Yup. Often I would go a month or more with my skates covered in strapping tape, moving the blade ever so slightly until I found my 'sweet spot'-which, if you looked at it, was in no way centered on the boot. Normally I preferred my blades slightly inside of center on the right foot only, giving me an easier outside edge I suspect.
Left outside edge issue: is it me or there is a blade problem?
- Thread starter aletheia
- Start date
Yup. Often I would go a month or more with my skates covered in strapping tape, moving the blade ever so slightly until I found my 'sweet spot'-which, if you looked at it, was in no way centered on the boot. Normally I preferred my blades slightly inside of center on the right foot only, giving me an easier outside edge I suspect.
- Joined
- Oct 31, 2006
The boots sound like they fit you. Don't beat yourself up to get new ones unless you really need them. Risport are good boots. Edea's seem to be the flavor-of-the-year but they are not for everyone. Of course, it doesn't hurt to try on other options, especially with your distance challenge!
When you visit the tech to get your blade adjusted, they should let you walk around in the shop while they watch and eye your skate. Some can tell if it will need more adjustment for your needs.
If the shop is within a rink, skate around and check the adjustment. Keep doing this until you feel it's going to work for you. You're not asking for anything out of the ordinary in that request (at least not in the US).
It's always a good practice to call and make an appointment with the tech. Tell them what you want – blade adjustment and perhaps some new boots and blades – so they can budget their time for you. :thumbsup:
When you visit the tech to get your blade adjusted, they should let you walk around in the shop while they watch and eye your skate. Some can tell if it will need more adjustment for your needs.
If the shop is within a rink, skate around and check the adjustment. Keep doing this until you feel it's going to work for you. You're not asking for anything out of the ordinary in that request (at least not in the US).
It's always a good practice to call and make an appointment with the tech. Tell them what you want – blade adjustment and perhaps some new boots and blades – so they can budget their time for you. :thumbsup:
- Joined
- Dec 24, 2014
If after getting new skates the left outside is still an issue, then I will have no option than fully blame myself and my technique and work harder!
Keep in mind that even if the blade is perfectly mounted it may not be in the right place for your foot. Don't be afraid to move the blade over a little bit if you don't like the way it feels. My blade is a bit off center because I pronate and that's the best position for me.
If you have been happy with your boots then I would recommend sticking with Risport. No reason to change something that is working. Edeas are very different from other brands so unless you are looking for a change I wouldn't go that way.
Of course I was coming back! That's the reason I came to ask and all the information and help I'm getting here is gold, I'm learning so much so thank you all again for all your helpI may reply late or at weird hours, I see most of you are based in North America but I'm in NZ and time difference certainly play it's game here!
Looking at the the stitching lines of the skates is exactly what I was doing....
I bought the skates second hand in very good condition from an ice rink shop back in UK as I initially moved there just for a few months and the skates were more of a temporary solution so I could keep practicing in the meanwhile, but I ended up staying longer and resuming the lessons after a while and since the boot was confortable to me, I kept them and also brought them with me the next time I moved overseas. So for your question, the blades where already there when I bought them and the guy in the shop didn't adjust them or did anything specia when he sold the
After this I know now it's time to get my own skates. I feel more comitted with skating and there is also this possibility of a blade bad alignment (plus blade upgrade requirement) or pronation. Since it seems a speciallized technician is the only one able to help me at the moment, I will try to contact the two only skating shops I have found here, which are in Auckland (8-9h drive from where I live) to see how they work, if they offer a temporal mounting and how, but I think it will be hard to do since I won't have the option to keep travelling back there to readjust them and the ice rink is not that close by to them. In the event of also changing boot, which one do you usually recommend for my level? I saw both stores promoting Edea a lot and have them on stock, but both Risport and Jackson they just order on demand. (I currently have Risport RF Light)
If after getting new skates the left outside is still an issue, then I will have no option than fully blame myself and my technique and work harder!
Avondale rink is not far from Ian’s place (he has been in the business a long time and really knows his stuff) in west Auckland if you’re able to make a trip up here. You could easily drive to the rink and test out new blades (it’s about 15 minutes away). From memory last time i went to get my skates sharpened by him, he also had some jacksons and risports floating around, but probably only limited sizes. Mostly edeas. But i think he can order in whatever you want. My friend has purchased risports from him before.
Thank you so much for this info, it is really helpful. I was not expecting to find people knowing skating places around NZ here
I have already sent him a message and seems like he may be able to do the temp mount and come with me to the ice rink to line them up depending on availability, which is good news! About this, unfortunately it seems we don't have that many options available here. I'm waiting for the tech Elija has recommended to confirm me if he has Risport available in store for my size, he told me he mostly has Edeas. The other shop I called today they only have Edeas, other brands need to be ordered by demand. So if I finally have to replace the boots too, I may need to risk and choose between getting a different and new Risport model without trying it on which may fit different from my current one, or change to the Edeas which I can try on but may or may not fit me that well. The shop told me they can adapt them to my feet though.
Thank you so much for this info, it is really helpful. I was not expecting to find people knowing skating places around NZ here
About this, unfortunately it seems we don't have that many options available here. I'm waiting for the tech Elija has recommended to confirm me if he has Risport available in store for my size, he told me he mostly has Edeas. The other shop I called today they only have Edeas, other brands need to be ordered by demand. So if I finally have to replace the boots too, I may need to risk and choose between getting a different and new Risport model without trying it on which may fit different from my current one, or change to the Edeas which I can try on but may or may not fit me that well. The shop told me they can adapt them to my feet though.
Good luck, that all sounds good! It's very easy to get a temp mount on the blades, drive to the rink, and go back and get them adjusted if need be or permanently mounted (I have done this before from Ian's place). There may also be someone at your home rink (assume you're in the South Island somewhere??) who can adjust the blades later if necessary - my coach has done this for me. I also forgot to mention before that it was RF lights that my friend bought from Ian, so I know he had them at one point.
Not really, I'm in Wellington but there is literally nothing here or nearby to adjust them, my coach travels or send her skates to Auckland too, and even the ice rink only sharpen hockey blades. As a fun fact, when I moved here and started asking for an ice rink to people nobody in the city knew there was one lol
) I finally found it online after a lot of research, it is such a small one haha
- Joined
- Jan 9, 2017
Not really, I'm in Wellington but there is literally nothing here or nearby to adjust them, my coach travels or send her skates to Auckland too, and even the ice rink only sharpen hockey blades. As a fun fact, when I moved here and started asking for an ice rink to people nobody in the city knew there was one lol
This is possibly something @karne can help with.
Not really, I'm in Wellington but there is literally nothing here or nearby to adjust them, my coach travels or send her skates to Auckland too, and even the ice rink only sharpen hockey blades. As a fun fact, when I moved here and started asking for an ice rink to people nobody in the city knew there was one lol
Oh wow, yeah I didn’t think there was a proper rink in Wellington either! I thought it was just for public sessions and groups and stuff.
I´m back to update this thread in case it's helpful for someone else in the future. Apologize for the long message in advance.
I managed to make the trip to the tech. After showing him my skates, he started taking some measures for new boots straight away.
- Fun fact 1: My boots were size 240, but ended up my correct size is 245, so I've been using small skates all this time.
- Fun fact 2: seems like I have narrow feet in general but a VERY narrow heel. I tried Edea Chorus (felt reeaaaally comfortable all the way around, but my heel was lifting like crazy), an old Risport RF2 model (also felt good, the heel was better but still lifting a tiny bit) and some Jackson he put his faith on because of my foot shape but they felt painful around the ankle. He told me I would need some B width skates, but he didn't have any on stock and would need to be ordered in advance. I was not sure about buying any boot without trying them, especially now I know how different they feel to each other, so I put that on hold.
Since I was not having new skates and the size will be different, we decided to wait to change the blades too. He checked my old ones, sharpened them and moved the (problematic) left one to the inside to help me with that outside edge to try back at home. He left it temporary mounted, and also painted different lines/templates on the skate sole and gave me instructions to adjust it myself once I try it in case it doesn't work or is not enough.
I went to the ice rink the past weekend expecting to feel an extreme change but I didn't. Not even after the sharpening, which I use to notice. It must have been a very subtle change, but the truth is during the session edges and spin entries were smoother than usual. In fact, for the first time in my life I could enter a spin from an outside edge and stayed centered without falling to the inside during the spin after 2 revs (as it used to happen). So the blade adjustment definitely helped. Deep edges for some dance patterns still feel slipery and not very safe, but I have that issue on the right foot sometimes too, so I blame my technique for that.
Now my doubts are about what to do with the boots. Taking advantage of the trip I also called the other skate shop to see if they had any B width skate of my size. They had Edea Fly, I tried them and felt narrower and more supportive while still comfortable, but the heel still lifted a tiny bit (similar to the standard C width Risport). They gave me a gel pad for the heel to try on and fitted perfect with them, no heel lifting at all. I didn't buy them because I thought it was a lot of overbooting for me (just on my singles) and was still not very convinced about having to use a gel pad from the beginning (I assume the inner padding will make more room inside with the time).
Do you have any experience with these gel pads or had a similar issue (and maybe a solution) for heel lifting? Any recommendation about the boots? Custom boots won't be an option here...
I managed to make the trip to the tech. After showing him my skates, he started taking some measures for new boots straight away.
- Fun fact 1: My boots were size 240, but ended up my correct size is 245, so I've been using small skates all this time.
- Fun fact 2: seems like I have narrow feet in general but a VERY narrow heel. I tried Edea Chorus (felt reeaaaally comfortable all the way around, but my heel was lifting like crazy), an old Risport RF2 model (also felt good, the heel was better but still lifting a tiny bit) and some Jackson he put his faith on because of my foot shape but they felt painful around the ankle. He told me I would need some B width skates, but he didn't have any on stock and would need to be ordered in advance. I was not sure about buying any boot without trying them, especially now I know how different they feel to each other, so I put that on hold.
Since I was not having new skates and the size will be different, we decided to wait to change the blades too. He checked my old ones, sharpened them and moved the (problematic) left one to the inside to help me with that outside edge to try back at home. He left it temporary mounted, and also painted different lines/templates on the skate sole and gave me instructions to adjust it myself once I try it in case it doesn't work or is not enough.
I went to the ice rink the past weekend expecting to feel an extreme change but I didn't. Not even after the sharpening, which I use to notice. It must have been a very subtle change, but the truth is during the session edges and spin entries were smoother than usual. In fact, for the first time in my life I could enter a spin from an outside edge and stayed centered without falling to the inside during the spin after 2 revs (as it used to happen). So the blade adjustment definitely helped. Deep edges for some dance patterns still feel slipery and not very safe, but I have that issue on the right foot sometimes too, so I blame my technique for that.
Now my doubts are about what to do with the boots. Taking advantage of the trip I also called the other skate shop to see if they had any B width skate of my size. They had Edea Fly, I tried them and felt narrower and more supportive while still comfortable, but the heel still lifted a tiny bit (similar to the standard C width Risport). They gave me a gel pad for the heel to try on and fitted perfect with them, no heel lifting at all. I didn't buy them because I thought it was a lot of overbooting for me (just on my singles) and was still not very convinced about having to use a gel pad from the beginning (I assume the inner padding will make more room inside with the time).
Do you have any experience with these gel pads or had a similar issue (and maybe a solution) for heel lifting? Any recommendation about the boots? Custom boots won't be an option here...
When buying a new pair of boots, it's critical that the heel fits snugly as is (no add-ons). It appears you need a split-width pair of boots. Many of the intermediate and advanced Jacksons (those listed as based on the Elite last) come stock in split width with the ball one width wider than the heel (e.g., C ball/B heel). If you need more than one width difference (e.g., C ball/A heel), they can be ordered as semi-custom at an extra charge (much less than full custom); this assumes that you have no other foot issues that require a full custom. You can check whether other brands come in split width. That's your best option. Next best option would be to make sure the heel fits snugly, and stretch out other parts of the boot where needed. But I would avoid this if possible.
The Ice Fly is overbooting for you, but if you like them and your heel fits nicely, they wouldn't be a terrible choice. Edeas are known to be okay when overbooted because of their design. Also, if you get a good Edea tech, instead of wearing the heel bungs you can have them pinch the heel.
Honestly, if you are the most comfortable in the Ice Fly and can afford them, I'd go for it. But also if the chorus is close enough you can have the heels pinched.
Honestly, if you are the most comfortable in the Ice Fly and can afford them, I'd go for it. But also if the chorus is close enough you can have the heels pinched.
