Leif

I know someone who dropped his down a flight of stairs, no case/box. It works fine. It also took some pucks to the glass without shattering. I suspect the new one is tough, and one advantage is that if the base breaks, you can just buy a new one. They probably learnt a lot from returns on the old one. (Did any fail under warranty?) I can imagine ProSharp are thrilled. “Hey Lars, what’s the number for the company health counsellor, I’m feeling a bit anxious?”

It’s gone down from 17.5 Kg to 10 Kg with a corresponding reduction in size and a modest reduction in price. That looks rather good to me. I bet for us Europeans that will translate to a price increase, but it is now very much portable. 👍🏻

I watched the videos, albeit a year or so ago, but I don’t remember any specific mention of why it needs to be so heavy. I recall the CEO posting here and explaining that it takes a deeper cut than the ProSharp, and perhaps that creates more potential vibrations which need dampening with added mass. Nice to see that it is evolving.

Nah, just a smaller cardboard box with less foam padding. I’ve never considered the Sparx portable as it’s so heavy, but I know many disagree. I wouldn’t mind knowing why the original was so big and heavy compared to the ProSharp Home which by all accounts is very good albeit expensive.

How have people found getting back on ice? I had a skating lesson yesterday, and after five months I have completely lost my edge control. A simple drill is to skate on one leg around the goal crease, and the next progression is to do a 3 turn around the goal crease. Previously I could do inside edge 3 turns on either leg, and I was working on outside edge 3 turns. Well I couldn't even skate on one leg, my heel kept sliding round. I could not even start a one foot slalom, and even the two foot slalom was a mess! On the plus side my forwards crossovers were pretty good (but scary due to the speed), and the backwards ones were okay. I have been skating on inlines for the past four months, and doing lots of stick handling practice. Could inlines have screwed my technique? When I started on inlines I recall that the weight distribution is totally different, being strongly on the heel or the toe depending on the move.

The wheel has hardly any wear, suggesting a manufacturing fault. I’d take legal action for a full refund, easy enough in the UK, no idea about your country.

FWIW I went with Bauer x2.9 inlines, and I think I made the right decision. I do prefer the feel over my tri-skates, I don’t know how much of that is due to the stiff hockey boot versus a plastic shell with foam liner. They feel as agile. I get soreness on the sides of my big toes, not a surprise really. The joys of breaking in hockey skates. As an aside, my Bauer scan differs a fair bit from the one done 18 months ago, and put me in a Supreme, not a Vapor as before. The scan is not that consistent evidently.

My Trinity frame skates have a plastic adapter between the boot and the frame. You could 3D print an adapter, rivet it onto the hockey boot, and then bolt on the frames. Not exactly easy, although you can order 3D printed items, and you supply the CAD drawing as a digital file. So it is possible, but outside of my ability and willingness to try.

Yes exactly, the Reign skates are said to run narrow. I fit Supreme 7 EE and my forefeet are shallow but wider than average, with slightly narrow heels. I love the Trinity frame with 100 mm wheels I use for casual hockey and general skating. But it’s a hard shell boot, heavy and bulky. I can’t try them as the nearest shop is 200 miles away, it would be easier if I could. Okay, there’s buy online and return if need be. I’m hoping I can fit an EU 42 size.

Is there anything wrong with using inline skates that are too long by 15-20 mm? Assume the forefoot width is perfect and a good heel lock. I’m looking at Reign hockey skates which fit somewhat narrow, and my feet are a bit wider than average. In the case of ice skates it’s a bad idea, as the blade centre will be too far forward. I once had oversized ice skates and kept falling backwards. The Reign frame can be moved forwards/backwards to some extent which might mitigate the balance offset.

I wear Xion d3o boxer shorts beneath my Bauer 1s Shorts for added protection. Xion do other shorts with additional pads too. Note that d3o is not owned by CCM, they buy it in from the English company that makes them, and pads can be bought on ebay. They’re at most 1 cm thick and absorb a lot of impact. They should not be put in the washing machine, so best insert each one into a pocket with a velcro or elasticated seal and remove when washing the garment. G-form make padded shorts too, I’ve not tried them. It’s a similar technology and used by Bauer, but from what I’ve seen it’s not as impact absorbant as d3o. There is POC as well, possibly as good as d3o or maybe better.

My Bauer x300r skates are the previous version of that Bauer skate. The boot is so soft that the wheels are at 30-45 degrees to the vertical when standing still. Never had that problem with any other skate. Don’t waste money putting a quality frame on a mediocre boot. Maybe you can get an old stock doner ice boot such as Bauer s160 or x500?

It’s a good suggestion. I was out today practicing skating and stick handling with Powerslide Zoom Pro 100 skates on. They are about the same price as bottom end Bauer Vapors (which I think are poor) but they come with hard outdoor wheels, better bearings and a nice stiff well padded boot that is as form fitting and comfortable as my custom ice skates. The frame length is 230 mm hence they are agile. They are heavy and the build quality leaves something to be desired but they do the job. For reference my feet are 262 by 105 mm and my skates are EU 41-42. FR FR1 and Rollerblade RB skates also fit wide and are better made.

A bit late ... but this is an interesting read: http://www.skatelogforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=34935 Many posters reckon bearings made in Switzerland are noticeably better, although the wheels make more of a difference. Note that abec ratings are meaningless for skates as the latter subject the bearings to twisting forces, the abec rating tests only rotation as it’s for industrial machinery. A high abec value bearing might even be worse for a skate.

Harder wheels do have less grip anyway, a parallel slide is much easier on hard wheels. They are grippier when new, something to do with a coating or just the smooth surface, but that soon goes after an hour or two. As to why yours became less grippy over time, maybe a cross section change. You said you rotate them so you’re not creating a rocker. I haven’t noticed this with my outdoor wheels.

Fair point, I have no idea if I could handle the Zeus or similar. Anyway the Powerslide Zoom Pro 100 is more than good enough for me.

I prefer my Zoom Pros to my Bauer inlines, it might be heresy to say it here but IMO they are very poor skates: poor wheels, poor bearings and a soft unsupportive boot. Further to your comments, the Powerslide Next is also much narrower than the Powerslide Zoom Pro. Clearly you have narrow feet.Most Powerslide skates are narrow as far as I can see, the Zoom Pro being an exception. The fact that the Next has a 243 mm frame will make them less agile than the Zooms with a 231 mm frame and far less agile than your Zeus. My Rollerblade RB 110s with a 255 mm frame are much less agile. I’ve never seen a written requirement for a hockey skate in ice hockey but it must exist, a figure skate would be too dangerous.

In case anyone is interested, I was set on Reign hockey skates, however from conversations with owners it was clear that they would be far too narrow for my 262 by 105 mm feet unless I went for an oversized pair. I bought a Powerslide Zoom Pro 100 which has three 100mm wheels and a hard shell boot with a padded heat mouldable liner and fastening straps. They are incredible, very very agile and the fit is perfect, as good as my Bauer Custom 2s Pro. I can almost stop on a dime, if not going too fast. They have a short frame length, 230 mm compared to at least 240 mm for Bauer inlines which improves agility. I definitely recommend these for anyone wanting to practice ice hockey skills off ice. Does anyone know if there are any regulations that apply to roller hockey skates? Clearly tri skates are allowed, as the Reign skates are in use by teams. I guess the only downside to non hockey inline skates is the weight, typically 500g extra per skate. On the plus side, the ratchet straps are far superior to laces in my view, and the comfort is impressive.

I use a wraparound, and it works. It looks like it’s made from nylon which is more wear resistant than many plastics and it has resisted wear quite well. It’s still damned expensive for a simple piece of plastic. There must be a source of a similar edge strip designed for some other purpose but for more sensible money.

I have Bauer Vapor x300r inline skates ie low end skates. I hardly skated on them till three weeks ago, so maybe 20 hours skating if that. They were at least two years old. I replaced the stock bearings with Rollerbones bearings and the difference is incredible, much smoother, less friction. These are standard 608 bearings with an 8 mm bore and the skates have aluminium spacers with (I think) a 6 mm bore. The spacers are as you describe. I don’t think there’s any point investing in the Swiss bearings unless performance is critical. But I’m no expert, to put it mildly. And yes standard 608 bearings fit my skates. You should be able to measure yours to see if they match the 608 standard. My skates have small wheels at the front, 76 mm I think, and 80 mm on the back. I had the idea of swapping them round to create a 76, 80, 80, 76 pattern to better match an ice skate but I couldn’t: the frame wouldn’t allow it as the second large tyre rubbed against a spacer. I suspect you will have the same problem. It’s easy to check, just see if one of your larger wheels (two from t’other skate) will fit (mark them with a pen if you want to put them back as was afterwards). I know what you mean about enjoying skating. I was out today having great fun on country lanes. I was verbally abused once (first time ever) but hey, some folks have problems inside their heads 🤪

In the same vein, does anyone know which models of three wheeled fitness/freestyle inline skates match in terms of fit the Bauer Vapor inlines in regular width? I have feet that are widest at the front, but very shallow with narrow heels and ankles. https://my.volumental.com/en/bauer/2f029e24-c1e1-4885-bd8a-706f9cc01baf/?utm_medium=myvemail I like the look of FR three wheeled skates, but if they don’t fit ...

Thanks, very informative. I think I will go for some mid range freestyle inlines once our lockdown ends and I can get to a shop for fitting.

As the rinks are closed I’ve been doing inline skating each day as my allowed daily exercise during lockdown. I have Bauer x300r skates which are basic, but they fit nicely and I get no pain. I’m not interested in roller hockey, just keeping fit till we can play ice hockey again. So, a few questions. The skates seem to have high resistance, by which I mean I slow down quickly. Is it worth upgrading the bearings? Also I haven’t cleaned the existing bearings, what should I use and where do I get it? Finally is there much difference between my skates and higher end ones? My ice skates are Bauer 2s Pro custom ie top end, and they are amazing, very comfy and yes I do feel they make a difference to my skating as I feel the ice more and they are responsive. (I’m a low end rec hockey player but a decent skater.) In my inlines I can feel something bending when I do crossovers, maybe the tyres or the wheels, it’s odd. I skate on roads ie tarmac, and it’s not the best surface what with stones and sticks, and holes.

I bought my second set not long before the new ones came out. I guess they might have been old stock, or we have differences in heel shape. It was always the heel area that cracked.

The first were excellent, but they tended to break as the plastic was quite brittle. My first pair lasted 6 months, the second not much longer. The new version is made from a more flexible plastic which does not fracture so easily, and they have a small amount of padding which makes them more comfortable. My version 2 speed plates have lasted nearly 18 months with no sign of breaking. So overall I reckon version 2 is a major improvement.