How to Set-Up Your TD2's
by Jack Michaud

Before you can mount your TD2's, you must understand its new features. There are two main differences between the first generation Bomber Trench Digger and the Trench Digger 2. First, the cant/lift disc is now rotatable relative to the board, in 5 degree increments. This means you can mix and match the angle of the cant/lift disc with the angle of the baseplate to achieve various combinations of lift and cant. You can set the bindings up for all lift and no cant, or all cant and no lift, or many combinations in between. By "lift" we mean heel lift or toe lift, not vertical lift. "Cant" is side-to-side lateral tilting.

Second, the TD2 implements a dampening system far more advanced and effective than the bumpers on the TD1. The cant/lift disc "floats" on an elastomer ring that is sandwiched between the board and the cant/lift disc. The center disc holds the cant/lift disc down against the e-ring. This compression preloads the e-ring slightly. The cant/lift disc is free to pitch and roll by a small amount, and in a controlled manner. Three e-ring hardnesses are available. The "hard" (red) e-ring provides a rigid feel similar to the traditional TD. The "medium" (purple) and "soft" (yellow) e-rings provide increasing amounts of give and vibration dampening.

Mounting the TD2
Step 1: Mate the elastomer ring to the cant/lift disc

Make sure all tabs are completely inserted, and that the lip of the e-ring is not folded under the disc anywhere.

Step 2: Decide how much lift and cant you want.

If you were comfortable with the blend of canting and lifting that was provided by the TD1, or any cant device that sloped only along the long axis of the board, set the cant/lift disc to 90. Align the dot or notch drilled into the cant/lift disc with the degree marking on the center disc. If you want to use pure heel lift or toe lift with no cant, align the cant/lift disc with your binding angle, or as close as you can get it. Since the cant/lift disc is rotatable in 5 degree increments, the angle of the cant/lift disc will be no greater than 2.5 degrees away from your binding angle. This will result in an insignificant amount of canting.

If you want to experiment with different blends of cant and lift, you can adjust the angle of the cant/lift disc to be different than your binding angle. For example, say you use a binding angle of 60, and you initially aligned your cant/lift disc at 90. If you think you want to try "a little less cant", you can simply rotate the cant/lift disc towards 60, 5 degrees at a time (clockwise for a regular-foot rider). Or if you want to use pure lift, set the cant/lift disc at 60.

This system makes it easy to experiment, and easy to reproduce a particular setup, because all settings are quantifiable simply by reading them off the center disc. You only have to remember two numbers for each foot: your binding angle, and your cant/lift disc angle. To find out exactly how many degrees of lift and cant you are using, there is a matrix of combinations here: TD2 Matrix.

Step 3: Mount the e-ring, cant/lift disc, and center disc to the board

Choose one of the three stance width options provided by the center disc, and mount the assembly to the board. Hand tighten only.

Step 4: Mount the baseplate to the cant/lift disc

Choose your binding angle by reading it through the window in the baseplate. It helps to grease the heads of the bolts to prevent false torque. The large surface area of the bolt heads can create friction against the baseplate slots that makes you think the bolts are tight when they may not be. If you grease the heads, you'll be sure that what you are feeling is the torque from the threads, not the heads.

For detailed instructions on the rest of the process of setting up your bindings, including choosing stance width, stance position, binding angle, and boot sizing, see this article:
How to Set Up Your Plate Bindings