# Union vs Ride



## uh oh a virus (Jan 19, 2011)

Which brand would you recommend? I had a pair of Union's, but they kept breaking. I heard that they were great and that I just got a bad pair, but that made me skeptical... I also heard that Ride is a great bindings company, but I never tried them out before. Which would you recommend? I only do park btw, so they have to be excellent for that.


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## Leo (Nov 24, 2009)

I personally prefer Ride bindings. 

I only got a chance to demo one pair of their 2012 bindings though.

For 2011, I love their Delta bindings. It was a great all-around binding. Also, Ride has one of the best toe straps in the biz. They were my favorite until I strapped into a pair of 2012 Rome Targas with the conformist 3.0 toe strap.

Have you contacted Union for a warranty?


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## uh oh a virus (Jan 19, 2011)

Leo said:


> I personally prefer Ride bindings.
> 
> I only got a chance to demo one pair of their 2012 bindings though.
> 
> ...


Ya, they sent me the bolts that I needed to fix it. And thanks for the advice! I've been debating between the two for a while now. Can't wait until next season to try them out!


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## Nivek (Jan 24, 2008)

Definitely Ride.

However have you thought of Flow, and likely not, but have you thought of Raiden. I honestly can't say about their durability, but 2012 Zero's are my new favorite bindings.


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## uh oh a virus (Jan 19, 2011)

Nivek said:


> Definitely Ride.
> 
> However have you thought of Flow, and likely not, but have you thought of Raiden. I honestly can't say about their durability, but 2012 Zero's are my new favorite bindings.


Flow's are horrible! There have been so many accidents due to when a person was carving the flap fell down and their foot fell out. And I've heard of Raiden, but I never put much thought into it. I'm probably going to go with Ride because I have only heard positive things about them.


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## collaboration (Aug 29, 2009)

without any logical reasons, i prefer ride

personally i would never go back to union unless i had good deals on them 

i've used union contact and force and currently using ride delta


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## uh oh a virus (Jan 19, 2011)

collaboration said:


> without any logical reasons, i prefer ride
> 
> personally i would never go back to union unless i had good deals on them
> 
> i've used union contact and force and currently using ride delta


I had a pair of the contact and they broke EVERY DAMN TIME I RODE! How was your pair so I know that it wasn't just me? And alright, everybody is saying Ride so I know what I'm getting next season =] Would you recommend any specific models? It doesn't have to be from the 2011-2012 season either.


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## idshred (Jun 20, 2010)

uh oh a virus said:


> I had a pair of the contact and they broke EVERY DAMN TIME I RODE!


what was breaking on them?


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## uh oh a virus (Jan 19, 2011)

idshred said:


> what was breaking on them?


The straps would fall off, bolts would pop out, and when I strapped in, if I turned my foot the whole binding turned with me. It was soooo annoying because no matter how tight I re-screwed the bolts in, the problems would still happen. I'm never buying a Union again.


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## Extremo (Nov 6, 2008)

Ever heard of lock tite?


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## uh oh a virus (Jan 19, 2011)

Extremo said:


> Ever heard of lock tite?


Well I've heard the name before, but my mind is blanking on what it is =P Elaborate please.


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## idshred (Jun 20, 2010)

loctite is a adhesive that you put on the threads that keeps screws and bolts from loosening. Easy fix for screws that wont stay tight on bindings. Just keep it away from plastic. Were you using original hardware for the mounting discs? Your screws may have been too long and were bottoming out before they got tight and/or the 'grooves'(can't think of a better word) where the mounting discs and baseplate meet may have been stripped.


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## uh oh a virus (Jan 19, 2011)

idshred said:


> loctite is a adhesive that you put on the threads that keeps screws and bolts from loosening. Easy fix for screws that wont stay tight on bindings. Just keep it away from plastic. Were you using original hardware for the mounting discs? Your screws may have been too long and were bottoming out before they got tight and/or the 'grooves'(can't think of a better word) where the mounting discs and baseplate meet may have been stripped.


Ya, everything was the original. But believe me, their is no fixing these... their horrible. I'm sure I could, but the bottom line is that I'd rather spend the money on a good pair of Ride's then my already ghetto Unions.


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## Nivek (Jan 24, 2008)

uh oh a virus said:


> Flow's are horrible! There have been so many accidents due to when a person was carving the flap fell down and their foot fell out. And I've heard of Raiden, but I never put much thought into it. I'm probably going to go with Ride because I have only heard positive things about them.


That's funny, I rode Flow's all year and never once did that happen. USER ERROR.


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## collaboration (Aug 29, 2009)

same. i had no problem with my flow nxt-at last season. i used them on my daily driver all mountain stick.


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## Leo (Nov 24, 2009)

I also back Flow's up fully. However, just 5 seasons ago, they had shoddy quality in some of their bindings. One thing you need to realize about Flow's is that they improve greatly from year to year. 

Their parts have vastly improved in just the past 3 seasons. I know this from experience because I have ridden Flows since 2006. The locking mechanism on my old '06 Flites were sketchy admittedly. Now, that sucker is pretty hard to unlock.

Anyway, have a look:

Ride

Flow


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## uh oh a virus (Jan 19, 2011)

Nivek said:


> That's funny, I rode Flow's all year and never once did that happen. USER ERROR.


Well I personally never used a pair of Flow's, but Flow is the company that sponsors my Mt. so if you use rental gear, you have to use Flow's. Because of that, thousands of people a day use them and the customer service desk get's flooded with those reports.


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## uh oh a virus (Jan 19, 2011)

Leo said:


> I also back Flow's up fully. However, just 5 seasons ago, they had shoddy quality in some of their bindings. One thing you need to realize about Flow's is that they improve greatly from year to year.
> 
> Their parts have vastly improved in just the past 3 seasons. I know this from experience because I have ridden Flows since 2006. The locking mechanism on my old '06 Flites were sketchy admittedly. Now, that sucker is pretty hard to unlock.
> 
> ...


Ya, I wouldn't doubt the fact that Flow gets better every year, I just don't like them. And I only ride the park, and I only see Ride's and Union's being used. I really haven't seen anybody wear a pair of Flow's and shred with them all season =/ I also just have a thing about buying gear that is sponsored by my Mt. I just feel awkward wearing gear that all the people with rental stuff wear. I'm weird like that :dunno: But thanks for the links!


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## Leo (Nov 24, 2009)

uh oh a virus said:


> Well I personally never used a pair of Flow's, but Flow is the company that sponsors my Mt. so if you use rental gear, you have to use Flow's. Because of that, thousands of people a day use them and the customer service desk get's flooded with those reports.


Rental gear, no matter which brand it is, sucks. That's the bottom line.

Unless you are talking about premium rentals and even then the quality won't be up to par with having your own pair of that gear. People mistreat items that aren't theirs.

It's quite normal to hear about people hating on Flows only to find out that they either 1) Never ridden a pair themselves or 2) That are coming off of a crappy pair from years ago.


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## uh oh a virus (Jan 19, 2011)

Leo said:


> Rental gear, no matter which brand it is, sucks. That's the bottom line.
> 
> Unless you are talking about premium rentals and even then the quality won't be up to par with having your own pair of that gear. People mistreat items that aren't theirs.
> 
> It's quite normal to hear about people hating on Flows only to find out that they either 1) Never ridden a pair themselves or 2) That are coming off of a crappy pair from years ago.


Makes sense. My friend had a 2010-2011 pair and he had the same exact problems though.


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## Leo (Nov 24, 2009)

uh oh a virus said:


> Makes sense. My friend had a 2010-2011 pair and he had the same exact problems though.


Then all I can say to that is... Shit happens :laugh:

Seriously, you're good on your decision with Ride. Go get em tiger.


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## uh oh a virus (Jan 19, 2011)

Leo said:


> Then all I can say to that is... Shit happens :laugh:
> 
> Seriously, you're good on your decision with Ride. Go get em tiger.


Haha, I can't wait to go shred a pair of Ride's with tiger blood running through my veins :laugh:


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## Nivek (Jan 24, 2008)

uh oh a virus said:


> Ya, I wouldn't doubt the fact that Flow gets better every year, I just don't like them. And I only ride the park, and I only see Ride's and Union's being used. I really haven't seen anybody wear a pair of Flow's and shred with them all season =/ I also just have a thing about buying gear that is sponsored by my Mt. I just feel awkward wearing gear that all the people with rental stuff wear. I'm weird like that :dunno: But thanks for the links!


So you're an insecure little girl. cool. Try them before you call them shit. All I ride is park. I have ridden Union, K2, Ride, Raiden, Flow, Flux, Salomon, Burton, Lamar, and Rome. My favorite's are choose Flows cause that's what I want to ride. And they last.


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## hot garbage (Jun 28, 2011)

i hate to support burton, but they make really good bindings. i have infidels and ive never had a problem


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## SHREDDER97 (Aug 1, 2010)

anyone demoed or rid 2012 flux tt30s. the 2011 ones were sick cant wait to try there entire line at a demo day


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## CheeseForSteeze (May 11, 2011)

I've had nothing but problems with my Raiden Pushers. The hardware just rattles itself loose and you either have to constantly tighten them or risk losing pieces. The insert hardware sucks and the discs will shit themselves quickly. If you do any jibbing or park riding, they will bake themselves. I tried two different pairs. They just can't stand up to the abuse of jibbing. Maybe I do more laps than others but I've never had a problem with Union or Tech Nine just falling apart.

Tech Nine has some shit feel to them even though they work alright. The mounting discs on my MFM's weren't quite perfectly circular which made mounting them a huge bitch. They also feel cheap, particularly the ratchets and ladders and the action of ratchets reflects this. The Baltimore Toe caps are sick, though. If you can figure out how to frankenstein them onto another binding go for it.

Union is good for durability but their features suck (bad toe caps, bad ratchet action, pretty vanilla response, no canting options). The best ones are definitely the Contact Pro although I have never tried the Flite. I have Rome Targas now, and they are a bitch to get set-up but once they are dialed in they are sweet.

I've heard good things about Ride, too and people really seem to like Flow and Flux. I'd steer clear of Raiden and TechNine and only take Union if you find a killer deal. I don't really care for Burton because they are overpriced but people seem to like them.


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## idshred (Jun 20, 2010)

CheeseForSteeze said:


> I don't really care for Burton *because they are overpriced* but people seem to like them.



rigggghtttt


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## Nivek (Jan 24, 2008)

SHREDDER97 said:


> anyone demoed or rid 2012 flux tt30s. the 2011 ones were sick cant wait to try there entire line at a demo day


The Angry Snowboarder Blog Archive 2012 Flux TT30 Used and Reviewed


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## CheeseForSteeze (May 11, 2011)

idshred said:


> rigggghtttt


$300 for Burton Prophecy is retarded. There is no tech in any binding worth that much money, except exotic materials such as carbon fiber or nano-tech metal laminate plastics.


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## Souva (Nov 25, 2009)

union forces and burton cartels are my goto guys. have had my cartels since 07/08 and my forces since 08/09 and haven't had a single problem with either set.


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## laffdog (Jun 6, 2011)

what a coincidence that this topic came up as I ride both, I have a lib tek- skate banna with force union bindings and I have a Ride dh2.4 with ride revolt bindings and I must say I reckon they are both on par with each other, they are both good quality bindings and I find they both have very good binding to board feel and good flex I think either way you wont have any issues!!


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## comrade (Jul 18, 2009)

*mmm*

unions are usually pretty burly bindings, but i have a big problem with their ankle strap! the actual strap is about an inch or so wide and it causes some pressure points. this strap also has a tenancy to stretch after a few weeks of riding. so the binding that fit your boot so wonderfully, is now too big. major bummer. they are also a bit heavy. but like i said earlier, burly. it's also pretty easy to find replacement straps and bolts from your local shop! 

Rides on the other hand, are very light! their straps i find much more comfortable, especially when combined with ride boots! (if they fit your feet well!) however, their highbacks tend to be really really stiff with not much give for those tweaks. some of the ratchets they had for a few years there are VERY sticky. make sure to try strapping into your boot before you buy them. and if i can give you ANY advice, DON'T EVEN THINK about getting the contraband bindings. they break and then you are S.O.L.!! it happened to quite a few people i know who rode them every day. 

but i think at the end of the day it really comes down to how the binding fits your boot, how stiff you like your highbacks, and what you're riding. i liked my unions better than my rides in the long run. much more forgiving and last longer.


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## Thad Osprey (Feb 18, 2009)

Yep. What comrade said.


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