Leif
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Posts posted by Leif
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On 4/8/2021 at 7:59 PM, raganblink said:CCM is over-estimating the demand for $1000 skates I think and the practicality for retailers to bring in all of their lines and stock 3 different fits. 2 lines and 3 fits works for Bauer because they do substantially more volume in skates. 3 lines and 3 fits would probably work for Bauer, too.
I don't see many shops carrying all 3 models and fits beyond the largest Pure in an area (and even then, probably only 4-5 cities) and a half dozen independents. Best of luck to them, just seems challenging to me to accomplish. I know we're our rep's biggest dealer and while we'll have all 3 models, we're only bringing in regular and wide fits, and even then a low quantity with us chasing the rest of the way. $1000 skates don't sell daily, unfortunately.
Here in the UK there are two big retailers that I am aware of, one is huge and I think they carry stock for all Bauer skates. However, they are 250 miles away. The other, which is nearby, cannot afford to have each size and fit in the high end skates. I went custom, as I wasn’t prepared to buy skates without trying them on. I am told that they make more profit on lower end skates which just adds insult to injury as come the end of the season, they struggle to sell off excess high end stock before the new models come in. They love Bauer custom, and True custom, as they make profit without risk, and the customer is happy which is good for their reputation.
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Thanks, I will give it a go once our rinks open.
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On 4/21/2021 at 12:53 AM, Vet88 said:I would suspect it has to do with the holder placement. Even a small amount of offset to the outside of the center line will make a big difference. If you pronate in anything then it indicates you pronate in everything - the stiffness, fit of the boot and holder placement just helps to hide it.
Thanks. I was told that I pronate in running shoes, so what you say makes sense. I keep meaning to skate on ice with laces undone, which you have recommended. Would I be able to do that with pronation?
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I don't pronate (as far as I know) in my Bauer Custom 2s Pro ice skates, nor in my Powerslide Zoom Pro 100 (3 x 100mm wheels) inlines. I pronated massively in Bauer x500r inlnes, which is why I sold them, they gave no support. I pronate slightly in my Bauer x2.9 vapor inline skates. Anyone know why I might pronate in the latter given that it's a stiff boot? Or is this normal for hockey inlines? I wear Bauer Speedplates in all skates.
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2 hours ago, oldtrainerguy28 said:Wow where do you live?
England. I saw one skate with a step along the length of the blade hollow. The skate wasn't high enough in the holder when sharpened, so the wheel created a step. It's not uncommon to see a BAT gauge tilt significantly one way at the front of the blade, and the other way at the back of the blade. A few nicks in a blade are insignificant in comparison. I used to only go to sharpeners I could trust, before getting a Sparx of course.
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8 hours ago, JV23 said:I’m probably paraphrasing a bit of an earlier post and adding my own experiences here... for me it’s all about size and location. One nick near the back and meh, stone it before you sharpen and let it ride if the rest of the blade is sharp. An inch long lost edge right in the middle or in the back of the front third of the blade (right about the third of the blade mark from the front), and I make sure it’s gone. A small one in that range is a bit more judgment but I’d be inclined to stone it and then let it go too. Probably got through at least half a game with it there.
As above. Small nicks don’t do much harm, but an inch or so of damaged edge probably isn’t good. Mind you, I’ve seen worse damage done by some sharpeners.
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Last year there was a serious shortage of inline skates in the US and Europe as so many people were getting into skating due to lockdown, and rink closures. Some were returning to a hobby of their youth, others were newcomers. Maybe that is why prices are high. Wheels are still hard to get in the UK, and skates are available in limited sizes.
Incidentally in the UK the old Missions were recently available with a huge discount, they sold pretty quickly.
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I bought a Flypuck, the black one that is 8oz and said to be the least likely to bounce. It’s well reviewed on YouTube by some respected people. It’s complete rubbish, utterly unusable on every single surface I’ve tried as it bounces around uncontrollably, even on a smooth outdoor tennis court. To be honest that is what I expected as it is a solid lump of plastic. Has anyone else tried it?
Am I allowed to question the integrity of YouTubers here?
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On 3/1/2021 at 9:46 AM, steve66 said:Seems to be the answer, makes way more sense than a lake in Kazakhstan
Maybe that’s where they belong given the looks.
Fortunately I fit into Vapor inlines. I fit Supreme ice skates, but not Mission inlines, they feel uncomfortable. Odd.
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Duplicate post deleted.
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On 9/10/2020 at 11:56 PM, kylec said:I even heard a varsity coach tell his team NOT to play inline because it will impact their fundamentals of skating!
I took up inlines last March thanks to lockdown. After many months without ice skating, I returned to ice hockey and skating lessons. My skating coach commented on how well my backwards crossovers had progressed. That was thanks to countless hours on inlines. I’m sure roller hockey can improve improve icecskills including stick handling, game awareness/observation and skating.
I just wish I could stop properly. A power stop just isn’t the same. Now I love inlines, but I don’t have the control I have on ice.
I love ice, but playing roller hockey on an outdoor park, surrounded by trees, on a sunny day, and then the sun setting as we finished, that’s magical. You play until you are knackered rather than till the end of the paid slot.
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The web site says Copyright 202, so rest assured this is a long established company. You don’t last 1819 years without providing quality products.
There are countless off ice practice puck patents, yet this looks identical to Green Biscuit, so I guess the patent expired. I pay about $20 per Green Biscuit in the UK.
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33 minutes ago, PBH said:Sorry, I don't understand the question. Can you phrase it differently?
Yes. You said the skates come with runners that have a ProSharp profile applied. That means when you buy new runners, you will have to pay extra to get them profiled as per the ones on the skates, assuming you like the profile, and assuming I understood.
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21 hours ago, PBH said:I would say the new Supreme skates (Ultrasonic/3S Pro) have a little more forward lean than the previous models, especially since they are paired with steel with a ProSharp profile from the factory and the new eyelet system allows for more forward flexion than the previous design.
So does that mean that when you buy new steel, you have to pay almost the same again to get it profiled?
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1 hour ago, clarkiestooth said:The ProSharp profile really lasts about 6 to 8 sharpenings. It all depends on if you use a really light touch when sharpening. To understand it, the ProSharp system basically uses a grinding wheel that follows a template that makes multiple very tiny radii on the blade (think of it as tiny peaks and valleys). Every time you sharpen, you take off a bit of steel, each time dulling those peaks and valleys. ProSharp profiling is fantastic, but the profile doesn't last forever. I have a Wissota 911 in my garage, and have my profile put on by a pro 🙂
The ProSharp Home and Sparx claim to maintain a constant pressure, unlike a manual sharpen, which should preserve the profile. I checked an old LS5 blade against a fairly new blade, and the profile over most of the blade feels the same. The toe and heel are very different as expected as they are very different heights.
I have old manually sharpened runners and they are nearly flat. When I swapped them out my skating improved markedly.
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Something I forgot to mention, they have different warranties which might be a deciding factor for you.
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I bought the previous version of the Sparx for £1200, back then the ProSharp Home was £2,000. I found very few owner reviews of the ProSharp but they were all positive. Hockey Tutorial reviews both on YouTube.
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1 hour ago, ExplodingSidewalk said:I need your help gentlemen and ladies.
I am at a crossroads trying to determine whether to purchase the ProSharp Home or the Sparx Hockey ES200 for home skate sharpening.
The ProSharp Home with Starter Kit, Twin Blade Holder, and 1/2 inch wheel would total $1,776.00 (No Tax and Free Shipping)
The Sparx Elite Bundle would total $1,551.65 (Tax - $101.75 and Shipping - $74.99)
Yes the ProSharp Home's grinding wheels last a long time at $99.00 each but, the Sparx ES200 grinding wheels last 40 cycles (?) at $59.99 each.
Did Sparx fix the issue concerning the grinding wheel not sharpening further up the heel and toe of the runner?
Any insight would be greatly appreciated.
The Sparx wheels last 320 passes, if I recall correctly. Assuming four passes per sharpen, and two skates per user as typical (!), that works out at 40 pairs of skates sharpened. That was the original Sparx estimate. Sparx now assume less than four passes are needed for a sharpen, and give a value of 60 pairs of skates sharpened by one wheel.
I find that I do one pass per skate per sharpen as that is enough to get the edge back, some people do two passes. Of course you need more if there is significant damage to the edges. There is a post by the owner of Sparx on this forum where he states that they tested the ProSharp Home, and found that it takes less metal off per pass and the per sharpen cost is similar for both machines. Obviously that's not an independent test, so maybe a good amount of salt is needed.
I have no issue with the toe and heel, but I'm no elite level skater.
You really do need an edge gauge even if you buy the ProSharp Home, so factor than in to the cost. I had a Prosharp BAT and sent it back to the head of ProSharp USA in disgust as it was out. Never got a refund, and they claimed it was fine even though it disagreed with Sparx, BladeMaster and no name gauges. I assume mine was untypical.
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Didn’t Flare blades have a non parallel sides ie flared outwards? I think these have a rectangular cross section, but wider/thicker at the front and back.
This freestyler has reviewed them:
Unfortunately the review isn’t very informative, it lacks depth although he likes them. It’d be interesting to know the min and max blade widths and any issues with Sparx sharpening.
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Everglides in Gosport have several automated ProSharp machines, which preserve the profile and I believe they can profile runners too. I think SkateStation can profile runners. They do good manual sharpens too.
I no longer trust manual sharpens, one is fine assuming a competent operator, but over time they ruin the profile. I had runners that became flat after a year, one sharpen every fortnight. I don’t believe any person has the skill to preserve the profile, and if they do, they are few and far between. It’s hard enough finding someone who gets level edges.
The new Sparx machine can be bought direct from Sparx at a very reasonable price.
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19 minutes ago, rh71el2 said:If I'm trying to change the sharpening from 1/2 Fire to 5/8 Fire (less bite), how many passes would I need? Only LS1 steel sharpened to 1/2 Fire only 1 session ago if it matters.
When I change hollow, I mark the blade with a sharpie, and try a couple of passes. Two usually removes all of the ink when going from 1/2” to 5/8” normal hollow, and vice versa.
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On 12/27/2020 at 4:22 PM, rh71el2 said:So I finally finished a grinding wheel (1/2 Fire) and this is my finding... it lasted 264 total passes. Which means if you do an avg of 4 passes per skate (overkill IMO), it would do 33 pairs. I do an avg of 2 passes per skate every 3rd or 4th hour on ice... so that would mean 66 pairs. Overall with the 2 kids playing 3-4x per week in-season, that wheel lasted 1.5 years.
Anyone else with data to share? Is 2 passes average? I find that with the LS1 steel in my kids' skates, it requires more frequent sharpenings (is it because I only do 2 passes - doubt it). My LS4 sharpenings (5/8 fire) last a lot longer.I do one pass every 4 hours or so assuming no damage to remove, I use a 7/16" ring and LS5 runners. I don't swap round rings between sharpens which helps. I once sharpened some cheap skates with fixed blades and that was awful, I gave each boot 5 passes, soft steel, just didn't feel right.
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On 8/2/2020 at 6:08 AM, SkateWorksPNW said:I think some type of chest/shoulder protection should be worn. However I think it might be overkill to rock a pair of FT1 or 2S Pro shoulder pads for pick-up/drop-in unless you are skating with a bunch of morons taking clappers from 4 ft away at chest height.
I play rec, or did before lock down and the ban on scrimmages. I would go to stick and puck sessions, basically drop in non contact hockey. I’ve been deliberately slammed into the boards, once I stepped onto the ice on a line change and a wannabe skated into me at full speed, knocked me flying, he just got off the ice and ignored me. I’ve had a slapshot to the helmet, above the forehead, to the shoulder and to the legs. I had a huge guy skate into me at full speed when nowhere near the puck (he looked very embarrassed and sheepish afterwards, careless rather than a moron). I’ve had someone take my legs out from behind, falling backwards, that’s the most scary and dangerous one. I’ve been cross checked into the lower chest, that hurt. There’s a lot of wannabes who try to prove their virility by steam rollering over some other players!
I wear top end Bauer 2S Pro pads for health reasons, and I’m sure I’ve been saved from injury several times compared to entry level stuff. That said, the arm pads are rubbish.
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3 minutes ago, flip12 said:Absolutely! It just got weird really fast. It’s strange though because Ovi’s SE 10.0s look quite sharp in my book, if a little bling.
You had to be world class to pull it off though.
A player of that ability could wear pink skates with dayglo green holders and flashing lights underneath and everyone and their dog would be queueing up for a pair. CCM do seem to have an ability to create fugly skates, it’s as if they don’t employ a graphic designer, and hand the job over to a friend’s ten year old child. Or maybe I am officially an old fart ...
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CCM 2021 skate questions
in Ice Hockey Equipment
Posted · Report reply
For UK sales you have to include the cost shipping skates by air from Quebec, Canada or elsewhere in North America. Then you have the relative cost of labour, North America is a high wage area compared to China, or wherever stock skates are made. They will save some money by not having to store stock in warehouses, and not having to sell off excess stock at a potential loss when the new model is introduced. And they will not have to guess what quantity of each model and fit to make. They have almost implemented just in time (JIT) manufacturing.
As far as I know there is only one shop in the UK that sells CCM custom skates, and I don’t know if there is any good reason for a non hot shot rec player to opt for CCM over Bauer and True when the journey to buy them is 250 miles each way.