Inline skates for off-ice practice

[trox_355 0]

I'm looking to purchase a set of inline skates for recreational use. I'm getting into ice hockey primarily, but want a set of inlines that I can use for fitness and to supplement my stride. I don't really have any plans for starting with rollerhockey at this time. I'm in North Carolina, so there's plenty of nice times to go outside during the day.

I've done some searching on the board, and am wondering on whether to go with a recreational/fitness inline skate, or a rollerhockey one. I've seen people discuss the change between ice and inline technique, and wonder what the different chassis styles have on this. Also, I know you can't side stop on an inline as on ice, so what are the pros and cons of the recreational skates that have the heel brake?

Thanks for the help!

[iceburg19 1]

trox_355, for years ive tried to get that close cross train for ice hockey,thru an inline skate.first off you have 2 different surfaces,ice with blades and a solid surface with wheels,the stopping will be different because of the edges but you can stop on inlines to some degree like an ice stop.so any way, what i did was get the same ice boot for inline.i bought another pair of easton z-airs, then i put the sprung inline frame on my z-air boot,same boot,same fit,same feel(thats mental thinking)the sprung frame closes the gap between ice and inline as far as my stride went.my turning feels the same,i can copy my ice skateing-stride for stride,and turn for turn, in some areas of stopping on the sprung frame you will find that ice feel, not all the time but thats because of the difference in the skateing surface.ive said it before,the sprung frame is amazing.if i cant get ice time,inline with the sprungs are the next best thing,i dont miss a beat.check out sprung-hockey .com and the sprung frame topic on the mod.good luck.

[malcb33 97]

Couldn't agree more, try the sprung frame for off-ice training!

[speedcraft 0]

I just did this for the same application (I practice on tennis courts)… I wanted to upgrade from the $49 inline skates I had, so I got a pair of Mission S400 ice skates for $100 (keep an eye on Hockey Giant’s Weekend Specials, they’ll probably come up again), and mounted the older (close out) Sprung chassis.

I mounted the chassis with 6-32 x 1/4†Tee-Nuts (took about 2 hours to do the conversion). Since I’m not doing any competitive roller, I just got cheap/hard wheels & mid-quality bearings off ebay. The whole thing set me back about $210 and the skates/chassis are VERY nice; much closer to ice-feel than my old HiLo chassis skates.

[DamnLocust 0]

DEFINITELY go with an inline hockey skate over the rec skates.

Best scenario would be to mimic iceberg by using the same boot for inline and ice, but this is not necessary. Since you're not playing competitive inline hockey, I'd suggest a mid-level skate, and if you want to save some green go for a closeout model from last year.

You don't want to use the rec skates because they will alter your stride and support you foot differently than ice hockey skates. Also, if you use the brake on a rec skate a lot, you may find yourself trying to do the same on ice, effectively busting your arse.

[trox_355 0]

I appreciate the help so far. I'm using a CCM Vector 6 on ice, so it sounds like I should look for something similar as far as a boot goes. Are there places that sell naked boots, or should I expect to get a full skate? Also, when mounting a chassis, is that something I can expect to do myself, or should I get my LHS to work on it?

[KYHockey3 0]

i would go with an ice boot converted to roller, or a ccm brand roller skate if that is what you are comfterble with

[riotgear 4]

s p r u n g

[DamnLocust 0]

easiest would probably be to just get a CCM inline skate. don't have to worry about getting bearings, wheels, and chassis separately.

I'd suggest going in for a fitting, and finding the boot that has its stiffness closest to a vector 6 ice skate. the cut of the boot should be fairly similar as it is.

[trox_355 0]

Alright, I did some searching and looking. Hockey.com has closeout 652P Tacks for crazy cheap, so I'm thinking about going that route (possibly recouping some cash by selling the prolite holders, too).

With the frame, wheels and bearings, it's looking like I'll get out the door for about the same amount of cash as just purchasing a current-year set of rollers. Also, I'll be able to get some harder wheels for asphalt, rather than replacing the softer ones that seem to come stock on rollers. From the things I've read on the board, this chassis looks like it's just the thing I need.

Reading the mounting instructions on the Sprung website, seems that installing the chassis shouldn't be too difficult to do myself.

[trox_355 0]

Update:

I was able to snag the last pair of Tacks in my size off Hockey.com. I ordered the Sprung chassis, and am waiting on it. I hit up EPuck for a set of bearings and wheels.

Everything was ordered late Wednesday evening, and everything is here now, except the chassis. I'm expecting it any day now.

I got the ice holder removed from the boot, although I wasn't able to salvage the holder--lessons were learned for next time.

Before removing the holder, I wore the skates for several hours to try and break the boots in somewhat. Maybe I'm just used to my Vectors, but the Tacks in the same size and width fit much tighter that I expected. I guess it'll just take some street time to really loosen them up. Anyway, I'm looking forward to cutting on the pavement now.

I'll post mounting stories in the Sprung forum.

Thanks all for the help and pointers!

[Sprungster 5]

Everything was ordered late Wednesday evening, and everything is here now, except the chassis. I'm expecting it any day now.

I'll post mounting stories in the Sprung forum.

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Funny thing about that.

I was dying 80 rocker arms red yesterday, cause I'd run out of red ones and I have a bunch of new orders with red rocker arms specified.

So I left my office and went down to my house where I was assembling the new model samples. Got into it so much that I forgot about the 15 gallon vat with a ton of red dye and the rocker arms.

Went up to the office for another reason, and it smelled like a petroleum distillery. No water or dye left and big bunches of rocker arms blackened and melted together. OOPS!!!

That's not what I said at the time. Definitely thrashed my mellow.

So I'm making a new batch of red dye and doing it right today. I still expect toget the orders out today.