louierev07

yea Ill try to do the conversion this week. Its kinda just trial and error on which way is best, but Ill try to show my little tricks in my video. One thing I forgot to mention in the first vid is to use a really long bolt to pull the tnut through - otherwise its kind of a pain in certain parts of the boot. I might be able to do it tonight if my game gets cancelled. What part of CT are you located in?

to anyone who is interested, here is how I do the t-nut and bolt system:

to anyone who is interested, here is how I do the t-nut and bolt system: vid removed - pm me for new link.

to anyone who is interested, here is how I do the t-nut and bolt system:

I wouldnt use a hilo setup as marsblade isnt designed for it because it is essentially a straight chassis that moves. Imagine putting hilos on a straight labeda chassis and thats what would happen here. I was nuts about trying to simulate an ice feel with my roller blades, and the marsblade does a great job without a shim. I even use easton makos (which are pitched forward) and I still dont feel the need to add shims. My ideal setup would be 68-72-72-72, but I usually just end up rotating my wheels every few times, and I arrange them from smallest in front to biggest in back and it works out great. Marsblades are designed for either straight 72-72-72-72 or 76-76-76-76 depending on the size (I advise going smaller if your between sizes). The smaller front wheels works out because it simulates the toe of an ice skate. I definitely would not recommend a hi-lo setup though. Once you have yours setup, a shim can be added later easily, and to be honest its probably easier to do it later since the holes will already be there and your not trying to do too many things at once.

my mako 1's were like that before baking. Baking fixed it.

Your talking about a separate issue than the new steel fitting right? The bottom pic it does look a bit misaligned, but the construction of the boot might be different too, so maybe where the outsole meets to side is in a different spot. I had a pair of vapors that were like that. I would send them back. Theres a good chance youll get mako 2 sent back to you, so thats another reason to send back. Call once they receive them and request you dont get the same ones back. And those holders are tough, either use a mallet, or put your foot in them and stand up (on carpet or rubber).

If I really didnt like the cxn holder and runner, I dont think Id mess around with altering the pitch. I think it would be a much better idea to just swap holders out for one you like. When debating this same thing a while ago, I realized there is even more to a blade than the radius and the pitch (toe, heel, etc). So even if you take a cxn runner and try to profile it down to a more neutral pitch, now you are dealing with a blade shape that possibly wasnt intended to be used with that pitch. Im pretty happy with my Makos with the cxn holder, but I think sometime in the future, I might give tuuks a shot to see how I like them again. The whole reason I switched from vapor to mako was because the forefoot was too narrow and I was going numb from wearing them. I adapted to the forward pitch, and I think I prefer it to tuuk, but that could also just be because I was in a much better fitting boot. Its an easy swap if you are going to do that. All the holes line up, so no new holes have to be drilled. I cant imagine getting charged more than 20-30 bucks from a pro shop - unless you wanna do it yourself with tnuts and bolts.

This is what Easton told me to do with my mako 1 before I sent them back for warranty If they didnt take mine back, I would be happy with just putting some tape around my ankle in that area. I shaved that part of my ankle, and would wrap one piece of stick tape around where it rubs. Give Easton a call and maybe they can try to "fix" yours. If they do. once they have them, try to call and request that they give you the mako 2 as a replacement since the ankle rubbing is a huge issue for you.

I have a hilo chassis I would be willing to sell. How much would it be to ship to you? FYI its a magnesium chassis taken off a pair of 8D Axiom T9's.

Pretty sure I did 10 mins at 200F (it was on the box). It says to do less if you're using a home oven, but it definitely isnt enough if you do it that way (pretty sure they are just protecting themselves from people burning with an overly hot oven). I think MLX skates were 8 mins on each side - so maybe thats where they are getting that from. But I would still recommend being cautious - maybe your oven is hotter than others or something else. You can rebake these as many times as needed, so if they aren't perfect just do them again. Try it for 6 mins, see how pliable the material is, if its still not enough do another 2-4 mins. EDIT: I took a picture of the inside of the box of my mako 2 a while back incase I ever needed it. These are for the mako 2, but im pretty sure its the same for mako 1 since they are the skates pictured here: http://imgur.com/a/8gIrZ

Pretty sure I saw the tool for sale somewhere - which came with new bolts for the holder. Ive heard they will sell the footbeds eventually (and extendon guard), but havent seen any yet. I have an extra set if youre interested (tool). I also have footbeds for a size 7.5D mako if you wanna buy them. I like my vapor footbeds better.

i was in the same spot as you. Even with sprungs I was still a mess when switching back and forth. Marsblade has helped SO much more than anything else, and I beleive it has made me a better skater. There still is a small adjustment when transitioning (i find myself dragging my toe at first), but it doesnt last very long, and everything comes back pretty quick. Most importantly, my stride feels pretty much the same on ice and roller - which was a problem before. With hilo and with sprungs, my stride would feel totally different, and it would take 5+ sessions to start feeling normal again. Check ebay for used skates for your marsblades. I found some sweet deals this summer when trying out different chassis. If youre a size 7.5D lemme know. I have Vapor x:60 and x5.0 for sale and im in CT.

I hated the insoles in the last makos, so I used my vapor insoles and they felt much better. The mako 2 insole is a little better, but I still prefer the vapor insoles. For whatever reason any pain I had instantly went away when I switched back to vapor insoles. And the boot fits so well, I only need the small amount of slip protection that the vapor insoles offer. The mako footbed just feels too porous and doesnt feel very comfortable to me.

Check out marsblades before you go back to a straight frame. I love them, and they are the reason I sold my sprungs. This summer I tried both and I honestly can say I love them, and any player who plays ice, and even players who only play roller should try them out. My skating is as good as its ever been, and the transition from going from roller to ice was much more seamless with these (much better than sprungs in this category). I think the construction is great on them, and would worry less about marsblade breaking than sprungs. If you are really set on going back to a normal frame, I have a magnesium hilo chassis from a pair of mission skates that I would be willing to sell. Ive got it on a pair of x70's at the moment, but I could sell just the frame if you are interested. Also for that frame - I have both indoor and outdoor wheels (rink rat xxx), if you are looking to get more than just the frame. Again - if I were you I would definitely look into marsblade first, but if not let me know.

i agree. It takes some getting used to, but the thing with these skates are that they are all about free range of motion. My first couple skates had me worried, but now I dont think I could ever go back. Its gonna take some big sponsored athletes or bauer cloning it to really catch on, but I have no doubt that if bauer had made this skate, and called it the "new bauer odin skates" people would be shitting themeselves over these, and it would start a shift towards more skares designed like this. Because its Easton, and people like what they are used to, it might not catch, or if it does, itll take much longer. I know im a bit biased, but I truly believe the Easton mako/custom skate with an aggresive pitch is the best skate out there by far.

found this a few pages back: So it seems A7 sprungs can use all 80mm wheels - so I dont see why you would wanna use anything smaller. I used my sprungs on sport court over the summer, and ended up using 78a wheels. You can use something harder because the design of the sprungs makes the wheels grip better. I used 76a on a normal chassis the summer before, and both seemed equally as sticky. I bought these: http://www.inlinewarehouse.com/Revision_Variant_Steel_Hockey_Wheels/descpage-RVSW0.html If I were to do it again, I probably would just go with something cheaper since I primarily play ice, and then use other wheels when I play on concrete. Id probably just get some cheap tron wheels or something, or at most maybe some grippers. If you are interested in barely used revision steel wheels (76mm) message me and Ill give you a good deal.

finally tried out my new mako II's today. I know its gonna take some time to break in, but I also had some heel lock problems today. I had zero to little problems with the first makos, so not sure why Im feeling it with the mako II. I had them tied a little loose today, because any tighter at the moment would have hurt my feet - so maybe thats why. After a few more skates if I still have issues I will try rebaking or pinching the heel.

I am about 99% sure its just your sharpening over time. No sharpener is gonna be able to keep the profile of your blade perfect - which is why some people get their blades re-profiled every 10 sharpenings or so. Pretty sure noicing recommends it. If you only use 1 set of steel - i guess its not a big deal because you just adjust to it. As for the mako's specifically - I was using the first Makos for the past 4 or so months, recently had to send them back for warranty, and was sent back the mako 2. Before sending back, I was alternating between 3 sets of steel so I wouldnt have to take trips to the sharpener as often. When I first got my 2 extra sets, I did notice the front and back on the new ones had more steel than the ones that had been sharpened a few times. I made sure I used the newer ones first, and eventually they all evened out (same sharpener) Like I said I think there is no way to avoid this, and if it ends up bothering you, Id get them reprofiled even so often. I try to get all three of mine sharpened at the same time by the same person, so at least the alterred profile is consistent for all three sets. I will check the profile of my new mako II steel vs the ones I bought from hockey monkey when I got home just to make sure though. And I'd just try to get used to the new steel, and keep the old steel as a backup (until they even out).

hey just a heads up to anyone interested - Im selling my sprungs. Heres the post if you are interested. http://modsquadhockey.com/forums/index.php/topic/66795-sprungs-a6-entire-roller-skate-available-as-well/

When I say more aggressive, it really is only the slightest bit. Plus I think the tenon guard not being as flexible makes it feel more aggressive when it might not be (makes you flex forward a bit more when standing straight up). In most cases, the holder+runner = your pitch, so the little difference in outsole thickness should really be negligible. As far as runner size goes, for both bauer and easton you use the same runner for size 7 and 7.5, so if you get a 7-7.5 holder to put on that should be perfect. If you were using a 7.5 and an 8 then you'd have a problem. (If you wear an E width then you add a half size for the runner) Heres the runner sizing charts: http://www.hockeymonkey.com/easton-hockey-holder-cxn.html http://www.hockeymonkey.com/bauer-hockey-tuuk-lightspeed-edge-holder-sr.html

This is what I did while waiting for my makos to go through warranty: $60 bucks for holders and runners, and then once you get yours back youll have a spare set. All the holes line up so its an easy swap. I will say it does feel different in some ways though. It actually feels like its more aggressive than the makos with cxn's. I think the outsole near the heel is thicker, which is why it has a little more pitch. You'll notice that the tenon guard on the Vapor doesnt allow the full range of motion like on the makos. The boot is stiffer in some of the "wrong" places compared to the makos - but thats probably because each skate was designed with a specific tenon guard in mind. Its the best option to use for the time being IMO.

Good luck with them. It takes some time to get used to, but once you do they are great. My initial impressions were that I liked sprungs better, but after skating on these for a while I would have to go with marsblades if I were forced to pick one (though both are very good). When you use them for the first time, tighten up the bolt so it doesnt rocker as much. Once your comfortable with that, then loosen it up to make it a little harder to skate and more like ice. Right now I pretty much just always leave it as loose as I can get it before it starts to feel like the bolt is shaking around. If I were to play an actual roller game though, Id probably tighten it up.

Good to know. Gonna keep looking around for M8's then. I only used my mako's for a month or two before sending them back because of the ankle issues. Good to hear they improved the skate so much. What is it with Easton making awesome, but shitty quality stuff? Even before using the skates, I had the same feeling about their sticks. If I were a pro and didnt care about breaking shit, I would probably wear Easton head to toe, but they just dont make durable equipment. I think what I'll end up doing is just sticking it out with the roller skates I have now (maybe 2 good months of roller hockey left). Its gonna be hard to punch out that spot because its so close to the toe cap, but ill try it. Then when it starts to get warm again, hopefully some people will be looking to sell. I have seen used APX2 skates sell for ~300 in great condition, so I dont see why I shouldn't be able to grab a pair of mako 2's or m8's for the same.

I owned the first makos, and had no issues besides the mako bump. I sent mine in for repair and they are sending me back mako 2's. If they decided to just send my first makos back, I wouldnt have been THAT disappointed. For the last month I wore them, I would shave my ankles and just put some regular stick tape over where it rubs and it seemed like an OK but not ideal solution. Besides the mako bump, what other reason should I be concerned with in regards to the first makos? and I thought I was OK with using vapors just for roller - but the toe box problems are exacerbated by using them off ice (i think roller is harder on your feet). I really would like to get a used pair of mako ones, or mako m8's to convert to roller blades. If anybody wears a 7.5D and doesnt like their makos let me know!