Author Topic: Have my blades been fitted correctly? (Edea Chorus)  (Read 2929 times)

ernie_hudds

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Re: Have my blades been fitted correctly? (Edea Chorus)
« Reply #11 on: August 23, 2021, 02:19:34 pm »
OP:

*  There is no one correct mount for all skaters; each skater's feet are different.  What your skate tech did is insane.  The logical sequence is to first mount the blades with a so-called temporary mount.  The sole plate and the heel plate (on each blade) each have two elongated mounting slots (what you are calling "sliders"); the remaining mounting holes are all circular.  In a temporary mount, screws are installed in the elongated slots only.  This does allow only a small amount of adjustment, which for some people is sufficient.  If more adjustment is needed, only four holes (per boot) need to be plugged, and only four new holes need to be drilled.  With problematic feet, this process may need to be repeated.  Once you've established a proper temporary mount, the tech will install more (not necessarily all) screws in the circular holes to create the so-called permanent mount.

*  If you are lucky and the mount works for your feet, no harm done.   I hope that's the case for you!!!   If you are not lucky, the tech now needs to plug 14(!) holes per boot.  And redrill new holes.  Think about that.   If that should be necessary, Edea boots require special carbon-composite filler plugs and adhesive.  I hope that he doesn't charge you for materials and labor for installing the plugs, if that should be needed (he shouldn't if he's decent).


(Note: The shop in question is not at an ice rink)

Yeh - so I totally understand what you are saying here - and after doing more research and looking at how you custom fit and fine tune the skate (kind of the main point of having a separate boot and blade!) - I can see with more clarity what my coach was getting at and what you have said in your post.

Seems like I should have just had a temporary mount done (at the most) then go back to my ice rink - my coach could then fine tune the fit and (with all equipment at the rink) fit the blade permanently. So I am in the situation that I have to hope and pray that my blades are well balanced for me and cause me no adverse problems (I think you test on a one foot glide for any dragging or other issues).
I'm slightly annoyed now - that the shop have just gone ahead and fitted the blades like this without talking through with me what my options are and the reasons for what the slider holes are for etc - also I didn't really understand that my coach explicitly wanted me to get the boots and blades back to him specifically - this got misconstrued as we were talking about potentially recycling the blades of my old boots to save some money. It gets very complicated sometimes.

Anyway - now I know - I suspect the shop will not refund me or order me another fresh pair of boots. So I will have a right fight on my hand if the boots turn out bad. But I guess I could get my (new!) boots plugged and start from scratch so to speak. Wish I properly knew what I was getting into here.

ernie_hudds

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Re: Have my blades been fitted correctly? (Edea Chorus)
« Reply #12 on: August 23, 2021, 02:22:20 pm »
Thanks to all for the replies - I just found them today - so sorry for not getting back and saying thanks - I didn't get any notifications on the email - despite my settings saying I should.

Anyways - thanks again for some great opinions and advice.

transmissionoftheflame

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Re: Have my blades been fitted correctly? (Edea Chorus)
« Reply #13 on: August 23, 2021, 02:31:17 pm »
Boots and blades are complicated, in my experience, in terms of fit and suitability.  There are many opinions out there.  Honestly I have found advice from skate shops very variable and often within one shop it depends on who you speak to.  The same goes for coaches - some seem to have irrational prejudices against particular boots or blades, and the same goes for experienced skaters.  Ultimately I have found that it's good to get advice from as many trusted sources as possible, but try and find out and understand as much as you can for yourself so you evaluate the different views you get and combine that with closely observing your own experience to form a final opinion.  Hope you enjoy the skating on your new boots and blades.

WednesdayMarch

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Re: Have my blades been fitted correctly? (Edea Chorus)
« Reply #14 on: August 23, 2021, 02:48:41 pm »

So I am in the situation that I have to hope and pray that my blades are well balanced for me and cause me no adverse problems (I think you test on a one foot glide for any dragging or other issues).

I refer you to my post above, where I gave you simple instructions on the way of checking that your blades are mounted in the correct place.

"The big question here is how do they feel when you skate on them? Can you glide forwards (and backwards) on two feet, with your boots touching at the joint of the big toe and ankle, without one or both of the blades taking a dive underneath? If you can, happy days. If you can't, then the one that dives may need a slight adjustment but it shouldn't be the end of the world. Holes can be plugged."

If it turns out that your blades are very improperly mounted, you should have recourse to the "goods sold must be fit for purpose" laws and try contacting Trading Standards. But please only do this after your coach has thoroughly checked out the mount for your skating and decided that it's wrong and can't be rectified.
Returned to the ice in Sept 2017 after a major leg injury in 1999. Skating in Jackson Elite Pro & MK Vision Syncro. Still scary after all these years.

ernie_hudds

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Re: Have my blades been fitted correctly? (Edea Chorus)
« Reply #15 on: August 23, 2021, 03:10:55 pm »
I refer you to my post above, where I gave you simple instructions on the way of checking that your blades are mounted in the correct place.

"The big question here is how do they feel when you skate on them? Can you glide forwards (and backwards) on two feet, with your boots touching at the joint of the big toe and ankle, without one or both of the blades taking a dive underneath? If you can, happy days. If you can't, then the one that dives may need a slight adjustment but it shouldn't be the end of the world. Holes can be plugged."

If it turns out that your blades are very improperly mounted, you should have recourse to the "goods sold must be fit for purpose" laws and try contacting Trading Standards. But please only do this after your coach has thoroughly checked out the mount for your skating and decided that it's wrong and can't be rectified.

Absolutely - I don't want to kick up a fuss if it turns out I can skate perfectly fine anyway. Me and my coach are going to through some tests tomorrow and see that they are fit for purpose.

I will try out your test too.  Sounds like an interesting test.

 I have a feeling that they will be fine.  Perhaps not 100% perfect, but good enough for what I'm doing - I'm not trying to land triples so I think I'll be fine basically.

ernie_hudds

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Re: Have my blades been fitted correctly? (Edea Chorus)
« Reply #16 on: August 23, 2021, 03:16:56 pm »
Boots and blades are complicated, in my experience, in terms of fit and suitability.  There are many opinions out there.  Honestly I have found advice from skate shops very variable and often within one shop it depends on who you speak to.  The same goes for coaches - some seem to have irrational prejudices against particular boots or blades, and the same goes for experienced skaters.  Ultimately I have found that it's good to get advice from as many trusted sources as possible, but try and find out and understand as much as you can for yourself so you evaluate the different views you get and combine that with closely observing your own experience to form a final opinion.  Hope you enjoy the skating on your new boots and blades.

It certainly can be overwhelming - I would say I'm an intermediate skater and still learning a heck of a lot of stuff - all this new boot and blade combo and micro-adjustment stuff is all new to me - so initially I was on the back foot and kind of led my my coach (for obvious reasons) and the skate shop. Now I've pieced in all the information and done my own research I would have done things a lot differently i.e. just hand over the boots and blades separately and do the fit at the rink with my coach. But it's too late for that - all in all its a learning experience. Hopefully I can trust myself to know that my skates are working for me and I can identify the problems if there are any. Hopefully I'll just enjoy the skates.

transmissionoftheflame

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Re: Have my blades been fitted correctly? (Edea Chorus)
« Reply #17 on: August 23, 2021, 03:22:13 pm »
Will be interested to know how you find the Edeas.  Did you have those before?  I'm still hoping for boots that fit perfectly, but it's close to impossible in the UK unless you order in several sizes and width fittings of all the leading brands, and spend about £10,000... No-one stocks lots of high end men's boots in the UK.  You probably need to go to a leading skating nation for that.

WednesdayMarch

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Re: Have my blades been fitted correctly? (Edea Chorus)
« Reply #18 on: August 23, 2021, 03:33:23 pm »
Will be interested to know how you find the Edeas.  Did you have those before?  I'm still hoping for boots that fit perfectly, but it's close to impossible in the UK unless you order in several sizes and width fittings of all the leading brands, and spend about £10,000... No-one stocks lots of high end men's boots in the UK.  You probably need to go to a leading skating nation for that.

To be fair, wherever you go, nowhere is going to have every brand/model/size/width. Or even every brand. The closest I've found in the UK is Al's Skate Shop in Blackpool. And she knows her stuff. (I've just seen Everglides, who I'd checked out with one of my skaters and thought good, fit a skater who can barely execute a waltz jump with Ice Fly. I honestly despair.)
Returned to the ice in Sept 2017 after a major leg injury in 1999. Skating in Jackson Elite Pro & MK Vision Syncro. Still scary after all these years.

ernie_hudds

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Re: Have my blades been fitted correctly? (Edea Chorus)
« Reply #19 on: August 23, 2021, 03:36:22 pm »
Will be interested to know how you find the Edeas.  Did you have those before?  I'm still hoping for boots that fit perfectly, but it's close to impossible in the UK unless you order in several sizes and width fittings of all the leading brands, and spend about £10,000... No-one stocks lots of high end men's boots in the UK.  You probably need to go to a leading skating nation for that.

Hi!

No I had basic Graf 500 boots and needed to upgrade to a more intermediate skate/boot.

I think its a very difficult process - it's a bit like a sight test. You have to know what lenses you can see best with and really concentrate on what's working for your eyes. Similar with boots it seems - different brands and fittings, lacing techniques, materials used, wide or narrow fittings, smaller boot with a wider fit (chosen for me, but I get a crushing sensation), I'm hoping thats the "breaking in"....although people say you don't have to break in Edeas really. So again, it's conflicting opinions and advice.  It's exhausting really.

I would say UK is very hit and miss in this sport, there aren't many shops around so it's tricky and for men the choice isn't there so it's more risky and more tricky - best to emigrate to Canada or Finland and just skate there!

transmissionoftheflame

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Re: Have my blades been fitted correctly? (Edea Chorus)
« Reply #20 on: August 23, 2021, 03:46:47 pm »
To be fair, wherever you go, nowhere is going to have every brand/model/size/width. Or even every brand. The closest I've found in the UK is Al's Skate Shop in Blackpool. And she knows her stuff. (I've just seen Everglides, who I'd checked out with one of my skaters and thought good, fit a skater who can barely execute a waltz jump with Ice Fly. I honestly despair.)


I can understand why shops can't do this - it's simple economics.  The market is not big enough.  They are beholden to the wholesalers/importers who are beholden to the manufacturers.  It's probably not that simple for manufacturers either - it's a niche market.  I have offered to pay shipping costs but it's too much trouble for them.  In the end I tried on Edea Overtures and ordered Chorus because the last and shape is almost identical (I think this is also true of Concerto, the next boot up).  Some kind of dummy boot system could help.  The other issue that the many boot makers seem to make boots for a different race of humanoids than the one I'm familiar with - people with pointy feet.


I did however find a near perfect fit with my wheels - Seba Igors - as and I am skating mainly on wheels right now, I'm happy enough.  If I go back to ice* on a regular basis I will check out Al's in Blackpool.  I'm nowhere near Blackpool but if you're investing £300+ in something you spend hours a week doing you might as well go large.  I travelled to Eastbourne (a day trip for me) to get my inlines.


* Back on ice for first time since March 2020 last week, actually found it fine, not rusty at all, and so much easier than inlines.  Nice to spin again.

spinZZ

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Re: Have my blades been fitted correctly? (Edea Chorus)
« Reply #21 on: August 23, 2021, 09:10:12 pm »
Absolutely - I don't want to kick up a fuss if it turns out I can skate perfectly fine anyway. Me and my coach are going to through some tests tomorrow and see that they are fit for purpose.

I will try out your test too.  Sounds like an interesting test.

 I have a feeling that they will be fine.  Perhaps not 100% perfect, but good enough for what I'm doing - I'm not trying to land triples so I think I'll be fine basically.
OP:  You didn't say what level you're skating at.  But here are a sequence of tests to check your blade mounts.  If your coach can assist, all the better.  Note:  the proper mount on your left foot won't necessarily match the proper mount on your right foot.

*  Test 1.  Get up some speed and then attempt a one-foot straight glide.  Raise the free foot to about ankle height alongside the skating foot and press the free boot against the skating boot.  Your coach should be watching and check whether you are gliding in a straight line, or veering to the left or right.  If you can glide across a patch of clean ice, you (or your coach) can check the tracings afterwards.  You want to see two parallel lines like ||.  The weight (thickness, width) of the two lines should be about the same.  If you veer significantly, if you see only one line instead of two, or if the weight of one line is significantly different from the other, you'll likely need a blade adjustment.  The one-foot straight glide test should be done for all four scenarios:  left forward, left backward, right forward, and right backward.

*  Test 2.  Assuming you pass Test 1, you want to test out your single edges.  The first stage is to try out cross-overs around a circle for all four scenarios:  forward clockwise, forward counterclockwise, backward clockwise, and backward counterclockwise.  Does each edge feel comfortable?

*  Test 3.  Assuming you pass Test 2, you can test out your single edges further, if you wish.  In a straight line across the width of the rink, try all the sequences of consecutive single edges: right forward outside/left forward outside, right forward inside/left forward inside, right backward outside/left backward outside, right backward inside/left backward inside  [ETA:  revised for clarity].  If each sequence feels comfortable, you're all set to go.  Minor tweaks may be needed later (as the boot wears in and as you try out more advanced moves).
« Last Edit: August 23, 2021, 11:22:41 pm by spinZZ »



 

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