Meidjo NTN 2.0 review/warning

[D0nnieDark0]

wow, thx for the quick reply.
thats exactly what i'm afraid of. but it seems that it got more sturdy thatn the 2.0 version. at least you didn't rip out the screws.
damn, don't know what to do now :/

[abbike18]

My Meidjo journey has been a long one. In '19-'20 I had 2.1s mounted to Head Kores. Ripped the baseplates out of the skis.

In '20-'21 I had replacement head Kores and mounted my Meidjos with inserts. Ripped the baseplate out of the ski again, except this time I actually delaminated the entire ski through the core.

Now that we're in '21-'22 I had a new failure today. After the above I got some Atomic Vantage 105s in 188cm. Love the skis so much. Check out the attached pictures. I wonder if the base plates fail periodically from fatigue?

[Stephen]

How would you rate the stress you put on the skis / bindings with your skiing style, relative to what others using this system do?
Also, what sort of spring stiffness settings are you using?
As another user, just looking for some context / data points.

[Montana St Alum]

I'm 5'9" tall and 165lbs or so. I use the heavy spring which is very close in compression resistance to the double spring, but I don't think it ramps up as fast. I'm on the Tx Pro which has a reasonably soft bellows compared to the Crispi I had.

The only skiing that puts that kind of impact pressure is skiing the bumps, for me. When we go through dry spells, the bumps tend to get deeper and closer together. I try to have an upright stance, and do generally, but I probably make 6 to 10 bump runs a day, once they form, and I'm on day 37 now in the ski area. And once the bumps get gruesome I occasionally "bottom out" in spite of my attempts to stay in a high stance. I expect it's this "bottoming out" that takes its toll.

I'm getting the sense that one side of the metal plate fails before the other, so I'm inspecting them daily when the bumps get firmed up.

This is pretty close to the tension setting on all of my skis.
Just enough for engagement to be immediate and so that the screws don't back out:

[abbike18]

I'm 210 lbs and running the heavy spring alone. I run with the red knobs on 3.5. Scott Voodoo boots.

I do everything - from carving groomers to bumps to trees. When I got rid of the head kores and went with a stronger ski (the atomic vantages) I actually had my knee hit the ski in some bumps at winter Park. So I know they can handle that stress at least once.

Mine does look like it failed from one side. I wonder if it is a fatigue issue and we just need to replace the base plate every year or so?

I also wonder if the issue is when we bottom out the set up. At some point in getting low the spring is completely compressed, and it can't give anymore? Maybe running a stiffer spring but with the red knobs backed out to 1 would help give more travel for those random hard hits where you get lower?

Would be great to hear a response from m-equipment on this

[abbike18]

OK I have a theory as to why these bindings have so many issues with pulling out of skis/breaking in the rear plate.

Basically the point at which the springs are completely compressed comes pretty early in the action. Once the springs are completely compressed, the binding is basically acting like a straight cable is tying your duck-butt down to the rear mounting plate.

I have touched my knee to the ski once on these bindings when I got little too aggressive in the bumps. So it can handle that level of stress once or twice. But after many days, it looks like you get a fatigue failure of the rear base plate. (This is assuming you have already solved the issue of the screws pulling out).

In the below pictures I measured the spring fully compressed and then set up the boot in the position where the spring would be fully compressed for a red knob setting of 1 and 3. You can see that it isn't very far down.

I think the cheap way for m-equipment way to fix this issue would be to put longer springs on so that when you do end up really low for whatever reason, you aren't bottoming out the springs and transferring so much force to the baseplate. The better way to fix the issue would be to do the above, but also pony up and make the front and rear baseplate a single piece of aluminum, like it should be.

[Stephen]

So, would using a stiffer spring help?
So that the binding becomes “active” at the same place / angle, but the stiffer spring(s) would make it more difficult to finally bottom out?
Logically, it seems like this would work.
But I don’t know if it would change the way the binding skis in an undesirable way.

It seems like the problem kicks in when the spring travel ends, and dynamic force is then transmitted directly to the base plate, with GREAT leverage.

[Montana St Alum]

I think abike18 is correct. I don't know what my setting is because I've put in the powder blocks and removed the plastic piece with the numbers on it, but I expect it's close to "1".

I expect strengthening the plate would help in addition to lengthening the spring travel.

I'm using the stiff single spring after having used the stock double springs and they're close to the same resistance progression initially, but I think the double spring ramps up faster at the end of travel. It's enough to feel, but probably not enough to affect the bottom out. I'm running inserts.

[abbike18]

I think a longer spring with a longer spring pin (the u shaped rod that pivots) would ultimately solve the problem. But that's hard to fab at home. I've tried to give feedback to m-equipment on this but they just keep saying "talk to the company you bought the bindings from, they perform post purchase servicing"

In the absence of a true upgrade/fix form m-equipment, I am thinking that a stiffer spring on a lower setting would help. It would give you the same resistance at different points in the action, but would let you get deeper during those few times you get too aggressive.

I'm really tempted to make a new end nut to replace the red ones that is longer. That would be an easy way to extend the length of spring you could have. Then I would maybe cut a section from a spring and stack it in there, so effectively giving me a longer spring with more travel.

Or maybe I just get Outlaws lol

[Stephen]

... I am thinking that a stiffer spring on a lower setting would help. It would give you the same resistance at different points in the action, but would let you get deeper during those few times you get too aggressive.

Yes, that is exactly what I was trying to say in my earlier post.