Guide On: How to get your skis mounted, Your Way!

lyndon

lyndon

Active member
Hey everyone, my name is Lyndon and I’m pretty darn tired of all the threads about shops messing up mounts. To prevent any more of these, here is a quick tutorial, equipped with pictures on what you can do to avoid any mix-ups.

Please note: I don’t have any unmounted skis at the moment, so your measurements will be perfectly accurate as your measuring tape will sit flat on the ski.

Getting the skis ready

Here’s what you’ll need.

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1. Skis

2. Measuring tape (metric!!)

3. Painters tape (green)

4. Exacto-knife, or very accurate scissors

5. Ruler

6. Scotch tape

First of all, you will want to measure your skis. You will want your skis on a high surface- I used a sawhorse.

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Everyone measures theirs different, but here’s how I do mine. I measure the skis length (tip to tail), and divide by 2 to find the true centre. Many mounts are done incorrectly as the tech interoperates the true centre of the ski as the recommend mark. I have my Ar6’s mounted 2cm forward of true centre, but you may want your skis mounted behind true centre. My skis are 176cm long, so the true centre of them is 88cm from the tip, and 88cm from the tail.

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Next, take out your painters tape. Cut a strip about 25cm long, and 1-3mm wide. Use a ruler to ensure it is straight. You can cut this in half, and use each strip for each ski.

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You should be left with a 25cm long skinny strip of green tape

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Now, go back to your skis. Have your measuring tape on the ski, and slide the painters tape under there you want them mounted. I went 2 cm forward of centre, which is 86cm from the tip. Stick it onto the ski, as straight across as you can.

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Take some scotch tape, and put a long piece over top of the painters tape so it wont move around. Make sure that the scotch tape wraps around the edge and sticks to the base.

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Repeat the same process for your other ski. Don’t worry if the recommended lines on the ski don’t match up with the marks you just put on, as the graphics on skis are rarely equal on each ski.

Getting your skis mounted

If you want your skis done right, wait as they mount them. I always call ahead and talk with the tech to set up an appointment where I can come in, and wait as he mounts them. This allows him to ask my any questions about problems he may run into. Also, you can clearly communicate where you want them mounted. Heck, you can even use your finger to touch the line that you made! Even take the tech’s hand and make his finger touch the line you made! No more confusion! You wont need to say, “Can you please mount my skis -2.5cm from true centre?” You can now say “Can you please mount my skis at the attractive green line?” See what I mean? Its hard for a tech to miss a green line. Unless he’s colour blind. Wow.

Lastly, be polite, and make sure you aren’t in a rush. Mounting skis can take anywhere from 15 minutes, to an hour, depending on the skis and bindings. The last thing you need to do at this point is rush the tech. Get your skis, and hit the hills. No more problems, no more issues. Just skis mounted the way you wanted!

Regards,

-Lyndon
 
I really hope that you guys will read this. The threads filled with whining are getting a little old. This is just an expansion on papasteeze's thread made a few days ago.
 
blue absorbs more light, therefore he wont see it and will most likely mount them at recommended. go for green, and even better red.
 
hwhen i was working in a ski shop

whenever they were mounting freestyler skis, they woul ask for me just to make sure they would mount them according to the style of skiing of the one who bought them

it was funny.
 
Just to add to it, seeing as everyone who reads this will most likely not come in and wait for the tech to mount it.

When you go to the shop, don't go to the front desk and talk to the person working the register, ask to speak to an actual tech. Avoid the middle man talk to the tech directly, and let him know where you want them mounted. I wouldn't be surprised if there was miscommunication between the person taking the order, and the tech mounting it. Calling in before you go to a shop is also a good idea, just ask if there's going to be a tech there at whatever time, I know a few places just have a tech come in for a few hours, do the mounts, and leave.
 
Correct, but if you read it, I said that that is how I measure my skis, and everyone does it different. I measure out the running length of the ski, and mount in the middle of that. Some people choose to mount in the centre of the contact area, but its all preference.

I dont think there is a right or wrong way to measure your skis, just a personal way.

And yes, this thread was a continuation of papasteeze's thread, but, in all honesty, I have been wanting to make this for a few weeks now. Its raining out, and there wasnt a whole lot else to do.
 
I just got some skis mounted at true center, I used masking tape after measuring to mark the midsole line. then i used a pen to draw a line along the edge of the tape so the tape could be removed if they had to and would still have a line to go off of. They mounted them right, no problems.
 
one thing i would add is that it helps to measure once from the tip and then AGAIN from the tail to make double sure that you find center accurately. sometimes the measurement ends up a little short because of the angle from the tips to the center of the ski, so if you measure out the same length from both sides and mark it, you can check to be sure you've really found the exact center. if the lines don't match up, then center is halfway between them, and you can measure your mount line from there.
 
Another good thread by Lyndon, +Karma for you.

Now I'd like to see a guide on mounting your own bindings.
 
Thanks, Lyndon.

Great thread - hopefully there won't be as many 'the shop fucked up my mount' threads now.
 
thats probably more than an NS thread can do..mounting bindings properly takes a lot more skill than most people know, apart from the fact that to do it properly you really need to have a jig..(i know you can use paper jig's but if you fuck it up and to save your skis it's probably better to get tech to do it.)

bending brakes yourself etc is a different story, but yeah..
 
Yeah I measure running length on mine. That's just how I like it though. I've found Running length centre generally is 0.5 to 1cm back of true centre measured tip tp tail.

Don't worry about cutting a thing strip of tape - just put your tape on and draw arrows on it towards the edge you want the line at, and write TIPS so something doesn't mount them backwards - a guy I worked with almost did it once, and he was pretty good generally.

eg. (code might get messed up):

------------------------------------

^ TIPS ^

------------------------------------

And check both skis are taped in the same place because a lot of guys mounting just go from the marks.
 
Thanks Dave.

I could make a mounting tutorial, but thats not something everyone should be doing. I mounted my Rossis myself, but it takes alot of patients, something alot of people dont have.

Myabe, I'll make one, but I just dont want to be responsible for kids drilling through thier bases or tearing out bindings.
 
Seriously, I've worked in shops for year and I wouldn;t want to mount my own bindings without correct bits and jigs. If you're even slighty off one one hole position then the screw isn't going to grip properly.

Take some beers to your shop and ask nicely if you don;t want to pay for a mount.
 
And whoever said to ask to watch the guy mount your skis, no please don't do that. Possibly the most annoying thing you can do.
 
I didnt say watch them, I said to wait around. Leaving your skis at a shop for a week to get mounted is the major reason why there is miscommunication and issues.
 
OK, cool. Well just ask if they can do them right away then. If there's other customers waiting to get served though, mounts have a low priority.
 
+2cm of true center is money, thats where i mount all mine and i will never mount further back than than that, this kid knnows whats up.
 
I'd like to add another way I use to measure true center. I go by the material cener from tip to tail of the ski. So, to not get messed up by angles from tips (especially on rockered skis where it might be a large angle), I put the skis against a wall. If you lay them down with the tip against a wall, and the skis perpendicular, it makes it easy to measure. You just put the tape measure flat on the ground next to the ski, and put it right up to the wall edge. Then you can use a book and line it up vertically until it just touches the tail of the ski and look at how long it measures. Then divide that by 2 and leave the tape measure where it is next to the ski and make a line on the edge of the topsheet. Then you can just draw it across, or if you really care, do the same thing on the other side and connect the dots.
 
Ok, I know I'm a mounting noob because I've had center mount invaders before, but I need to know now...

Why +2 from true center... wouldn't that make the tail longer then the nose? that makes no sense to me. And because I'm probably wrong, can someone explain exactly where they mount both sides of the bindings according to your mark you set? Thanks alot, I'm hoping to understand this to have my Ghto's mounted this weds.. + Karma to the maker of the thread, and to whoever gets me to understand mounting measuring.
 
Okay, here it goes.

When you mount a ski at true centre, i personally find them hard to carve on. Going just past true for some reason, lets the ski nose (since its shorter) grab the snow and let you turn.

mounting forward of centre allows for:

easier nose grabs

easier tail grabs

better switch riding

better buttering

more stable backseat landings

as for the mark, they mount the midsole of your boot there. The midsole is the middle of the sole of your boot, there is usually a little tick or line there. The binding position, as in the heel and toe are strickly reliant on what bindings you have.

Hope that covers it. if not, PM me and ill get it all answered.
 
that's pretty cool but usually when i get mine mounted i've just asked the guys where they planned on mounting them and i ask them to move it up a couple of cm so they just take a sharpie and mark the new line for me, problem solved. this way if they mount it differently than you talked to them about it then you have a case to argue if they screw up
 
My local shop (Corbett's) where I never have really had a good time until I went to get my Ar6's mounted. I just told the guy straight up core center, I show up baboom core center.
 
I agree, it's harder to turn a centered ski because you're not standing over the sidecut. but it seems to be

really easy to correct the problem by just getting in your racer stance and shifting your weight forward, rather than shifting your boot forward.

only real advantage i could see from mounting forward of center would be less tip catching on switch takeoffs cuz there's less stuff in front of your toesies. but, then again i've never tried it... anyways glad it works for you.
 
ohh, so being +2 of center may not always make your noses shorter than the tails, but still has some advantages? and also, thanks for the explanation. Makes sense now, +karma. now I guess I get my ghtos, and take my boots and play around to see where I want em? I hear +2 - +5 from modern is generally prime for mainly park skiing.
 
maybe he thought sharpie's were to permanent? and sometimes shop guys use sharpie's themselves to mark up the ski for theyre own purposes...this keeps them nice and clean. Just a guess though.
 
Exactly! In front of my toepiece, there is 57cm, and behind my heel, there is 67cm-but thats because FKS bindings have a very short heel footprint. But, technically, if you put your line at true centre, there will be there will be the same amount of ski behind you heel, and in front of your toe of your boot.

And to the post below, you can use a sharpie, but I dont really want a black line on my skis. The tape method is a little longer, but it has its benefits.

1. Clean, no marks left behind.

2. If you change your mind prior to getting them mounted, a second line on the ski may be confusing.

3. Some graphics may make a sharpie line hard to see.
 
I think im going to bump this again. There seems to be some questions regarding this topic, and instead of new threads, a BUMP!!
 
my god save your skis! DO NOT FUCKING DO THIS

First of all u need special bits that drill the appropriate length and width, second ski shops have "jigs" that keep the bit going straight down which is near impossible to do without one, third your measurments are never going to be exact. Third if u fuck up the your done skis are shot. Even if u get them actually on without drilling through them they will probably not be straight and u will never know u will just suck balls at skiing.
 
You are a moron who can't read.

And to thread creator:

Sharpie is way easier than cutting a tiny piece of tape. If you're the type who whacks off to his skis then a tiny bit of rubbing alcohol will take the sharpie off again.
 
I find the best bet is to just have a friend who works in a shop, that way you know that they know what they are doing, they know what you want and care about it, and they won't charge you and they will do it right then.
 
this is a good idea. im going to do this on my chronics. im not sure if i want to go dead center or forward. im thinking +2.
 
Wow chum, how about you re-read, or at least read the thread before you respond. I never once told anyone to mount thier own skis, I told people how to measure out thier skis to find the centre, and mark it so that there will be little to no errors when the shop mounted the skis.

 
do what he just said... then go buy the corresponding jig for your bindings, find the boot sole length of your boot, adjust, place on ski, clamp, there should be an arrow that will help you place them correctly. Assure the middle of your boot is ....

nm, just go to the shop and watch the tech do it, if he fucks up, youll be there to whip his ass! and drip hot wax on him.
 
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