Catek FR2 performance on big mountains and especially cliff drops

[flowboarder]

Are there any FR2 owners out there who can tell me how the bindings performed while bombing big mountains and especially on cliff drops?
I was riding mine in Colorado this year and I had a whole series of problems which started first with toe strap breaking, heel cup bending and finally the heelcup joint snapping away from the base plate after a moderate cliff drop landing. It was scary.
The people at Catek were awesome and they adressed my problems promptly. However, I was wondering about the general experience people had while riding big mountains with these bindings.

[Matty F.]

I too have had numerous problems with the FR2's. This is my first year on a soft set up and love the performance of them..when they work. The Catek people have been great with sending me parts. but I've bent bolts which mount from the toe piece to the base plate. Lost numerous screws...and have broken all 4 of the heel cup joints. the latest one was the weekend quite scary having your back foot all of a sudden rip out of binding breaking both joints at the same time. I'm an aggressive rider, don't ride the park much but will catch air/cliffs when it is soft. On a good day I may weigh 165. Couldn't imagine what it would be like for someone 200lbs plus. I'm at the point now that I feel more confident on my Burton race plates than on the FR2's. I hope Catek upgrades their hardware like they said they would soon.

[swt]

We have had a number of riders experience problems with the heel cup mounting blocks and loosening hardware with their FR2s. We sent hardware upgrade kits -- including a complement of longer, stronger and custom threadlock patched hardware, plus high torque wrenches -- out to all FR2 riders mid-season, and our tests of the upgrade hardware have shown that the related issues are resolved. If there are any FR2 riders who didn't receive the upgrade, please contact CATEK customer service via the "Help Zone" link at www.catek.com.

As for the heel cup mounting blocks, we simply underestimated how aggressively some of you guys are riding these days. We know that breaking equipment is no fun. Worrying about breaking equipment is no fun either. So...we have already designed a new mounting block. We've done extensive Finite Element Analysis and other software testing, and we have been conducting on-snow testing of the new design on both coasts. The new part is substantially redesigned and an order of magnitude stronger. We redesigned the part with the singular goal of increasing strength.

We've had tons of great feedback on the ride and performance of the FR2s, and we're determined to iron out the mounting block design so that even the biggest, baddest, most aggressive carvers and cliff-droppers out there can focus on the ride.

The fact of the matter is that in an attempt to squeak out every bit of FR2 performance we pushed the design envelope a bit too much while underestimating how aggressively some of you ride. So the newly designed part is more conservative and adds material back in where needed to optimize strength. To date, on-snow testing has gone well; once this testing, along with parts inspections, is concluded we will be building a run of replacement FR2 heel cup mounting blocks. These will be shipped to every FR2 rider so that your FR2s can start next season with a burly new set of blocks.

If you have any questions/concerns, again, feel free to contact us via the CATEK website.

Cheers,
Scott @ CATEK

[bobdea]

I never saw any new hardware!
could I get some????

[swt]

I never saw any new hardware!
could I get some????

Bob:

Send us the address (via email) where you're hanging out in the great West, and we'll get a care package headed your way ASAP.

Scott

[refried]

I've been riding the updated hardware and Heelcup mounting blocks for the last few weeks and it is a big improvement over the original version. No more broken blocks or bent heelcups, and the new blocks seem to stiffen up the binding. I'm putting Loctite on everything, and have nuts on the inside locking the heelcup blocks in place. I'm thinking of adding a second bolt to the blocks because I do have some wear on the sides of the plates from the original blocks moving. I'm real happy with them and Scott has been great sending out new parts whenever I needed them. I'll be buying another set for next season, and I'm working on a way to use on my splitboards. I'm over 200 lbs, and ride at Baker several times a week, so I'm giving then a good test.

[D-Sub]

NICE job, catek. admitting a mistake and covering it. respect.

I love how these companies operate. bomber, catek...you guys are impressive!

[D.T.]

NICE job, catek. admitting a mistake and covering it. respect.
x2!!!!!

[lonerider]

x2!!!!!
x3.!.!.!

[Rob Stevens]

How tall is the highback on your binders?
Is it as tall, or taller than the Burton Skybacks?
I was dissappointed to find that the C60 highback is an inch shorter than the one found on the Co2 (skyback), but that one is too soft for me.
Still on my 03 C16's and a nice Bent Metal, but looking for a change.

[Bordy]

How tall is the highback on your binders?
Is it as tall, or taller than the Burton Skybacks?
I was dissappointed to find that the C60 highback is an inch shorter than the one found on the Co2 (skyback), but that one is too soft for me.
Still on my 03 C16's and a nice Bent Metal, but looking for a change.

Sound like a better set up then Catek freeride...

Just my opinion. I cant shake the burton binders for Cateks either I have tried but just cant!!

The Catek is just to much for me even at 165lbs.

[flowboarder]

NICE job, catek. admitting a mistake and covering it. respect.

I love how these companies operate. bomber, catek...you guys are impressive!

True! people at Catek are awesome. Catek FR2 is a lot my Apple Intel Mac laptop. I went through a whole series of upgrades and changes before it worked flawlessly.
The same is true with Catek FR2 binding. I think these bindings are in the process of evolution so it's not surprising that they are not perfect from get go.
I am heli bording this summer at Valle Nevado (Chile). It should be a good test for the durability of my upgraded FR2s.
I hope to report back some good news and pic to the people at Catek from this trip

[bobdea]

yup, both companies have always done me right

[lonerider]

Sound like a better set up then Catek freeride...

Just my opinion. I cant shake the burton binders for Cateks either. I have tried but just cant!!

The Catek is just to much for me even at 165lbs.And no one carves harder than Bordy! I figured I was just too small too at 5'9' 150 lbs since most people who rave about them seem to be on the hefty side (except Ken L who sports them on his Khyber). Nevertheless, the FR2 are a work of art.

Personally, I don't mind the lower highbacks on my C60s (I did notice that they were pretty short), because I use them for freestyle. For my freeride setup, I use a pair of Nideckers and I have a set of Bent Metals as well.