Replacing a shackle in a ski boot. Butfitting
What does boot sole repair have to do with construction? The most immediate thing is that you can’t build much barefoot. Therefore, work shoes can safely be called a tool that sometimes needs to be repaired. Quite often, worn-out shoes end up in the trash bin, although they can still serve as work shoes. After all, it’s not so important to her appearance, the main thing is that it is comfortable and warm.
After a couple of seasons of intensive use, the soles of the winter fur boots became slightly wrinkled, and walking in them for a long time became slightly uncomfortable. Throw away a pretty strong pair leather shoes For some reason my hand didn’t rise. Having cast aside my last doubts, I boldly tore the cardboard insoles out of my shoes, especially since they were glued only along their perimeter.
In most modern shoes, the soles in the inner part have the form of vertical cells formed by thin cast partitions that serve for shock absorption when walking. Over time, the walls of the cells become wrinkled due to the load, and the heel and toe collapse, which causes discomfort during movement.
There are three ways out of this situation:
- Thank your old boots for their faithful service and buy a new pair.
- Take your boots to a repair shop for complete replacement soles
- Repair the soles yourself using straight hands and simple tools.
This is not the first time I have chosen the third option. An hour of work and in your hands almost new shoes, tailored to individual characteristics and needs. To restore the soles you will need a simple tool (knife and scissors) and old slippers. I don’t know what they are called correctly, but I think everyone has them - summer ones made of porous material, either rubber, or polyurethane foam.
I tried to use different materials, but the best effect is given by slates - after all, they are precisely designed to bear the load from the heels during long walking. Microporous rubber is a bit harsh; travel mats, on the contrary, are too soft and wrinkle quickly.
Using a knife from old slippers, I cut out cubes (sometimes straight parallelepipeds) a little larger size cells and simply insert them into the cells using friction. Their upper edges form the inner surface of the sole, which can be formed taking into account individual preferences (like an orthopedic insole).
In the front part of the sole, the manufacturer of these boots depicted the sea in the form of wavy lines - well, it’s beautiful, but you can’t insert the cubes. Therefore, I simply cut off a flat piece of paper from an old sneaker and cut out a part from it designed to eliminate the deflection of the insole under the toe joints. I glued this plate to the insole using ordinary double-sided tape- it holds the shear perfectly, and it’s unlikely that anyone will tear it off.
Disassembling a ski boot
For what? To understand how it works, what it consists of and, most importantly, how individuality can be given to boots. As an example, let's look at a shoe with a classic layout.
1
This one, for example (photo 1). Models can differ quite greatly from each other. Have plastic of different quality, have necessary, and more often useless bells and whistles. For example, the walking-skating mode, the toggle switch for adjusting the stiffness and other things that, by the way, do not improve the performance of the boot at all, but increase its visual appeal and cost. But that’s not about that now.
Let's start disassembling. The reverse process, as everyone knows, is sometimes a difficult task. So let me take it apart and you take a look.
Completely unfasten the clips and release the strap (Velcro strap). We remove the liner (inner boot; liner).
One of the extraction options is shown here. We make a careful movement with our left hand towards ourselves, and with our right away from ourselves. We make sure that the heel of the liner is not damaged by catching on anything. And, as a rule, there is something to cling to.
The interior was removed unharmed. It can be with or without lacing; thermoformable or not; with a fur edge and, at first glance, very simple. One way or another, the task of the liner is to fill the space between the leg and the plastic shell. Not always, but you can find an insole in it (picture 5). It is this insole that is sometimes replaced with an individual one.
The set of boots may include thin (up to 1 mm) liners cut around the perimeter of the standard insole. They propose to regulate the fullness of the shoe by constructing a kind of layer cake from the insoles. By itself, in my opinion, good option achieve the desired fixation of the foot. True, it is applicable only within reasonable limits and not in all cases. If you need to add fullness, the layers are removed, right down to the standard insole. And they ride without it at all.
Photo 6 shows a baking liner with a “smell” (emphasis on the second syllable) instead of a tongue. There are baked inners with a tongue. These liners do not fit the legs themselves. They should be “baked”, heated to the required temperature.
There are also filler liners. The idea here is simple. A liquid foam composition, somewhat similar to a construction compound (such as Macroflex), is poured into the inner lining through special tubes. After polymerization, an inner boot is obtained that closely follows the contours of the ankle.
All of these options are good in their own way. But they have both pros and cons. Unfortunately, there is no panacea. Not in this case. The main thing is that the liner, together with the insole, as a structural element, can give the boot a certain individuality. In addition, the inner boot can be replaced with a non-standard one. Sometimes this makes some sense. However, if the entire leg, or its “prominent” places, seeks to “push the boundaries” of the plastic shell, it is better not to expect miracles from the liner.
Warmth and comfort - the lining is soft and plump. Correct (without distortion) transmission of movement to the ski - the liner is thin (sometimes like a rag) or hard (like a jellied one). Boot comfort and performance have been in conflict for many years. Unfortunately, this often happens in alpine skiing.
Go ahead. Consider the boot's plastic shell, or plastic in short.
IN classic version layout, the plastic shell consists of two parts. Let’s conditionally call the upper part “boot”, let the lower part be “galosh”. If you make boots to order, the boot can be stacked. In some models, plastic has design intricacies that do not change the essence.
The top and bottom of the boot are connected to each other by a pair of hinges (arrow in photo 9). The hinge joint can be equipped with an eccentric designed to adjust the lateral inclination of the boot (canting). Photo 10.
The node looks like this.
Or so. There are other options. There are also bots without any options for adjusting canting at all. For example, models entry level. On some sports boots, oddly enough, the canting adjustment unit is also missing. In sports, these problems are especially relevant, but are solved by other methods. Setting up canting, or wheel alignment, is a separate topic. We'll talk about this later.
There are several adjustment options for tilting the boot in the frontal direction.
This wedge, installed between the galoshes and the boot, is one of them (photo 15). If the boot model allows for such adjustment, then wedges are included in the delivery package.
The kit may also include other elements that operate on the wedge principle.
In photo 16 we see a wedge that can be used to enhance the coverage of the calf at the top of the boot. Usually he is already standing in place. Take it off or leave it on, decide for yourself. The part is called the rear spoiler. There is, as an option, the front one, but it is used very rarely. Bots are usually not equipped with them.
Photo 17 shows the heel wedge (thrust). If desired, a heel support is installed under the liner in order to increase the degree of heel fixation. Both of these wedges can be used to fine-tune the skier-boot-ski system, which is relevant in speed disciplines. They also have a chance to unbalance the skier. Therefore, you should use wedges carefully.
Let's look inside the plastic.
In the depths (photo 18) we see another insole. I call it the main one, or “base”. And not by chance. In my opinion, the base should be located tightly, firmly and without backlash in the plastic shell. Why? More on this later.
With the arrow (on the left) I indicated a strange molded collar, which often digs into the corresponding bone on the outer part of the foot. The purpose of this element is not clear to me. It's not difficult to remove. Which is what I usually do right away. I want to give this advice. Before turning to a bootfitter for help, carefully inspect the plastic of your bot for the quality of the casting, pay attention to the connecting bolts and rivets. They may well take up more space than required. Check that the main insoles are not reversed. Unfortunately, for unknown reasons, this happens. And even in new shoes.
In photo 19 the dotted line is clearly visible. If you cut the plastic of the galosh along it, the boot will eventually become softer. If after “cutting” a spacer is inserted into the resulting cut (indicated by the arrow), then the boot can be partially restored to its original rigidity. If the spacer is made movable (with the ability to move fixedly along the cut), then the rigidity of the bot can be adjusted. I in no way encourage such actions. This is just an illustration on the topic “ABOUT DOPAS”. In the same photo, you can see the mortgages just below. This is where the heel of the liner tends to catch during disassembly of the boot. These mortgages are the counterpart of quite correct bolts,
which are visible in this photo. Such a system blocks the operation of the hinges, forcing only the plastic shell to work on deflection. If I needed to increase the stiffness of this particular bot, I would put an additional pair of joints here. (Photo below).
Of course, with such a design the main condition successful work The system turns out to be quality plastic. It is for this reason that the stiffness of boots is adjusted in this manner only on upper models, including sports ones.
Now let's get back to the base (the main insole). Each boot has its own base. Even in the case when it is not there, in the sense it is not pulled out of the shell. It will be better if the base can be removed and worked with.
Approximately as shown in photos 22, 23. The point is that the leg can be set to the required level either by building up the base, or vice versa, by cutting it down. This “adjustment” provides additional opportunity play with the fullness of the boots, and more. It is clear that the one-piece construction of the rigid foam base (photo 24, 25),
at least for filing it will be preferable. For freeride and jumping disciplines, the base is made of relatively soft foam or with a soft pad. Photo 26 shows a soft base. In any case, under your foot you want to feel exactly the BASIS, and not an element that has some mobility in space. Otherwise, what is the point, for example, in stabilizing a custom insole? Of course, if there is a need for the latter. It must be said that a custom insole is a very precise product. Therefore, its placement on a base without deformations or distortions (photo 27) makes a certain sense.
There is nothing else of interest inside the plastic shell. We will perform an “external examination” of the patient.
We may be interested in information about the boot. As a rule, the hardness index is indicated on the plastic. This very index is a pure convention, and rather speaks about the declared level of the bot, rather than about its real toughness. In practice, boots with one index, but different models, manufacturers will not seem equally tough if you hang on the tongues.
There is other information on the bot block. Usually on the heel (photo 28).
275 mm is the length of the boot last. This value is important when installing fasteners. Sometimes it is confused with foot length, which should not be done. There will be confusion and the crepes will be placed incorrectly. To avoid misunderstandings, it is better to come to the installation with specific boots.
23/23.5 - bot size. This is the length of the foot in centimeters. Galoshes are cast in 1 cm increments (size). The halves in amateur boots are selected by the filling of the inner boot. In sports bots there are no halves at all, which often creates additional difficulties during selection and subsequent refinement. The boot in both cases can be molded for several sizes at once.
Important elements of the boot are the clips. Together with the combs, they are responsible for the degree of tightening of the bot. They are counted from bottom to top. Those. the top pair will be the fourth (in our version). How many should there be? Two, three, four, or five? The main thing is that you are not alone. If the legs are not problematic, it doesn’t matter how many. If there are problems, then four- or five-clip bots are preferable. In case of their subsequent development.
All the clips on our boot are metal, “micro-adjustable”. The second clip can be placed in as many as three positions. This is good. There are options for rearranging the third and fourth combs. Also good. On simpler models, an upper comb with a quick adjustment function is sometimes installed.
Photo 29 shows only a few options for clips. I pointed with arrows to “undesirables”. They don't have a micro-adjustment feature, which is bad. Yes, and plastic is not best material in clip making. Metal ones will last longer. If the clip breaks, it can be replaced, even with a similar one. The same as the comb. It is enough to address this question to the right place. If, as usual, trouble happens at the wrong time, you can use high-quality adhesive tape as a “reserve”. It’s tedious, of course, to wind it for every ride, but... it’s an option.
If we continue the topic of repairs, it is worth touching on other elements of the boots.
This Velcro strap is called a “strap”, sometimes a “booster”. Although Booster is structurally different from the strap.
The photo below shows exactly what it is. By the way, the booster here is installed in reverse. This makes it easier for the owner to get to the crocodile.
The edge of the front spoiler is clearly visible in the photographs. It was discussed above.
Meanwhile, the functions of the booster and strap are similar. The element can be replaced, even if it is not original. If necessary, the strap can be extended.
Photo 34 shows in which cases, or repair it by replacing the Velcro. Unfortunately, it is not durable.
I don’t even know what to call this part of the structure (photo 35, 36). Either a “sole” or a “heel”. This means that it must be replaced if worn out, similar to civilian shoes. But that's not true. These items are not included in the package as spare parts. They are not supplied separately for service. It is impossible to find an analogue, since the part is particularly original. Why? Think for yourself. Those who like to wander in boots on bare asphalt and conquer rocky outcrops are especially worth considering.
The sole of the shoe (last) can be without frills. On some top ones and all sports models a “solid” block is used. For all its simplicity, it is this that allows you to feel complete control over your skis, as it is resistant to deformation under maximum loads. And not only for this reason.
The block may look like this. The photo clearly shows the “holes” that are needed when installing additional lifting plates (lifters).
Or so. Here are the holes for the screws that will actually attach the plates.
A solid-cast last, complete with lifters, unlike a regular, hollow one (photo 41), makes it possible to fine-tune the wheel alignment of sports boots.
After installing the lifting plates, the welts are calibrated with a milling cutter. As shown in photo 42. We will discuss the topic of wheel alignment settings in more detail separately, in next material. Now it is important to understand what we are talking about when we talk about boots designed for milling. And what is actually milled there.
Well, that's probably all. Reassemble the boot in reverse order. I hope it turned out interesting, perhaps even educational.
Don't criticize too much for the quality of the photographic material. I'm a beginner photographer, just like a writer.
Alexander Vasilevsky
Skiers will understand me well. Especially those who have encountered this at least once. And if you haven’t encountered it yet, then sooner or later you will definitely encounter it.
Salomon ski boots
So you buy Salomon (or similar) ski boots with Pilot bindings. Not those in which pensioners ride in the park, but those in which you can show good results on a prepared track. You purchase the appropriate mounts for them and install them on your skis. This whole structure costs a lot - anyone who rides will understand what I mean. And after a very short time of riding - several seasons - a problem occurs with them. Namely, the lightning breaks. It must be said that the design of the boots and the way the zipper is installed is radically different from ordinary boots. In boots everything is simple - pull out the broken zipper and sew another one. This is done in any shoe workshop. With Salomon it is a completely different story - the complex high-tech design of the boot is designed to be used for setting records, and not for replacing zippers.
In short, when this happened to the boots,
The first thought is that you need to go and buy new ones, it’s unlikely that anything can be done here.
Nearest sports stores
Immediately after skiing, we went to the nearest sports stores. The most surprising thing is that at the beginning of the season, both Decathlon and Sportmaster had only one model of Salomon running shoes on sale: Decathlon sold only one size, while Sportmaster had any sizes, but the boots cost about 14 thousand rubles, which It’s a lot even for the beginning of the season if you don’t plan to set any records.
Fischer and other brands are not suitable due to inappropriate fastening. Apparently, these stores haven’t even heard of it.
What's being discussed on ski forums
What to do? As usual in such cases, you need to turn to the Internet. It turned out that this topic is quite popular on the skiers’ forum and is discussed every year. It needs to be repaired, this is quite possible. Some forum participants found good specialists in their areas - in ordinary shoe repair shops.
Need to try. In the first workshop they immediately refused to take the boots, they said, come when the master is there, talk to him, we can’t accept such an order without him. But in the second, after carefully examining and assessing the scale of the disaster, the master suggested an option on how to insert a new zipper without affecting the rigid structures of the boot.
In short, either the master was afraid that I was photographing the shoe in his presence, or he was just a super-master, but after two days Salomon looked like new!
The master handled the rigid structure of the boot very delicately.
For what price? 450 rub! If anyone is interested, write and I will tell you the address of the workshop.
There is only one conclusion - always look for options, and don’t rush to do what first comes to mind!
This is, of course, not a hookah from a bicycle pump, but my enlightenment is getting closer and closer, and therefore here is another concept of masturbation. The idea was born last year: summer carbon shoes from Lake were so summery that already at +1 the feet in them quickly gave way, regardless of the pace of twisting. A visit to the stores led to disappointing conclusions: warm shoes started at about eight thousand.
Drop eight grand for something you'll use 10-15 times a year. best case scenario- this is too much for an aviation engineer. But there are a lot of ways out even if you are eaten. The first is not to ride in winter. The solution is bad, because if there is no ice and snow, then why not train in a deserted frozen park? The second is to ride in regular boots. But after contact pedals it is very sad and uninteresting. There are still a lot of options for the illegal extraction of goodies, but we will leave them aside as law-abiding citizens.
I chose, as Monty Python said, something completely different. At home there were wonderful Fila M90 skates with a collapsed boot (the mounting points of the frame had fallen out). The bottom of the boots was carbon fiber and all that was left to think about was how to attach the spikes to it.
The spikes are usually screwed to special steel platforms laid with inside shoe. Finding these platforms turned out to be a non-trivial task, and yet in one of the stalls in Sokolniki they were found for either 200 or 300 rubles - I don’t remember. Work was in full swing. All references to the mounting pads were cut off on the rollers - the sole became even. The holes were filled with Poxypol. 4 holes were drilled for the mounting platforms, the platforms were inserted, and the tenons were screwed on.
(now the spikes have been removed - only the holes for them remain)
It was still glued to the bottom thick layer insulation so as not to stomp on the floor with spikes. In general, it’s -12 outside - it’s time to break it in. I'm leaving. I feel like a king! Warm! To the park on the embankment. The training has started, I’m in the mode, I’m rocking. Half an hour is a normal flight. But at the 45th minute, SUDDENLY my feet became VERY cold... And somehow all at once. U-turn, home, feet under hot water....
The debriefing showed that it was necessary to seal the ventilation (you don’t have to be a cap here, but since I wanted to test it as soon as possible, I went without sealing it).
A worse problem arose: the top buckle periodically clung to the bicycle frame and threatened to scratch it. The buckle has been removed, all that remains is to replace it with a thin strap. And then it snowed! Everything turned out to be unnecessary.
Ski-ski-ski!
And for skis I have two pairs of boots - the old Rossi X-3 and the new X-9. The old ones were torn apart in some places, destroyed in some places (the café's firmware was damaged) - in general, they were used only to take someone skiing. I tried to ride in them - in addition, it turned out (after the new bots) that the hardware was worn off and they were quite loose. Riding them is generally not a joy. It’s a pity to throw them away - after all, they were good, they didn’t even get wet during the marathon on a wet reservoir, they were warm... In general, they were lying there with an eye to alteration.
And here is a new cold autumn. The Ros are standing, waiting for a new life.
A quick analysis showed two modification options: fill the sole with epoxy and screw spikes to the resulting thick sole, or cut out part of the sole to install the spikes deeper. The second option was chosen. The sole was chewed out by an electric sharpener.
In the photo on the left is a boot with a sawn-out sole, on the right it’s still intact
It turned out that the sole of a ski boot consists of different materials and that it was sawed almost to holes. But this is bullshit. After the sole there is a heat-insulating insole (not to be confused with the usual removable insole, which comes next) - it is hard, thick (about 5mm) and tightly attached to the boot. But don’t screw the spikes onto the stubs of the sole...
There were two options: tear off a carbon fiber thread somewhere and screw it to the carbon, or make aluminum platforms and screw it to them. Sheet aluminum was at hand, which determined the development of the process. A plate was cut out of winged metal (with an ordinary hacksaw), and holes were drilled in it for spikes and for additional fastening in the nose.
The whole thing was screwed together and tested by the brave foot of the designer-your-tester. Everything was fastened and unfastened; the metal platforms were not felt after installing the insoles.
All that remained was to make the second bot and glue the plates to the soles with some kind of heat-insulating glue.
Friends advised me to mix Moment (on polyurethane) with rubber sawdust - the result should be a mixture with good adhesion and poor thermal conductivity (since a considerable amount of air was also mixed with the rubber powder - an excellent thermal insulator.
Rubber filings were obtained by sawing out the sole of an old sneaker using the same sharpener. In the process, the sharpener died for a long time (I think the brushes are already 15 years old without repair) and the missing rubber dust was taken from polyurethane dust left over from sharpening rollerblade wheels. It's good to not have to scrub everything clean sometimes =). On this moment the boots look like this and are waiting to be tested.
It was not possible to hide the spike deeper than the plane of the sole - increasing the sole is already next stage. It may not be necessary. In general, I accept orders to convert your ski boots into cycling shoes. A reverse transformation is not planned yet =).
I switched to NNN system bindings and boots not long ago; I’ve only been riding in them for the second season. I switched because of weak Salomon SNS bindings, which, if broken, can sooner or later lead to the breakdown of expensive cross-country skis. I also switched due to the limited choice of shoes for SNS and my own laziness; many modern top-end cross-country skis have an integrated NIS platform for NNN bindings with the possibility of manual adjustment and without the need to drill unnecessary and extremely undesirable holes in the ski. However, NNN seems to have another ambush lurking. Not in the bindings, but in the boots - extremely weak soles. Which can unexpectedly burst even for a top couple after just a few trips with the Dmitriev Group. :-(
Client #1 - Rossignol X3. I bought it at Trial-Sport for almost 8 thousand rubles. Died after only six one-day hikes with the Group. Fortunately, there was no leaving the route, and the boot, thanks to an improvised bandage with an adhesive plaster, withstood another 45 km.
Client #2 - Fisher XC Control. I bought it at Juventa to replace the above-mentioned Rossignols for 6 thousand rubles. I couldn’t find anything cheaper than acceptable quality and convenience. Lasted less than one season or 12 trips with the main engine (including last year’s Hundred). A timely inspection allowed me to avoid breakdowns and breakdowns during the hundredth mileage that took place on Monday.
Client No. 3 - cheap Chinese Nordway Tromse from Sportmaster - for a new one? :-)
It can be seen that the crack forms in the same dangerous section - at the junction of the toe with the main sole. Not a single shoe repair shop even tries to repair “Fisher”: shoemakers only “heal” broken rubber soles, but here they are hard plastic. It would be a shame to throw it away (the crack is just beginning). Maybe it’s still possible to somehow save it in some advanced workshop?
For comparison, the old “Salomons” of 2011, which went through fire and water, two hundred and many trips to the State Duma along gullies, as well as numerous walks on the city asphalt from home to train stations and back.
They did whatever they could with them - they put a patch on the bend of the foot, cut off the plastic retainer, stitched all the seams. The sole and axles were heavily ground down on the asphalt, but the sole itself is simply indestructible. :-) It is completely monolithic, without a toe joint with an increased stress concentration, like NNN, and without sudden changes in thickness.
Or even more ancient Spine Advance boots from 2008, which have served continuously for 4 seasons and still serve at the opening/closing of the season. Also with an indestructible sole.
So think about what is better - to go back to the immortal SNS boots, but with weak fastenings, or to buy NNN-Chinese shoes every year in Sportmaster, as in the famous advertisement “if you don’t see the difference, why pay more”?
Maybe experienced skiers know how to get around this NNN disease? :-) That is, choose inexpensive boots, but with more reliable soles. I would be glad if anyone could share whose NNNs have worked well for several seasons of intense skiing.