Drilling Step Steel?

[Too Old 1]

I'll admit, saving a couple ounces off each skate may or may not be of any real benefit. I honestly don't know. But I do know that my skates sometimes feel more like work boots than athletic shoes and I don't care for that feeling much. And I also know that people always go gaga over the latest and lightest skates.... "weight at the extremity is the toughest to move" and all that jazz. Plus, the Step steel is what, 10% taller than stock? And therefore 10% heavier, right? I love the fit of my boots and the power transfer is good, and I try to work on my foot speed every time I drill. But I still can't help but wonder if lighter skates would help me get past that foot-in-the-mud feeling I sometimes get. On my road bike, I could care less - I laugh at the gram-fags on their composite bikes as I pass them on my old school aluminum frame. On the other hand, when I drove SCCA GT3 race cars, reducing unsprung weight (wheels/tires/brakes) had a HUGE impact on performance. Skates being more analogous to car wheels than bike frames, I do wonder if there isn't a real performance benefit to lighting up the skate. What do you guys think? Kind of tangential to the original topic, but are lighter skates a benefit or not? Obviously not as a substitute for training or a short cut for a lazy skater... but do they improve someone of a given level measurably or not? Clearly skate manufacturers have a bias to want us to believe it matters... but does it?

The reason the "gram-fags" ride carbon fiber roadbikes isn't totally for less weight but that is a nice benefit. The carbon fiber frames provide a much better ride quality than a cheap aluminum frame. Steel is great for ride quality but heavy. Ti is also nice but uber-expensive. Carbon fiber is good and often a bit less than ti for cost. There are some good aluminum frames out there though. Crack-n-fail, er... Cannondale pretty much pioneered the decent aluminum frames for the US market. Oh... I ride a mediocre aluminum-framed Raleigh road bike but my mountain bike is a VERY light carbon fiber Giant. Carbon fiber front triangle, shock rocker links, front fork lowers, rear shock body, rims, etc. Does it make me a better biker? No, conditioning will do that. But it does help to have better tools to get the job done. For me I felt a light mountain bike was more necessary than a light road bike. That said... the minimalistic drop in weight for a pair of runners to me is just not worth it. As to a race car situation I drag race and reducing unpsrung weight allows you better capability to tune the suspension system (shocks/etc). But, my dragster has no suspension like my previous door cars did. I do wear a carbon fiber helmet (and Hutchens Hybrid head & neck restraint system) to reduce the G load on the neck upon acceleration and also when the chute is thrown. Plus in the event of an accident the lighter helmet is a benefit. YMMV.

[furlanitalia 1]

Just an odd thought - why not just get different skates that don't weigh as much as grafs....

[english15x 3]

Just an odd thought - why not just get different skates that don't weigh as much as grafs....

agreed. i just switched from G3's to one95's. Couldn't be happier with the fit and stiffness of the skate. the weight reduction is a nice bonus too.

[rachael7 1]

Just an odd thought - why not just get different skates that don't weigh as much as grafs....

Perfectly fair question and I'm definitely thinking about it. But $500 for new skates vs. my own free time and a $50 set of steel... plus the fact that I love the fit and pitch of my Graf boots... makes me think about trying to hang on to my year-old G35 for a few more years yet.

[JR Boucicaut 3810]

Just an odd thought - why not just get different skates that don't weigh as much as grafs....

Maybe they fit her best?

[furlanitalia 1]

Maybe they fit her best?

I thought of that and also considered the costs associated with buying new skates but was just curious if she'd considered it based on how much time is being put into trying to reduce the weight of her current steel (not boot). It was nothing more than a question, sorry if it came off as something more.

[JR Boucicaut 3810]

I'm just saying, everyone seems to be jumping on her and all she's talking about is a pet project. I mean, it is more creative than someone putting a Sharpie to their skates.

I think that if she were really that serious about gram-counting, she already knows the solution, and that is to switch out holders.

[shotty 7]

I mean, it is more creative than someone putting a Sharpie to their skates.

love it.

[cbart 1]

My 2 cents...I've got the Step Steel Velocity for my LS2's (on Easton's) that I put on once and was surprised by the added weight. I knew it would feel heavier, but it is a real issue for me. I am currently milking the stock steel for all it's worth and coaxing a few more sharpenings out of them before going step steel full time (or till the Fusion is out).

[Gwyren 0]

Good grief. She wants to try something and so many people are so quick jump on her.

Rachael7, good luck on what you are trying to do, I hope it works out for you, and, after you are done, please let us know what you did and how it worked out.

[Chadd 916]

Since they're taller than stock steel, having them ground down is going to be easier and produce the same or greater benefit in weight reduction. It's also less likely to result in a mistake that ruins the steel. Then again, it won't look nearly as cool.

[fastbrother7 0]

Im definately a fan of tweaking, so more power to those who try. I was agreeing in a sense that after I personally lost 12 lbs of pork from my sides late last year, I felt much faster lol

[furlanitalia 1]

Good grief. She wants to try something and so many people are so quick jump on her.

Rachael7, good luck on what you are trying to do, I hope it works out for you, and, after you are done, please let us know what you did and how it worked out.

I don't think anyone was really jumping her for wanting to try something, they were more trying to offer other solutions that won't risk her potentially ruining her steel.

[JR Boucicaut 3810]

Come on, you guys told her to lose weight and hit the gym! LOL :)

[rachael7 1]

Hey, it's all good - I'm up for a spirited discussion. And I can respect the position that it's a dumb idea. After all, even the skate manufacturers are mostly moving away from the idea, although they do keep playing with lighter steel/holder ideas, so who knows. I was just a bit bummed that people would be so quick to accuse me of wanting to take a shortcut - I'm no pro, but I do work at my game as hard as I can. But then I'm used to having to work at my game pretty hard - after all, us girls aren't blessed with the crazy right wrist strength you boys all seem to have for some reason ;)

Seriously though, about the only grams I usually count are my carbs. But like a previous poster, I noticed the increased weight when I switched to Step and it's had me thinking, that's all. Yeah, I could profile and take off half the steel. But then I lose half the life (and $) of the blade and I lose the extra height which I kind of enjoy. So I'm just toying with the idea right now. I just got invited to a tourney next weekend and this weekend is tax time (ugh), so it may be a while before I actually make chips. But if I do give it a go, I'll take some pictures and report back. Thanks for the input!

[fastbrother7 0]

Come on, you guys told her to lose weight and hit the gym! LOL :)

All these years of being a husband and I still manage to not-on-purpose imply the worst lol :lol: Good luck on your testing though Rachel

[Vathsdrop 0]

Physiologically it's much better to lose weight on your body or maybe gain a kilo of muscle depends of your bmi.. than working on exogenous stuff like gears especially when the weight saving is unsignificant (few grams).

But i still think she has an awesome setup (G35 + step).. i would even be completely receptive to some pictures of these B)

[Too Old 1]

How about having a composite shop make carbon fiber holders? Cost would be ugly but weight/strength are off the hook. Carbon fiber is amazingly strong and I'd believe it would not have any issues with puck impacts. The only real issue I could see may be skate nicks as it could lead to a structural failure if they were deep enough. Pics of my two other most favorite carbon fiber items (besides hockey sticks):

"gram-fag" :D (20.83 lb) mtb with c/f frame, fork, shock, rims, etc

c/f skid lid along with head & neck restraint system

[chippa13 1844]

Physiologically it's much better to lose weight on your body or maybe gain a kilo of muscle depends of your bmi.. than working on exogenous stuff like gears especially when the weight saving is unsignificant (few grams).

But i still think she has an awesome setup (G35 + step).. i would even be completely receptive to some pictures of these B)

BMI is a farce.

[SirJW 207]

I have wondered why sticks aren't made to be as durable as CF bikes or helmets. Anyone?

Also why so much hate for a simple question? If it's so dumb to cut weight off of the steel why do other manufactures do it to eliminate weight?

[chippa13 1844]

Sticks are required to fail under a certain amount of force, someone probably knows what it is, but it is a safety issue. If the stick doesn't break then the leg will.

[furlanitalia 1]

BMI is a farce.

Especially for any anthlete due to the added weight of muscle. It is also a very in accurate report of body fat. Probably because (my understanding) is that it doesn't measure body fat lol

[Too Old 1]

You can't make a stick strong enough to not break yet have proper flex. The frame of the bike and especially the helmet shell are a lot thicker than any hockey stick.

[Chadd 916]

I have wondered why sticks aren't made to be as durable as CF bikes or helmets. Anyone?

Also why so much hate for a simple question? If it's so dumb to cut weight off of the steel why do other manufactures do it to eliminate weight?

You can make an unbreakable stick but people that spend $200-$300 on a stick want performance, not durability.

I think chasing weight is overblown in general, but manufacturers are doing it through design and testing, not drilling random holes. Factor in that the same, or greater, reduction could be achieved by reducing the height of the steel and drilling holes makes even less sense. Once the holes are drilled, you're reducing the amount of usable steel anyway, so it isn't like cross grinding a third of the steel off is going to result in less usable steel than drilling holes.

[TBLfan 25]

Easton, Graf, Bauer and CCM/Reebok all pretty much did the same thing as drilling holes with their runners at one point.

Also, the steel closest to the holder isn't usable steel anyway... which is why everyone has tried this technique to reduce weight.