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Binding orienteering 101: finding/defining true center?

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DrStrangelove
Posts: 1948 - Karma: 3
ok, lemme start by saying i know WHAT true center is. my problem is that i dont know how to mount bindings on my own yet. im going to learn this season, but im probably going to have to get my new skis mounted by someone else because i wont have learned within the next couple weeks. i had my last skis mounted true center and it turned out very well cause the shop tech knew what he was doing, BUT ive seen some horror stories on this site with techs who didnt know what a center mount was and fucked it all up. SO, for the record, if i want to explain to someone where true center is, what should i say? i understand it's dead center on the ski, but where do techs orient from when theyre mounting? i.e.  do they use the mounting line as a reference for where the heelpiece should go? i have moment rubies, and i was gonna mount em like 1.5 back from center or something like that...i just want to know where i should make a mark for the tech.

so sparknotes: is the mounting line on a new pair of skis the reference point for the heelpiece/boot heel? should i find true center and 1.5 back based on that, then make my mark where i want the heel to go?

thanks guys, i dont want to end up with some fuckhead mounting me like 15 back or something
Dec 12 2008 8:05AM
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Reaps
Posts: 590 - Karma: 24
I think the mounting line, matches up with the mounting line on the sole of your boots.
Dec 12 2008 8:33AM
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LC.
Posts: 5952 - Karma: 2,423
Measure it yourself and draw a line. Make it foolproof.
Dec 12 2008 8:50AM
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DrStrangelove
Posts: 1948 - Karma: 3
i didnt know such a thing existed, thanks ill check that out later after this final exam

^and yeah dude, that's what im trying to do, but i dont know what the line is supposed to correspond to exactly...does it match to a line on your boot sole, a spot on your heelpiece, or what?
Dec 12 2008 8:52AM
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1990
Posts: 1787 - Karma: 54
There is a tiny mark in the middle of your boot. The Tech will use this one.

Therefore you should mark your ski at True Center with a line across the ski.
Dec 12 2008 9:00AM
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TimmyK
Posts: 779 - Karma: 15
measure from tip contact point to tail contact point and in the middle is true center.  now some skis come with this marked like the volkl wall, and last years ar6 some reason there is no true center mark this year.  the marking line is used to match to the boot sole center line, its a raised vertical line in the sole of the boot.  how this answers all your questions.
Dec 12 2008 12:53PM
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Chucktheweasel
Posts: 551 - Karma: 126
Thanks for calling all us techs fuckheads when you don't even know where or what the mid sole is on a boot. Make sure you say that to the tech when you drop the skis off man, he'll appreciate it.

As for you learning to mount your own skis, jigs are expensive. You want to cash out the same amount of money you just spent on your bindings or more for a jig? And if you're going to free hand it, don't post up about how it's fucked up after you did it.

Do you even know what kind of bits to buy? If you don't know what the mid sole on your boot is, I suggest leaving it to somebody else.
Dec 12 2008 1:15PM
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BenJAMIN4aWhil3
Posts: 773 - Karma: 12
The mounting line on the rubies is where Moment says they perform the best. That is where they want them mounted. That line on the rubies and on skis in general is there the center of the boot goes, not the heel piece. If you are talking to a shop guy and want your skis mounted true center, you say to him "I want my skis mounted boot center on true center. That will put your boot centered on the true center line on the ski. Now you said you wanted your skis mounted 1.5CM back from true center. So i would say to the shop tech i want my skis mounted boot center 1.5cm back from true center. Now just because I own a shop and I carry Moments, I know that Moment in the past has suggested that you dont really move anymore than 1.5-2 cm up from their recommended mounting point because then it will really start to effect how the skis perform. I say this just as something to keep in mind with out knowing how you plan on using the skis.


Dec 12 2008 1:25PM
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soup
Posts: 6320 - Karma: 4,261
that is why so many kids think their skis are fucking mounted wrong becasue when they ask for a true centre, this is what the shop will give them and when you look at the skis, most of the time the bindings will seem mounted back. 

ask for tip to tail centre if you want it dont right in the very middle of your ski.  sure the tech is going to look at you like your some kind of alien who doesnt know how to ski but who cares.  its your skis mount em where you want em.
Dec 12 2008 3:34PM
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DrStrangelove
Posts: 1948 - Karma: 3
gratz, that's what i needed to hear pretty much, im standing on them now and i like moment's line, i think im only going to adjust it a tiny tiny bit

oooooh and look whose karma just went over 8000
Dec 12 2008 4:06PM
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DrStrangelove
Posts: 1948 - Karma: 3
alright chill out asshole

i didnt call ALL TECHS fuckheads, but i live on the mid atlantic coast at the moment, and the techs at nearby shops (richmond, va for god's sake) are generally fuck heads. trust me. im about to move back out west though so i doubt it'll be a problem, i just wanted to know.

and as far as wanting to know, what the hell is wrong with asking questions? i want to learn how to do everything i possibly can on my own, knowing how to set up and maintain all of your gear really well is a trait of any good skier if you ask me...but it just so happens that i dont know shit about mounting yet. im planning on getting my friend who's a shop tech to teach me this winter, and he's got access to every jig id possibly need plus tools and a work station, BUT he's not going to be back around my way until late january so im gonna have to get these moments done before that.


Dec 12 2008 4:14PM
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Silence
Posts: 16030 - Karma: 149
Bottom Line - if you ski is mounted true centre, then that is where the middle of your boot will be, techs use the mount point as a reference position for jig, so it isn't so much the position of the toe/heelpiece, but the position of the middle of your boot
Dec 12 2008 5:30PM
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Chucktheweasel
Posts: 551 - Karma: 126

"Some fuckhead" is a pretty broad statement. I'm sick of techs getting a ton of shit for just doing there job. Sure there are a few that aren't the best, but a lot of people also come in in such a rush to get shit done that they don't bother informing anybody of how they want their gear setup. Just talk to the tech at your shop and he'll help you out instead of just automatically assuming his in incapable of doing so. Oh, and thanks for calling me an asshole big man who can't find his midsole ;)

Dec 12 2008 7:33PM
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no_steeze
Posts: 23992 - Karma: 4,270
measure the ski in half, draw a line where you want relative to true center, tell the tech to mount the bindings on the line
if they still fuck up you should get a new shop, but if you draw the line where you want them you will never get a botched mount
Dec 12 2008 7:58PM
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