Garmont Megaride tongue swap (Raichle mod TR...)

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11-02-2005, 11:47 AM
Meathelmet

Garmont Megaride tongue swap TR (+Mega and Dynafit review)

So.

This is propably the shortest ever "instruction"...

Get older Raichle Flexon tongues for 10€ a piece. Or for free.

1.On the left is a size Flexon Comp 7-8 1/2 (7-13) very stiff tongue.

2.In the center megarides original slipper. Softer than a boob.

3.On the right is a Flexon Comp 3-6 L wich is about twice as stiff as the original, but half as stiff as the Yellow.

http://www.biglines.com/photos/norma...ines_47036.jpg

With the mid-flex.

http://www.biglines.com/photos/norma...ines_47035.jpg

With the stiff. What a beauty!

http://www.biglines.com/photos/norma...ines_47034.jpg

The istallations were a real no-brainer.
Those tongues were equiped with the metal attachment clip, that you could clip straight to the boots socket.
Snap.
10 seconds max.

The boots were nice even with the mid-flex.Stiffened up quite a lot, but the boot still retained a relatively good flex pattern,and the walk properties were still good.

The stiff was...well...stiff. Id say very stiff, i dont know if it was due to the weird flex pattern or why,but the boot felt like a stiff alpine boot. Nice.
And the pain that I usually got on the shin with the regular tongue, is all gone too.
The problem with the stiff tongue is that it stiffens up the boot (too?) much in the walk mode. For longer hikes i guess you would have to loosen the powerstrap and/or the buckles.

All in all: Those tongues transform the boot quite a bit.

But, i havent skied a bit with the boots, so how they affect the skiing is a completely another thing... :)

I´ll be wiser in 2 weeks.
11-02-2005, 12:13 PM
PNWbrit

That's nice - You'll probably want to loosen the top buckles to hike in the boots even when stock. It makes a huge difference.

So anyone got some flexon tongues they want to sell me?
11-02-2005, 02:53 PM
summit

I did this early this summer wit hthe stiff tongues and G-Rides.... some trimming required so the buckles didnt hit the new tongue... nice stiff but created pressure points
11-02-2005, 03:09 PM
PNWbrit

Quote:

Originally Posted by Summit

I did this early this summer wit hthe stiff tongues and G-Rides.... some trimming required so the buckles didnt hit the new tongue... nice stiff but created pressure points

From the ridges over the lower shin area?
11-02-2005, 03:18 PM
Meathelmet

Quote:

Originally Posted by Summit

I did this early this summer wit hthe stiff tongues and G-Rides.... some trimming required so the buckles didnt hit the new tongue... nice stiff but created pressure points

No trimming was needed here.
No pressurepoints noted either. Neither before or after.

The bootsize is 25.5.
11-02-2005, 03:48 PM
pde20

Quote:

Originally Posted by Meathelmet

No trimming was needed here.
No pressurepoints noted either. Neither before or after.

The bootsize is 25.5.

Did the replacement tongues you used match up in size, roughly, to the size of your boot? Seems you would need to be pretty close.
11-02-2005, 04:09 PM
Meathelmet

Quote:

Originally Posted by pde20

Did the replacement tongues you used match up in size, roughly, to the size of your boot? Seems you would need to be pretty close.

The sizes are up there. The black is 3-6 and yellow is the 7-8 1/2 (7-13?).

Those two are a bit different sized, the yellows being maybe 1-2cm higher and wider, the blacks are about the same size as the originals.

Edit: And i have a quite normal feet. If my feet would be a lot higher, there might be some problems to close the lower two buckles,especially the toe.
It a bit tight.
11-02-2005, 06:46 PM
col_surfer

raichle flexons w/stiff tongues fs in gear swap
11-02-2005, 06:56 PM
PNWbrit

Quote:

Originally Posted by col_surfer

raichle flexons w/stiff tongues fs in gear swap

You mean Natty's?

Thanks but I'm not paying $150 for a pair of boots just to tear apart for frankenboot project.
11-02-2005, 10:54 PM
PNWbrit

shit - missed the boat on your boots.

Anyone else got some?
11-03-2005, 09:54 AM
summit

Quote:

Originally Posted by pde20

Did the replacement tongues you used match up in size, roughly, to the size of your boot? Seems you would need to be pretty close.

Mine matched up roughly

26.5 (8.5) boots and 9-9.5 tongues. Pressure points on lower shin and above forefoot.

I had to trim the tongues ever so slightly (very easy and no negative effect) around the instep buckle location so that the buckle didnt interfere.
11-03-2005, 11:28 AM
the_eleven

I used a 11-12.5 Flexon tongue on a 10-11.5 Scarpa Laser. It is a bit higher than the stock tongue.

IMHO, using a slightly larger tongue adds stiffness to an AT boot. It made a HUGE difference in how mine ski.
11-23-2005, 12:11 PM
Meathelmet

Ok.

REVIEW TIME FOR MEGARIDES + DYNAFITS

What can i say?

Holy fuck!!!

First of all, the race tongue really,really stiffened the boot up. Bigtime.
Second,the dynafits rule totally and suck a bit too.
But in short.

Boots.

Tested on a icy resort up in north. Shitty "Ribbon of death" there,one lift running and ice.
Skis were BD havocs,wich i had small problems to make work on hard underlay when i had naxos on them.
After coulple of runs just to get the touch back after 3months of not skiing, things started to click.
The boots felt very good,no pressurepoints or usuall shit that you have with the new boots.The new tongue was feeling really good, could force the ski with no problems.
The boot felt like a relatively stiff,but light and flimsy (in a positeve way) alpine boot.

2nd Day

Second day was a light 1200m hike with a nice walk on a 35´moraine for the first 800m, then a nice 400m skin/skramble on 5cm snow on the top of that said moraine.
The tongues are way too stiff for hiking.Period.
Thanks to the rocker and vibram the climbing wasnt a total bitch,but the softer tongue will get a go every time there is more walking in the agenda.
In the skinning the boot felt good, no probs.
BTW.The dynafit inserts get clogged really easily by snow and mud, so keeping a tool with you is a must.

A-

Bindings

1st Day

No problems with stepping in and out. Felt suprisingly sturdy when clicked in, just like some alpine binding,if not sturdier. Waaay different feel than the stilts like Freerides and Naxos.Since the binding is so low on the skis, the skis itself felt way stabler and quicker edge to edge than before. No problems charging down that white ribbon of death what so ever.Nice.

2nd Day.

After carrying the planks for the first said 800m´s i learned to apreciate the about 2 kilos saved on the weight. After putting the skins on and clickin in, a second WOW was felt. So daaamn light to skin! So natural stride! Sooooo faaaast. Skinning was from a different planet compared to fritchi/naxo.
Kickbacks were ok,but the pilot had a bit rusty technique...
But.
When finally i got to the skiing part (nice 15cm of crappy slab on a glacier and moraine...) shit started to hit the fan.
First, a stone was lodged in the boots rearinsert that was a real bitch to take off.

Then the next 10 minutes was utter cursing.
The bindings just wouldn lock the heel.
Nope. I cleaned the inserts about 20 times,locked the toe and tried to lock the heel. Nada. Nothing. No locking.
Standing on a 40´ slope with some 30cm of grainy snow on the top of the ice and i just couldnt make a solid enough platform. After frantic kickings i finally met the ice underneath and with jumping up/down on the ice the heel finally clicked.

The skiing itself was so shitty i cant say anything about the bindings on that.But at least no releases or anything.

A (C+)

All in all.
Cant wait to clock in more miles on this combo.

When it is : skinning+skiing = Stiff tongues.
When it is : walking,rockclimbing,rafting,skinning+skiing=Softe r tongues.

Well,the bindings seem to be really difficult to put on anything but a solid,stable platform (unless i have a shitty technicue,wich i know i have... :) ). Any pointers in that?

Eh?
11-23-2005, 02:57 PM
JLB

I am going to buy a pair of AT-boots shortly and am unsure what to get, but leaning towards Garmonts as they are the only boot I have tried on which fit my narrow feet.. drowned in the scarpas.. I would also love to hear how stiff the new Dynafit Aero FRs are and what kind of volume foot they fit from someone with firsthand knowledge..

I will be touring on dynafit FR 10.0 178cm and would prefer boots compatible with dynafit bindings as I expect that the saved weight will be appreciated when doing the Haute Route this spring.

At the same time I would like to be able to use the same boots on shorter hikes with my freeride mounted Seth Pistol 189cm. The question, then is if a Megaride modified with a stiff tongue is burly enough to drive these skis.

I have a pair of Dalbello Krypton Pros which come with a midflex and a stiff tongue. Has anybody had any experience with modifying AT boots with these tongues? From the look of the pictures posted in this thread they seem to have the same metal attachment clip as the older Flexons.. I would prefer to not have to do any mods as I will be using these tongues when resort skiing..

Also, I wonder about the Megarides flex characteristics. They felt soooo soft when I tried them on (have only skied alpine boots before) and the flex underfoot felt pretty weird. I expect that is no problem when the heel is locked into the binding, but what about the lateral flex which can't be stiffened? How does that affect ski control when edging on icy and hard surfaces?

Thanx for any advice
11-23-2005, 03:02 PM
Sphinx

Meathelmet, the heel should click in real nice and easy once the toes are engaged. Something is seriously wrong with yours; did you get the green springs version at DIN 20 by any chance? ;)

Only other explanation is that your heelpiece is mismounted and offset. Check that the pins slide into the heel without hitting sole.
11-23-2005, 03:02 PM
PNWbrit

Quote:

Originally Posted by JLB

I and the flex underfoot felt pretty weird

What? You flexed the sole of the boot?

or do you mean the rockered shape? It's supposed to be like that for walking.
11-23-2005, 03:30 PM
JLB

Quote:

What? You flexed the sole of the boot?

or do you mean the rockered shape? It's supposed to be like that for walking.

I understand that the sole is rockered for better walking performance. What I mean is that when locked in ski mode I felt the sole flex underfoot and the heel lift from the floor when I flexed forward, toepiece still on the floor.. Just thought it was normal at the time, no?
11-23-2005, 03:40 PM
PNWbrit

That's just the rockered sole.

Toe isn't touching floor so when you lean forward heel lifts until it does.

Think about it when boot is locked in bindings at the heel by either the dynafit pins or the normal heel mechanism you can't lift heel off of the ski.
11-23-2005, 03:50 PM
Meathelmet

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sphinx

Meathelmet, the heel should click in real nice and easy once the toes are engaged. Something is seriously wrong with yours; did you get the green springs version at DIN 20 by any chance? ;)

Only other explanation is that your heelpiece is mismounted and offset. Check that the pins slide into the heel without hitting sole.

They shouldn be offset or anything.

I can click into the bindings on a hard surface no problem, but on a soft surface,the pins go half way in the cavity (just before the widening) and like sponge off.I literally had to jump as hard as i could to lock the heel.
???
Weird?
Has anybody else had problems in soft/deep snow?

I prolly should check that the distance and everything is by the book.

And JLB, i dont think you should have any problems riding a softer ski like SP. Havocs are a bit shorter and narrower (88mm),but way stiffer than seths. And i dont feel that i couldnt the boots with explosivs or gotamas witch i intend to do.Not im.103s though...
But with the original tongue, no way!
11-23-2005, 03:58 PM
JLB

Thank you for the explanation. But as I mentioned in the earlier post, I'm not so worried about that because of the locking of the heel. But I do wonder about the lateral flex..
11-23-2005, 04:15 PM
nhtele

Quote:

Originally Posted by Meathelmet

So.

This is propably the shortest ever "instruction"...

Get older Raichle Flexon tongues for 10€ a piece. Or for free.

Do you any idea for sources on those tongues? I'm currently in Yurp and would gladly drop the 10Euro, but have no idea where to look. Not sure I could explain to the wankers @ the shops in Zermatt what I am trying to accomplish.

Thanks
11-24-2005, 02:17 AM
Meathelmet

Quote:

Originally Posted by nhtele

Do you any idea for sources on those tongues? I'm currently in Yurp and would gladly drop the 10Euro, but have no idea where to look. Not sure I could explain to the wankers @ the shops in Zermatt what I am trying to accomplish.

Thanks

I self got the tongues from the raichles old distributor. They plenty of them in stock.

So check out for the stores that have/has had Raichle in distribution, or check out the local bootfitters/skishops if they happen to have the tongues in the garage. You can find such a unbelievable stuff from the back room...

I just got a vice/bench (designed for ski-jump skis..) for tuning skis for 15€s.
On top of that,i could have had a pair of 260cm ski-jump skis for 20€s...
I was tempted.
09-13-2011, 07:44 AM
Ripzalot

bump. i'd love to find a stiff flexon tongue in a mondo 30 size.
09-13-2011, 07:54 AM
mntlion

fulltilt sells them?
09-13-2011, 09:41 AM
XXX-er

would this mod work on a scarpa lazer?
09-13-2011, 10:08 AM
Ripzalot

Quote:

Originally Posted by mntlion

fulltilt sells them?

ahh cool. i thought i was going to have to dissect a boot. :o
09-13-2011, 10:33 AM
Meathelmet

Are you thinking of using them with factors or what?? The tongue is quite "narrow", more like U shaped than C shaped so you might have "some" problems to make it fit under the ovarlap or let alone over it...
Dont know if you have enough reach on the buckles either?
If you are concerned with the stiffness of the factors get the scarpa/intuition liners,they stiffen up the boot a LOT compared to the BD liners. Wich are totally,utterly, fucking useless anyway. Ditch the idea of riding with them pronto!
09-13-2011, 07:16 PM
Mountaingoat

Quote:

Originally Posted by XXX-er

would this mod work on a scarpa lazer?

Yes!!

I have a few pairs (6) of Flexon tongues I found in an old shoe box over the weekend that I'm going to part with.
09-13-2011, 09:31 PM
wooley12

Quote:

Originally Posted by XXX-er

would this mod work on a scarpa lazer?

It fit fine but I sold them before I had a chance to ski them.

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-F...0_3048.JPG.jpg

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-R...2/000_0544.JPG
09-14-2011, 02:04 AM
Ripzalot

Quote:

Originally Posted by Meathelmet

Are you thinking of using them with factors or what??

for my megarides that i rarely use coz they are too soft.

i see there are different tongue stiffnesses - 4, 6, 8, 10. any ideas on what is the right stiffness? is 10 too much? where does the stock megaride tongue fall in this scale?

Quote:

Originally Posted by mountaingoat

Yes!!

I have a few pairs (6) of Flexon tongues I found in an old shoe box over the weekend that I'm going to part with.

what stiffness? got any in a mondo 30? (size 12US)
09-14-2011, 08:41 AM
XXX-er

I got a ratehr burly ski bud who skis the lazers in walk mode cuz he sez he can't feel the difference ...i will let him know
09-14-2011, 04:14 PM
Shorty_J

10 is VERY stiff. I think Seth Morison skis on flex 10's. I find the stock 6's that come with my old Flexons to be pretty good with Intuition power-wraps and booster straps, and found the 8 on the new Full-tilts to also be very stiff for me.

I'm 153 pounds, FWIW.
09-15-2011, 08:05 AM
Mountaingoat

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ripzalot

what stiffness? got any in a mondo 30? (size 12US)

I believe they're comps. I check sizes. I picked them up from s. morrison about ten years ago when new Flexons and parts were hard to come by during their temp retirement. I can now get a good tech boot out of the box, so they're no longer needed.