In succeeding years there have been many successful plate designs, but still they do not enjoy a major share of the market except in rental shops. There plate bindings represent over 95% of the rental units in North America. This rental popularity stems from procedures which allow the shop to fit and adjust the equipment before the customer walks in. Instead of having to individually adjust each rental unit, the equipment is simply dispensed. These pre-fitting and pre-adjusting procedures permit shops to be faster, more efficient and safer.
To pre-fit a system a shop must set up the rental inventory to ensure any boot will fit and function properly with any ski. With plates the release occurs between the plate and the binding eliminating the need to adjust for boot length and leg height.
Spademan is the easiest binding to set up because the plate is permanently attached to the boot. Full plates such as Besser have some logistical problems, because the plate and boot often become separated. This necessitates numbering the plates or storing them adjacent to the boots.
With plate bindings all the boot/ plates theoretically fit and function with all the skis. Unfortunately this does not always happen in the real world. A prudent shop will develop procedures to test all their equipment.
To ensure that a system (ski, boot and binding, either rental or retail) works, there are several tests a mechanic should run: a visual inspection of critical tolerances (lug heights and axial preloads), function tests (check for anti shock symmetry, combine loading, and sensitivity to lubrication) and calibration (the release in feet-pounds). To ensure a safe operation tests must be run on all possible rental combinations. Select a binding representative of the inventory. Set the visual indicator at mid-scale. Test all the boots visually for function and calibration against this binding. Next select a boot representing the average. Set all the bindings at mid-scale and visually inspect for tolerances and function. The results for the boots and the bindings should comform to all manufacturer’s specifications. Any deviation should be repaired or replaced. Only by checking all of the boots against a standard binding and all of the bindings against a standard boot can a rental shop ensure the interchangability of boots and bindings. These procedures and results should be recorded and stored.
To pre-adjust a rental system the shop must do two things. First, determine which skis should be adjusted to what release; and second, the skis must be adjusted and locked in. A rental shop can service about 90% of their customers using six adjustments. If the bindings are set between 22 and 42 feet-pounds at four feet-pounds increments they should service the majority of the normal adult population. By reviewing a portion of the previous year’s rental shops a shop can determine what numbers of which length ski should be adjusted at which setting. As an example, 10% of the previous year’s customers were adjusted at 30 feet-pounds and rented 125 cm. skis. If the shop has a total of 100 rental units 10 of the 125 cm. rental skis should be adjusted to that setting.
The adjustments should be made with a calibrated system tester and locked in. Some bindings such as Besser have a locking mechanism built in, others such as Spademan require a thread locking compound such as “locktite.” After the adjustment has been locked, it should be recorded on the ski and in a permanent record.
It will be wise to leave a small percentage of the inventory unadjusted and capable of being custom set. Periodically throughout the season (depending on use and manufacturer’s recommendations) the equipment should be maintained and the adjustment checked. Thought must also be made in storing the equipment. The equipment must be racked with consideration for ski length and release adjustment.
By following these procedures a shop will be sure all of the boot/plates fit and function with all of the ski/bindings. Doing this job before the customer walks in the door benefits the shop in several ways: the time it takes to get the customer through the rental shop is shorter, shop efficiency increases, the injury rate (law suits and insurance rates) declines because injury producing jobs (binding fitting and release adjustment) will be done in a better supervised more controlled atmosphere.
