Jump to content
Slate Blackcurrant Watermelon Strawberry Orange Banana Apple Emerald Chocolate Marble
Slate Blackcurrant Watermelon Strawberry Orange Banana Apple Emerald Chocolate Marble

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

sticktime

9 or 11 inch radius?

Recommended Posts

Curious as to what you guys skate on, 9 or 11? I skate on a 9, but there's a lot of propaganda out there in the interwebs about how an 11 inch is better for just about every aspect of bettering your skating, with the exception of slight decrease in agility, though it's further written that one should adjust to this in no time.

What do you guys think?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Curious as to what you guys skate on, 9 or 11? I skate on a 9, but there's a lot of propaganda out there in the interwebs about how an 11 inch is better for just about every aspect of bettering your skating, with the exception of slight decrease in agility, though it's further written that one should adjust to this in no time.

What do you guys think?

I think you mean "ft", not "in". I'm personally on 9. Have tried 11 a couple years ago, but didn't like it. Am likely going to try 10 ft in a couple weeks though.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

13 is great for speed but hurts in the corners.

9 is great in corners, great for agility, you will fall a lot in the beginning.

90 percent of the people use what came with there skates which is usually 9. So if your a 13 you have to think everyone on the ice is going to be more agile than you.

Most places only offer 9,11,13.

I started 13. Tried 9, liked it but fell a lot. Wanted ten but could only get an 11.

With each sharpen your radius slowly get smaller.

That is all I know over ten years.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Ya I meant foot not inch.

I have an extra set of steel that's a 9' with a +2, and I realized that I don't like how the balance point is almost on the back of my foot and my foot feels like the front half is sloping down. So I switched back to my other set of steel which is at a +1 and it feels so much better and familiar.

Anywho, going to get that extra set of steel profiled to an 11' and a +1 and experiment with that. If it feels like there's too much blade on the ice, which seems to be the common refrain from those who don't like it, i'll get it back to a 9' +2.

I don't even want to open the Pandora's box of combo radiusing like a 8' front and 10' back.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Over the years I've been through several- 10, 11, 9 front/12 rear... Liked them all. Jumped into Mako's 9 ft... I didn't fall while skating, but I just didn't have stability when shooting. couldn't shoot one footed anymore without feeling like I was going to land on my face. I don't know how much the extreme forward pitch played into that, though.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Curious as to what you guys skate on, 9 or 11? I skate on a 9, but there's a lot of propaganda out there in the interwebs about how an 11 inch is better for just about every aspect of bettering your skating, with the exception of slight decrease in agility, though it's further written that one should adjust to this in no time.

What do you guys think?

I have had a huge problem trying to figure out why my skating and overall hockey play had been awful. There seems to be a big push from many to recommend the 11' radius. I didn't know that my skate radius had changed when I bought a new pair. All I knew was I had poor agility, slower starts, I couldn't corner like I was used to. Finally after blaming it on my new boots I was informed about the radius issue. I had someone change my blades to a 9' and right away things were fixed. It really depends on who you talk to for an opinion. For me, a 9' radius is what I need and after a year I just couldn't skate or get used to an 11'.

I also tried the LS3 steel from Bauer and I hated it. Many shops will say it's "better" but that is not the case for many.

Also, Bauer has stated the LS2 is 9' but I have seen it can vary anywhere from 9-11' and isn't always consistent.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I have had a huge problem trying to figure out why my skating and overall hockey play had been awful. There seems to be a big push from many to recommend the 11' radius. I didn't know that my skate radius had changed when I bought a new pair. All I knew was I had poor agility, slower starts, I couldn't corner like I was used to. Finally after blaming it on my new boots I was informed about the radius issue. I had someone change my blades to a 9' and right away things were fixed. It really depends on who you talk to for an opinion. For me, a 9' radius is what I need and after a year I just couldn't skate or get used to an 11'.

I also tried the LS3 steel from Bauer and I hated it. Many shops will say it's "better" but that is not the case for many.

Also, Bauer has stated the LS2 is 9' but I have seen it can vary anywhere from 9-11' and isn't always consistent.

Glad that simple change worked for you. SO many hockey players are uneducated about radius and are amazed when they get a custom one for them and see how much it improves their skating. Factory mass produced steel radius are never consistent, regardless of runner manufacturer, so never assume a LS2 is 9' out of the box. LS3 is only better because of it's height, some will like the 11' radius and flat heel radius and bulk on the toe, and others will hate it. In my experience, more hate it than like it.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

It probably comes from my having spent my formative skating years 3-8 in hand-me-downs but I have always hated tall steel and extra at the toe and heel. While I was able to skate on the Elite steel that came on my RS it just didn't feel the same and I wound up switching it for the LS Edge with LS2 steel.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Anyone able to feel the difference, small or large, between a 9' and 10'?

Yes, for some it's a large difference, others not so much. Everyone is different, you can't go by what others say.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Just remember that the radius will get smaller over time with each sharpen. If you never reprofile your skates, your 9' will be anything but 9'. Get a bad sharpen and your profile can be screwed alot faster than you think. Oh the joy of sharpening.

As for feeling a difference between a 9' and 10' probably yes but it will take longer to notice. 9' and 11' yes. 9' and 13' oh hell yes, would take about three seconds to notice.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Just remember that the radius will get smaller over time with each sharpen. If you never reprofile your skates, your 9' will be anything but 9'. Get a bad sharpen and your profile can be screwed alot faster than you think. Oh the joy of sharpening.

As for feeling a difference between a 9' and 10' probably yes but it will take longer to notice. 9' and 11' yes. 9' and 13' oh hell yes, would take about three seconds to notice.

Why would the radius get smaller? A bad skate sharpening or two can really mess it up, yes, but a good sharpener should be able follow whats there. If you mean that after time it may wander off from that fresh perfect new profiling then yes it can

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Why would the radius get smaller? A bad skate sharpening or two can really mess it up, yes, but a good sharpener should be able follow whats there. If you mean that after time it may wander off from that fresh perfect new profiling then yes it can

That's what happened to me. I had a 13' go to a ~11' and have a little W in the middle. Good sharpeners are hard to find. Over time though profiles get smaller. If your like most and don't even know what profiles are, after a few years your profile is way off. People just adapt over time and don't even notice. They just think that is just the way it is.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I just got mine re-profiled to 11'. I like it and think I will stick with it. My previous profile was 8'/12'. While not a bad profile, I think my skating style is more suited to the 11'. I found the 8/12 to be a bit too maneuverable when going backwards. They seemed to want to turn sharply backwards whether I wanted to or not. The 11' seems perfect for me. I have not noticed any loss of maneuverability, but I did notice a more efficient stride.

Granted, my 8/12 profile had been banana bladed by my local rink. It was probably more like a 6/10 just before the re-profiling. I could definitely tell the profile was getting way off the previous 8/12 though.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Cool. I don't have any experience with the combo profiles though.

Just cruised my 28ks for the third time yesterday at drop-in. First skate in them was on the stock 10' radius and no pitch put on. Felt flat footed and thought I could tell the difference going from a 9' radius in my 190's. So for the second skate I had the 28k's profiled to a 9' and a +1. Major difference in feel. Felt like my 190's, which were at a +2.

So I don't know. I think an 11' radius would be too noticeable a difference in maneuverability and agility.

Still curious though.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I just got mine re-profiled to 11'. I like it and think I will stick with it. My previous profile was 8'/12'. While not a bad profile, I think my skating style is more suited to the 11'. I found the 8/12 to be a bit too maneuverable when going backwards. They seemed to want to turn sharply backwards whether I wanted to or not. The 11' seems perfect for me. I have not noticed any loss of maneuverability, but I did notice a more efficient stride.

Granted, my 8/12 profile had been banana bladed by my local rink. It was probably more like a 6/10 just before the re-profiling. I could definitely tell the profile was getting way off the previous 8/12 though.

so you didn't notice any loss of maneuverability, even when doing things like warm-up crossovers around the circle? In other words, was it as tight as with a 9'? Really want to try it out but at 5'10" 17b lbs. don't know if it will benefit me moving from 9' to 11'.

I know some of are probably thinking just STFU and do it, but I don't really want to waste money on steel.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

so you didn't notice any loss of maneuverability, even when doing things like warm-up crossovers around the circle? In other words, was it as tight as with a 9'? Really want to try it out but at 5'10" 17b lbs. don't know if it will benefit me moving from 9' to 11'.

I found the loss of maneuverability to be negligible. It was not hard to adjust to the larger radius. I just went out on a public skate session so I could adjust to it, after 20 minutes of skating I was enjoying it. For me, the benefits of a more efficient stride and more stability outweigh any loss of maneuverability. Backwards crossovers definitely felt more natural with the 11' for me.

I will say that my skates feel sharper with the 11' radius when stopping, since more blade is contacting the ice. I skate on a 7/8" ROH and they felt quite a bit sharper. It took more time to get used to that than anything else. I kind of expected this since my banana bladed runners were leaving narrow ice shaves when stopping.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I found the loss of maneuverability to be negligible. It was not hard to adjust to the larger radius. I just went out on a public skate session so I could adjust to it, after 20 minutes of skating I was enjoying it. For me, the benefits of a more efficient stride and more stability outweigh any loss of maneuverability. Backwards crossovers definitely felt more natural with the 11' for me.

I will say that my skates feel sharper with the 11' radius when stopping, since more blade is contacting the ice. I skate on a 7/8" ROH and they felt quite a bit sharper. It took more time to get used to that than anything else. I kind of expected this since my banana bladed runners were leaving narrow ice shaves when stopping.

That's cool. That's the type of info I was looking for. So I think I'll sack up and get a set of steel profiled to 11' and compare to the 9'.

One more question - did you get any pitch like a +1 or +2? And what kind of skate is it?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

×
×
  • Create New...