Torbjorn Ragg and Rottefella's
New Telemark Norm (NTN) Binding-- Part Two
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February 3, 2006--
In part two, Rottefella's Marketing Manager Torbjorn Ragg, discusses
some of the features and design elements found in the NTN binding
his company will introduce next season.
Key points include:
- A ribbed lower toe plate (top right) that
moves up to capture the toe of the boot when the front throw
is locked down. This ribbed toe plate extends back and locks
in separately (middle right) from the flexible (Pebax) plate,
securing the toe in a reportedly solid but not 100% unreleasable
manner.
- Easy in and easy out, Torbjorn says this
was a key goal for the design team. He says Rottefella explored
a number of true step-in options, all of which added complication
to the design and required sacrifices in performance. As others
have before, Rottefella apparently discovered the difficulty
in incorporating a step-in feature while retaining the kind of
spring pre-load pressure that is an absolute must in a performance
binding. As a result they came up with an "easy-in,"
no bending over design that allows the user to crank on the spring
pre-load, along with adjustable width brakes (95mm to 120mm)
that eliminate the need for a leash with most way-fat skis.
- Torbjorn points out that a major design
element of this binding is that the forefoot area (bottom right)
"locking process is very tight, very rigid," and all
of this has nothing to do with how much spring pre-load has been
dialed in. Whether the springs are stiff or soft, or are set
with a lot of pre-load or very little, the essentials of this
tight connection between boot and ski remain the same. Same with
whether the boot is stiff or soft flexing.
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Author's note:
As in part one, this last point is extremely important in understanding
the possible implications of this new boot/binding interface.
It is an approach which potentially changes everything.
Locking down the forefoot in this manner
means that tele boots can probably be designed much differently
than they are today. With the relatively sloppy 75mm setup, our
boots must be made stiff and rather unyielding in the forefoot
so that they can deliver the kind of torsional rigidity modern,
hard charging tele skiers have become accustomed to depending
upon. When we "lock down" the forefoot, the need to
build a boot with a massive and stiff "monocoque" toe
box and bellows area would seem to be significantly reduced.
An easier, more consistent forward flex, coupled with an improved,
very tight connection between boot sole and ski could very well
lead to the kind of revolution in technique and approach that
we saw nearly 15 years ago after the introduction of the first
all plastic tele boots.
Next: Torbjorn discusses business issues
related to the NTN |