Grivel 10 bar for longer foot?

[BrentD22]

I have a set of Grivel 10's that I've used for several years. The extender bar was long enough for my old boots, but is just a little too short for my current boots. I have 2 questions...

1- Do they sell longer bars than the one that comes standard?

2- Would it ruin the crampon if I bent the front part out a little in order to accomodate my boot?

 

[Kevin Rooney]

Brent - Am quite sure Grivel makes a standard and a long bar, so you should be able to find one. I've always bought my spares at IME in N. Conway, so check with them if necessary.

As to whether it's OK to bend the crampons - I'll defer to mechanical engineers in the room for a definitive answer, but ... if they were my crampons - I'd be very leary of doing much bending. The steel in Grivel crampons is incredibly strong, but am not sure it's designed to bend. I'd be afraid of creating hairline fractures that might cause the crampon to fail when under stress - exactly when you might need it the most. Anyway, will be interested in the comments of any who might have metallurgy backgrounds.

 

[Jay H]

No metallurgy background (although I had one materials science class as a mech. e. undergrad before I changed to CS/Math). I would be leary of doing this to an aluminum crampon (try to bend a soda can a few times til it breaks) but with any metal, a bend is going to create a stress point where it is weaker than the rest of the structure, a "weak link" so to speak. Steel has a higher failure point than aluminum being a stiffer metal and has the properties of at least being more forgiving in that you can bend steel more often before reaching the failure point than aluminum (A steel bike is more forgiving this way than an AL bike).

But having said that, what "front part" are you talking about, what kind of binding is on your G10s? Is it the new classic which uses this rubber front binding? I think buying an extension is simpler and safer and also not expensive:

http://store.bentgate.com/lobarcrexbyg.html

Jay

 

[DougPaul]

2- Would it ruin the crampon if I bent the front part out a little in order to accomodate my boot?

Agreed with the others--bending a crampon is rarely a good idea. It accelerates metal fatigue which can result in breaks. Crampons have a hard enough life anyhow...

Doug

 

[BrentD22]

thank you

Good work guys. I figured I would get that answer which would motivate me to purchase an extension.

The bar I have now says 14 for it's largest size. Does anyone know if this is the biggest or is there a bigger bar say up to 16.

 

[peakbagger]

I just bought the Extender bar for my old pair of G-10's. They fit my new pair of size 14 winter boots and have one more notch. I did have a problem with fitting them as they are a new universal design that when flipped upside down can be adjusted for small boots as well as long boots. They woud not fit in my crampons until I bent some metal tabs down on the bar (which ruined the universal fit concept)

 

[hikehike]

I have a pair of longer bars which I bought for my Grivel crampons about 4+/- years ago. They have a "14" stamped on them so I guess they fit up to size 14 boots. I use them on my size 11 1/2+/- Sorrell pack boots (which, if you know Sorrells are larger than a normal leather or plastic boot, just by the way they are designed with the felt liner inserts).

I bought the longer bars at The Mountaineer in Keene Valley, NY. The people at the Mountaineer are very knowledgable and helpful. This store also will ship an order to you if you have a long distance to drive. Their website can be found by doing a Google search.

I am not affilliated in any way with this store, just a satisfied and happy customer.

Hope this helps.....

 

[hikehike]

BrentD22
Sorry, I didn't see your later post asking whether a size 16 bar is available.

If you call The Mountaineer, and ask, there is a very good possibility that they would be able to give you the correct answer regarding this....