# Binding Screws Came Loose?



## wernersl (Dec 28, 2011)

Big Foot said:


> So I picked up a new board (Elan El Grande) and new bindings (Ride EX) a few weeks ago and have ridden with that setup 3 times so far including twice this weekend. Yesterday, around noon, I could feel my left foot was able to wiggle a little side to side when going down a run. So at the bottom I pulled off the footbed and found that all 4 screws were very loose in the floorplate. So I tightened them all down, and just to be safe checked my right binding. Same thing, all 4 screws were really loose.
> 
> I've been through 4 seperate pairs of bindings in my 13 years of riding, and never once have I had a single screw come loose, let alone all 8. I also know for a fact I snugged the screws up very tightly like I always do when I installed the bindings on the board. The screws also came with blue loctite on them from the factory, so I am really confused as to how they could have loosened. Does anyone know what would make all of my screws come loose like that? Is this a common problem with cheaper bindings (the EX is definitely the cheapest pair of bindings I have ever owned), or could it have something to do with my board?


A friend of mine has the EXs and has had similar problems, as well as other hardware on the bindings loosening up. I dont know if those bindings vibrate like crazy or what, but you can try using thread tape on your screws. Should dampen the vibes and prevent them from loosening up on you.


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## bordsmnj (Jan 18, 2013)

i believe that putting locktight on screws at the factory is more for liability than function. if you want it to work killer get a bottle of medium(if you want to be able to adjust at some point) or highstrength lock tight from your local hardware store and read the directions. there you will see that you want to put a drop or to , install the screw and let it set up/cure for a certain length of time. clean the old stuff off the threads first. i dont use lock tight on snow boards but i do check the bindings with a #3 screw driver at least once a weekend. these are my own findings. yours may vary.


look ma! no shift key!!!


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## dubstatic (Jan 4, 2013)

I have ride ex bindings and I haven't had to tighten since I first put them on. I do tighten the bolts pretty good. I don't go crazy but I snug them pretty good


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## h-d (Jan 18, 2012)

Had the exact same problem with Ride Rodeos on my Ride Kink...customer service said tighten them more...so I did...same thing, came loose again...called ride again, they said hand tighten it as much as you can...after one day of riding, came loose again...not only that, it was so tight that it gave the base of my board 4 nice nipples, but still came loose...finally found a great solution...sold em and got Unions!


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## poutanen (Dec 22, 2011)

bordsmnj said:


> look ma! no shift key!!!


dont you find it hard to read when somebody obvously doesn't make the efrt to use proper captlization and punctuation :dunno:  you are a pimple on the side of this forums face and must be picked!!!

OP, it does sound weird that they backed out. Was it really warm when you installed the bindings and then super cold out at the hill? Could have been some sort of expansion contraction thing that started it, I'd tighten again and then tighten after a run or two at the hill.

Also do you wiggle your bindings when installing the screws? I usually get the screws finger tight, then wiggle the binding back and forth to make sure it's really well set with the baseplate, etc.


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## bordsmnj (Jan 18, 2013)

lol, rough crowd:eusa_clap:


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## Big Foot (Jan 15, 2013)

poutanen said:


> dont you find it hard to read when somebody obvously doesn't make the efrt to use proper captlization and punctuation :dunno:  you are a pimple on the side of this forums face and must be picked!!!
> 
> OP, it does sound weird that they backed out. Was it really warm when you installed the bindings and then super cold out at the hill? Could have been some sort of expansion contraction thing that started it, I'd tighten again and then tighten after a run or two at the hill.
> 
> Also do you wiggle your bindings when installing the screws? I usually get the screws finger tight, then wiggle the binding back and forth to make sure it's really well set with the baseplate, etc.


I installed the bindings in my apartment, which is usually around 68 degrees, and the 3 times I rode it was right around 30 degrees, so I don't think it's a temperature thing. 

I did not wiggle my bidnings at all when I installed them, I will have try doing that when I get home and see if it makes any difference.


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## Big Foot (Jan 15, 2013)

h-d said:


> Had the exact same problem with Ride Rodeos on my Ride Kink...customer service said tighten them more...so I did...same thing, came loose again...called ride again, they said hand tighten it as much as you can...after one day of riding, came loose again...not only that, it was so tight that it gave the base of my board 4 nice nipples, but still came loose...finally found a great solution...sold em and got Unions!


I would love to buy a new pair, but I am extremely limited in what works with my boot size (size 17), and the EX are really the only binding I've been able to find that actually fits my boot without major modification to get the toe caps to reach.


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## wernersl (Dec 28, 2011)

Big Foot said:


> I installed the bindings in my apartment, which is usually around 68 degrees, and the 3 times I rode it was right around 30 degrees, so I don't think it's a temperature thing.
> 
> I did not wiggle my bidnings at all when I installed them, I will have try doing that when I get home and see if it makes any difference.


That might help but dont expect miracles. Thread tape is where its at. Locktite is great but can be hard to work with when you need to loosen for waxing.


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## Oldman (Mar 7, 2012)

Drop by your hardware store and pick up some teflon tape from the plumbing section. Try wrapping each screw with a couple of layers and see if that works.


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## wernersl (Dec 28, 2011)

Oldman said:


> Drop by your hardware store and pick up some teflon tape from the plumbing section. Try wrapping each screw with a couple of layers and see if that works.


^^ This ^^

I prefer the tape vs locktite as it dampens the vibrations and reduces the chance of backing out on you.


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## Big Foot (Jan 15, 2013)

Should I remove the factory loctite from each screw before applying the tape?


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## bordsmnj (Jan 18, 2013)

yes. you have to make room for the tape.


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## Oldman (Mar 7, 2012)

No leave it. It can only help is only as a spacer.

Not trying to create confusion here with Bordsmnj, I simply suggest leaving it to give you as tight a fit as possible. Try it with the loctite on and see if you can thread. If not remove it, and go with just the tape. Experiment a little.


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## bordsmnj (Jan 18, 2013)

thankyou Oldman. i appreciate the discussing of ideas in a civil manor. here are some things i've noticed. standard pipe thread is tapered. the thread count and size is very large when compared to tiny machine(fine) thread screws that are also not tapered. tape is used for prevent leaking under presure which is great but teflon is added to keep the thread from locking. the taper does that. if tape actualy works for this application here i would like to hear the results so i can keep that trick up my sleeve for future use if need be. i post this here stuff to explain why 'im leary if it, though. new malamute boots just showed up. on with the carpet surf!

edit to add: i have both yellow(gas line) and white plumbers tape here and i checked to see which is thicker. the yellow tape feels thicker so maybe try the white stuff. both have the same "mill spec" number so this might not be true from brand to brand.


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## Oldman (Mar 7, 2012)

ccasion14:


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## rwspear (Mar 26, 2012)

I have to tighten my Rodeos 2-3 times a day. Thank god for the courtesy tools.

I guess its a Ride thing.


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## wernersl (Dec 28, 2011)

bordsmnj said:


> thankyou Oldman. i appreciate the discussing of ideas in a civil manor. here are some things i've noticed. standard pipe thread is tapered. the thread count and size is very large when compared to tiny machine(fine) thread screws that are also not tapered. tape is used for prevent leaking under presure which is great but teflon is added to keep the thread from locking. the taper does that. if tape actualy works for this application here i would like to hear the results so i can keep that trick up my sleeve for future use if need be. i post this here stuff to explain why 'im leary if it, though. new malamute boots just showed up. on with the carpet surf!
> 
> edit to add: i have both yellow(gas line) and white plumbers tape here and i checked to see which is thicker. the yellow tape feels thicker so maybe try the white stuff. both have the same "mill spec" number so this might not be true from brand to brand.


The stuff I use is pink. Just standard teflon pipe tape. Works wonders. Just takes about 3 to 4 wraps and should be good to go. Back in my earlier days I had some Burton Mission step-ins that always loosened up. No rubber gasket under the binding really amplifies this effect. Thread tape worked wonders then. Now I just throw it on as additional vibe reduction, though my Romes have a rubber gasket under the binding that already greatly reduces vibrations. Ive used plumbers putty as well and seems to do ok, but never tried that with those old Burtons.


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## Big Foot (Jan 15, 2013)

rwspear said:


> I have to tighten my Rodeos 2-3 times a day. Thank god for the courtesy tools.
> 
> I guess its a Ride thing.


That's weird cause my two most recent bindings were Ride (Flights and Capos) and they never came loose on me. Maybe it's a new thing? My EX's are 2013, Capos were 2012, and the Flights were like 2005 or something.


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## Big Foot (Jan 15, 2013)

wernersl said:


> The stuff I use is pink. Just standard teflon pipe tape. Works wonders. Just takes about 3 to 4 wraps and should be good to go. Back in my earlier days I had some Burton Mission step-ins that always loosened up. No rubber gasket under the binding really amplifies this effect. Thread tape worked wonders then. Now I just throw it on as additional vibe reduction, though my Romes have a rubber gasket under the binding that already greatly reduces vibrations. Ive used plumbers putty as well and seems to do ok, but never tried that with those old Burtons.


I think the rubber gasket under the binding might actually be the problem here. All of my old bindings had rubber gaskets on the base of the binding. The EX's just have a bit of foam. Sounds like the thread tape might be a necessity.


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## bordsmnj (Jan 18, 2013)

wernersl said:


> The stuff I use is pink. Just standard teflon pipe tape. Works wonders. Just takes about 3 to 4 wraps and should be good to go. Back in my earlier days I had some Burton Mission step-ins that always loosened up. No rubber gasket under the binding really amplifies this effect. Thread tape worked wonders then. Now I just throw it on as additional vibe reduction, though my Romes have a rubber gasket under the binding that already greatly reduces vibrations. Ive used plumbers putty as well and seems to do ok, but never tried that with those old Burtons.


trying out some ride el hefe's this weekend. i will throw a roll of that stuff in the gear box( i use a rubbermaid tub instead of gear bag but i digress) just in case. thankyou.


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## snowklinger (Aug 30, 2011)

Think about it: metal baseplate, metal screws and metal inserts, all going from ambient to rapid cooling over and over. Aside from being more comfortable (imo), plastic baseplates allow you to crank the screws in real nice and they stay.

Use clear nail polish. Quit fucking around with all the hardware store bullshit before you accidently use red locktite.


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## wernersl (Dec 28, 2011)

snowklinger said:


> Think about it: metal baseplate, metal screws and metal inserts, all going from ambient to rapid cooling over and over. Aside from being more comfortable (imo), plastic baseplates allow you to crank the screws in real nice and they stay.
> 
> Use clear nail polish. Quit fucking around with all the hardware store bullshit before you accidently use red locktite.


Yeah...Red is bad. Ive used the nail polish approach and didnt work for me on those old rickety Burtons. Thats when I experimented sucessfully with the thread tape.


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## Snowrax (Mar 6, 2011)

snowklinger said:


> Think about it: metal baseplate, metal screws and metal inserts, all going from ambient to rapid cooling over and over. Aside from being more comfortable (imo), plastic baseplates allow you to crank the screws in real nice and they stay.


Yeah, I think that's one of the problems. My Unions are snug with the plastic base plate but my Raiden Zeros with the aluminum disc always loosens after a few runs.


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## hktrdr (Apr 3, 2012)

wernersl said:


> That might help but dont expect miracles. Thread tape is where its at. Locktite is great but can be hard to work with when you need to loosen for waxing.


There is no need to loosen before waxing.


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## Capita2JZGTE (Dec 13, 2012)

h-d said:


> Had the exact same problem with Ride Rodeos on my Ride Kink...customer service said tighten them more...so I did...same thing, came loose again...called ride again, they said hand tighten it as much as you can...after one day of riding, came loose again...not only that, it was so tight that it gave the base of my board 4 nice nipples, but still came loose...finally found a great solution...sold em and got Unions!


I highly doubt that the bindings were at fault. Maybe the tolerances of the hardware that they send you are too loose for the board inserts, but why would you get rid of a perfectly good pair of bindings before trying different screws, or even thread tape?

Red and green loc tite are no no's but blue is just fine. To get the best of both worlds without any mess, they actually make a blue loctite tape that you apply just like teflon tape.


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## wernersl (Dec 28, 2011)

hktrdr said:


> There is no need to loosen before waxing.


Depending on the board it is a good idea if you actually want to scrape all the wax off properly. With the bindings tight (on most boards) the wax will pool in that mounting area.


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## hktrdr (Apr 3, 2012)

wernersl said:


> Depending on the board it is a good idea if you actually want to scrape all the wax off properly. With the bindings tight (on most boards) the wax will pool in that mounting area.


Sure, some wax might pool in the dimples created by the tight bindings. Takes ~10 seconds to remove with a 3M pad - or less than 1 run to come off by itself in most conditions.


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## wernersl (Dec 28, 2011)

hktrdr said:


> Sure, some wax might pool in the dimples created by the tight bindings. Takes ~10 seconds to remove with a 3M pad - or less than 1 run to come off by itself in most conditions.


Meh... That's how I do it. Works best for me.


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## poutanen (Dec 22, 2011)

hktrdr said:


> Sure, some wax might pool in the dimples created by the tight bindings. Takes ~10 seconds to remove with a 3M pad - or less than 1 run to come off by itself in most conditions.


Yeah I don't loosen either. I'm not riding the board with the bindings off, so why wax it with the bindings off?!? 

Wax with them on, scrape, if excess wax fills dimples who cares, scrape the area like the rest, and texture like the rest.

This is coming from a guy who consistently glides better than 95% of other skiers and riders through flat areas. Don't over think waxing!!! :yahoo:


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## snowklinger (Aug 30, 2011)

You should see the "dimples" I have from rocks and trees....


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## Rookie09 (Sep 5, 2012)

I owned a pair of Ride Deltas and they got loose a couple times too. It's pretty annoying when that happens to a $240 pair of bindings. I also use the Raiden Zeroes and they got loose on me once, but that was on me cuz I didn't tighten very much. I retightened it since then and they've been perfect for quite awhile now. Favorite bindings I've owned. Honestly, I'm not that impressed with Ride binding quality. I've had screws loosen, ladders strip, and a toe strap snap completely off for no reason, all while only using the bindings for a few days.


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