greasy17

It is higher for sure, but I use the same length stick as before without issue.

Looks great on the Vapors! If you are changing the color of the bottom go black for sure. Red might look great too, no on the silver IMO. You will love them! What insert are you starting with?

All of these flavors and you choose to be salty.

You can use them indoors or outdoors. Mine were strictly used indoors.

Best bearings hands down are the Bones Super Swiss 6 Skateboard Bearings. No joke, I have been using the same set of bearings for the past 15 years. The are super durable and perform exceptionally well. I clean and oil them once a year.

I play roller exclusively now and have abandoned ice. The primary reason is that I’m better at it and it is more enjoyable for me. I started playing hockey later in life at 15 years old. It began with street hockey and transitioned to organized ice and roller. When I graduated high school I sucked at ice still and played roller more regularly, but still played in some men’s leagues for ice. Ice was harder to practice just because it was easier to throw on roller blades and skate outside. Because of that my game in roller grew much better. My ice game could be better, it would just take more repetition like playing 2-3 times per week. But I enjoy roller so much, have great friends that I skate with, I figure why leave it just to say I play ice. Rather than split time between the 2 and get frustrated playing ice, I decided recently to play roller only.

I ordered them from Bolt Depot. I have a ton of them. I can sell you the bolts. t-nuts, and bit tip you need if you want for a pair of skates for like $10 shipped, I’ll toss in some extras just in case of the bolts and t-nuts. The t-nut spikes are longer than needed so I trim those down with diagonal cutters. Once I get the hole drilled, I slide the t-nut into the hole as far as it will go inside the boot, and then use the screw to draw the t-bolt down into the sole. It takes a little finesse at times and I have to keep my index finger on the t-nut inside the boot to keep it from spinning. Once it bites in you are good to tighten down. It is careful not to go too tight otherwise you strip out the head of the bolt. In my opinion this system is way superior to rivets.

Size Medium, seriously one of the best chassis’s out there. It was lightweight and strong. Prior to the R1 I was always looking to scoop them up on eBay/Craigslist and they were impossible to find hahaha!

Appreciate it bud! I loved the OG Pure +2’s, was using them ever since they came out. I just skated on the PureX +2’s tonight and felt the wheel is great. The speed is on point and grip is awesome. Hard to say if there is an improvement over the OG Pure’s because I’m on completely different skates. Best wheels out there in my opinion, Labeda is GARBAGE. Now onto the R1 impressions. Just for reference I am coming from Bauer Supremes with a Redstar Hi-Lo Chassis (72-72-80-80). The R1 is taller than the Redstar and the contour of the chassis fits the natural contour of the boot. Now onto the feel..... The R1 is an amazing piece!!!! I used the H8T8 insert. They are SUPER smooth, that is probably the best way to sum it up. Transitions from front to back are seamless and my stride is very natural. On my old skates I felt take offs could be clunky and choppy, not the case with these. Take offs with the R1 is very controlled, silky smooth and you build speed very quick. I’m a decently fast skater and guys I was playing with noticed an improvement in my speed. I noticed a boost in my speed and there was less fatigue in my legs. I felt like my stride was longer and power transferred better. Turns were much tighter and controlled, loved it. I felt my side to side agility was off and a little clunky. I can probably attribute that to the larger front wheels and new boots, but also maybe the movement in the chassis not allowing my foot to completely come off the ground. I’m not worried about this as I will make the adjustment the more the new boot breaks in and I grow accustomed to the chassis. I notice no improvement in stopping, yet no decline either. Could be the boot still being new. All in all, I cannot speak highly enough about the the R1. Marsblade nailed it. I’m amped up to skate again. If you are on the fence about ordering don’t be, they rock!

Thanks dude! Your post lead me to do some quick research and it looks like you are correct. I’ve always used them just in case, but I’ve now removed them and use Blue Loctite in its place. Still need my new foot beds and bearing, but the look is complete. I’ll be skating in doors with them for the first time tonight. The little time I spent outside the skates felt great.

That’s good to hear! I am retiring my old Supremes with Redstar chassis.

Just finished mounting on one skate, time to do the other. Looks pretty slick!

Interesting, I’ll be skating on mine the first time tomorrow and felt like the baby giraffe would be an issue. Sounds like maybe not.

No problem bud.

I am running a medium, but a small would be fine as well.

I have a bunch of hardware and can help you out. Let me know.

Anybody looking to part with their Red Star Hi-Lo chassis in size Medium? PM me if you are! I also do a bunch of conversions so I have a ton of hardware and can send you everything you need to do conversions if you would like.

The skates look great! How are you removing rivets? I use a very small punch that I attach to a deep well socket and long 1/4" extension. The driving force is my 3 lbs. Estwing mini sledge!

I use a combination of 8-32 machine screws in 1/2" and 3/4" length. The 3/4" is seldom used, but sometimes the thickness of the rear portion of the skate sole requires it. The 3/4" screws also come in handy during assembly you need to pull the boot into place on the chassis when the 1/2" screws don't quite reach. My T-Nuts are 3 prong and the T portion is 3/4" in diameter.

I will mark with a Sharpie on the toe and heel of the boot where I want to center of the wheels to line up, this will locate the chassis side to side. With the front/back wheels on the chassis I will set the boot on top of the chassis and balance it against something so the boot/chassis stand on their own. From there I will take 2 similar objects that will allow me to determine space between the end of the wheel and the front of the toe/back of the heel, I like to use empty beer bottles that I just polished off. Place the beer bottles touching the ends of the wheels on both the front and back. Then take a step back and see if the spacing is equa-distant. You can also use a front or back bias if you so choose to suit your skating style. Once the chassis is lined up front to back, make some more markings with a Sharpie to locate the chassis appropriately. Once I have located the chassis to my liking, I will use clear hockey tape to wrap around the boot and chassis to hold it in its proper place. From there I will drill all of my pilot holes in the sole. Once the pilot holes are done, you can remove the chassis and go to the proper bit to fit the hardware. I like to use something slighty oversized to account for any error/making fine tuning adjustments. Hope this helps!!!

Shoo I cannot speak intelligently on the Graf skates or Sprung frames, but will offer some general advice. You can use a Hummer/Sprung frame and if the wheels touch in any spot on the bottom of the sole, you can Dremel out the area where there are points of contact. This should not have any ill effects on the integrity of the boot. Just try to pick the appropriate size chassis to your boot size, which in most cases will be a size medium will fit the 9.5 skate. I think the Sprung frame's current availability is limited to people's personal setups that they are selling. As far as I know Sprung is out of stock and any newly manufactured frames are far out. Good luck on the conversion and post up pics!!!

It holds extremely well and rivets are garbage when compared to T-Nuts/machine screws in my opinion. I do not use Loctite on the screws, instead I use a lock washer. I have been using the T-Nut/machine screw combo for over 7 years and never had an issue.

Seldom does the screw potrude through the top of the T-Nut, but even if it does it is not even noticeable.

I use a pan head, allen machine screw and a lock washer into T-Nuts.

I used the 3 prong T-Nuts for an 8-32 machine screw. These are FAR superior to rivets. I think rivets are used because they are effective, have a cheaper material cost, and they are faster in terms of production. I forgot where I ordered them from because it was so long ago. Yes, the T-Nuts are used on the inside of the skate underneath the footbed. For the outside I use a pan head, allen machine screw and a lock washer. I used to add red thread locker to all of the screws, but found it was a rather pointless step. If you are not using a lock washer, red thread locker is a must. I will measure everything when I get home, but I use all 8-32 hardware for added strength. I have 1/2" and 3/4" length screws if my memory serves me correct. If you are looking for good boot volume go with a EE width in the Bauer Supreme line like althoma has recommended. I am very happy with the fit in my new Bauers coming from Reeboks.