Why you shouldn't lace up tight.

[Vet88 674]

They were a great idea but they broke easily and for eqm's they were a nightmare in game so no pros would wear them hence general public perception was poor.

[puckpilot 312]

3 hours ago, start_today said:

That lace lock is my #1 hockey tech that disappeared that I’d love to bring back. 

If you like them that much, you can take them off an old pair of skates and put them into any other pair using a bolt and flat nut. I took them off my Rbks and put them on my current skates. I also have a bunch of them I bought off eBay.  

[Beflar 53]

11 hours ago, puckpilot said:

If you like them that much, you can take them off an old pair of skates and put them into any other pair using a bolt and flat nut. I took them off my Rbks and put them on my current skates. I also have a bunch of them I bought off eBay.  

What search term did you use to find them?

[start_today 770]

13 hours ago, Vet88 said:

They were a great idea but they broke easily and for eqm's they were a nightmare in game so no pros would wear them hence general public perception was poor.

I defer to people who have more inside knowledge, but do average consumers pay attention to if pro players use the lace lock on their skates? It would have been such a smallish percentage of players in RBK skates anyway, and the minutia to zoom into high def pics to see if Matt Duchesne uses the lace lock seems like a lot of work. 

I would assume they were just an extra cost that most people didn’t care about, and it was easy to cut out of the manufacturing process. 

[Left Wing King 50]

People lacing up their skates with that feature should have at least used it to see if they liked it or not. Same with the extra holes you get on running trainers. Try them, if you like them, use them, if not, oh well.

[stick9 891]

1 hour ago, start_today said:

I defer to people who have more inside knowledge, but do average consumers pay attention to if pro players use the lace lock on their skates? It would have been such a smallish percentage of players in RBK skates anyway, and the minutia to zoom into high def pics to see if Matt Duchesne uses the lace lock seems like a lot of work. 

I would assume they were just an extra cost that most people didn’t care about, and it was easy to cut out of the manufacturing process. 

It was cost and weight that did the lace locks in. They were a staple on every ccm skate until they entered the weight game.

[boo10 323]

26 minutes ago, stick9 said:

It was cost and weight that did the lace locks in. They were a staple on every ccm skate until they entered the weight game.

I hated them at first, but eventually grew to like them.  Was actually disappointed to see them go the way of the Dodo.  Having said that, you can achieve almost the same result by lacing outside-in on that eyelet.

[the_game 452]

bring back the heel wedge! And the Micron Toe Clip while we're at it.

 

[puckpilot 312]

5 hours ago, Beflar said:

What search term did you use to find them?

Skate eyelet lock. 

[caveman27 208]

23 hours ago, the_game said:

bring back the heel wedge! And the Micron Toe Clip while we're at it.

 

I always that the Top Clip was a gimmick. Micron Air 90 fit like a glove though.

[Westside 232]

Met up with a friend this evening to do some skating along the coast at sunset. Didn’t even realize until we got back that I left the top two laces of my True TF9’s undone. I remembered thinking a few times while we were out that I get I had a lot of forward flex, but at no time did I feel my skates/ankles were loose. This thread popped into my mind. Definitely something I’m going to experiment with more 

[Miller55 333]

Leaving eyelets undone for a casual skate is very different from playing with them undone. Takes a lot more adjustment and stability to keep your feet under you when you're making hard cuts and in the middle of the action than just cruising down the street.

 

Not trying to criticize, just trying to help you understand so you experiment safely and incrementally. First time I ever dropped laces was because my laces were all frayed at the end and they came out of the top eyelet and I couldn't get them back in and didn't have a spare set. I felt like a baby giraffe and took a while to get adjusted. 

[Westside 232]

Oh I 100% get it. I was not planning on playing with two dropped eyelets anytime soon, but it might be something I experiment with a bit more in the future 

[Beflar 53]

3 hours ago, Westside said:

Oh I 100% get it. I was not planning on playing with two dropped eyelets anytime soon, but it might be something I experiment with a bit more in the future 

Been looking into this a lot lately.  It seems a good method would be, before you tie the top lace,  you flex your ankle forward then tie the top lace up.  Mimizk method.  It seems a good trade off between lateral support and forward flexing.  I'm sure what ever method you use depends on the skates you have.  

[Vet88 674]

8 hours ago, Beflar said:

Been looking into this a lot lately.  It seems a good method would be, before you tie the top lace,  you flex your ankle forward then tie the top lace up.  Mimizk method.  It seems a good trade off between lateral support and forward flexing.  I'm sure what ever method you use depends on the skates you have.  

freestylers use this forward flex method a lot, here's a vid of one guy showing this (as well as going for a no lace skate).

 

[shoot_the_goalie 281]

On 4/30/2021 at 2:12 PM, caveman27 said:

I always that the Top Clip was a gimmick. Micron Air 90 fit like a glove though.

I though the toe clip was a gimmick as well.  However, you absolutely needed it with that skate.  I finally retired (trashed) my pair after 15 years cause the toe clip broke, and once it does that you essentially lost the first few lower eyelets of the skate.  Wasn't the toe clip called something like the "power clip"?  I had the Micron 10-90.  Was a great skate, gimmick or no gimmick.

[the_game 452]

2 hours ago, shoot_the_goalie said:

I though the toe clip was a gimmick as well.  However, you absolutely needed it with that skate.  I finally retired (trashed) my pair after 15 years cause the toe clip broke, and once it does that you essentially lost the first few lower eyelets of the skate.  Wasn't the toe clip called something like the "power clip"?  I had the Micron 10-90.  Was a great skate, gimmick or no gimmick.

Yea the Micron clip was the 'Power Clip.' With the Microns or Mega's that I had I always thought it was the cut of the boot, the angle of the eyelets, & depth that made them stand out. I remember a buddy who played in the OHL was still able to get custom skates from Bauer that were 'Mega' builds up until 99 or maybe 2000.

[Vet88 674]

Interesting article about speed and power. Once again, the ankle is really important, to quote "The greatest power during walking, running and jumping is produced at the ankle joint."

https://www.menshealth.com.au/heres-why-lamont-marcell-jacobs-is-the-fastest-sprinter-in-the-world

[BenBreeg 493]

Good read, would be interesting to see some measurement of the stretch shortening cycle for skating vs. running.

Joe DeFranco tests athletes’ counter movement jump (utilizing stretch shortening) vs. their static jump to determine whether they are utilizing their stored energy or relying on more muscular strength and then adjusts training accordingly.

[bthompson1286 5]

On 4/28/2021 at 10:02 PM, Vet88 said:

They were a great idea but they broke easily and for eqm's they were a nightmare in game so no pros would wear them hence general public perception was poor.

The lace lock wasn’t hard to adjust.  

[Sniper9 530]

The reason I drop an eyelet is so I can tie my skates tight from top to bottom and still get the flexion, consistently. I don't like tying the top eyelet looser bc it affects the tension for the rest of the eyelets even with waxed laces. 

[nystromshairstylist 14]

I remember seeing someone who used 2 laces per skates, a longer, tightly-tied one for the bottom eyelets, and a separate lace that they tied less tightly for the top 2-3 eyelets.

Simple solution that seemed to work well for them.

[Larry54 243]

17 hours ago, Sniper9 said:

The reason I drop an eyelet is so I can tie my skates tight from top to bottom and still get the flexion, consistently. I don't like tying the top eyelet looser bc it affects the tension for the rest of the eyelets even with waxed laces. 

I'm pretty similar but I skip the top 2 eyelets and lace them moderately and evenly tight from top (3rd eyelet) to bottom.

[Beflar 53]

4 hours ago, nystromshairstylist said:

I remember seeing someone who used 2 laces per skates, a longer, tightly-tied one for the bottom eyelets, and a separate lace that they tied less tightly for the top 2-3 eyelets.

Simple solution that seemed to work well for them.

I don't know why but you just blew my mind.

[nystromshairstylist 14]

On 8/8/2021 at 9:36 PM, Beflar said:

I don't know why but you just blew my mind.

I am not sure if that is a positive comment, or a blistering, underhanded and brutally severe insult in the grandiose style of Mark Twain at his most cutting.