dgaronzik 1 Report post Posted June 3, 2004 Well after 2 whole seasons and nearly 4.5 months, my rink rats are starting to show signs of death. Last night before my playoff games I decided Id check my wheels and despite them showing no signs of wearing down like typical wheels do, they were showing signs of cracking/splitting/whatever you call it. I flipped them so the inside edges were now on the outside and no problem for my games. All in all, 4.5 months is over 2 times the amount of time I have gotten out of any other wheel I have ever tried. Usually wheels last me about 4-6 weeks playing 2-3 games a week. My next season doesnt start for 2 weeks, during that time I'll be getting my hands on Factory wheels to see what they are all about. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hockey22 0 Report post Posted June 5, 2004 which do you guys think has more grip? hotshot or the hornets. because i just ordered hornets and they were like 40 dollars more but they both had the same softness's..................i don't get it also what do u think about labeda wheels? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kovalchuk71 212 Report post Posted June 5, 2004 does anyone have the blue flames? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MDE3 0 Report post Posted June 5, 2004 which do you guys think has more grip? hotshot or the hornets. because i just ordered hornets and they were like 40 dollars more but they both had the same softness's..................i don't get it also what do u think about labeda wheels? There are a lot of wheels that have the same durometer, but not the same grip. Durometer mostly controls how large a "patch" your wheel will have in contact with the floor...the actual chemical composition of the outer wheel material has more but not everything to do with how "sticky" the wheels are. There are major differences in the compounds used. One of the biggest problems with the stock materials(polyurethanes I think) used for many wheels, is that once the outer surface layer is gone..they lose significant grip. This is one of the issues that Rink Rat seems to have addressed successfully. As was posted earlier, many wheels are composed of layers of differing materials with different hardness(durometers), and different layer thickness. The purpose of these multiple layers is to provide the skate with both grip for pushing off, cornering and stopping, but enough "rebound" so that the deformation of the wheel under load does not offset the grip. The more of your energy that is being wasted to "distort the wheel" the less energy is being applied to your change of motion. The extent and durability of the grip in the outer layer is key to a wheel being successfull, but remember if the wheel collapses too much under high load even though it has great grip, the materials may distort to the point of premature failure. According to Mr. Hunt (carefully avoiding his surname here) the durability and grip of the "Hot Shots" is equal to that of the "Hornets". I think the difference may be in the "rebound" of the two wheels, which might affect performance at the extreme levels. We have only used the Hornets....great wheels. I believe the Hot Shots are two piece wheels and the Hornets are three piece..not positive on that , but I think that's what has helped keep the cost down. The Labeda's we have used, all versions of Milleniums as well as the Dynasties, exhibited more of the problems seen above than the Rink Rats for us. They had good to excellent grip (depending on which wheels) but the grippiest failed pretty quickly, and the others lost noticeable performance over 3 - 4 weeks. Not everyone's experience will be identical obviously, but the harder you skate the faster you will find out the durability and performance limits. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hockey22 0 Report post Posted June 5, 2004 MDE3...........thanks for the info. :D Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hockey22 0 Report post Posted June 9, 2004 just like to say that i got my rink rat hornets and used them for the first time in a club game and they were great!!!!!!! i am actually looking forward to the AAU Regionals knowing i have wheels i can count on. :D Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MDE3 0 Report post Posted June 10, 2004 just like to say that i got my rink rat hornets and used them for the first time in a club game and they were great!!!!!!! i am actually looking forward to the AAU Regionals knowing i have wheels i can count on. :D Nice to see a product live up to the billing. When they first came out there was some QC issues with the hub fit on the bearings, and I think there may have been a bad run on some materials..I heard about a few that came apart..but for the most part, the reaction I have seen to the grip was "like having an edge" on ice. When they got the first QC issues out of the way, the wheel really did live up to it's claims for both grip and durability. Now we need to be quiet..so there is some advantage left to the users over the non believers....shhhhhh. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hockey22 0 Report post Posted June 10, 2004 haha, ok. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Shorthanded67 0 Report post Posted June 10, 2004 Like Garonzik's above post, my Rink Rat Hornets have started to show signs of death also. As a matter of fact, one rear 80mm wheel is pushing up the daises in wheel heaven right now. First off, I started using these wheels back in March before a Topcat tourney and have been playing 7 games a week on these since then (on SportCourt/equivalent). These things have been amazing. Great starts/stops and the durability is excellent. I was going through Labeda Milleniums about every 6 weeks before Rink Rats met my skates. A few of the other Hornets are starting to split a little bit but this one just chunked out on me. For the record, I've never broken a wheel like this and for all I know I may have rolled over a screw or piece of splintered wood on the rink to cause this. Just had to say that since I'm not trying to get a freebie or anything. Basically just throwing this out there to Mr. Hunt for some future R & D. Also I'm 5'10, 165. Yes I do plan on purchasing another set, possibly even trying the Hotshots. Here's a pic of the deceased wheel:http://img75.photobucket.com/albums/v229/H...rackedwheel.jpg Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dgaronzik 1 Report post Posted June 10, 2004 That start as a splitting wheel and then eventually crack? I havent had a chance to order new wheels yet this week so Im hoping to squeek in another 2 games before they arrive. All I did was swap the side of the wheel that was starting to split to the outside. Temporary fix but oh well.You know what is the most intriguing thing about that pick, its that the wheel itself shows no wear typically shown by other wheels after that much time. Even with wheel rotations, most wheels show some signs of having an edge, the rink rats dont. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Shorthanded67 0 Report post Posted June 11, 2004 That was the strange thing about it. It started to show a few minor splits but there was no edging at all like what happens to other wheels. Even the remaining 7 wheels look great and in excellent condition. I did realize something today though: I went up to my LHS and bought one new RR Hornet and it had different graphics so it came to me that my current setup is the 1st batch of them. Just a strange situation..... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
