Not a fan.
I'm a pretty sturdy girl and consider myself pretty agile. I could not skate on these wheels. I tried the green (90) and black (88) combo, which should be pretty grippy considering I usually skate on all 93s, but after an hour of practice I could barely stay upright. I crossed over, I slid. Someone hit me, I fell down. Not a good feeling!
Another teammate tried these wheels and face planted while trying to cross over. Three other girls skated most of a season in them, all but one went back to normal narrow or wide width wheels after these wore out.
I do know girls that love the crap out of these wheels, so borrow a set and try them out if you are interested, but I've never had this much trouble with a set of wheels before, so I'd definitely try them before you buy them.
Monday, June 21, 2010
The Ultimate Ultimate Slippery Combo
OMG.
So I love me some Sugars and Trackers (see previous posts). And I love me some Atom wheels. So when Atom came out with the Poison, which is it's version of the Sugar, I of course "had" to have them. I bought them just in time for a tournament on slippery cement and did not wear them at all prior to skating the first bout. As usual with Atom wheels, no break in time. And unlike the Sugars, which still had some minimal sliding when taking corners at high speeds, I didn't slide at all with the Poisons. I did get some minor shin splits while warming up due to the insane amount of grip, but I adjusted to it after a few laps and had no issues during the actual bout. I've skated on these in two slippery venues and had great results.
However.
For slippery sport court, I still think Grods and Sugars work the best. The Poisons were a little slow on this surface for me. Both Sugars and Poisons are great pushers if you have crappy wheels on the outside and can only afford 4 new wheels.
So I love me some Sugars and Trackers (see previous posts). And I love me some Atom wheels. So when Atom came out with the Poison, which is it's version of the Sugar, I of course "had" to have them. I bought them just in time for a tournament on slippery cement and did not wear them at all prior to skating the first bout. As usual with Atom wheels, no break in time. And unlike the Sugars, which still had some minimal sliding when taking corners at high speeds, I didn't slide at all with the Poisons. I did get some minor shin splits while warming up due to the insane amount of grip, but I adjusted to it after a few laps and had no issues during the actual bout. I've skated on these in two slippery venues and had great results.
However.
For slippery sport court, I still think Grods and Sugars work the best. The Poisons were a little slow on this surface for me. Both Sugars and Poisons are great pushers if you have crappy wheels on the outside and can only afford 4 new wheels.
BZerk wheels, Shock Doctor Hockey Insoles
So, for those of you that don't know me, I have special needs feet. They are flat, wide in the toe, narrow in the heel, and attached to very damaged ankles. I am on my 5th pair of skates and have tried every insole known to woman, including custom orthodics. Every single one of them gave me horrible foot cramps, so I've been skating on nothing.
I'd been doing some research on insoles, and noticed that a lot of derby peeps on various forums were singing the praises of the Shock Doctor Hockey Insoles, so naturally, I bought some. I figured that insoles designed to support your feet during the rigors of skating would be better than one designed for just walking or running in a straight line.
I WAS RIGHT!!!! Wheeeeee!!!!!! Finally! Not only did I not have to take them out after 5 minutes, but I was able to wear them straight through a 2 hour endurance practice. Holy shit, Batman.
Also new in the world of Servix are the new BZerk wheels, specifically the Madman (91A) and the Psycho (88A). I wore the Psychos on the inside (left side) of each skate as pushers. I think these wheels are ment to be the equivalent of the Atom line of wheels with the Psycho being like the Stinger, the Madman being like the Tracker, the Schitzo (hee hee) being like the D-Rod, and the Lunatic being like the Fusion. The wheels are hollow core (like the above-mentioned Atom wheels), had little to no break in time (also like Atom wheels), and were much more grippy than comparable durometers from Radar and Sure Grip. I was definitely able to dig in on the corners without feeling like I was skating through mud (the unfortunate side effect of some grippy wheels). They are priced about the same as Atom wheels too. Over all, LOVED THEM. The funky colors and names are a nice bonus :).
I'd been doing some research on insoles, and noticed that a lot of derby peeps on various forums were singing the praises of the Shock Doctor Hockey Insoles, so naturally, I bought some. I figured that insoles designed to support your feet during the rigors of skating would be better than one designed for just walking or running in a straight line.
I WAS RIGHT!!!! Wheeeeee!!!!!! Finally! Not only did I not have to take them out after 5 minutes, but I was able to wear them straight through a 2 hour endurance practice. Holy shit, Batman.
Also new in the world of Servix are the new BZerk wheels, specifically the Madman (91A) and the Psycho (88A). I wore the Psychos on the inside (left side) of each skate as pushers. I think these wheels are ment to be the equivalent of the Atom line of wheels with the Psycho being like the Stinger, the Madman being like the Tracker, the Schitzo (hee hee) being like the D-Rod, and the Lunatic being like the Fusion. The wheels are hollow core (like the above-mentioned Atom wheels), had little to no break in time (also like Atom wheels), and were much more grippy than comparable durometers from Radar and Sure Grip. I was definitely able to dig in on the corners without feeling like I was skating through mud (the unfortunate side effect of some grippy wheels). They are priced about the same as Atom wheels too. Over all, LOVED THEM. The funky colors and names are a nice bonus :).
Friday, April 23, 2010
Fugitive Mids and the ultimate slippery combo
Fugitive Mids
So first of all, we all know how much I love me some narrow G-rods. Or Omegas. I have a weakness in my heart for hollow core narrow wheels, but I wince a little every time I fork out those Atom dollars. So when Sure Grip came out with a narrow, hollow core version of their Fugitive wheel (the best value wheel out there), I had to get me some. They come in blue (90A), yellow (93A), and purple (86A), which is the holy trinity of durometer for most floors. I bought a set of each and have been in LOVE with these wheels. The yellow/purple combo is great on our floor (pretty grippy skate rink floor), and I used the blue/purple set for the slippery sport court at the Bakersfield Tourney and had no problems sliding out. Girls that like a harder wheel can go all yellow, girls that want more grip can go all blue, and girls that need maximum grip can go all purple. And for about $20 less than narrow G-rods (93A)! Several girls on my team have tried them over the past month or so, and I've heard nothing but good things, so check them out!
Slippery surface combo
Speaking of wheels, I had a stroke of genius right before heading to Tuscon for two days of polished cement tournament goodness. I usually rock a Sure Grip Sugar/G-Rod combo or all Stingers for this kind of thing, but I still get some sliding. If I switch to all Sugars or Sugars with 88A wheels, I feel a little sluggish. Enter the Atom Tracker, a perfect in between at 91A. I bought a set of 4 and wore them with my Sugars and was getting maximum roll with less sliding than I've ever had on this kind of surface (only a little during high speed turns). One of our tall, slender jammers also rocked this combo and also loved the crap out of it. It's a pretty inexpensive combo too.
So first of all, we all know how much I love me some narrow G-rods. Or Omegas. I have a weakness in my heart for hollow core narrow wheels, but I wince a little every time I fork out those Atom dollars. So when Sure Grip came out with a narrow, hollow core version of their Fugitive wheel (the best value wheel out there), I had to get me some. They come in blue (90A), yellow (93A), and purple (86A), which is the holy trinity of durometer for most floors. I bought a set of each and have been in LOVE with these wheels. The yellow/purple combo is great on our floor (pretty grippy skate rink floor), and I used the blue/purple set for the slippery sport court at the Bakersfield Tourney and had no problems sliding out. Girls that like a harder wheel can go all yellow, girls that want more grip can go all blue, and girls that need maximum grip can go all purple. And for about $20 less than narrow G-rods (93A)! Several girls on my team have tried them over the past month or so, and I've heard nothing but good things, so check them out!
Slippery surface combo
Speaking of wheels, I had a stroke of genius right before heading to Tuscon for two days of polished cement tournament goodness. I usually rock a Sure Grip Sugar/G-Rod combo or all Stingers for this kind of thing, but I still get some sliding. If I switch to all Sugars or Sugars with 88A wheels, I feel a little sluggish. Enter the Atom Tracker, a perfect in between at 91A. I bought a set of 4 and wore them with my Sugars and was getting maximum roll with less sliding than I've ever had on this kind of surface (only a little during high speed turns). One of our tall, slender jammers also rocked this combo and also loved the crap out of it. It's a pretty inexpensive combo too.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Jukes!
When I heard Atom had a new mini wheel that was based on the custom wheels of the Olly girls, I "had" to buy them and try them. Right? Uh-huh.
So the Jukes come in both narrow and standard width and also in 88A, 93A, and 95A. I didn't want to vary too many factors when I tried them, so I went with standard width 93As. They took a little longer to break in than most Atom wheels (about 2/3 of a one hour practice as opposed to about 1/4, still pretty freaking good), and at first I didn't really notice much of a difference. Until we started doing weaving drills. And then, WOW. Whipping from side to side and doing little jumps was MUCH easier than before, and this was the first practice back after our winter break. During our scrimmage, I felt way more agile while jamming, and definitely had more pick up during starts. This is an awesome wheel for scrimmaging and agility drills!
BUT. With the smaller diameter you have to pump more to go the same distance, just like with bike wheels. I didn't realize that until endurance practice the next day. Ugh... Again, it's the beginning of the season, so I am not as in shape as I will be in a few months, but I touched base with the other two girls on my team who are skating on them and they admitted to all feeling unusually fatigued when trying to skate for long distances.
Soooooo, this is an awesome wheel for derby, but you may be sucking wind for a while during endurance training until you get used to the shorter wheel.
So the Jukes come in both narrow and standard width and also in 88A, 93A, and 95A. I didn't want to vary too many factors when I tried them, so I went with standard width 93As. They took a little longer to break in than most Atom wheels (about 2/3 of a one hour practice as opposed to about 1/4, still pretty freaking good), and at first I didn't really notice much of a difference. Until we started doing weaving drills. And then, WOW. Whipping from side to side and doing little jumps was MUCH easier than before, and this was the first practice back after our winter break. During our scrimmage, I felt way more agile while jamming, and definitely had more pick up during starts. This is an awesome wheel for scrimmaging and agility drills!
BUT. With the smaller diameter you have to pump more to go the same distance, just like with bike wheels. I didn't realize that until endurance practice the next day. Ugh... Again, it's the beginning of the season, so I am not as in shape as I will be in a few months, but I touched base with the other two girls on my team who are skating on them and they admitted to all feeling unusually fatigued when trying to skate for long distances.
Soooooo, this is an awesome wheel for derby, but you may be sucking wind for a while during endurance training until you get used to the shorter wheel.
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