Thoughts on Graf set-up

[sdomm 0]

hey guys, want your opinion on this setup and wondering if it will work, seeing that i don't see too many of them. I want to put a pair of red star E frames on Graf supra 703's....i would have my friend who owns a body shop paint the frames all black, which i think would be kind of different looking....bones swiss ceramic bearings and revision Gold wheels (what do you guys think of these?) 80,80,72,72.........now a few questions...right now i skate on a pair of tours with a hummer frame, 80's across..will i be giving up a noticeable amount of speed going to the high lows? also would i be able to put the hummers on the grafs being that there is no groove in the toe for the 80 mm, and i don't want to cut one in? or could i possibly put 80, 80, 76, 76 on the hummer's...i tried them with 72's in the front and it did not work out. finally, does anyone have an E frame that they would be willing to sell, i would be willing to pay a lot.

[Hoffer 0]

The Graf setup itself would work. I used a pair of 705’s on a Sensor frame for a long time. If you would want to use the hummer with all 80’s you would need to cut into the boot a little and it should work but that is your choice. Another idea would be the labeda Sensor frame which is from front to back 76-72-80-80 which would not be as fast as the hummer but should be faster then the standard hi-lo. As for going 76-76-80-80 on the hummer I am not so sure how that would work.

[DamnLocust 0]

A friend of mine is in 705s with the old Labeda PRO or MVP chassis on them and loves them. As long as you get the right boot from their lineup for your foot, it'll be a great setup.

You could always go 76 all the way across on the hum'er frames if you don't want to dremel a channel. 80-80-76-76 will result in uneven wheel wear. there was another member who was running the 80-76 setup on his converted 9ks, and switched to the all 80 with a channel, and preferred that setup.

As far as painting the frames, they'll chip up pretty easily. If you can get them powdercoated (ask around at automotive paint shops/parts stores), it will hold up better, but I don't know if they'll be completely unchippable.

If you do go ahead with the black frames, consider painting the outsole as well. I've got a pair of 709s with black tuuks and the outsole painted black. They're schweeeet.

[Spreedizzle 1]

I went from the Hi-Lo to the Tour Code 1 with the straight 80 chassis and DID notice a pretty significant speed difference. The other difference that you will notice will be an increased amount of traction at the front of your frame with the straight 80's. Large diameter wheels will give you a larger contact patch with the surface and thus better traction. If you can work it, I would try and stick with the straight 80 chassis. Another option for fitting it on your Grafs without cutting into your boots would be 2mm worth of spaces between the boot and the chassis mounting points. I know plenty of people that have done this on the ice on CCM's and otherwise to give them a more toe down (ie Graf) setup instead of profiling their blades. Talk to someone that is familiar with these types of conversions and see if they have any other alternatives. Good luck!! And post some pics of them once you have them done.....it sounds like they are going to be pretty sick!!!

:P

[Sprungster 5]

You can dye this one black. It also comes in all 80's like the Vapors, that MAY need a quarter inch groove about a sixteenth deep where the number two wheel swings up past the top of the frame a touch. Imagine an all 80 that's not flat pitched and cuts like an ice blade. Done.

We're mounting two pairs of Grafs with A80's this week for San Jose.

[sdomm 0]

thanks for all the great responses, at this point i'm considering sticking with the hummers....how big of a deal is it to cut in the channel, i'm guessing it would have to be 2mm? also, spreedrizzle, you mentioned something about traction being better on the hummers, does this translate into more controlled and sharper turns? i thought i would be giving up a little speed on the hi-los, but picking up more control, is this not true? making the hummer more or less a faster and more controlled frame? thanks

thanks sprungster, i think i'm a little too vain for the sprung frame ha, the skates i have are a 10.5 and the 10.5s that ive seen on the sight just look a little funny to me, if you could send me a pic of a pair of 10.5 grafs with black frames i may seriously consider it though, because being an ex-ice player i've heard really good things about them, and love the fact that they have reps posting. i probably won't have these skates together until the end of september, just got the boot and the bearings and i'm going to put a lot of time into finding the right frame.

[malcb33 97]

Hi,

I have a pair of 705's, I first mounted them with Hummer frames and since switched them out to Sprungs. The cut out section with the Hummer frames was not hard at all. All I used was a Grinding wheel mounted on a drill and took maybe 10 minutes to do. The channel I had to grind out was about 3mm deep, because of the plastic (not carbon) outer sole, the sole was pretty thin and flexible in the middle where it was grinded out, but this didn't cause any problems at all when skating.

I found Hummer frames better than a Hilo frame if you are skating on larger rinks, because they hold there speed better but you loose a little agility from the Hilo frame. The Sprung frame (All 76mm ste-up) is the best frame I have ever skated on, and yes they do look a little different but the adavantages of the Sprung frame in turning (especailly if you come from ice) and feel out weigh what they look like! If your boots are large enough to accomodate the new larger frame (all 80mm) I would do it in a heart beat, you'd would have the advantage of the Hummer with much better turning than a Hilo, what more could you ask for?

[sdomm 0]

hey sprungster, do you guys do the mounting, channel cutting? and how much extra would this be? obviously it would be probably $15 each way for shipping, and then $120 for the frame...i'll be looking at a $750 skate totally done....pretty crazy, i used to get year old top of the line ice skates for $200.

[rollerhockeymavin 0]

The Graf setup itself would work. I used a pair of 705’s on a Sensor frame for a long time. If you would want to use the hummer with all 80’s you would need to cut into the boot a little and it should work but that is your choice. Another idea would be the labeda Sensor frame which is from front to back 76-72-80-80 which would not be as fast as the hummer but should be faster then the standard hi-lo. As for going 76-76-80-80 on the hummer I am not so sure how that would work.

Richard,

question. I made a decision to convert my 705 Graf ice skates to roller. I have the hummer chassis as you know. When I convert them should I have Puck Hog dremmel out the outsole a little and keep an 80mm set up or could I get away with an all 76mm without touching the outsole. Would I lose alot of speed if I kept it all 76mm vs. 80mm playing at Doc's? thanks.

john

raise your hand if you love roofie's

[Sprungster 5]

hey sprungster, do you guys do the mounting, channel cutting? and how much extra would this be? obviously it would be probably $15 each way for shipping, and then $120 for the frame...i'll be looking at a $750 skate totally done....pretty crazy, i used to get year old top of the line ice skates for $200.

Yes, we mount them for $30. The channel hasn't even been necessary in most cases, because the arch of the boot is enough space. Where I did it, it was hard to find afterwards, so it wasn't much.

I use good inexpensive ice boots for most of my own skates. The year old model Vapors were cheap and the outer edge of the sole sags none, which is way less than most high end factory mount roller boots. Boots usually hang off the outside edge of Hummers, because the mount plate is narrow.

There are killer ice boots out there with great prices. And the A80 is $125 because of material and shipping. The A6 is still $119.

[Spreedizzle 1]

hey sprungster, do you guys do the mounting, channel cutting? and how much extra would this be? obviously it would be probably $15 each way for shipping, and then $120 for the frame...i'll be looking at a $750 skate totally done....pretty crazy, i used to get year old top of the line ice skates for $200.

Yes, we mount them for $30. The channel hasn't even been necessary in most cases, because the arch of the boot is enough space. Where I did it, it was hard to find afterwards, so it wasn't much.

I use good inexpensive ice boots for most of my own skates. The year old model Vapors were cheap and the outer edge of the sole sags none, which is way less than most high end factory mount roller boots. Boots usually hang off the outside edge of Hummers, because the mount plate is narrow.

There are killer ice boots out there with great prices. And the A80 is $125 because of material and shipping. The A6 is still $119.

So I could send you my Vector 8.0's with the chassis already off, and a check for $XXX and you would mount the Sprung 80 chassis on my boots (and grind if necessary) and ship them back to me? What would the total be for all of this?

[Sprungster 5]

hey sprungster, do you guys do the mounting, channel cutting? and how much extra would this be? obviously it would be probably $15 each way for shipping, and then $120 for the frame...i'll be looking at a $750 skate totally done....pretty crazy, i used to get year old top of the line ice skates for $200.

Yes, we mount them for $30. The channel hasn't even been necessary in most cases, because the arch of the boot is enough space. Where I did it, it was hard to find afterwards, so it wasn't much.

I use good inexpensive ice boots for most of my own skates. The year old model Vapors were cheap and the outer edge of the sole sags none, which is way less than most high end factory mount roller boots. Boots usually hang off the outside edge of Hummers, because the mount plate is narrow.

There are killer ice boots out there with great prices. And the A80 is $125 because of material and shipping. The A6 is still $119.

So I could send you my Vector 8.0's with the chassis already off, and a check for $XXX and you would mount the Sprung 80 chassis on my boots (and grind if necessary) and ship them back to me? What would the total be for all of this?

It's $30 and $125 plus shipping. Way better if I send you the mounting hardware along with the frame. It is not very hard to do, and if you have a question in the middle of it, I can probably get you past it. You can do a better job at home than a lot of places that seldom use their mount machine.

But the large A80 won't be available for a couple of weeks yet.

[sdomm 0]

is the A80 going to be longer, taking up more room on the outsole of the skate? that's really the only problem i have with them is the way they look on 10.5 size skates. why don't you guys accomodate bigger and smaller sizes, will you ever? thanks.......anyone have any idea where i could get Graf's without the ice blade on them?i was planning on getting my 703's on ebay because itwas just the boot, but i was just outbide for $300, and i don't think it makes too much sense to buy used when i can spend an extra 80 and get them new, but if i could get them new without the $70 ice blade that would be even better.

[fatwabbit 93]

got some sherwood eframes if you interested... they are essentially the same as the redstar ones, only difference is that the sherwood ones are already black in colour.

[LoXish 0]

Those 709s are soooo sexy.

[Icedog03 0]

Do this set up

[raygunpk 0]

that looks wicked

[rollerhockeymavin 0]

Guys,

I am in the process of mounting a hummer chassis to a graf 705 boot size 12. Two questions

If I use all 76mm will I have to dremmel anything from the outsole(2mm-3mm) and will I lose alot of speed vs. using all 80mm's ? I know I will have to create a channel if a use all 80mm's.

If you use all 76mm wheels on a large frame will it mess up your balance?

thanks

[malcb33 97]

Guys,

I am in the process of mounting a hummer chassis to a graf 705 boot size 12. Two questions

If I use all 76mm will I have to dremmel anything from the outsole(2mm-3mm) and will I lose alot of speed vs. using all 80mm's ? I know I will have to create a channel if a use all 80mm's.

If you use all 76mm wheels on a large frame will it mess up your balance?

thanks

I found that the all 80mm set-up held there speed more so than a hilo or all 76mm set-up, the top end speed wasn't to much better IMO. Its worth while to cut the channel to use the all 80mm set-up if you skate on bigger rinks, its not that difficult and there is an advantage IMO. Hope this helps?

[rollerhockeymavin 0]

Guys,

I am in the process of mounting a hummer chassis to a graf 705 boot size 12. Two questions

If I use all 76mm will I have to dremmel anything from the outsole(2mm-3mm) and will I lose alot of speed vs. using all 80mm's ? I know I will have to create a channel if a use all 80mm's.

If you use all 76mm wheels on a large frame will it mess up your balance?

thanks

I found that the all 80mm set-up held there speed more so than a hilo or all 76mm set-up, the top end speed wasn't to much better IMO. Its worth while to cut the channel to use the all 80mm set-up if you skate on bigger rinks, its not that difficult and there is an advantage IMO. Hope this helps?

thanks. Just another question. I play on a small court most of the time. would you opinion change?

[malcb33 97]

Mmm maybe, you me it would depend on how you play? I found the Hummer a little bit worse than a Hilo for acceleration and agility (but not by much). The Hummers I found were held there speed and were more solid (maybe because of then longer wheel base), so up to you? 76's on a Hummer is a waste, I'd just use a Hilo instead?

[rollerhockeymavin 0]

Mmm maybe, you me it would depend on how you play? I found the Hummer a little bit worse than a Hilo for acceleration and agility (but not by much). The Hummers I found were held there speed and were more solid (maybe because of then longer wheel base), so up to you? 76's on a Hummer is a waste, I'd just use a Hilo instead?

thanks...

[Hoffer 0]

I personally find myself stopping more on smaller rinks and for me I have had the most stopping power using the hummer frame. So i would say go all 80's. Like Malcb33 said going all 76's would be pointless.

[rollerhockeymavin 0]

Mmm maybe, you me it would depend on how you play? I found the Hummer a little bit worse than a Hilo for acceleration and agility (but not by much). The Hummers I found were held there speed and were more solid (maybe because of then longer wheel base), so up to you? 76's on a Hummer is a waste, I'd just use a Hilo instead?

Using my graf 705's with the hummer chassis(80's) and really liking the set-up. You might lose a little in manuverability but you gain in speed and stopping. so far so good...

[Spreedizzle 1]

Mmm maybe, you me it would depend on how you play? I found the Hummer a little bit worse than a Hilo for acceleration and agility (but not by much). The Hummers I found were held there speed and were more solid (maybe because of then longer wheel base), so up to you? 76's on a Hummer is a waste, I'd just use a Hilo instead?

And you also gain in overall grip by using a larger diameter wheel.

Using my graf 705's with the hummer chassis(80's) and really liking the set-up. You might lose a little in manuverability but you gain in speed and stopping. so far so good...