordic camber. I liked them enough I'm tempted to install QKs so I can ski them again. Today I only ski 200cm in e99 or similar nordic tour skis.

Last couple seasons I skied a lot on a well-used dumpster find: 180cm Atomic Beta 8.20 (106-66-90) and loved them more than any narrow hardpack skis I've skied in a long time. I had to take off the beat-up Atomic system bindings to mount Freedom NTN on the flat deck underneath. They still seem to have lots of camber, and are springy and snappy enough that I worried they don't make skis like that anymore (crazy that people today think a 95mm waist is a hardpack ski). Then I found these 180cm race-plated Beta Race Carve 9.20 (106-62-94) that seem almost new. They've been mounted but I can't find much evidence they've been skied much.

Here in the Wasatch, I'll be out in the deep powder back country (on wider skis) when avy conditions allow, or on pins and skinny skies on touring trails nearby that avoid avy paths. But my ski partner loves resort hardpack and packed pow conditions. We get a lot of that and I like skiing with her, and last couple seasons on the 8.20 I realized it just makes sense to enjoy hardpack days on good narrow skis that like ice. I'll be interested in seeing how the 9.20 feels in comparison.