brokensword

Sorry you had such a bad experience. Your post got me wondering though but when I went looking for the site/store, it's still there, as well as showing axle assemblies availability of 68. Had my size frames (A6) in excess of 90. So, I think you can still get your parts if you contact them. I've been skating now twice a week in my Sprungs and would never go back, so hope you can get some satisfaction and renewed confidence. From althoma1's posting, seems they will last and are dependable. Just had a friend with a 4 year skate (Reebok) suddenly break a chassis, so... And strange that you say your typical skate wrench would not work as that's all I've ever used, so the size is the same (as my original mission chassis). Maybe you have an older model? Anyway, here's the store link to the axles I mentioned. http://sprunghockey.com/store/sprung-parts?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=11&category_id=2 Michael

I've been reading and looking at all the conversions, and thanks to althoma1 for his Sprungs advice, I now have a conversion, though it's chassis only. Still, seems folks like to see pics, so I thought I'd post what I came up with. Thanks to everyone for ideas re dying and customizing. I'm still probably going to try and find an ice boot eventually, but these Missions are still pretty new and I didn't want to have them go idle for no reason. and then I decided I wanted to change colors, so...

Just wanted to add a follow up note; I received my Sprungs 5 days after I ordered them and have skated twice now; from the start, I noticed a big difference from the hilos I'd been using (rockered hilos, too). Turning was a bit better, grip and stability a lot better, very much similar now to my ice skates. I haven't been able to tell yet if there's any speed gain (hence my other thread re wheel size, etc) as I went from basically skating on two 76s to four 72s. That said, I'm using outdoor wheels for the inside pair and 78a wheels for the ends. Haven't had any slippage at all and the feel is really great. It's only been two games but I'm glad I 'sprung' for the Sprungs! Thanks to all for the advice and help.

althoma1; thanks for further clarifying. I'll prob go the A6 and either all 76s or 72s, as I have a set of each from all my tinkering. Souldriver: this 'journey' started with my desire to get the same sort of feeling I have on ice blades to correspond with my new inline experience. I just didn't like the way I suddenly couldn't skate anymore, or at least do the moves I know I can do. I investigated a lot, did a lot of reading, esp here on the forum, and even when I bought my first pair of modern inline skates, leaned toward the hi-lo setup as opposed to the flat. It just seemed closer to the ice motion. I then had to figure out what the difference was (understanding that wheels and steel blades are different), and I noted that the footprint of my new inlines sent the wheels further out in front and back of my usual ice boot. That would account for much of the awkwardness I had doing inline. But with that, I needed a new chassis, a smaller one, and smaller wheels. I figured I'd need all 72mm wheels to approximate my ice blade length. I ended up getting two pair of used inlines, one for the smaller chassis (got a junior skate for this, chassis was at least an inch shorter) and a used set of Mission Hi-los as that was like my current 'modern' set I'd just bought. Cobbling up the new setup taught me about mounting the chassis too far to any side and made my eye more critical to what was happening. Even doing this, I still couldn't 'move' like I was used to, so I started applying some of the other info about which I'd read, mainly rockering. This did the trick. I could now turn and move much more like normal. Doing so meant I had to mix and match wheels and ended up with 72s in the middle and 68s at either end. Took a bit as I could really turn better but did lose some stability. My ice skates are not rockered per se but in looking at the lie, they did definitely lift at either end, giving me a shallow rocker. The 68s on the ends was a good approximation though there is actually more ice blade on the ice than there is wheels on the inline floor. I then went to 72s everywhere but in front, which did pretty well too. But the used boot I was using the new/smaller chassis on didn't exactly mesh and I found I was pulling the outer sole off the smaller chassi, more or less ruining any future use. So I went back to the new modern hi-los and rockered that. Doing this, I figured I had to use larger wheels and went with 76s, using the 72s now on either end for the rocker. Gives me more 'wheels on the floor' than the first setup but the footprint is longer. With the rockering though, I don't notice it and am glad I switched to the bigger chassis/newer boot. (the used boot was a bit small and I could feel it, but persevered anyway). And in doing the remake, I learned about shims and pitches, so though you have to pay attention, once you get the balance point properly identified (the chassis that came with the original boot is the key; just set a line from center to center, back to front and mount the new chassis in like fashion; unless instructions say to mount using an offset as I believe the Sprungs advise). So, I'm just hoping that springing for the Sprungs (heh, see what I did there??) that my turning won't be affected. That's what althoma1 has let me understand, though I'll lose the front rocker. It's an experiment to be sure, but I still want a more 'ice like' experience and very few (from what I've read) deny that this is what you get with the Sprung chassis. If I could get the same from the aluminum hi-los, I'd not be stretching the envelope. I do find that those that learned hockey/skating on ice boots have more trouble adapting to the wheels but it's not the same in reverse. That said, I know most of those who grew up first on inlines have a hard time learning a hockey stop on ice boots. Almost comical but those of us that can, keep trying to teach them. That said, these same guys that grew up doing inline first, and the same ones that invited me to their team, laughed hysterically the first time I tried to play inline hockey at the park. I still maintaing they were trying to kill me on the concrete parking lot where we played.... And that's the saga of my journey so far. If I could try Sprung, I would, but I don't seem able to. And there's no return policy other than for breakage within the warranty. That said, when I did email, I was told no one has returned them for other than warranty reasons, so that's a good thing. From althoma1's response, I'm actually looking forward to trying the new setup, no matter that I have to build a new set of inline skates. All part of the 'hobby'/fun I guess. oh, and btw, I DID rocker a hi-lo system and it worked fine, despite the intel I read online. I started with 76s in front, 80s in back but currently what I use is; 72 on the ends, 76 in the middle. I couldn't use two 80s in the middle and two 76s on the ends due to the hi-lo/boot clearance. Though, I prob could shim the whole chassis... Michael

althoma1: I'm going to assume it's a sport court; kind of a blue-gray tile that is supposedly laid over a wood floor. I know it's not concrete for sure and the surface is solid--no holes/openings as some I've seen online. When I first started playing last spring, I used an old set of roller blades that had me slipping a lot, and I know those were outdoor wheels, that's why I was told to switch to the indoor for better grip. Right now, I have the 78a with one outdoor wheel(82a I think) in the middle and as I said, I don't slip. The reason I rockered what I have is to get the ability to turn better. I hope I'm hearing you correctly in that with the Sprungs, turning would be the same? Can you give me the comparison as you've done both? I'm glad you clued me into the maintenance of such a chassis as I'd hate to find out the hard way that the product has a shorter than usual lifespan with neglect. Thanks. fatwabbit; nice to hear someone else has tested the options and can report back to me; I was thinking the A6 as I wear a size 8 boot, but maybe I should go for the A7? I DO want to try and keep the overall 'footprint' close to the 11 and 1/4 inches of my ice blade (it's about 12" with all 76s now). Would there be any advantage/disadvantage to using the A7 and all 76s (as I'd be doing prob with the A6 as well)? That is, is the A7 length, even with using 76s, longer than the A6 length due to the arms being wider (it being built for 80s as opposed to using 76s, placement of arms/axle is further apart than in the A6)? Michael

Thanks Althoma1; that was the kind of feedback I was hoping to get--real world use and care. I can see the plastic breaking down without the maintenance, just as you say; there ARE moving parts. I'm not a large guy so I doubt 'hopping over the boards' would do much to affect any set of Sprungs I might get, but it's still good to know. And being an older player, I usually use the door to the bench anyway. Hopping was all good in the 'old days', heh. And I understand re the mounting as I've done some experimenting with used roller blades, trying on different chassis and wheels, and even trying to match the pitch of my ice skates to try and replicate the same experience on inline. You say you've got the small chasis, the A6; I was thinking of that too as I'm trying to get a similar wheel length/ice blade length. With the 80s my inlines came with, I gained about an inch and found it upset the skating motion too much. A smaller chassis and smaller diameter wheels brought the footprint down to almost the same length. When you mention 'the hardest wheels you can find'; right now, I'm using 78a (I don't weigh much) and have had no slippage after initially starting with 74a. And I've rockered the set, which I think helped get me even closer to the ice experience. I AM wondering how the Sprungs would do with a rocker--which I understand I should not do, but then maybe I wouldn't need it then. Anyway, are the 78a wheels hard enough or would you go with a true outdoor wheel in the 84a spec range? Thanks again for helping! Michael

Thanks guys for some feedback. I'm one of those that went on this 'mission' to find inline skates that would approximate what I can do on ice. I've investigated different methods and it's getting closer, but most that use Sprungs echo the sentiment that it's most like ice skating. For me, this is important. It doesn't take long for the transition back and forth, but it is different. I'm glad folks are STILL using them as it means they're perhaps more than a fad, even though other than this forum, I don't find much reading material. The whole long locked/archived Sprung thread was an eyeful to be sure. Justin; I believe in loyalty but not when it's company vrs user; I'd rather have innovation and choices, no matter if the manufacturer has deep pockets to do as you believe or not. This reminds me of when the Edison company (quite a while ago) bought up a bulb design/company that produced units that would last for years instead of months, simply so they could continue making profit as they saw fit. This is not something I'd ever support as the greater good for humanity in general is being stopped for greed's sake. And I know skating is not in the same league as energy consumption etc, but the theory is the same. Just my take. I don't see the reasons as to why 'brands that support inline/roller hockey' as anything other than for the bottom line; when the profit isn't there, those brands you mention won't be either while some of us may still want new/better equipment. If it's all about money, fine. It's the way of the world, but not for all of us. And that said, don't think I'm not fully aware of how much Sprungs are; that's the reason I'm asking. I know there's profit behind there, too. Doesn't mean I don't respect the idea that someone is trying to bridge the gap between ice and inline hockey skates. The boots have come a long way toward equalizing but there's still a gap with respect to 'motion of skating' and if Sprungs help, more power to company/product. I'd appreciate any further feedback with the durability and use. Like I said, these aren't cheap and I want to be sure before I buy. Michael

I'm new to the forum and joined simply to ask follow-up questions re the Sprung chassis. I note there's already a new thread for this but it's locked, which brings up even more questions. Are any of you still using Sprungs? Do they have longevity? In the other thread, there seems uncertainty re whether the company is still doing business. Is there still faith in this product? I sure don't want to shell out the money and be on a waiting list for either shipment or support communication. Having read almost the entire original Sprung thread, I saw a lot of enthusiasm and an evolving personality (to the actual thread as posters and originator interacted, etc). I guess I'd like current feedback on what people think of this chassis before I take the chance. I can't try them out, there is no return policy other than replacement, so others' experience would be valuable. From what I can see, the Sprung website hasn't been updated for a long time, other than to show new units in the Store portion. Any thoughts/advice you can give, I'd appreciate. Michael