Marsblade roller chassis

[Marsblade roller chassis]

What size are those red stars?😉

I just recently made the switch from red stars on ribcores to Sprungs on supreme, but I couldn't resist the pre order of R1s. I've held off on mounting them since I've recently had some issues with an ankle injury, and I'm trying to see how it plays out before choosing boots to mount them on, but reading these reviews is making it hard to hold off lol

[TRUE TF9/TF7 skates]

9 hours ago, BenBreeg said:

And likely imperceptible at this point.  Weight has probably reached the steep part of the curve for benefit. 

Agree. If there is any preceived difference in weight these days, it probably has more to do with design, fit, balance etc than with actual overall weight

[New boots, buy now or wait?]

3 hours ago, honeless_blader said:

It's sad but there's just no market for a bigger roller hockey spend. Inline skates of all sorts have had a banner year so I'm sure they'll see a Covid bump, but will it last?

Part of what drew me to roller in the first place was Mission's "California" vibe, a different and fun attitude to the super serious ice hockey I had been playing. But instead of cultivating it's own identity, it seems like the sport became more of an off-ice training hobby so... here we are.

It might last, but we'll see.

I agree with the sentiments though, that was what drew me to roller as well. Even in it's most competitive form it's still much more fun and laid back. I never played much ice hockey in large part because it was so competitive and expensive, and my dad had us in so much other competitive stuff that it was nice to just lace up and play on the dead ends

[Random Composite Sticks and Shafts of '90s and early '00s`]

2 hours ago, shooter27 said:

 

 

I believe it was/is spelled Fischer?

That's true. +1 for being pedantic

[TRUE TF9/TF7 skates]

On 9/4/2020 at 9:07 PM, start_today said:

Does anyone but us care what skates a player uses? I assume names matter for advertising spots and curve names on sticks, but does anyone have any info on if the general hockey buying public follows player skate choices, and does that in turn drive sales?

Is it us that cares? I would have thought the opposite, that most kids care who wears what and most of us wear what fits us best. I also don't remember branding on the show being anything like it is today. It seems like brands are plastered everywhere now. Maybe it's just cuz TV screens are bigger now

 

[New boots, buy now or wait?]

24 minutes ago, the_game said:

Tour needs to bring back the sensor chassis from labeda. 

New missions sound underwhelming which seems par for the course with the Bauer news of them closing the cali location. 

Agree, I hate the all 80s, but the sensor was definitely the best one. 

The thing about Mission is that you're never gonna see them do anything that doesn't already exist in Bauer ice skates, so they're basically just riding out the popularity of the brand name without actually innovating anything different from Bauer ice or roller. I think it's dumb, because they could really just use Mission for any weird innovation they want to try, and then keep Bauer roller traditional, but instead it's just two brand putting out basically the same skates.

3 hours ago, JSchultz said:

I wonder if Tour is doing some market research to see how well the Volt lineup is doing versus Code. If there’s overwhelming support and demand for them, I wouldn’t be surprised if they migrate to 80-80-76-76 permanently. 
 

I, too, feel that their skates are due for a refresh. I think the current Code series are from 2018. I’d also be curious to see what direction they head in. 

Yeah, that make sense. The patent expired and now they can see how they do. I think they might keep two lines if the sales can support it, as there are definitely players who prefer the all 80mm. I just wish tour would put a bit more into their boots. I love the fit and the comfort, but I'm not trying to go through a pair of skates every 2-3 seasons of 2x/week house league and maybe 1x/week pickup. I would love if they put out a top of the line + option, even if they raise the price point. I grew up on long island and know a bunch of the older tour players and I don't think anyone has been stoked on their skates in a long time. Everyone tells me they're fine but if they weren't free they would not be wearing them. The last tours I had were code tabus maybe 10 years ago, and I think every top end skate they've done since then had been pretty much the same skate with different graphics until this code 1.one

[New boots, buy now or wait?]

That's pretty funny. Just this week I was saying that I bet they're gonna do that with the design. Ha. I'm looking forward to seeing the new Tour lineup, but I have no idea when it will be since they just released the volt line. Wonder if they will put out a top model volt skate (kv1). The kv is the best looking boot they're probably ever made honestly

[Winwell 4 roll pro]

3 hours ago, Tucker16 said:

My ideal glove is a franchise then an AX1. I use the narrow franchise so the ax1 would be perfect. Never worn a pair but I’ve been looking and looking for an affordable pair.  Nexus was too big for me haha. 

Not sure your size but they're were a bunch on PSH and SLS last I looked

[CCM revised the XS holder?]

3 hours ago, start_today said:

Cue a bunch of gram counting babies lining up to switch to the nylon because WEIGHT SAVINGS regardless of actual weight. 

Honestly, I thought that comment about weight was a poke at the bean counters

[Ask me anything about the Marsblade R1]

1 hour ago, Sprungdownunder said:

I found a lost my agility with all 80’s on sprungs & never felt comfortable so I ran all 76 & felt perfect.

I have not tested the R1’s in a rink but in my yard on rather smooth concrete.

i like alot of rocker so I use the insert they come pre installed with, turning  & transition I found to be exceptional I havn’t really done to much cutting or hard stopping but in the times I have had them on for a 1/2hr  sess each the thing that most stood out to me was the turning grip I could get out of them.

No doubt once the bushing breaks in there will be even smoother rocking.

Interesting. I came from 72/80 Hi-Lo setup which I retained for a long time since the change to 76/80, and I found the sprungs much more maneuverable with 80s.

I'm excited to hear this as I still haven't gotten time to choose boots to mount them on, but I'm glad to hear the performance is there.

[Ask me anything about the Marsblade R1]

3 minutes ago, Sprungdownunder said:

Very similar with the grip you get but I’d say slightly better.

i would also say that the R1’s perform better then sprungs, you get the best of both worlds, a rigid frame Hilo with a rocker.

The sprungs with all 80’s feel to tall & all 76 feel slower then the current trend of Hilo.

 

Interesting. I find the 80s sprungs to be fine in height. Pleasantly surprised to hear that the grip is on par, I was expecting it to be less.  Turning, cutting, transitions stopping, how are they with those? How's the adjustment period? I had no adjustment at all to the sprungs, but these seem like there might be a change. Looking forward to mounting mine asap

[Ask me anything about the Marsblade R1]

4 hours ago, Sprungdownunder said:

Simply put the 01 feels better to skate around & train with in the yard or on the street & has a more movement.

The R1 feels like a lowered sports car holds corners like your on train tracks & best used on a rink where you need that sort of performance.

The bushing system is a similar concept on both but the R1 uses the top & bottom Part chassis as the base for the rocker limits via inserts.

There is more movement in the O1 then in the R1 with the most rocker insert.

They definitely feel different.

How do the R1 compare to Sprungs?

[Winwell 4 roll pro]

12 minutes ago, Tucker16 said:

True. I did buy the hg97 without trying them on and loved them but again it is a reputable brand. 

Winnwell is definitely a legitimate brand. The issue is that you probably won't find much about the fit online, whereas CCM, even if you buy online you can get a decent idea of the fit and quality. My biggest concern with gloves is always if the breaks will line up correctly for my hand. 

[TRUE TF9/TF7 skates]

28 minutes ago, Leif said:

Baking is time consuming, and shops I know have enough on their plate without extra shenanigans. It would make more sense to scan a customer’s feet to determine the correct size if any. I can’t imagine a size 8 True TF9 would fit all feet that have the right length. What proportion will fit? Is the toe cap mouldable? My feet are flippers, some people have pasties, how do you cope with that? 

Scans are also time consuming... 

They are not custom skates, so they will not fit everyone, but they are built on a stock last and will mold to fit a wider range of feet than most other skates. They have wide toe boxes and narrower heels and the heels and ankle can open up significantly, as well as offering wide sizes. For anyone who fits a normal retail skate, they should be able to find one of these that fits them. Obviously there will be exceptions, and they are not custom skates

[TRUE TF9/TF7 skates]

11 hours ago, Sniper9 said:

To avoid having to bake a number of diff skates for consumers to try on, the shop should be trained and educated as much as possible in sizing up the customer to the point where they know what length and width the customer needs. If that's done the chances of the skates not fitting or feeling right is drastically reduced. It's not different than sizing up any other retail brand. The only diff is with trues you need to tell the customer it's going to feel ten times better baked. Trues price point is also at a level where I think most people would risk trying them out. 

Agreed. I thought it was a given, but yeah, True needs to be educating shops on the fit of this skate. I'd assume it's like all things in that is somewhat predictable and once you figure out how to fit them you can pretty much nail down the right skate for someone and then bake it to make sure. A shop can probably avoid baking more than one pair of skates the majority of the time once they figure it out. Obviously there will be exceptions, but I don't see why anyone would need to bake 5 different sizes of skates...

11 hours ago, Sniper9 said:

 

End of the day were wasting too much time here talking about whether their retail skates will flourish or not. Why don't we leave that problem to true, and keep this thread more educational for people interested in the skates. 

I think the root of this discussion, though it probably has devolved too much into industry talk, is that the skates must be baked beforehand. This is important for anyone interested in the skates to make sure that they find a shop that will fit them properly.

[Winwell 4 roll pro]

4 hours ago, Tucker16 said:

Yeah I really really want eagles or another set of franchise 13Ns as mine are getting closer to the end of their life. But nothing is affordable right now. These are 50 so I was curious. 

Eh, I'm always weary of this stuff without trying on. If you're not desperate for new gloves I think it's better to try something on. 

[TRUE TF9/TF7 skates]

1 hour ago, marka said:

Howdy,

So, for you guys using/fitting these things... Are you finding that @Hills is right and they fit a half size bigger than "normal"?  I.e. that if you wear an 8.5 commonly, you want an 8 in the retail Trues?

Mark

Haven't had a chance to try the Trues, but I watched his review and my concern was that he was saying that the 9s were a half size below CCM tacks. I find CCM to run a bit bigger than Bauer, where I'm really a 9.25, but I usually wear a 9.5 because 9 hurts my toes. In CCM tacks I'm a 9 and only my big toe barely feathers the toe cap, so I could probably do 8.75 even. So if True TFs are a half size down from CCM I could probably do 8.5. I guess I'll see if I get a chance to try them on on Sunday

[Winwell 4 roll pro]

The old winnwells were great 4rolls. Not sure about the newest ones, but I definitely recall seeing some Canucks pro stock winnwells that looked pretty well made a few years back. I didn't try them on though. Personally, I'd just get a CCM that you know will be good and you can usually score then fairly cheap on SLS. I wear Eagles and love them, but they're usually not cheap

[TRUE TF9/TF7 skates]

36 minutes ago, SkateWorksPNW said:

So you want TRUE to offer top tier skate at half the cost of the other guys and also provide stores demo skates as well? Anything else to add to your Christmas wish list? How about free demo sticks and free demo gear too?

I could care less, honestly. I'm not saying it because I want them to do it. I know enough to get them baked before purchasing. It's about True being able to guarantee that customers get the best fit that they can. Ultimately that's what they're offering to compete with the big boys, a better fit. Well, if they don't see to it that customers have the skates baked and that shops know how to fit them properly then people aren't going to get a good fit from these. If they don't get a good fit then True is done for, even though they're discounted etc. I'm not saying they have to or that I expect it or want it, just that they're gonna have a hard time beating Mako sales without some sort of solution to the fact that their skates fit completely differently before vs. after baking... For True to just put out a skate and hope that shops figure out how to fit it well it's pretty sad if they think they're going to make a dent in the retail market.

Again, I'm rooting for them, I think it's a great thing and I would love to see them succeed. In my mind they definitely have to find some way to control the fit process though. I'm not just bring a spoiled baby about this (at least I don't think I am) but I'm just pointing out that I think they can and they must find some way to make sure people get fit for these properly. 

I'm hoping they work for me too, and if they do I plan on putting my money where my mouth is. My only real concern is right ankle injuries and these might not be the boots for me, but who knows.

[TRUE TF9/TF7 skates]

42 minutes ago, mojo122 said:

Sorry, I don't recall CCM or Easton offering fit stock demos to retailers.  If True has deep pockets and can afford it within their business model then good for them.

Easton always used to have demo skates available to retailers. I'm sure there was some qualification, ie the stores had to do a certain amount in Easton sales. Also, my point wasn't that that's how they have to do it, I was just trying to illustrate the possibilities. It's easy to sit on a MB and say it's too cost prohibitive, but what are you basing that on? By the same token, it's easy for me to say that it's possible and they just need to figure something out. None of us crunched any numbers, so none of us can say for sure. 

But the bottom line is that Trues have to be baked to fit right, and True is responsible to make sure that happens. The odds are stacked against them in retail, so they need to do whatever they can to grab a share of the market. Bauer's doing what they can to prevent that. But True needs to do what they can, which means they have to get the info and opportunity out there. If they don't, people will end up buying the wrong sizes and the skate will suck and that's the end of True retail. So yeah, it might cut the margins to offer demo try on skates and institute some sort of fitting oversight, but if they don't do it the skate is basically doomed.

[TRUE TF9/TF7 skates]

1 hour ago, BenBreeg said:

You absolutely must account for the effort and cost of a sale.  Your calculus may tell you that the extra service will be more profitable in the long run, others may not.  

Agreed. My point is just that these aren't problems without solutions. If anybody wanted to make it work, it could and I think it would definitely be worthwhile. That's in a vacuum. Add in the pressure from other companies to suppress True retails and your dealing with a different animal.

 

1 hour ago, mojo122 said:

 

Don't want to take this thread off track but the majority of folks can try on unbaked new skates and determine which one fits and feels better.  Then the molding process makes it fit better and more comfortable.

Depends on the skate...

 

8 minutes ago, IPv6Freely said:

I feel like this is something that should be put on True. Once a skate is baked X number of times (to be determined by True), the item should be sent back just like any warranty return. I don't know the logistics of it, but it could be worked out. 

I recall this was a problem with the Mako as well. Retailers not willing to bake them during a fitting. I personally couldn't even get Makos on my feet without baking so they would have lost a sale there for sure.

Exactly. There's plenty of things that could be done. True could offer x number of demo fit models per order etc.

[TRUE TF9/TF7 skates]

29 minutes ago, SkateWorksPNW said:

 

I recently have been considering implementing a fitting fee which would then be applied to the cost of purchasing a pair of skates. Too many people come in to get fit and then go online and buy used skates or pro stock return from other sources. I normally wouldn't complain about our stores doing a fitting or even baking skates for a customer but since we are down 300% in sales this year I can't keep offering services like that for free. Gone are the days where I could replace rivets or eyelets for customers free of charge. 😞 

Definitely. I know it's not what you're referring to, but even if shops did that for the TFs I think that's better than the alternatives of just not selling them out selling them without fitting them properly.

[TRUE TF9/TF7 skates]

2 hours ago, BenBreeg said:

If you are trying on 2-3 pairs of Trues that is 2-3 bakes and molding just to compare sizes or models (if you were thinking 7s vs. 9s).  That's a lot of time and money for the store so I can see how it can be both an advantage (you really know how it is going to fit before making your decision) and a disadvantage (time and money).

The same issue existed with the Nexus line from Bauer. I don't see this as a reason not to sell a product, just because you will actually have to do a bit of work.

Maybe it's just me, but in my experience there are shops that want to help you find a pair of skates that fit. For them, it's not a deterrent. And there are shops that couldn't give a crap, and for them even trying on a second pair of skates is an inconvenience and the customer can tell.

It's a 6 minute bake, which can be done 3 minutes apart. If the store is that busy they can line a few folks up or set up times for True "retail fittings" and just run an oven the whole time. Get creative, it's not a major issue in my eyes. 

My point is that if you're a hockey shop that can easily sell a good product and you're going to hem and haw about having to bake the skates to fit them then that's ridiculous. I'd venture to guess that the large majority of educated consumers on this board do not frequent such shops.

It's an easy sale in my eyes. Go tell some guy that he can get a great fit in these skates and they're very moldable and if he fits retail skates then these are a custom quality fit in a retail skate. I think that customers would love it and eat it up. If you run a business then why wouldn't you sell a product that is easy to hype, just because it takes a few extra minutes of your time? You can make happy customers. What's better for business than happy customers? Having an extra 6 minute to yourself to check mod squad on your iPhone?

[Clarino liner repair/renew?]

29 minutes ago, SkateWorksPNW said:

I spoke with a few car restoration stores in the area and they recommended this:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07S1Q7NQD/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 

Tested it and it works fantastic. I'll post some pics later tonight.

Interesting that this works ok on synthetic. Good to know thanks

[TRUE TF9/TF7 skates]

3 hours ago, mojo122 said:

 

If they need to be baked just to see if it fits then that could possibly deter small shops as well as bigger retailers from carrying them or carrying decent stock.  Why carry a new skate that you might have to bake multiple times before moving it off the shelf or have it sit there indefinitely?

Not out of loyalty but strictly economics.  Money in versus money out.  Stores' goals are to stock what sells and then replenish and not tie up money on inventory that doesn't move.  Bauer and CCM own the retail market share when it comes to skates and I don't see that changing anytime soon.  Might be the reason why Warrior has done everything BUT skates.

Not sure why baking the skate is such a big deal? I think the opposite is true. Baking the skate will give the best fit and the best chance of selling the skate, whereas not baking it will pretty much guarantee you won't sell it. 

I'd like to believe it's purely economics, but I was explicitly told otherwise. I've heard from multiple owners that they would like to carry them and think they would sell, but don't want to hurt their Bauer relationship. I heard from one manger that their Bauer rep "strongly encouraged them" not to stock True retail. That's a direct quote.

I think the True skates are a good product with an excellent value proposition and Bauer is definitely threatened and they're doing what they can to keep their business. Not saying they're doing anything wrong, it's business. But I've definitely seen this story more than once with Bauer. And it has more to do with keeping their bloated margins than anything else. They own the retail market and want to keep it. Some might call it playing cheap, others can call it using your leverage. Everyone is entitled to their view. Mine is that Bauer cares more about money than hockey. Not a crime, but not something I care to support.

I haven't gotten a pair of True retails to try on yet, but I am getting a check tomorrow... if the finish and fit are good, I'm willing to gamble on the durability of the initial release, although typically I'd wait for the first batch to go and the kinks to be resolved, but I'm interested enough.