atomic xentrix 412 heel failure (crack and low DIN)

I picked up a pair of stockli skiis and they came with a pair of what
I would guess were 2002 atomic xentrix 412 bindings. I was noticing I
was walking out of the heels way too easy. I was on hill and kept
tightening them trying to get them to stay on but nothing helped. Even
with the DIN set to 12 I was just applying a little forward pressure
and the heels were releasing. Later in the day the plastic cover on
one heel popped off while I was putting the ski back on after it had
released and looking at the heel piece I was amazed to see the whole
heel piece had split in half.

I took the heel piece into a shop (Whistler Village Sports) to see if
they had a used one I could buy to tide me over for the rest of my
trip. They handed me a brand new heel piece no charge. My comment was
"I guess I can expect the other to fail as well" and got a yes from
the shop. The next day I was setting up the new heel using the really
scientific method (i.e. start at a normal DIN setting and make sure
you can still force it to release) (your mileage may vary...) I
noticed that the new heel set on DIN 5 was tighter than the other old
heel set on DIN 12... ugh. Took the other heel in and got it replaced
too. Apparently something breaks inside on these as well and the DIN
setting goes way light...

I suspect I got very lucky in finding a shop right off that had used a
lot of Atomic (they rented them) and was willing to make it right. I
just hope others are able to get Atomic to replace their defective 412
heels.

I actually really liked the bindings, and was very disappointed when
they failed, but the replaced ones are working well and I am a happy
camper again!

Good luck.

Terry Jones wrote:

I picked up a pair of stockli skiis and they came with a pair of what
I would guess were 2002 atomic xentrix 412 bindings. I was noticing I
was walking out of the heels way too easy. I was on hill and kept
tightening them trying to get them to stay on but nothing helped. Even
with the DIN set to 12 I was just applying a little forward pressure
and the heels were releasing.

If you have to crank up the DIN setting just to stay in, SOMETHING IS
WRONG and simply cranking up the setting won't address the real problem.
If your normal DIN is 5 and you've cranked them up to 12, that's a
pretty clear indication that somethin' ain't right. Get them fixed or
replaced.

Well, I'm glad that everything worked out for the best, but I'd say you
were pretty lucky that they didn't fail entirely at the wrong moment.

--
//-Walt
//
// There is no Völkl Conspiracy

"Terry Jones" wrote in message
om...
I picked up a pair of stockli skiis and they came with a pair of what
I would guess were 2002 atomic xentrix 412 bindings ....

There's a known issue with Atomic heels of that vintage: 412 and 614 (don't
know about 1018). Apparently, a specific part tends to break (or bend, or
fail in some manner), leading to pre-release problems. I'm not sure the
exact years. 2002 sounds about right, though. I don't think *all* bindings
of that run have the problem, quite a few do.

They fixed the problem on newer ones. The newer (fixed) version is
cosmetically different on the outside too. There's less color on the heel
(and toe), and more black, and the colored bits are made of shinier
semi-translucent plastic, rather than matte-ish opaque plastic.

Newer, better:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...me=STRK:MEWA:IT

Older, possibly problematic:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...7136228774&rd=1

Corrected links:

Newer:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...e=STRK:MEWA:IT

Older:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...6228 774&rd=1

"Sven Golly" wrote in message
. 12...
Do you know anything about the 2003 CR412 TD series?

I'm not completely sure, but I suspect that's okay. I think the "better"
variation came in with the 2003s. If it looks generally like the later
version in my post above, it should be okay.