Catek OS2 for EC?

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MarkN
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Catek OS2 for EC?

Post by MarkN » Thursday 15 December 2005, 11:28

Any opinions on Catek OS2 (non-step-in version) for EC? As with the Catek World Cups and OS, there does not seem to be much change in terms of the dampening ring (unlike the suspension rings on TD2). Know this is an age-old discussion Catek vs TD, but wondered whether the OS2 changed anyone's thinking.

Cheers,
Mark
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nils
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mark

Post by nils » Thursday 15 December 2005, 12:47

we are using catek toe levelers on our TD2 to reduce boot overhang, but we still have to try the OS 1 or 2.
We haven't yet got a hand on one... so sorry but we cannot really say the pros and cons.... The intelligent cant / lift system is of no use for us, but the bindings seems pretty nice... We'll see if we can get a pair this season!

Nils

Jeff Caron
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CATEK OS2 Info

Post by Jeff Caron » Friday 16 December 2005, 6:02

Hi Nils & Mark,

I hope the levers are performing well.

I noticed this thread so I thought I would explain some of the new features of the OS2. I hope this is OK to do here.

We designed the OS2 to maintain the cornerstone CATEK features: from www.catek.com

• Rigid aluminum construction for incredible power transfer

• Our patented Quick Cant tilt system provides unmatched, independent anatomical cant and lift adjustability

• Patented CATEK True Flex disc

• 4x4 and 3-hole insert compatibility

• Boot size micro adjustment

• Perimeter contouring minimizes drag

• Machined aircraft aluminum with anodized finish and laser engraving

And added the following new features:

• Infinite, repeatable angle adjustments (no more 3° increments)

• Zero-wear stainless steel tilt cups (no divots, no disc marring, just bomb-proof tilt screw engagement)

• Kingpin/Spherical nut o-ring lock system keeps the system tight on the gnarliest high vibration snow surfaces

• New & improved heel bail profile for optimized boot fit

• "Dip Stick" quick cant/lift differential measurement gauge – easily check and replicate your tilt settings

• Decreased stack height (of course, you can still increase your ride height if you like extra lift, in fact, every OS2 comes with an extra pair of long kingpins for extreme cant or lift set-ups)

• Lower weight for all models


But what we haven’t mentioned yet are the new flex characteristics for the binding plates – about 25% softer in twist. We did this to offer a “softer” ride while maintaining the benefits of the CATEK True Flex Disc (undisturbed board flex, reduction of edge vibration, and board protection).

The OS2’s lateral flex comes from the plate twisting, which physically is a plate spring. The OS2’s lateral flex is sprung load – the plate stores & releases energy just like a spring. So the lateral flex characteristic is predictable and repeatable. Additionally, the lateral flex characteristic is softest when the foot is neutral and gradually stiffens with plate twist. The result is that the OS2 has a very unique, “return to lateral center” feel.

Another advantage of controlling the flex through the plate is that we can tune the binding so that the longitudinal (toe-heel) stiffness is different from the lateral (cant) stiffness. The tilt screw locations come into play of course but by using Finite Element Analysis (FEA) we are able to decompose and solve this problem mathematically.

The green elastomers have nothing to do with softening the ride or adding flex to the binding. The purposes of the (green) elastomers are to simply protect the board while simultaneously enabling the board to flex naturally.


Simply put:


1) The Power Plate/Disc protects the board while allowing its natural flex.

2) The Binding Plate affixes the boot without slop and introduces prescribed flexural characteristics.


Anyway, I hope you find this interesting & I hope I haven’t worn out my welcome. I enjoyed writing it!


Sincerely,

Jeff Caron
CATEK

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Benn
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Post by Benn » Friday 16 December 2005, 9:15

Jeff,
You have to come to Zinal!
With at least 20 of your OS2 so that we are able to test it !!! :lol:

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Jeff :)

Post by nils » Friday 16 December 2005, 9:41

Jeff thnx MUCH for your imput... very interesting twist flex feature !

I think Swoard is going to order a pair of OS2 for testing purposes :)
Let me see with Patrice how we do this! Hope you have some stock! Would be nice to have a pair in Zinal ( feb 11-13)

Nils

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Post by tommaso2k » Friday 16 December 2005, 9:53

Jeff, Nils,

i recognized there is a new toe lever developed at the Catek OS2. I i understand the picture on the catek homepage right there is a screw in the toe lever to move it off the bail and have the toe lever seperated from the bail. This feature is not available at the TD2, so you cant move off the toe lever from the toe bail. When Jaques changed his TD2 toe lever he has to do some strong custom modification to make it fit more close to his boot when the binding is closed.
I am thinking now if i could use the new OS2 toe lever and screw it directly on my TD2 toe bail after i have removed the old TD2 toe lever.
Would this be possible - would the OS2 toe lever fit into the TD2 bails?

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Thomas
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Post by nils » Friday 16 December 2005, 10:19

answer is yes! that is what Jacques did!

N.

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Post by tommaso2k » Friday 16 December 2005, 10:23

Nils,

thanks for the quick answer.
But according to my knowledge Jaques was not using the OS2 toe lever or did he?

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Thomas
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Post by rilliet » Friday 16 December 2005, 21:10

Hi Jeff, very interesting!

It's nice to see their are some people (you, Fin Doyle and other small board manufacturers) still interested in creating top quality products with passion, instead of having a pure business vision as 99,99% compagnies!
tommaso2k wrote:But according to my knowledge Jaques was not using the OS2 toe lever or did he?
I'm not sure which one I got, but it looks exactly the same as the OS2 one.

Jacques

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Catek Toe Levers

Post by swt » Friday 16 December 2005, 22:17

The toe lever is unchanged from the OS1 to the new OS2 series.

It is worth mentioning that the heel bail has been reprofiled for a better boot fit.

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OS2 review

Post by István » Wednesday 4 January 2006, 11:15

Anyone tested the new OS2?

Thanks,

István

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soon

Post by nils » Wednesday 4 January 2006, 11:48

We shall receive a pair from Catek so we can test.. I'm sure the lateral flex is a great concept, worth to be tested!
We'll give feedback asap!

Nils

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István
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Lateral flex

Post by István » Wednesday 4 January 2006, 11:57

Yep - although for me it is difficult to understand the mechanics of it without seeing it in real...

Looking forward to reading the reviews!


Cheers,

István

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OS2 lateral movement?

Post by Hans » Thursday 5 January 2006, 19:02

Didn't know that steel is so flexible that it could give lateral movement to a so rigid made binding. But we will await the testing of Nils. I rode the OS1 for three seasons. I liked the directness of this rigid setup/binding but I like my TD2's even more. The simplicity of the TD2's, the easy setup and dampness is just what this binding has more to give over the Catek's which has more different setup possibilities which I don't use. I still don't see the difference between the rigid made setup of the OS1 in comparison to the rigid setup of the OS2. May be I am just wrong. But it's still a piece of art/craftmanship. Just my 2 cents.

Greets, Hans.

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Re: OS2 lateral movement?

Post by kelvin o » Friday 6 January 2006, 0:19

Hans wrote:Didn't know that steel is so flexible that it could give lateral movement to a so rigid made binding.
The bit that is designed to be lateral flexible is actually aluminum. I agree that it probably isn't as laterally flexible as Jacques needs but he needs it REALLY flexible. Maybe they can make a plate out of rubber :wink: !

A related question for Jacques... is the LOCATION of the lateral flexibility critical for YOU in particular? The flexibility could be:

1. at the base of the binding (where the Bomber suspension system puts it)
2. in the binding assembly (seems like this is where the Catek system puts it but with more "springiness" than the Bomber system)
3. at the base of the boot (between the binding and boot, this is where the flexibility seems to be on Jacques' setup)
4. in the boot itself (soft boots or softer shelled hard boots)

Any thoughts or comments?
Donek Incline 160, Catek Freerides,
O-Sin 4807 168, F2 Proflex Titanflex,
Raichle 224's (lots of mods)

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