Shop that will bend FKS brakes

J.D.

J.D.

Active member
Staff member
So not having a workshop in my place (note to self: correct this deficiency) I cannot bend my own FKS brakes. Some shops have a policy against bending them.

So, does anyone know of a shop that will mount my skis for me? And actually do it properly - that is, bend them straight then bend them back, not just spread them past the sidewalls?

The brakes are more than long enough, I've seen them bent out to 130mm and I only need them to about 107mm. Does anyone know who to get to do this?
 
Matt was looking/calling shops this week and asking about bending some brakes for his Filthy Riches. They immediately said "no".

I'm going to be borrowing a vice and some tools from the warehouse I work at, and then he'll be able to bend them.

If you want to join in, feel free.
 
Yeah looks like I'm going to have to unless someone in Banff does it?

Required tools are a vice, an old ski pole cut in half, a flathead screwdriver, a rubber mallet and, arguably, a blowtorch, but that one's optional.
 
Whenever, I guess. Most of that stuff is just to get the brakes in and out of the binding. If you're bending anything besides FKS it's just a vice and ski pole.
 
I'll get the stuff together.

Might be next week though, or after? As soon as I can get it together.
 
seeing as bending them would void their warranty, if they have any, i guess your going to have to find a big bro to do it. Talk to Dan at Ski Cellar Macleod, i purchased my FKS's from him, and he said that if the brakes on my FKS' break, he would do his best to fix them. But he said if the brake comes out or just gets fucked, the bindings are useless, cuz the brake in apart of the structure.... just my thoughts
 
We don't need a big bro to do it, we're not fucking 16 year old twigs.

Shops aren't going to want to bend brakes, because they're worried that if they mess up, the customer will be mad. And since 98% of the population consists of over reacting idiots, shops won't do it.
 
ahahahahahahhahah i didn't mean "big brother" i meant a Bro, as in somebody who will hook you up, seeing as Jesus was a Bro, and my brother is my bro, big difference
 
I know what you mean. But we still don't need a big bro.

I'll get that little ski shop set up in the laundry room. And I'll be able to bend brakes, and tune skis.

If you're able to find a shop tech that'll bend your brakes before it happens, go for it.
 
This is not at all true. Taking the brake out is necessary to bend them. It is integrated into the binding but that doesn't mean you can't disassemble and reassemble them. It's kind of a bitch (mainly getting the brake back in) but it's not brain surgery.
 
not very many shops bend them because it weakens the metal which causes them to snap. you could also just buy a wider brake. There like 100$ tho
 
i bent my fks brakes for my filthy rich with a wrench, it's not hard just take your time so you don't break them.
 
We had a pretty successful brake bending session last week. Did 6 brakes. Actually, I sat on the couch and played Goldeneye, and Matt and J.D. bent them. Took awhile, but we got it done using a vice and metal brook handle
 
Along with immediately saying "no" to Matt, or something like that.

I still have all the stuff if anyone needs brakes bent. Will also be planning to set up a work bench, so it'll be much easier than a coffee table
 
haha really. i have seen two guys come in and ask to get their brakes bent and don said we could do it no problem. hmm thats weird
 
I bent mine no problems with just a vice and pipe and they turned out great. just take the brake out so u have just the two sides [ and stick em in the vice properly to bend them slowly straight then down again to desired width and no heat! re=assemble and ur done. if i remember too there a bitch to put back together, nonetheless pretty simple.
 
No. You can't. Rossignol will not sell extra brakes for the FKS series. Largely because switching the brakes means taking apart the entire heelpiece and Rossi doesn't want people taking apart their binidngs. Unless you mean buying someone's spare parts, you cannot buy them.
 
This whole post is nuts. The FKS brake is two brake arms loosely connected a small pedal, which piece goes under a metal plate and fits into place with an independent spring. The "turn table piece" is the entire heel, i.e. half the binding. You cannot order the brake from Rossignol, as a matter of fact Rowen Tych made a thread lamenting this fact and one of our resident Rossignol representatives on NS made the point of telling everyone he'd propose making them available for order, but it never happened.

You can buy FKS bindings with wide brakes now. You cannot, however, buy the brakes separately.

I think you think we're talking about Axial brakes or something.
 
He's talking about ordering a whole new turn table part for the binding, which you CAN do, and they stock xxl sized braked versions of them. However look does not like to send them out to shops any more, if a issue arrises and something needs to be replaced they prefer that the shop sends them the whole heel piece and they do the replacement themselves. Additionally replacing the entire turn-table is not cheep, the parts run as high as 100/set+shipping.

 
What do you mean by "a whole new turn table part"?

Having taken apart a bunch of these, there are the following components to an FKS binding. The brake, the brake spring, the metal plate from the bottom of the heelpiece, a plastic clip piece (which has a smaller spring in it), the ring piece, and a washer piece that goes under the ring. Ideally, you want to take the thing apart in such a way that the clip and ring stay on. Aside from that it's the heel block and the toe. What do they send you?
 
rossi's new policy about brakes is such a pain in the ass. They wont even sell you the brakes, you have to instead pay $160 for a whole new bottom piece, and send it back to rossi for them to swap it out them selves. Ive been dealing with this for a while now because my brakes are to small to even bend over my skis, so i probably wont have brakes for at least another 2-3 weeks, and i have to stop skiing a pair of skis for that time.
 
Well now I'm just trying to figure out what this "whole bottom piece" you're talking about is.

Also your bindings are mounted? You'd have to take the whole heelpiece off just to get at the brakes.
 
the whole bottom part we are talking about is the entire heel piece excluding the part that has the spring. So the rest of it (arms that connect the turntable to the part of the heel that holds the spring, brake, ring, half moon etc) is what were talking about. It is now sold as a entire unit and its incredibly expensive. Also they wont ship shops the part any more, but instead have the shop send the broke binding in and they change it out for you. All in all its incredibly inconvenient.
 
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