NORWAY – Rottefella has developed a new and lighter nordic binding. The Norwegian biathlon web site strafferunden.no tested and measured the new binding, the Xcelerator, on Tuesday and offers a sneak peak of the new binding more than a week before the official launch on September 30.
The new Xcelerator is significantly lighter than the predecessors. A pair of the last skate binding weighs 280 grams, while the new Xcelerator only weighs 180 grams. That is noticeably lighter for a sensitive skier’s foot. The new classic binding is also 100 grams lighter, down from 272 grams to 172 grams.
Rottefella has engineered the new binding with advanced plastics and stainless steel, and only the binding pin that attaches the boot to the binding is metal. In addition to lighter weight, the new binding is also said to increase the power transfer in skating.
According to Strafferunden.no, the new binding will be available to skiers of all levels, not only for the World Cup tier. However, developing and engineering the new binding, which is 40 percent lighter than the former top models, has been a project with continuous input from the world’s top racers.
From Strafferunden.no, September 22, 2010 By Ole Kristian Stoltenberg, translation by Inge Scheve