 Poster: A snowHead
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Fairly simple query - can you remove the rail on a ski so you can fit any type of binding? I have noticed that rail bindings are almost as expensive as the ski+binding fitted ^^
And is it a fairly straightforward job??
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Il_Capitano, I am intrigued as to why you might want to. I've often thought what great adjustable things rail bindings were and wondered why all skis don't have them. 
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Don't really know, personally but Welcome to snowHeads Il_Capitano 
I suspect it may very between skis where it will provide part of the structural design on some and be relatively superfluous to others.
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| Megamum wrote: |
| Il_Capitano, I am intrigued as to why you might want to. I've often thought what great adjustable things rail bindings were and wondered why all skis don't have them. |
In my case, I have my skis quiver killered. It would be handy if my skis didn't have rails so I could keep doing that and swap binding between them
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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| Megamum wrote: |
| Il_Capitano, I am intrigued as to why you might want to. I've often thought what great adjustable things rail bindings were and wondered why all skis don't have them. |
it's matter of cost - the somewhat prohibitive cost of rail bindings means skis that don't have the bindings fitted may well be available for a fraction of the cost.
If you can remove the rail and fit normal bindings, then you may well get a better pair of skis than you might nor ally be able to afford, although i accept that by removing the rail you are in some measure reducing the quality of the skis. FWIW i'm an intermediate skier, 5 weeks mountain experience so how much i would benefit from a rail is i guess debatable.
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If you don't want skis with rails, don't buy skis with rails. Not much more to say....
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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| Quote: |
I suspect it may very between skis where it will provide part of the structural design on some and be relatively superfluous to others.
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admin, I think you are correct with this. I've had a fair number of skis with rails through my hands as the kids have grown, and my own pairs - I've never owned a set between us that doesn't have a rail on. Some of the rails seem to fit on the surface of the skis, whilst others - like my 3 pairs of Elans have had the rails mounted onto a fitting sunk into the surface of the ski where the manufacturers claim it permits a closer contact of the boot with the ski and therefore less effort needed to turn the skis edge to edge. On the Elans I am fairly certain that you couldn't remove the rails and end up with a flat ski, but some of the rails do seem to mount on the ski surface and perhaps are demountable and replaceable.
As for cost, most of the railed skis seem to come with their own bindings included in the cost and I've always been very happy with them. I guess if you need something special fitted, i.e. for touring the rail is not ideal, but if I bought skis with rails I'd personally take the recommended bindings offered in the usually inclusive cost.
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What if the skis with rails are worth £400 and are available for £100?
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| Quote: |
What if the skis with rails are worth £400 and are available for £100?
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Hmmm.....
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Even if a rail or mounting plate fits on top and can be removed easily it might not be a good idea to remove it since you will change the stiffness of the ski (and potentially the stack height which might or might not matter). Sometime the rails have floating connections to the ski and the system is designed pretty much as a unit.
Of course you can bodge just about anything in an emergency, but since you haven't bought them I don't see the point.
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| Megamum wrote: |
| Quote: |
I suspect it may very between skis where it will provide part of the structural design on some and be relatively superfluous to others.
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admin, I think you are correct with this. I've had a fair number of skis with rails through my hands as the kids have grown, and my own pairs - I've never owned a set between us that doesn't have a rail on. Some of the rails seem to fit on the surface of the skis, whilst others - like my 3 pairs of Elans have had the rails mounted onto a fitting sunk into the surface of the ski where the manufacturers claim it permits a closer contact of the boot with the ski and therefore less effort needed to turn the skis edge to edge. On the Elans I am fairly certain that you couldn't remove the rails and end up with a flat ski, but some of the rails do seem to mount on the ski surface and perhaps are demountable and replaceable.
As for cost, most of the railed skis seem to come with their own bindings included in the cost and I've always been very happy with them. I guess if you need something special fitted, i.e. for touring the rail is not ideal, but if I bought skis with rails I'd personally take the recommended bindings offered in the usually inclusive cost. |
This pretty much answers my question - i think until i have a more comprehensive understanding of the construction of skis, then i'll stick to skis that come with bindings.
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You know it makes sense.
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That's the whole idea imho.
You get the whole thing with binding fitted, and it's as easy to adjust as turning a screwdriver (potentially). K2/Marker needs a PhD in reading instruction manuals (and rental version is probably different an 100x easier). Atomic is tool-less iirc.
Half of it is probably just a manufacturer lock-in, dressed up in some clever techno-marketing.
Every rail I've seen is integral to the structure of the ski.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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If you're buying junky Elans with rails but no bindings from Sports Direct then you've probably discovered the reason they got them ultra cheap in order to punt them on to people who don't know any better.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Dave of the Marmottes, of course that doesn't mean that all Elan skis are Junky though. In my opinion Elan do make some really good skis and have a good reputation from what I've seen.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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By definition they are junk if you can't get the bindings. As for Elan - good enough for Stenmark.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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andy, you are right about the K2/marker.
I have some rental styled ones and you can pretty much adjust them by hand!
Il_Capitano.... what Dave of the Marmottes said...
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Il_Capitano, They look to be the 2012 model. The rail would have worked with Marker bindings.
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yes, that's the conclusion i came to - however i wasn't able to find them for <£200, although i didn't make an extensive search.
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