Splitboard.com Forums

So, on day 8 of my epic trip to Little Switzerland, Alaska, my LT bracket broke:



Luckily, I'd read about the bracket failures here, so I brought one of my old Voile brackets as a spare, thus saving the end of my trip. I'm posting this info here, just to serve as a warning to others. I love these brackets and I have no doubt that Spark R and D will do what's necessary to fix the problem. But you might want to pack a spare if you're on a long trip!

I am not big (around 120 lb) and I don't put a lot of torque on my touring brackets. However, I did notice the screws coming loose (I eventually lost the right screw completely), so I think that might have put unusual stress on the bracket. I also spent A LOT of time in tour mode on this trip. The actual break happened while I was helping to stomp out the runway for the ski plane - we'd gotten a ton of new snow so I was wallowing.

Bummer - and glad you had a spare! Also sure that Spark will make it right.

Just wondering - if you saw them coming loose, didn't tightening the screws say once / day work?

Cheers
Ivo

Maybee just a little to much weight saving, im sure having dubble the thickness around those holes would solve this problem and add what 20grams.

I have a set of these and I'll be honest they are still on the floor of my bedroom with my other bits n pieces. But they are more than beefy enough. I suggest next time put in some light strength locktite nut lock, not real hard out stuff or you'll tear out your inserts undoing it, but you need to stop those screws undoing or this will happen no matter how beefy they are. Seriously mate this is not the LT brackets.

cheers
Richie
Christchurch NZ

I believe that the screws that come with the brackets have loc-tite on them. Even so, repetitive motion can back screws out, and you've got to check them occasionally. And if they're loose, you have to tighten them immediately. Are you going to drive your car around with the lug nuts loose? Great way to lose a tire, and it happens all the time. I can't tell you how many times I've found people on the slopes whose bindings are loose or have COME OFF because they never check to see if their screws are loosening. Luckily, I carry tools with me and help them out. Sorry, I think this is operator error.

I presume the reason this bracket broke is because the screw loosened which put undue flexing stress on the center point. Keeping the screws tight with Loc-Tite is pretty important on these.

I did have loc-tite (the blue, low-strength kind) on the screws and I did check them frequently, tightening them often. However, this particular bracket was a bit odd in that I had to shim it with a bit of plastic to get the 10 mm screws to sit flush. I'm thinking this contributed to the ever loosening screws. The other bracket does not have this issue and after loc-tite'ing the screws, they never once came loose.

so a bit of further advise mate

Locktite definitely, you shouldn't need too much but its always a good backstop. I always locktite on my MX bikes and MTB, torqueing up bolts to recommended setting too. Thing about small bolts and anything with aluminium too, you have to be careful its tough stuff but installation although simple must be done thoroughly or you'll have dramas.

As far as the screws go, don't let them bottom out or they will never bear down well on the thing yours trying to hold down hence it will be obviously loose. If they are clearly too long get shorter ones or grind the screws shorter carefully to avoid burring the ends.

Also, make sure the screws are not having a serrated locking face on them, they will chew the aluminium out badly. Make sure the countersunk screw face that works on the aluminium is smooth.

If youre really struggling go to a professional shop and ask them to sort it out for you, and make sure they understand the problems you're having.

Cheers
Rich
(Aotearoa Back Country Developments)

Is it a Burton deck? I had to get shorter screws for the s series when i had the Voile brakets because the screws bottomed out.I now have a Freebird with LT's but i used the screws form the s series.

Screws were a tiny bit too long for my khyber so I just used reused the shim from the non-lt brackets. No problems to date.

Will probably grind down the as suggested in this thread though. Makes sense.

Thanks for the info, Rich. I will keep it in mind if I replace my Voile brackets with new LTs. I toured on the Voiles yesterday - I miss the LTs!

As for board, I have a Prior Brandywine. The 12mm screws that came with the board were way too long for the LTs, so Spark sent me some shorter (10mm) screws. Even so, on the bracket that broke, I had to shim it. The other one was just fine.

If you lost the right side screw then the LT bracket is in no way faulty, like others already said. Lightweight gear usually needs a little more care in any sport. With the steel voile bracket loosing the right side screw wouldn´t have be an issue so fast because steel handles that kind of load better. Aluminum parts are made stiff because they can't take constant bending.

I also had problems with too long screws for the touring bracket on a S-Series. (ca.2006, voile HW). The depth of the holes is very uneven, there´s about a 3mm difference if I recall correctly.