NTN Selection And Setup

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This is an archive of consensus tips and tricks for use and care of the Rottefella NTN binding, gathered from the TelemarkTips.com topic of the same name. Use or follow these tips at your own risk, as they are simply techniques or knowledge that have worked for the contributor. Your mileage may vary.

Contents

Power Tubes

Selecting the Right Powertubes

Using the right powertubes is an important part of dialing in NTN bindings to suit your needs. In general, our users agree that the binding skis better with stiffer springs set with a low preload, than with softer springs at a high preload.[1]

Rottefella has a chart that specifically recommends certain powertubes for your weight and boot size. Use this as a starting point.

As an example, if Fred weighs 150 lbs and uses a 27.5 mondo boot, Rottefella's chart recommends the following:

  • Green Springs at 4
  • Blues springs at 2
  • Red Springs at 1


Out of these choices, Red springs at 1 is preferable for the following reasons:

  1. A lower preload gives the binding a smoother flex and possibly a more neutral feel.
  2. A lower preload gives the skier more range of movement so you can ski tall or small
  3. For skiers who ski low and knee-to-ski style of telemark, more range of movement will give their springs more room to compress. This will help lengthen the life of the springs as well as reduce the possibility of ripping the binding out of the ski (pull outs).

Changing Powertubes

Changing powertubes is easier if you do one tube at a time. Doing so keeps the cable in place so that it's easier to thread the cable end into the new power tube hole.

Adjusting Powertubes

There are white marks on the cable that is attached to the powertubes. This is used to indicate if the tubes are attached unevenly to the cable. With the marks just disappearing into each tube, this should correllate to preload #1. If the cable seem uneven, jostle the receiver a few times and it will center itself.

Tip: Reinstalling the powertubes if you accidentally removed both of them

If you accidentally removed both of the tubes from the rear of the binding, reinstalling powertubes may be a hassle. Using a long strap (like a Voile strap), you can reinstall the powertubes easily without much fuss. Just takes an extra step or two.

  1. If you have an extra strap, strap the brakes so that they're down and a little more out of the way. Run the strap around each brake and both ends on top of the binding frame. Not neccessary, but saves a bit of trouble by getting the brake out of the way.
  2. Start with the lever down so you can slide in the receiver.
  3. Slide the duckbutt reciever into the flex plate, making sure the threaded cable ends go in the holes for the power tubes.
  4. Important part: take a strap and run from the hole in the flex plate where the brake tip goes through around the back of the duckbutt reciever and cinch it tight. This will collapse a softer/larger spring inside of the receiver. Shouldn't take that much effort.
  5. With the lever still in the down position, stick your finger down where the cable protudes out the front of the binding right under the chrome lever to keep the cable from moving forward. With your other hand, turn the powertubes so they thread onto the cable. Should go on easily since you stopped the cable from sliding around.
  6. Thread both tubes so that they evenly disappear into their respective powertubes so they're set to preload #1 (see above).
  7. Release the front lever and undo all straps
  8. Adjust to the preload as needed, turning the same number of turns on both sides of the tubes.

Selecting NTN Boots

Please refer to:

  • NTN Boot FAQ for commonly asked questions.
  • NTN Boot Page for detailed information on various NTN Boots and their manufacturers.

Mounting Tips

These are only a few random tips for mounting. For a more comprehensive guideon mounting, check out Mounting Telemark Bindings

How far back?

Aligning the boot center with the boot center mark (or slightly aft) seems to be the best for NTN. Remember, the detentes in the baseplate will allow you to adjust the binding positions after the base plate has been mounted. See the NTN Ski Mount chart for more ideas on mount points other skiers have used.

Tap the holes

  1. If possible, tap the mount holes in the ski before mounting the plate. This will help ensure that the screws go in nice and straight. If they go in crookedly, use a file to file the screw head parallel to the ski topsheet. just a few file strokes are needed.[2]
  2. When drilling, take your time and make sure all the holes line up squarely. Making sure the holes are aligned just right makes installing the binding much easier. Sometimes if you're not careful, the drill bit will wander and will make things more difficult.

Dry fit the screws

  1. Using a posidrive #3 screwdriver, drive the screws into the ski and also make it go down as straight and with the screw head as flat as possible.

After you mount the baseplate

  1. Use a flat file on the screw heads if there are problems sliding the binding on.
  2. Check if the brake contacts the screw heads when sliding the binding on. If it's too difficult to slide the binding brake past the screws, remove the binding and using a razor or a knife, scrape some of the plastic off of the round bump on the bottom of the brake. This will allow it to slide past a little easier.

Attaching the binding

Use the holes in the binding frame to see if you are centered on the right detents. If two detents are visible and centered through the holes next to the detent screw, you are centered on the middle detent.

Mounting the Heelpieces

Screwing down the heelpieces too tightly may cause stickiness when the heels are raised for climbing. Overtightening the screws causes the frame to flex and add friction to the heel pivots. Just apply enough pressure that ensure the heels are attached and no more. You can tell if you've overtightened the screws if you raise the heel pieces and "flick" them against the spring. If they are too tight, the heel riser won't always return to the fullest extent. Normally, they should be able to return to the raised position easily on it's own.

NTN & K2/Voile Inserts

NTN baseplates mount easily with the old K2 or Voile telemark ski inserts. Several users suggest the rearmost inserts may be the best as NTN genrally mounts further back than traditional 75mm bindings. Use the screws that are insert specific that come with your NTN bindings.

References

  1. ↑ adrenalated - TelemarkTips.com
  2. ↑ Nils - TelemarkTips.com
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