• For more information on how to avoid pop-up ads and still support SkiTalk click HERE.

Can you re-drill cx skis to mount a different binding?

crosscountry

Out on the slopes
Skier
Joined
Jun 6, 2021
Posts
1,729
Location
all over the place
Helping a friend who wants to get serious in xc skiing.

The skis in question are pretty good skis, right length for the person in need too. Would be a pretty good deal as an upgrade for someone who is getting serious about xc skiing. But for unknown reason, the original owner had pulled the binding out, leaving 3 holes. So it needs new binding.

I know on alpine skis one can often put on a new binding by drilling new holes, as long as the new holes doesn't interfere with existing holes. But that's on beefy alpine skis. xc skis are so tiny I'm a little unsure there's enough "meat" to do the same...?
 

crgildart

Gravity Slave
Skier
Joined
Nov 12, 2015
Posts
16,329
Location
The Bull City
Heli coils in the same holes?
 

LuliTheYounger

I'm just here to bother my mom
Skier
Joined
Sep 1, 2017
Posts
447
Location
SLC
Can't find an official source for the life of me, but I believe most shops are willing to patch & re-drill XC skis more than they will with downhill skis. The forces on the bindings are lower, and the consequences of one blowing out are less physically dangerous for XC skiers. I would double check with whichever shop they're planning to use to verify, though.
 

skinavy

Booting up
Skier
Joined
Nov 24, 2015
Posts
45
I re-drilled my BC65s to change from touring to BC bindings, no issue. Drill them plumb (vertical) and fill in the old holes with epoxy.
 

Scruffy

Making fresh tracks
Skier
SkiTalk Supporter
Joined
Nov 16, 2015
Posts
2,429
Location
Upstate NY
Shouldn't be an issue. If the ski has a wood core, use a wooden dowel and some epoxy in the old holes.
 

Primoz

Skiing the powder
Skier
Joined
Nov 8, 2016
Posts
2,483
Location
Slovenia, Europe
It depends on skis and how they were originally mounted. Top end skis have paper honeycomb for core, and in old days (nowadays they all come with binding rails attached in factory), you used epoxy glue to "glue" screws into that paper honeycomb (with alpine glue is there to seal core from water, but with xc it actually helped keep screws there). Then it depends if screws went out fine or they sticked to glue and tear some honeycomb. But in general you should be fine regarding this, but thing is, you have not much space to play. XC skis need to be mounted on particular spot, which makes it pretty much impossible to move bindings forward or backward, which also means you will have holes without 0.5cm if old and new binding holes don't match.
 

Scruffy

Making fresh tracks
Skier
SkiTalk Supporter
Joined
Nov 16, 2015
Posts
2,429
Location
Upstate NY
It depends on skis and how they were originally mounted. Top end skis have paper honeycomb for core, and in old days (nowadays they all come with binding rails attached in factory), you used epoxy glue to "glue" screws into that paper honeycomb (with alpine glue is there to seal core from water, but with xc it actually helped keep screws there). Then it depends if screws went out fine or they sticked to glue and tear some honeycomb. But in general you should be fine regarding this, but thing is, you have not much space to play. XC skis need to be mounted on particular spot, which makes it pretty much impossible to move bindings forward or backward, which also means you will have holes without 0.5cm if old and new binding holes don't match.
Exactly.
 

Sponsor

Staff online

Top