Any snowboarders in here? Need help with bindings

[Fuzzy14]

Not a member of any snowboarding forums, reckoned this was as good a place as any

I'm an old boarder, now 33 and still on my original board now circa 1994 Santa Cruz 63" asymmetric (no I've not hit a tree, this was in vogue back then....) I'm a day-trip away from the ski slopes here so I typically ski half the time and board the rest, so only use it about 5 times a year and not really up to date with modern technologies!

Anyway, I was out on Saturday and my bindings came apart on a heel turn, sending me A for T. Since I don't want to miss Scotland's rare good snow conditions I bought (mail order) a new set of Santa Cruz bindings as they looked like-for-like.

These have now arrived but don't fit, I see in the intervening years designs have changed somewhat! New bindings now have a disc to adjust the angle however the hole centers are different from my board, quite narrow.



New on left, old on right. Holes on board just to left of the 6

Do you know if I can buy adaptor plates to fit between the bindings/board, or can boards be re-drilled to suit? Or are the old-style bindings still available?

Cheers,
Fuzzy

 

[iOrlando]

i've never seen bindings like those old ones, nor have I ever heard of some sort of binding plate that can make newer ones fit those holes (looks like 4 holes each in a corner in an invisible rectangle...right?). Granted I am new to it so i'm sure there must be some pairs like that still out there somewhere, but it will be more difficult to find.

 

[rhsgolfer33]

Honestly, it might just be time to pick up a new board. I haven't seen or heard of any way to fit newer bindings on a board with an old hole pattern like that. It would probably be easier and maybe even cheaper, to purchase a new board (although I don't know if there are any good used places, etc. in Scotland to pick up a board for a decent deal). You also might get a better ride out of a new board. Good luck man.

 

[ViciousShadow21]

im in agreement with rhsgolfer33. You can pick up a descent burton snowboard package for about $400. maybe you werent looking to spend that much but like rhsgolfer33 said i dont know of anyway to set new bindings to a board that old. you could check ebay for some old bindings possibly. if you cant find anything there hit up Zumiez. they usually have a lot of good gear on sale. goodluck my dude.

 

[Fuzzy14]

Hey guys thanks for your time.
I took my board down to my local shop where the guy hadn't seen anything like it!

The current holes in the board are in a rectangular arrangement 125mm x 65mm. It appears that all the boards in the shops these days have smaller hole centers, and also many more to allow changing the width of your stance.

The guy said I would be able to find somebody to re-drill the holes in the board but he wouldn't do it as it's likely to weaken the board. I'm used to skiing where you can re-drill the holes because you are drilling into a thicker bit of the ski. On a board you'd need to fit helicoils, which is always a bodge job.

I reckon I could make up a plate to adapt it, but the minimum thickness would have to be at least 1 diameter of the screw (6mm) so that would be like adding a big heavy spring under my feet, not good.

So it looks like I need a new board. When I bought my board in 1994 it cost £400 ($US 650). Amazed that I could get a Ride board for £230 ($US 375). Prices have certainly come down!

So in short, we've worked out that I can patch up my old bindings using bits from my new bindings (backs and straps) to keep me going, and I'll buy a new board in the summer. TSA have also promised me a loan of a board to try out in my local indoor slope* before I buy. Then my old Santa Cruz will be retired as a sledge for my kids.

Cheers!

* I live on the doorstep of an indoor real snow slope, and 2-4 hours drive away from the 5 resorts in Scotland so I'm strictly a day-tripper. But boarding in Scotland is nothing like the rest of the world (blizzards, storms, ice, rocks)!