Hello Skatey friends

Submitted by SkaterX on Thu Sep 14 2006 10:54am
0

Hey all. This is my first entry to my blog. Just wanted to say hello.

 Recent skating news for me is the upgrade to the 3x100+84 Salomon frames after about a season on the 5X84's. My first outing on them was rough. My legs were fatigued much sooner in the skate than usual. I think part of my difficulty in that skate was also heat related. My second outing I felt much stronger and was really digging the extra roll you get with the big wheels. I've got the Hyper Mach II wheels and so far they seem great.

I purchased the brake that goes with the Salomon frames and the jury is still out on that. The angle of the brand new pad makes it hard to apply pressure for stopping. I think it's time I picked up a GatorLeash. Another minor problem I'm having with the brake is rattling. One of the bolts although fully tightend is allowing the brake to rattle against the frame. I think a washer will solve the problem. I just haven't taken the time to fix it.

 That's all for now.

Marc

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Comments

eebee's picture

Brake Comparison

Submitted by eebee on Thu Sep 14 2006 11:37am.

Hi Marc!

 

I was wondering - are you comparing your new brake to one you used before on your 84s? Or is this the first time you've used a brake with speedskates?

 

I'm borrowing one right now, which works great, but I am going to have to commit to buying one of my own, so I'm curious as to your ongoing feedback on yours.

 

Elizabeth

roadskater's picture

Save Money on Wheels with a Speed Skate Brake

Submitted by roadskater on Thu Sep 14 2006 12:59pm.

Yes I'm curious too about the various speed brakes out there. I hear the Powerslide brake is made of plastic, and I know one skater who has broken it already. With GatorBrake not having any stock right now, I too wonder about the brake made for the Salomon. Can you tell us...

  • where you purchased (if on eBay, what seller or exact title)
  • approximate cost
  • how it attaches
  • how many bolts or axles it uses
  • how many bolts do you have to undo to swap wheels
  • do you know of a site with photos of it?

 

These questions are optional of course! In any case thanks for your report and we look forward to more. I think this is a topic worth following up on throughout the off-season as well.

I don't like having the brake back there, but I can tell you that I used a GatorBrake at T2T this year and in addition to using it for safety, I can tell everyone something which is pretty obvious but not real until you see it with your own eyes:

 

You will save a lot of money if you put a brake on your speed skates for roadskating.

 

I'm wearing Mach II wheels also and normally after one skate of 30 or so miles in the rolling hills of the piedmont in North Carolina or Georgia, I would have chewed them up badly with T-Stops. After the Tour to Tanglewood, they still look great, and I didn't even feel the need to rotate them after the first 48 mile day. Normally this would have been either necessary or highly desirable.

 

Just do some practice before you hit the road, including some crossovers to get the feel for that.

 

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Save Money on Wheels with a Speed Skate Brake

Submitted by SkaterX on Thu Sep 14 2006 9:22pm.

Dear Mr Skatey man,

You ask a lot of questions...  :-)

  • where you purchased (if on eBay, what seller or exact title)
  • approximate cost
    • see above
  • how it attaches
    • This is one of the things I like about the Salomon break. It attaches through the rear axle and an extra hole in the frame.
  • how many bolts or axles it uses
    • 1 Bolt 1 Axle
  • how many bolts do you have to undo to swap wheels
    • 1 axle
  • do you know of a site with photos of it?
    • See above link

I agree one of the great benefits of using a rear brake is the reduced wear and tear when stopping. I also found I stop much faster using the brake than t-stopping. I have never found the brake to be a problem when doing crossovers. But maybe that's just my sloppy technique?

Last I heard Swat Skates had some GatorBrakes in stock. This was about a month ago so they may be gone.

roadskater's picture

Is Your Salomon Speed Skate Brake Metal or Plastic?

Submitted by roadskater on Fri Sep 15 2006 2:06am.

When looking for some parts to hack my own skate brake, especially long axles that might fit speed frames, this looked like a good source. When I looked at all of this, I could not tell if the housing of the brake you mention was made of metal or plastic.

Also I wondered if it was better, or this one...

http://www.inlinewarehouse.com/descpage.html?pcode=SVB

It says it works with an aluminum extruded frame of 80 mm or 84 mm. More parts though!

 

These might be worth picking up just for kicks, especially since it fits Elizabeth's frame. But I take it this would not be an out of box replacement for a K2 3x100+84 frame. Thanks for the info!

 

Definitely not metal

Submitted by SkaterX on Fri Sep 15 2006 9:24am.

The S-lab break is not metal. It does come with the same parts as the break in your link. So there is no advantage of getting that one over the one that fits the 100x3+84.

Marc

Brake Comparison

Submitted by SkaterX on Thu Sep 14 2006 3:30pm.

Hi Elizabeth,

 Yes, I'm comparing this with the Miller brake I used on my 5x84s and my Miller 2121 frame. I got to try the Gatorbrake on the Salomons once and don't remember feeling like I couldn't generate enough force to stop like I do with the Salomon brake. But truthfully that was a few months ago and I was concentrating more on rolling than stopping that day so my memory may be faulty.  :-)

Marc

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