Sprung Hockey

[Archangel#16 1]

Hey Keith. My bro was telling me earlier that CCM has a contract or something with you and that the chassis will be on the skates standard. Is this true?

[Sprungster 5]

I love those Reeboks Keith. The silver wheels are a nice touch. Are you guys able to get the boots from the factory with the chassis already removed? Or are they from the factory having never been mounted/without holes in the sole?

Rick Henry

I'm working on getting nudies, but right now I'm buying them wholesale same as any shop and putting the packages together that way. I generally hate taking off inline frames, but sometimes they're totally easy like the 6Ks.

I just snagged a pair of brand new Tour G60 Acu-Flexes with the white glass sides. I'm not sure whether to put white or black frames on them. They are marked 12, but are the same as 9.5-10 RBK. In fact they're the same inside as the 9.5 6Ks, just bulkier outside, sort of like W1s. The Aerolite frame is a little too short for the boot but because of it you can really compress the rear wheels to get the front wheel(s) up for tighter turning.

They still look super killer and with a glass sole they'd fit right in. They will anyway in a day or so. I'll post the pic.

[fatwabbit 93]

hey keith, any chance of helping me get some vector 10's? I'll put those on the extra chassis I got from you ;)

[Sprungster 5]

Hey Keith. My bro was telling me earlier that CCM has a contract or something with you and that the chassis will be on the skates standard. Is this true?

We don't have a contract, but we do have a LONG history together. They introduced me to Joe Noris among other really wonderful things. They've supplied us with boots for our demo stable and for our buds whenever they can. They also help us with very important product testing that we couldn't afford to do by ourselves. We are entrenched in one of the Anaheim RBK Bulldog teams, and it looks like we're connected, but nope.

With all that said, dating is fun, but a ring on the finger is more specialer.

[piperclap 0]

Ok, I finally ordered a pair of the Easton Z-Air boots from Perani's (have those skates for ice and love 'em!) to do a custom set up to replace the 5500's I'm on now.

I'm looking at the sprung, but have a bunch of questions. I've sorted through the thread, but haven't really gotten any clear answers.

1. After playing 20 some years of ice, this is my first season of roller and I've only had about 15 games worth of experience. That being said, the problem I'm experiencing comes from starts and turns-no matter what wheels I'm using, I feel like I can't turn as tightly (without my wheels slipping out from under me) or start as well. In fact, the chassis on my skates is all banging up near the toe from my almost constant slippage in the toe area. Everything I've seen lends me to believe the sprung will be perfect for this, am I correct?

2. I live in the desert (AZ), and have read a bunch about soaking the frames. Am I going to have issues with our dry, dry air (Its rained exactly 1 time in the 6 months I've live here) and the heat (last week was 95 at game time)?

3. What extra parts would you recommend making sure to have on hand either from you or in general (eg what spacers do I need?). Again, we are basically in the middle of nowhere and getting anything hockey related is a chore. I'm amazed we have a functioning men's league and travel program.

Thanks in advance for your help.

[Aussie Joe 0]

From my experience, the Sprungs may help with your issues. But moreso it seems as if you just need to change your stride slightly to make your pushes and turns more effcient in the Roller game. In saying all this but it is hard to tell unless I see your stride whilst skating.

[piperclap 0]

From my experience, the Sprungs may help with your issues. But moreso it seems as if you just need to change your stride slightly to make your pushes and turns more effcient in the Roller game. In saying all this but it is hard to tell unless I see your stride whilst skating.

Maybe I overstated the problem, or maybe I am bad at inline. Probably both :D

The problem on starts is usually confined to the times I am really trying to accelerate and I take short, choppy strides like I usually do on ice.

For turning, its more like at full speed I have to take a turn on like a 18 foot radius instead of the 12 or 10 I could on ice.

As I said, probably due to my lack of inline experience. But I'd also love to be able to not relearn how to skate, only to have to unlearn when I move back north and get back into ice on a more regular basis.

[piperclap 0]

Alright, ordered 'em. Going to put the Rink Rat VT333's on there. Should have them ready to go by next week, if all goes as planned. The blue wheels will look like hell with the yellow accents on the skates and the black/yellow dye job I'm thinking of putting on the holders, but they are cheap and look pretty decent.

I'll let you guys know how the mounting/first skate goes.

[Sprungster 5]

So here's the G60s. They're stiff and bulky on the outside, but comfy on the inside. They look too big for the frames, but they are a fantastic skate. I may move the frames forward 1/8", but they skate so good I'll probably leave them as is. They're equal to a RBK 10 on the outside and 9.5 on the inside.

They look fantastic and feel like TOTAL CONTROL. :) :) :)

[Rick 0]

Keith, I noticed that on the Tour skates you are using 2 styles of wheels. Have you or any of the experts found that mixing durameters works best with the Sprung set-up?

Thanks

Rick Henry

[D-MaN88 0]

So I got a pair of these put on my Vapor XXs and just got them back today, problem now is that 2 of the rocker arms came unassembled and I'm having one hell of a time trying to get the bolt through not only the hole but between holding everything in place. If anyone can PM and give me some pointers about what goes where and how to do all this the easiest way, that would be greatly appreciated! (I already emailed Keith, just waiting for a response) but in the meantime if anyone can give me a couple pointers that would be great!

Thanks,

D-MaN88

[wk_style 0]

So I got a pair of these put on my Vapor XXs and just got them back today, problem now is that 2 of the rocker arms came unassembled and I'm having one hell of a time trying to get the bolt through not only the hole but between holding everything in place. If anyone can PM and give me some pointers about what goes where and how to do all this the easiest way, that would be greatly appreciated! (I already emailed Keith, just waiting for a response) but in the meantime if anyone can give me a couple pointers that would be great!

Thanks,

D-MaN88

Yea its a pain. Make sure first and foremost that the springs are the right side up. I kept trying to put them in upside down, duh!

[D-MaN88 0]

Update: Got the rocker arms and everything installed. Now my problem is this, I have the spacers in the wheels (floating) and my Swiss Lites installed, now when I go to put the wheels on the skates, the axle will not for some reason go in. Anyone else ever have this problem and is there something I'm doing wrong?

[Archangel#16 1]

D-Man, any chance on some pics?

[ATLstealth09 0]

D-Man, just jiggle it around a little. It will go in.

[D-MaN88 0]

What do you want pics of? Just what the Vapors look like with Sprungs?

Update with Pics: (Note, wheels only put in place to show what will look like with finished product)

Skates 1

Skates 2

Skates 3

[fatwabbit 93]

The pin does take a little effort to put in, but my guess is that it is designed that way. Last thing you would want is for one of the components to wobble around when you skate.... we've all had those cores that have expanded or blown up, and its just bloody irritating when that happens.

[Archangel#16 1]

What do you want pics of? Just what the Vapors look like with Sprungs?

yeah just to get an idea.

[D-MaN88 0]

Well I just went out and checked again and I guess I was on something the first time but the axle won't even go in with just the wheels, bearings, and spacer by itself, nevermind through the rocker arm...I'm just so confused on what I'm doing wrong that its frustrating and I have a game wednesday night so I need this problem fixed ASAP!! So thanks in advance to all that are trying to help, it's GREATLY appreciated!!

[Archangel#16 1]

Good lookin skates there. Nice combo

[D-MaN88 0]

Thanks, they'd be better looking if I could get some damn wheels on them! ;) LOL

[fatwabbit 93]

are the spacers the correct size? The rocker arms are a little stiff the first time you put wheels on. After a little skating, they 'loosen' up a little.

Patience D-MaN88, last thing you want is get frustrated and start trying to ram it in.

[ATLstealth09 0]

All should be in working order... I had to jiggle my axles around a bit to get it through the center of the spacer.

[fatwabbit 93]

Sometimes those floating spacers dont really 'centralise' themselves. Check the wheel hubs for any access material. I had some problems with my wheel hubs on my MB816's ...

[inlnfn 0]

You need 8mm wheel spacers,those are going to be the same inside diameter of your bearings. Take a sprung axle to your local skate shop to confirm it fits on the axle.