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All right, I've now had two more skates, 1 more fully on ellipse, where I was paying attention to things like acceleration and agility (we're talking relative terms here...while not a member of the Loyal Order of Water Buffalo, my lightweight days are behind me), and one where I started with ellipse and did a blade change back to Quad 1. And the winner is the Quad 1. More jump, more pop, more explosive starts, sharper turns, better pivots, better feeling of front of skate. It's funny, I didn't really notice anything bad on the ellipse, but the minute I put the Quad back on, the guys I was with were all wondering what happened... So, I'm going to agree with @pgeorgan, there's something less aggressive at the front that is slowing the ellipse down. PS - I know I'm dating myself with the LOWB reference...ah, childhood memories of that and classic animated flashing sky Spiderman.

I know. Once he got the yellow stone, doesn't that mean he can blow up half the universe?

It sounds to me like your muscles just has begun to mature. They now store the lactic acid more easily. You have probably also much stronger and more explosive legs now.

I also had the same issue so I would leave the bottom of the girdle loose enough for the top flap of the shins to slide under without binding.

Did you try with socks on? Socks will help keep the shin guard flap down and allow the thigh pads to slide more easily. I've never had my thigh pads tight enough that they wouldn't allow the top flap of the shin guards to slide under, they're snug but not constricting in any way. With that said, I've always removed (I had a couple pair that the top flap just velocro'd on) or cut the top flap of my shin guards just because I don't like how it sits and don't feel it adds any real protection. As for the knee cap plastic, when standing straight I've always had my thigh pads kind of just barely resting above the knee cap, that way when I bend in a skating position it sits above the plastic while still providing protection and doesn't protrude from the shell. This also comes down to personal preference since some people like them lower or higher, and that's the great thing about this girdle (and the 9K), they allow for length adjustment on the thigh pads which lets you experiment til you find what you like.

Damn, cheapest pair went for like $750 and they only got more expensive from there!! That auction was absolutely crazy for ECHL players