@Mobutusan asked in another thread if we’re planning anything in this area.
I can understand the attraction, but it’s not an area for which I have anything new planned in the near future. You never know though… If enough people want something then we listen. But for us the demand would need to be in the thousands not hundreds.
We did something like this back in the day - circa 2002 on a kids board called the Ambush Scout.
No good pics on hand unfortunately…
As far as design input goes it seems like what you’re planning here is basically right. The challenge I found was finding the right balance between functionality and comfort.
If you just want a bit of extra “security” then I’d focus on something small closer to the toe edge of the board like a glorified foot stopper so it doesn’t hurt the top of your foot when your heel lifts a little when you do a toe side turn.
If you want to actually get your board off the ground you need to come up close to the ankle (centerline of board), but it can be quite uncomfortable there due to the rigidity required from the design, so lots of padding is key in my opinion (ergonmics can’t do it all). Just do a bunch of 3D printed protos because the balance between comfort and functionality is much easier to feel than envision.
Of course I’d like to see more people make the jump up to actual bindings like the F5. Apart from the obvious objective to sell more , I feel they allow you to take your riding to the next level (even on-road). You can jump up and down curbs and they prevent you from getting thrown inadvertently (rock or braking mishap). I can certainly understand how they freak out non-mountainboarders though. For anyone in the habit of jumping off boards in motion bindings are just a bad idea in general.
No not while riding, they keep your feet locked nicely and comfy. I haven’t used the F5 without heel straps so far but in general the problem is more when falling. Almost everytime only one foot got released and bad injuries could happen. On a street/urban build I would use bindings only and avoid falling .
I use heel straps on MTB where I want more control for jumping and extreme leans. Furthermore I often fall with the MTB because of mad riding. I like to have my feet 100% locked so I feel safer (but falling sucks).
For my Urban Carver I still can’t decide if I shall use bindings.
Without bindings you can stand on the deck wherever you want or the stance you like dependent on speed. With bindings it looks bulkier but you can e.g. lift the front for sidewalks or jump up/down. Also it’s perfect for carrying. Especially with pneumatics it keeps you on the deck on changing terrains or bumps/cracks/holes instead of the famous flying superman. But without bindings it’s easy to bail.
their mold has ‘gas pedals’ (where you place your foot is flatter with heel-side concave)
I think the ultimate answer on a cambered deck (e.g., not for Coleman slides) is a hybrid we haven’t seen yet - a full binding up-front, S2-type in the back, which would allow me to still hop over stuff, jump to rotate, etc. and still allow me to bring my feet together quickly if/when I bail.
Another design criteria I just thought of. Whatever the shape of the part going over teh foot is, it needs to be designed in a way whereby a shoelace knot would not get caught in a fall/dismount, basically curl it up at either side so a knot would not get leveraged between the shoe and the mount
I modeled up a prototype to try and print myself. I think moving towards a vertical bolt and spring for a more continuous adjustment could be awesome though. Similar in adjustment speed and ease to a ratcheting system on snowboards and mountainboards.
I’ve spend short time refining the design. For now it seems like 8mm vertical adjustment resolution is looking good with 5M bolts, 4 stops.
Weight (for one unit) less than 200gr (with 100% infill)
The aluminum plate is “hobby grade” CNC friendly, can be made with 3axis machine.
Preliminary analysis shows very low stresses, will refine it in the near future.
I have the carbon tubes available, will print it soon.
Alright, here it is. Basically, it uses a rubber grommet that gets clamped by the bolt and expands to grip onto the hook. This kind of design would be VERY secure if you actually tighten it. It also allows for infinite variability to tune it exactly where you want it to be.
I also used a 1/8th inch plate for the base plate (considering 3/16ths, may be necessary) as this can be easily laser cut very cheaply.
It uses these parts from mcmaster:
The BOM is very cheap for this. I’m guessing if someone wanted to make a bunch of these (and use up all 100 bolts that come in the box) it’d cost around 15-20 USD each. (wild guess)
The only two custom parts would be the hook (3d printed) and the baseplate (lasered)
I’m also 100% confident in those 1/2 inch thick standoffs.
Total aluminum mass: 60g
Total steel mass: 11.5g
Plus whatever’s 3d printed and the two grommets.
For the 3d print I would recommend this:
THICCC shell layers, like 5mm thick. On top and bottom layers too.
Low infil, like 50%. But in a 3d honeycomb (good for all stress directions, see simplify3d for slicer)
I put in literally 0 effort into the actual hook, so someone who actually wants to make this can cad it and post here.
This is mostly an idea, but it’d definitely work, I’ve used systems like this before. I’ll let you guys take it from here.
And cmon @banjaxxed , you thought this’d take me a day to source parts? I’m a pro
, I feel they allow you to take your riding to the next level (even on-road). You can jump up and down curbs and they prevent you from getting thrown inadvertently (rock or braking mishap). I can certainly understand how they freak out non-mountainboarders though. For anyone in the habit of jumping off boards in motion bindings are just a bad idea in general.
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How are the standoffs attached to the baseplate? Would they need to be welded?