Vet88

A good decision, I just think you left a little bit of info out, 2021 😷

I feel for you guys in other places of the world. Here we opened up 3 weeks ago and with no community transmission (except where they f**k it up at the border) we all feel reasonably safe enough to start playing again. All leagues start again in the coming weeks. I hate to say this but if you are in NA you are screwed until this thing runs its course / vaccine arrives as you are never going to wipe it out the way things are going.

The pain at the top of the boot is caused by your foot rolling inwards and the top of the boot pressing on the ankle. The quick fix for this is to heat up the top of the boot and roll this area outwards. Or pad the area with something like closed cell neoprene. However this doesn't fix the underlying issue of pronation. Heat molding does not fix pronation, you still pronate. All it does is help to straighten the ankle (as long as the boot fits well enough) but you are still pronating in the boot and over time, the constant pressure of the foot on the inside of the boot will eventually cause the boot to break down and open up. External shimming (between the boot and the holder, on the outside of the foot for pronation) isn't very well known in hockey circles yet is one of the first things you are evaluated for with any half decent figure coach and fitter. If you are struggling to find someone who can help you with shimming go ask someone in figure skating circles for a decent boot fitter. Arch support (and orthotics) will also not fix your pronation, the arch support has nothing to lever against to provide the support for the foot. If you want it to help shape your foot then it will work but to help address pronation, no. Internal heel wedges (when used inside the boot they are placed on the inside of the heel for pronation) may help, it all depends on how much and how you pronate. Cheap to buy and you can experiment yourself, it's worth having a go. Shimming on the outside of the holder or moving the holder inwards or a mix of both are still the primary way to address pronation in skates. There are a number of exercises to help pronation, they are all about strengthening the arch, ankle and calf. Here are 3:- One of them is to curl the toes inwards (imagine you are trying to touch the bottom of your heel with the bottom of your toes) as hard as you can and hold for 5 seconds then relax. Try to do 30 sets 3 times a day and as you get better, just keep doing as many as you can a day. Another is to find a ledge, put the inside of the foot on the ledge (first 2 toes and the ball of the foot, the outside of the foot hangs off the ledge) and then do calf raises whilst keeping the foot as level as you can. 30 sets 3 times a day. Another is to get a resistance band, sit on the floor and put it around a solid object and then around the top of your foot. Curl your foot towards you (without moving your leg, just your foot, imagine you want to try and get the top of your toes to touch your shin), hold for 5 seconds and then relax, repeat, 30 sets 3 times a day. I can also give you a guaranteed fix for pronation in skates but it depends on how much you can skate / train and how dedicated you are to it. Start by dropping eyelets, say 2, then train until you get comfortable skating like this. Then drop another eyelet, repeat. You are aiming for 5 eyelets down, at this point you completely lose the support of the boot for the ankle. Now don't tie your laces at all. Learn to use your muscles to control your balance over the skate blade, stop relying on the boot to provide support. This will correct your pronation, guaranteed. Lace up for games, train unlaced. Ice or inline, it works for both. If you don't have the time or inclination to do this and you don't want to shim (I personally do not like shimming) for whatever reason then buy the stiffest boots you can afford, tie them as tight as you can and go and skate. When the boots start to break down and open up then replace them. Depending on how hard you pronate and how often you skate will determine how long you get out of a pair of skates.

Hi Petter - can you give us any info on what the required maintenance will be to keep the R1 in good shape and how easy it will be to perform eg what is required? Inline rinks accumulate a lot of dust and debris, how will this effect the rocker motion as the chassis gets dirty? Are you expecting owners to clean the chassis daily, weekly, monthly?

Here we go again, I'm not holding my breath but I really do hope Keith makes it this time however the R1 has stepped up the competition.

If you have some tools at home it is relatively easy. 2 x C clamps, stones from the garden and some blocks of wood to form a frame. Here is a thread on it (as well as your own spot puncher), scan down to my post with pics so you can see what you need and it working: This is easy to set up, make sure you lace the first eyelets so the top of the boot keeps its shape. Measure up the width of the boot before you start and as you use the clamps so you can control the amount of the stretch. I don't use heat, just time. The downside is getting right into the toe cap area (if that is where you need to get to), the shape of the c clamps make this an issue. This is why boot stretchers use curved arms. A while ago I made another simple tool to get right into the toe cap area, you need a strap hinge, 2 round head bolts and a small length of hollow pipe (to fit over the bolts) cut to the required length (different sized boots require different lengths) and a ratchet spanner or ring spanner. pic here https://imgur.com/a/4APhUS9 You will also need something to pack the back of the strap hinge against the heel of the boot, this is to stop the device sliding back down the boot as you begin to open it up. I also packed the sides of the strap hinge to help keep it in place. Pretty self explanatory, cut the tube to length, slide the tube over the two bolts, fit into the boot and start winding away. I filed out the strap hinge for the bolt that has the nut on it so the bolt sat in the clamp and would not turn. This works really well, almost too well as I could see the toe cap starting to separate away from the boot. I subsequently made a clamp for the bottom of the toe cap to stop this from happening. Only downside with this is the further you get into the toe cap, the harder it is to wind the nut, you need patience, feel and time. If you just want to widen the forefoot area this would work really well. Edit - I left a washer out that sits between the nut and the tube.

I agree with the above, it sounds like the last they used to make your skates was not narrow enough in the heel. You are not the first to have this problem, there are others who have had issues with a narrow heel fit. Based on what you have said, you need to get rescanned then the boots remade with the fitter taking manual measurements of your heel AND noting the heel width eg same as Bauer A. Pressing the boot inwards at the base of the heel is not the answer, any pressure on it and it will eventually want to move to its original shape over time and this is accelerated if you have any bio mechanical issues such as pronation.

If anyone is interested, 2 indepth break downs on cost and break evens based on the NA market (the OP provides a link to the 2nd break down at the bottom of his post).

This is like trying to compare apples and oranges, a sparx unit versus a traditional sharpening unit both have strengths and weaknesses. Your running costs with a traditional unit will always be cheaper but it requires a lot more skill to get a good sharpening. A sparx is plug and push, no skill needed as long as the alignment is correct. You got 25 sharpenings, let's say you charged 10 euro a sharpening, if I was running a shop I would not be comfortable with that return. However as a home user at 3.2 euro per sharpening versus a LHS charge??? What is there to not like about that cost other than we always want it cheaper? If you are unhappy then maybe charge a per pass cost? Then if they turn up with massively damaged blades you get a higher return for your sharpening (if a financial return is a key driver of what you are trying to do).

I wouldn't hack the unit, I'd focus on the ring. Lots of different ways to do this and it's easy once you have the gear (a read / write unit).

😲😲😲 the price of a sparx unit from ms europe, wtf.....

Have you considered using a reshipper like myus? For example it's around $15 for 2kgs to Europe and with a US drop box you can now shop at US local prices.

Clamp the steel in the vice then push firmlyish on the side of the skate. You are looking for the holder to move from an upright position and deviate to the side. If it is loose enough you will clearly see the holder go on a lean.

Theory is not my strong point, I'd start with weighing your boot then multiplying the kgs by 9.8, that will give you the newton force of the boot in a sideways jig (yes, I included the steel in the jig). If gravity is moving it then this force in a vertical jig should move it. And my apologies to the flare thread, this is my last post on this particular matter.

Why not? What forces are going thru the inside edge when you accelerate from a standing start? Foot pronating into the push, your whole body weight on one foot driving thru the toe. 100kgs then or you pushing on it in a jig?

I don't have access to prosharp, sparx or elite sharpeners (they are the ones I know of that use a vertical mount). But do I really have to explain how, if you can't move it by hand, it's not going to show up in a vertical mount that has very little sideways deflection occurring on the boot? You stick the boot in the machine and you press the button, it's not going to move sideways unless you are actually testing it and then it's up to the quality of the clamping unit. If you really want to test it in a vertical mount I'd suggest a bench mounted vice clamp would be a better proposition.

I have, if you search earlier threads about this issue I posted pics of my sons skates, neither I, the sharpener I was going to at the time or my son could move the blade by hand yet put his MX3's in the jig and the flop was very noticeable. Fixed it with Teflon tape but eventually they should have been replaced, I didn't as he moved on to other skates shortly after this.

Bit of both and if they don't really notice it they aren't willing to pay for it. Remember that it doesn't suddenly let go, it happens over time and you are adapting to it every time you skate. I'm not saying every edge holder has this issue but it is more significant in edge than any other brand.

And so I have heard the same from just about every other skater I point it out to, I can't make it move as they try to shift it by hand. Leverage, as Archimedes said. Put it in a holder....

No, you don't notice. In general, at least in my experience without a great deal of force and effort, you wont actually notice the blade moving if you are trying to do so by hand. It's not until the boot gets put in the jig to get sharpened that it becomes noticeable, and this requires a sideways mounted jig, a sparx or any other vertical mounted boot holder will tell you sweet fa. As to sample bias? I sharpen skates. I don't have any bias other than the fact it's an edge holder that predominately flops. Everyone needs skates sharpened, regardless of skate brand. I see every type of brand and edge holders are the worst. Admittedly I don't do hundreds of skate a week, I live in a small town where ice sports are a niche market but I'm only echoing what other high volume, quality professional sharpeners have seen every day, @oldtrainerguy28.

Then it sounds like you haven't worked in a shop sharpening skates. It's an issue I see daily, put the steel in the clamp and watch the boot flop. Most players don't care because they don't want to pay for the repairs and for a beer league competition it just doesn't make things that much better. Talk to anyone who cares about their equipment and it's impact on performance (at least in my experience) and then it's a different matter.

It really depends on what has caused the lace bite, sometimes a thinner tongue will work - no degradation in the tongue because of lace pressure and the thinner tongue means more volume in the boot, this may be just enough to relieve / shift the pressure on the tendon.

It's possibly an ongoing sign that your foot is rolling in the boot ie pronation. A perfect fitting boot doesn't fix pronation, it only hides it until the boot starts to give way against the relentless pressure from the foot. I know of pros playing in Europe who go thru 3 - 4 pairs a year of customs (all brands) because the skate opens up. Rebaking will close it up again but each time they open up faster. If you pronate it can be addressed but it takes time and effort.

I don't have access to that anymore and our Bauer in country ordering is done out of Europe. Hopefully someone local to you will read this and be able to guide you to a US or Canada online source.

There are 2 widths you can get in a skate, the forefoot width and the heel width. Retail skates have a set heel width which is why the sizing is only D or E, customs can be ordered with a separate forefoot width and heel width (or should be able to eg Bauer custom ordering process where you specify the heel width you want).