Leaderboard

Thanks to this tutorial I decided to refresh my TF9 inline skates in hopes it'll get me to play more roller this spring/summer. New Marsblade O2 insert, new 3D printed True tongues, and carbon-look kydex 'shot blockers' around the backs to protect the heel. The Kydex and 3M tape cost a whopping $20 total so this was a cheap project to try. I even have enough material left over to make another pair. Using a jigsaw would have allowed more precision and cleaner lines, but a Dremel is what I had on hand and it worked easily enough. After cutting I sanded/beveled the edges, then used a heat gun to shape the material. Once each heel was roughly curved, I put on the 3M tape, applied more heat so the kydex was soft like play-doh, and with an oven mitt on my free hand, was able to press/conform the material to fit the odd shape of True heels pretty much perfect. If I were to do it again, I'd create a cleaner template so each piece would be identical, but whatever. Thanks again for the tips in this thread!

First roll with them was honestly shocking! Granted, I haven't skated O1s in close to 4 years, but the new inserts definitely remind me of using the O1 with the center bolt tightened as little as possible to get the most amount of rocker. When I first stood up with the R1/O2 insert, I almost lost balance which was odd because I was on the ice playing just a few hours before. Checked my skates as I thought I didn't tighten something! I've been so accustomed to the H5-T8 I forgot what more rocker felt like. It'll likely take some time to get used to, but first impressions are very positive and I would recommend anyone that wants more rocker or is an ice player to pick up the new inserts.

And those Vapor XX’s only had a little red dot in the flex notch on the facing. It wasn’t till the XXX that red became prevalent.