Step takes on Fusion

[jsykes 35]

Not sure if anyone has seen this, I tried to search and found nothing.

Looks like Step Steel is bring out a runner to compete with Tuuk Fusion steel. Its the Ti SS and uses titanium instead of aluminum for the light material, bonded to the steel. Wonder what pricing will be like as Ti is a lot more expensive than aluminum, however, its also stronger.

[rachael7 1]

Oh, now THAT is tempting... quality of step steel without all the extra weight... that will sell, especially if they hit a vaguely sane price point. I'd certainly consider it when it comes time to replace my Fusion runners.

[DolomaticDangles 13]

Whats the price like? I didnt see it on the site

[wall2727 0]

lighter...hhmmm! holders and runners are the heaviest part of most skates now..

[cbart 1]

lighter...hhmmm! holders and runners are the heaviest part of most skates now..

Anyone out there using the Ti-SS that could give us some feedback?!

[hehatemefrisbee 0]

i certainly doubt that titanium will be any cheaper than aluminum....

[jimmy 194]

They are not available yet, goal is for January sometime, but probably will be later than that. Also, titanium is not cheap.

[goaliemanshark 6]

Epic, just plain epic. Want, now!

[mdamson 0]

30% lighter than what? Also, Titanium is denser than aluminum. Thus for the same width, more weight. I don't understand what Titanium is going to add to a skate blade, other than hype, and cost.

[goaliemanshark 6]

Titanium is lighter then the steel. So these fused step steel blades end up saving weight compared to their normal solid steel ones. They will not be as light as the Bauer Fusion blades due to aluminum being lighter then titanium.

[jimmy 194]

I think the advantage will be the titanium is stronger. The fusions tend to break/seperate where the bolt head goes. With titanium, that won't happen. I think both the Fusion and the new Step are good products, we'll just have to wait till the steps come out and people start using them to see how they perform. I can't imagine though how much a TI-SS Velocity runner wil cost.

[crazyhick 19]

not to slightly de-rail the topic, but where can i get my hands on this steel? I know these are new, and i wouldnt get them anyways because i use the e-pro. i just cant seem to find a shop that has them

[cbart 1]

not to slightly de-rail the topic, but where can i get my hands on this steel? I know these are new, and i wouldnt get them anyways because i use the e-pro. i just cant seem to find a shop that has them

"They are not available yet, goal is for January sometime, but probably will be later than that. Also, titanium is not cheap. "

[crazyhick 19]

i didn't mean the titanium ones, i meant the regular steel

[coldshoulder 0]

i didn't mean the titanium ones, i meant the regular steel

Got my Velocity runners from noicingsports.com.

[jimmy 194]

i didn't mean the titanium ones, i meant the regular steel

STEP isn't new, many shops have the STEP regular steel, and it is avail in Epro.

[aal 3]

Anyone know what happened to the Step website? It isn't up now. Is the company still in business?

[chilaxin12 2]

Try this...

It works for me. I've been skating on Velocity steel since last winter, holds an edge great, I don't really notice a difference in speed or glide with it but overall and improvement over the LS 2.1 steel that came stock in my One 95's.

[aal 3]

i replaced the cobra blades on my grafs with regular step blades, and it has a much better pitch for me; a more neutral pitch. i just got some vapor 40's and am wondering how the step replacement blade pitch compares with the ls2; anyone know? also, i think the radius on the step was 11', like the cobra. anyone know what the radius is on the step for the ls2; 9'?

[stuie7 6]

I went from Graf G70's (Cobra) to Nike Flexlite 12's (LS2), both with Step Velocity.

I didn't feel the difference between the Graf's (Cobra holder, Step Velocity steel) and the original Cobra steel in terms of pitch. When switching to the Nike's (LS2 holder, Step Velocity steel) I found them more neutral than the Graf's with Step Velocity steel but it wasn't a huge transition. I'd previously tried to skate on Custom+'s and found the absolute neutral pitch almost impossible.

[MLSman 22]

I went from Graf G70's (Cobra) to Nike Flexlite 12's (LS2), both with Step Velocity.

I didn't feel the difference between the Graf's (Cobra holder, Step Velocity steel) and the original Cobra steel in terms of pitch. When switching to the Nike's (LS2 holder, Step Velocity steel) I found them more neutral than the Graf's with Step Velocity steel but it wasn't a huge transition. I'd previously tried to skate on Custom+'s and found the absolute neutral pitch almost impossible.

Keep in mind you are also comparing two different boots. The Graf boot is made with a forward pitch. As far as the holders are concerned, the LS2 holder is close to neutral (slightly negative, but not by much) and the Custom+ is negative. What you are describing has less to do with the velocity steel and way more to do with the transition to a different boot.

Step Steel is advantageous because they use better quality steel vs others. It should be no secret that most manufacturers buy steel from overseas (use a stainless wood screw made in China vs one made in the US and you will know what I mean) and the quality of the manufacturing process varies greatly. In addition, most steel you see on retail skates are made from recycled steel, so the variance in quality increases tremendously. If you were to take the set of retail steel you have and look at it under a microscope, you would see varying degrees of porousness or foreign particles everywhere. The end result is that retail skate steel is getting worse. Now with concepts like fusion steel, I will certainly be looking towards step to get more life for my blades...now that the trend is to reduce the total amount of steel.

[stuie7 6]

Yeah. I agree with you, thats why I said:

I didn't feel the difference between the Graf's (Cobra holder, Step Velocity steel) and the original Cobra steel in terms of pitch.

I should have made clear that I was talking about the same Graf skate with the same Cobra holder, with 2 kinds of steel.

To add your comment about Step, I'd also note it's made out of a higher grade then all retail steel, I believe Easton use 303 whilst Step use 304. I could not believe the difference in glide and how long the edges last for that I have experienced with Step on my local "choppy" ice. I feel going back to a retail steel would be a big step back after getting used to it.

[aal 3]

Do the Fusion blades have better steel than the regular LS2 blades?

[greenstripetowel 1]

im looking to replace my stock steel in my graf 735s. would it be recommended to replace the cobra nt-3000 holders with Tuuks as well or leave them alone. And what would be a better runner between step and bauer fusions. thanks

[MLSman 22]

Do the Fusion blades have better steel than the regular LS2 blades?

Doubt it...almost all skate manufacturers are using recycled steel today, so the term "better" is hard to qualify because of the variance in imperfections from blade to blade.