Tyrolia Railflex Ski Bindings
We at level nine recommend Head or Tyrolia Railflex bindings whenever they are available, find out why.
When a binding is mounted to a ski and has a boot placed into it, much of the flex of the ski is reduced. The area between the toe piece and heel piece of the binding has created a flat spot when the rest of the ski flexes. This is especially noticeable because most of your edging power comes from this area. Instead of the ski making a nice smooth arc, it has to skid underfoot.
Most ski and binding companies have eliminated or reduced the flat spot by making an integrated binding system. These systems allow the binding to "float" on the ski, eliminating the flat spot underfoot.
Tyrolia created two different systems to eliminate the flat spot caused by standard bindings.
The RailFlex binding system nearly eliminates this flat spot to give the ski a nice even arc with minimal skidding. Both the toe piece and heel piece float on the rails that are mounted to the ski. The binding is held in place by heavy duty guides and one positioning screw in the middle of the binding.
The positioning screw allows the user (you) to adjust the binding according to skiing style or snow conditions. From center, you can move the binding forward or back 1.5cm. This is enough of a difference to change the characteristics of the skis you are on. If it is a powder day or you like to ski at high speeds, move the binding to the back position. If you prefer slower speeds and faster turn initiation, move the binding forward. If you don't care or are not mechanically inclined enough to turn a screw, then leave it in the center position.
The RailFlex system lifts the skier about 3cm above the ski. Some find this a disadvantage, while others prefer the extra leverage. The extra height is an advantage for skiing on groomed runs, but can be seen as a disadvantage if skiing park and powder.
A great advantage of the RailFlex system is that the ski never needs to be redrilled to accept other boot sizes. A certified Tyrolia technician can slide the binding off the rails, adjust the boot setting, and reinstall. The process takes about 30 seconds each ski.
The RailFlex bindings are suited for beginner to advanced level skiers that mainly stick to the groomed runs.
Tyrolia also offers the Free Flex bindings for more advanced skiing and racing. Follow the link to find out more about the Free Flex Bindings.
Switching out Sym Pro plates with Railflex plates We can remove SymPro binding plates from premounted skis and replace them with Raiflex plates. While we normally do not like to replace bindings because hole patterns may be too close together, in this case there are absolutely no structural issues as the Railflex plate is centered on the ski and no holes are within centimeters of each other. All old binding holes are professionally plugged and sealed with wood glue to insure structural stability and no water infiltration. Cosmetically the holes are invisible under the Railflax plate. This binding switch is fully approved by Head to be Structurally sound. If you request us to remount with railflex plates, your skis still carry all manufacturers warranties. If you are still worried, go ahead and get SP bindings mounted instead as they are versatile bindings that meet the needs of all recreational skiers. Note: we will not mount carve plates, FFlex, D9 or any other non Railflex bindings on previous SP mounts as we feel the hole patterns could theoretically cause issues in the future life of the ski. Only the RailFlex hole pattern on SP mounts presents such an unambiguously issue free remount.
There is no functional difference between Railflex 1 and railflex 2 bindings, unfortunately the binding plates are not compatible with each other. If you are looking at purchasing a set of skis that already has a Railflex plate, it will be a Railflex 2 plate and thus you will need a Railflex 2 binding.
Railflex Binding adjustments
