Newron chassis

[henryb 4]

I ran across a set of these on sale on eBay, so they appeared to have a similar concept to the Sprung chassis, so I perused their website to get more information.

They have 3 different models, one for Roller hockey, with the paired wheels closer together; another model for recreational Inline skating; and another for off ice training. All models are made of aluminum.

They seem to have done alot of research on this product, 12 years in the making! So I was wondering if anyone has tried them or knows anything more then what they show on the website?

They are promoting it as a way to use the same stride as ice hockey skates! Could be interesting? www.newronsports.com

[mhkehoe 1]

I ran across a set of these on sale on eBay, so they appeared to have a similar concept to the Sprung chassis, so I perused their website to get more information.

They have 3 different models, one for Roller hockey, with the paired wheels closer together; another model for recreational Inline skating; and another for off ice training. All models are made of aluminum.

They seem to have done alot of research on this product, 12 years in the making! So I was wondering if anyone has tried them or knows anything more then what they show on the website?

They are promoting it as a way to use the same stride as ice hockey skates! Could be interesting? www.newronsports.com

Guy I play outdoor roller hockey with has them. He plays a ton of hockey including ice and likes the way they feel. He said he didn't like the Sprungs because of the plastic chassis. The rockers broke 2 or 3 times from sticks or pucks hitting them, so he ended up getting new rockers machined out of steel and since then he hasn't broke them while out with us. That is about all I know about them.

[bones71 1]

Guy I play outdoor roller hockey with has them. He plays a ton of hockey including ice and likes the way they feel. He said he didn't like the Sprungs because of the plastic chassis. The rockers broke 2 or 3 times from sticks or pucks hitting them, so he ended up getting new rockers machined out of steel and since then he hasn't broke them while out with us. That is about all I know about them.

Having skated on both I would suggest the Sprung to be hands down a superior product. The real "Meat" in the Sprung is the fact that it is an actual suspension. The Newron product only pivots on a single plane. There is biomechanical flex and torsion inherent in the human body and, thusly, in the "Hockey" stride that is not accounted for in the aluminum Newron chassis. It is quite rigid. Even a Hum'r or Mission chassis allows for movement laterally and torsionally which allows some flex/movement and return of energy at the release of the stride. With a pivot only movement the Newron feels as though the wheels are sometimes not aligned giving a slipping type of feel. Sprungs seem to "track" for lack of a better term. This is due in large part to Keith's choice of materials - they flex.

Think back to the early days of TUUK when they were either black plastic or clear polycarbonate. Both rigid and both prone to breakage.

Disclaimer - Only used Newron chassis on sealed concrete and sport court, never on asphalt - Take it for what it's worth.

[wetwilly17 6]

There is biomechanical flex and torsion inherent in the human body and, thusly, in the "Hockey" stride that is not accounted for in the aluminum Newron chassis. It is quite rigid. Even a Hum'r or Mission chassis allows for movement laterally and torsionally which allows some flex/movement and return of energy at the release of the stride.

as a mechanical engineer, i have to disagree with your statements. i don't know anything about newron, but the rigid frames (hummer and vangaurd) are not designed to flex. obviously all structural components flex under load but it is insignificant for hockey frames. and i do not like the lateral flex i feel in the plastic sprung chassis, which is why i am looking forward to the mag version.

[bones71 1]

as a mechanical engineer, i have to disagree with your statements. i don't know anything about newron, but the rigid frames (hummer and vangaurd) are not designed to flex. obviously all structural components flex under load but it is insignificant for hockey frames. and i do not like the lateral flex i feel in the plastic sprung chassis, which is why i am looking forward to the mag version.

I don't know if flex is part of the design of any fixed wheels chassis. I can feel movement that seems to equate to flex in both Hum'r and Mission, in differing degrees. My suggestions were specific to my experience and the feedback from a sizable customer base, and specific to comparison of Newron to Sprung. I am no mechanical engineer, just a shop owner who is always looking for good info. Thanks for yours.

[henryb 4]

It appears that Newron has updated their chassis design, the current design seems to have some type of rubber compound with a tight fitting center mount hinge. Thus providing some type of suspension... Now this is completely from observation of the Roller Hockey Pro chassis on their website... I don't know if this is actually how they work.

If what I am seeing is accurate, there is still one main difference, Sprung's still have 4 independently moving arms, where the Newron appear to have 2 sets of fixed arms that hold 2 wheels each. Thus with the Sprung's you go from skating on 4, then 3, then 2, then one wheel, as you stride forward... with the Newron, I would guess you would go from 4 wheels to 2 wheels and thus would not have the same smooth feel that everyone experiences on Sprung's (which I can vouch for).

That being said, I might be interested in trying a set for outdoor pleasure skating with the kids. Newron report they handle bumps, holes and foreign objects like stones and sticks better than any solid chassis. But for hockey, I'm going to stick with Sprung's.

[Holden Caulfield 5]

Food for thought - I play both ice hockey and roller hockey. For roller hockey, I mounted A7 Sprungs on size 10 Bauer 19 skates which were only used for outdoor hockey on asphault and when I initially used them they gave me a rather significant TOE pop, very unlike an ice skate. My hypothesis for the TOE pop is that the radius created by the Sprung suspension is far less, at the toe of the skate, than the radius on an ice blade.

Over time the chassis plate wore out where the arms are seated and this began to create a significant pivot in the arm assembly that interestingly enough made the Sprungs feel a lot more like an ice skate when striding. I believe this is the ice feeling that the Newron skate is trying to mimic, and may do a better job than Sprung in this area. However, while the pivot on the Newron chassis may provide a more ice like stride feeling, the Sprungs, due to its independent suspension, may be superior for grip and control while turning which are other critical factors to consider when deciding on a hockey chassis.

Keith - if you are reading this - what about Sprung independent suspension with a pivot on the front assembly.

KB

[playthehawkee 0]

Idk how that would work out. The way the sprungs are now that front wheel sucks up into the chassis pretty good. The only way to make that pivot too would be to raise the height i would think and that in turn would put more stress onto the arms/pivot pins. Just a thought.