caseyjones

after re-reading the whole thread i got my answer on the wheel set up. I will switch back to all straight and get used to it. Im just curious as to the advantages of that though. Considering the chassis is on a rocker, wouldnt putting smaller wheels in the back simply change the pitch and center of gravity of the skate? Since the chassis rockers, it seems like all four wheels will continue to touch at the same time and it would not mimic a straight chassis where two wheels would be off the ground. I noticed that when i used a hi lo set up, i still got the feeling that i would fall on my face if i leaned too far forward or shifted my center of gravity too forward. I was also still shifted into a forward pitch, even more so than my ice skates put me in. Or is this more or less the whole idea of the Marsblade? Make roller skating more difficult and including muscle activation so when you switch to ice skating its actually easier (opposed to the other way around which is what straight roller hockey chassis will do)? My biggest concern is that if i continue to skate on marsblade and then go back to ice, im wondering if being on ice would make me feel like im being put on my heels since the forward pitch is much more exaggerated on marsblade.

Thanks again. I just finished my mount last night and all i could do was skate around my blocks a few times (which i discovered are terrible and rocky). There were two things i noticed right off the bat. 1) My stride was instantly changed. I like to think of myself as someone who has fairly good mechanics with my skating stride, but with the Marsblade it was like you can literally feel yourself automatically going through the steps of proper stride mechanics. As if the skates were basically forcing you to complete each stride with precision. It was pretty cool. 2) Leaning too far forward on the front wheel will put you on your face. I didnt fall, but when your center of gravity shifts too far foward the chassis lets you know in a hurry. Almost feels like hitting a patch of sand. This was all i was able to accomplish since my streets were so bad. I cant really speak about tight turns and stopping or even backwards skating. I did attempt to two 68mm wheels in the back and two 72mm in the front and that instantly felt better compared to all 72mm. It felt much closer to the pitch of my ice skates so Im not sure if it would be recommended to stick with the set up that feels the closest to ice or not. Even with that set up, i was still pitched slightly more forward than the ice skates, but it was much less drastic. Finished product below. Will ultimately add new wheels. Just had these lying around.

Thanks Per, I have another question. I decided to do the mount myself. So far so good but I only have one skate mounted so far. I put one ice skate and and one inline skate on and the forward pitch seems much more exaggerated on my inline skate compared to that of my ice skate. Is it possible to experiment with say two 68mm wheels in the back and two 72mm wheels in the front to neutralize the pitch at all? I'm trying to accustom myself to the forward pitch on my grafs since I'm used to skating in bauers but the forward pitch with the marsblade seems a little extreme I've used shims before on the front of my grafs and somehow it seemed to have zero effect on how my foot felt positioned

Going to post an update here for reference. Just received my Marsblade chassis in the mail yesterday. I ordered it from hockeygiant without the wheels and bearings. My concern regarding chassis placement became irrelevant once i lined it up on the bottom of the boot. I wear a size 7 and am currently skating in Graf Ultra G7's and ordered a medium chassis. The chassis lines up perfectly. The length of the wheel base is almost identical to my cobra holder. There is a little bit of play (maybe less than a quarter inch) to position the chassis either more toward the toe or more toward the heel depending on preference, but it may be irrelevant at the end of the day and one might not be able to tell the difference regardless. I also love how the holes on the chassis are all on the outside edge of the frame. The bottom of a Graf skate makes it difficult to mount certain frames because they only have plastic that borders the outside edges of the sole. With the marsblade, every single hole lines up perfectly with the plastic sole of a Graf skate so theres no issues with having to drill through the fabric part of the sole. The chassis also does not stick out on the sides either. Its literally a perfect fit. I will post more updates once they are mounted and i skate on them, but for anyone who skates in Grafs and is worried about a proper fit, i think you should have no issues with a mount. Thanks to everyone for their feedback. Heres an awful quality picture with the boot sitting on top of the chassis (not mounted).

Appreciate the feedback. I'm not sure I trust my handy skills to pull something like that off. I feel like I may do more harm than good

Can this be salvaged with epoxy to have a new frame mounted on it? I currently have JB weld putty type epoxy that you can actually see traces of on the sole. It worked fine for patching, but i have concerns over filling and then re-drilling holes these holes since they are so large at this point. P.S. - yea i butchered the hell out of these things by doing multiple frame swaps. People often say how the Cobra holder is the big reason for the pitch in Graf skates but there were huge noticeable differences in pitch between my Bauer Vapors/Supremes and my Grafs while both used the same frames.

Thanks for the response. I actually just ordered them yesterday so they havent arrived yet. I was more or less thinking out loud based off a few pictures i have seen and my own personal experience playing on a frame that had the rear wheel sticking out much further than the front. I am not sure where the Marsblade will line up and will surely read the instructions and give them to the installer. Here's a crappy picture for reference for what i am talking about.

Hmm. I always find this to be a dilemma with roller hockey frames if you don't wear a size skate that's fits the chassis perfectly. Wouldn't centering the frame almost defeat the purpose of the marsblade if the front wheel is sticking out too far?

I just purchased a Marsblade chassis and will have someone mount it to my Graf Ultra G7's. I couldnt skate in my G7's (ultra flexible ankles) for roller hockey without heavily wrapping my ankles with tape, but on the ice i didnt have to use tape at all. Im hoping the Marsblade will allow me to have a more natural stride rather than (almost running) on a regular hi lo frame. My question that i have is, i notice a lot of the Marsblade frames that are mounted seem to have a back wheel that sticks out pretty far (much further than an actual ice blade would). What would the proper alignment be for these frames? The guy that usually mounts my frames seems like he always aligns them based off of the front wheel and if the chassis winds up having more length in the rear then so be it. For instance i wear a size 7 skate. I had a humer frame mounted to a pair of Vapors and due to the increased length in wheel base (all 80mm wheels), compared to my Kuzak Split chassis (80/72) the back wheel stuck out so far. I wasnt a fan of that at all.

Was bored at work so i figured i'd post this. Not pictured here is a pair of Bauer Supreme Composite ice skates and another pair of Graf Ultra G7's that are still in the box. Safe to say i have problems. Currently not even playing either. For reference these are: Bauer Vapor 10's with a Kuzak split chassis 80/72 Graf Ultra G7 with a Mission Generator Pro chassis 80/72 Bauer Supreme Composite 5000 w/ black tuuk Bauer Supreme 7000 pro stock w/ white tuuk Graf Ultra G7 with Cobra holder Bauer Supreme 7000 non pro stock Micron Mega Air 90 boots only Bauer Vapor 10 boots only Bauer Supreme 5000 with Kuzak split chassis

no, definitely not. A few games with that wheel sticking out and you'll probably be falling on your face when you go back to ice.

I just did my first conversion a month or so ago. I marked my center points on the heel and the toe cap and aligned the front and back wheel of the chassis that way. I basically just used my eye to align how far back i wanted the chassis to fit. Your skate size and wheel set up should specifically alter a conversion. I dont like my front wheel protruding too far out from my toe cap where you have a speed skate type look. Nor do i like having the back wheel sticking out much further than the front wheel. Without having knowledge like most of the guys on here, i would think that part is just personal preference. I have had no issues with mine simply by eyeing up where i wanted the wheels to sit and then i just used the 1st skate as a template on where to set the frame on the second boot.

im definitely going to play around with some lifts up front. I think it will help my center of balance. I've never swapped out Cobra holders for tuuks, but by putting a roller hockey chassis on a graf skate the pitch is still very noticeable. Im going to try that and perhaps on small washer on the inside part of the frames to level it out. The frames did wobble back and forth when positioning them on the soles of the boot before i mounted them. They didnt sit flush so perhaps thats part of the issue. I've realized its a very minor issue though and im only making attempts at perfecting the feel for me personally. Hey Larry, I didnt bother taking any measurements. The cobra holders had seams directly in the middle on each side so i marked the toe anad the heel according to the ice holders. Graf also has a seam down the middle of the toe box that also lined up exactly with the middle seam of the cobra holder. Im coming to the conclusion that it is something with my left foot since it does the same exact thing with my other boots. Also, with Grafs, if you try to put the weight in your heels its going to make you wobble back and forth since they are designed for you to have your weight over the balls of your feet. This is much more relevant when the skates are untied

Just for an update: Last night i just experimented by putting 2 washers on the inside part of the frame at the heel which seemed to level the frame somewhat. It did feel a tad better but i also noticed that when i put my old supreme 5000's on it also seemed to collapse in. So perhaps its just something with the my left foot/leg haha. Im definitely going to experiment more with the washers in the front of the boot as well. For me, it was pretty cool how much 2 little washers could make a difference in the feel of the skate.

Since i have no issue with the right skate (the one pictured) i lined them up side by side. They look identical to me. Maybe ill take a look tonight and put brand new wheels on both. To my naked eye though, i cant see anything being off. Perhaps ill explore the shim idea also. I've actually repositioned the skate im having problems with to have the front wheel recessed a little bit so i havent skated on them outdoors with the new mount. Just rolled around the living room. So maybe ill give it a go tomorrow in a more real life scenario and see how it feels. Thanks for the input.

Just wanted to thank everyone here for their guidance. This is my first DIY inline conversion. I still have to decide on wheel combination and im probably going to have the frames painted. Boot seems to hold plenty strong and almost all of the holes lined up on the plastic part of the outsole. I havent got a chance to play on them yet, just a couple of quick skates. I do have a question though regarding one skate: My left skate seems to be collapsing towards the inside a bit. When i measured the frames, all i did was mark the center of the toe and the center of the heel and i lined the wheels up using my eyes. To the naked eye both skates look almost identical. Id say a millimeter difference if anything. Is there any reason why this skate may feel like its collapsing like that? I read in a previous thread about "RIck" having to level the outsole of the skate. The inline frames didnt sit flush on the bottom of the boot, but once i screwed them in there didnt appear to be an issue with that. Plus, its only one skate that is doing it. Any suggestions?

Hey beedee, Any update on the fit of the skate? I just bought a pair of 6.5 alkalis mainly for the frame and wheels but if i could fit my foot into them and like how they feel i would consider keeping them intact. Like i said i wear a 7 which basically fit me perfect. How have yours felt size wise since skating on them a few times now? Id contemplate bakimg them but is rather try to sell the boot as "new" if theyre going to end up being too small which seems the likely outcome

Im struggling with this at the moment. I wear a size 7 skate, but an all 80mm frame almost makes me feel like im wearing speed skates. Wheel base is too long. Its quite a difference from the 80/72 ive been skating on for years. i tried to switch to 80/76 and even that felt awkward. Felt clunky almost. My issue is that i feel like the 72mm wheels in front are slowing me down. They are great for pushing off and accelerating, but i feel like i just have to work that much harder to keep my speed up when coasting. Im actually looking to convert a pair of Graf Ultra G7's and have been leaning towards the alkali ca9 to take the frame from in hopes that i can just get used to it. My other suspicion is that if i use a frame off of a size 6.5 Ca9 and put 76 instead of 80mm wheels on i think ill only be saving 4mm in total from the difference of back wheel and front wheel. Id assume middle wheels would not effect overall length of the frame. Anybody else with small feet make the shift to all 80? Also, anybody know if the alkali frame will fit the newer version Graf's that dont have a completely solid outsole?