<<Emphasis added.>> Actually, that's not the case. The most popular traditional intermediate blades are the Wilson Coronation Ace and the MK Pro, both with 7' main rockers. The Eclipse Aurora (440C stainless steel, nominally comparable to the Coronation Ace, but actually has a flatter spin rocker) also has a 7' main rocker. The original Ultima Legacy had a 8' main rocker; it has been rebranded as the Legacy 8. The Legacy 7 has a 7' main rocker. If you are considering the Paramount CA or CP, you should confirm directly with Paramount what the main rocker radius is. Paramount says that CA is comparable to Coronation Ace and CP is comparable to Pro, but Paramount is mainly concerned with spin rocker profile and toepick configuration; they don't think the main rocker radius is all that critical, and their website is vague about what the main rocker radius is for those two models. If the Paramounts indeed have 8' main rockers, those would be options for you. Before you go the Paramount route, though, make sure there are sharpeners near you who can sharpen Paramounts (not all skate holders can handle the thick aluminum chassis). A final option is the Wilson Coronation Comet, which has an 8.5' main rocker. It's no longer listed on the Wilson website, but major online retailers still list a full range of sizes.
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- Thread starter lemonadegarlic
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Sure, you can flip-flop. But I'm not sure that's the most efficient way when you're at the learning (rather than elite) phase. I went from a 7' main rocker (Wilson Coronation Ace then Eclipse Aurora) to a 8' main rocker (Paramount version of Wilson Gold Seal); I don't think I'd care to go back to a 7' main rocker.How about even if you don’t like it, you stick to it? I was recommended the Jackson/Coronation Ace combo by my coach. At the end of the day it’s all technique. If you can do it in one, you can do it in all.
Anyway, this whole mess was created by Jackson/Ultima. Before they got into the game, beginner blades primarily had 7' main rockers, as did intermediate blades (8' rockers were primarily for advanced blades, with the exception of the Coronation Comet). Then Ultimas came along with 8' beginner blades, and Jackson packaged their beginner boots with Ultima blades. So, if you started with Jackson skates and wanted to stay with 8' blades when you upgraded, your main option was the original Ultima Legacy (now Legacy 8): The Wilson Coronation Comet was never very popular and the Paramounts were difficult to sharpen (and that's assuming the CA and CP have 8' rockers, which needs to be confirmed). Then MK and Wilson in 2015 switched their beginner blades to 8' rockers, leaving Eclipse as the only major supplier of beginner blades with 7' rockers. Meanwhile, Ultima decided there was consumer demand for intermediate blades with a 7' rocker and introduced the Legacy 7 (their more comparable version of the Coronation Ace). But Wilson appears to be ditching the Coronation Comet, and no one appears to be introducing new 8' intermediate blades.
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- Mar 23, 2014
I’m not talking about flip flopping but I’m talking about sticking to what your coach recommends for you. When I started I didn’t go oh I want 7’ or 8’ rockers, I want Edea etc. I was told to get these and I got them. And stuck to them.
But it’s really interesting what you say about starting on 7’ and moving to 8’. It makes sense. I didn’t know that before.
This is what happens when people have too much choice.
When I bought my CA clone (Eclipse Aurora), I placed them both on my table and rocked them forward to the toe pick. The Aspire lifted very little, and the aurora was waaaayyy higher. There's a video on paramount's you tube that shows them side by side. Looking at them independently, you might not notice, but when you compare them it's pretty obvious. The Aspire looks like a CA that has been worn down to the point where they shorten your drag pick to extend the life of the blade.
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- Jul 3, 2018
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This is just my opinion, but I feel like a 7’ rocker makes more sense when you’re learning backwards skating, turns, spins and edge jump takeoffs. I switched from Mirages to MK Pros and while having a more pronounced spin rocker certainly helped my turns and spins, I think the biggest difference for me was how much easier it was to stay off my toe picks when skating backwards. On the Mirages, backwards crossovers and even swizzles were scratchy and kind of slow, but on the Pros there was almost an instant improvement.
Everyone learns differently, but for me and the way I skate, a 7’ rocker helps now that I’m learning certain skills that require maneuverability, and graduating to an 8’ rocker will help with getting the stability I need for solid running edges out of double jumps (if I ever get there!) - but I really think that MK Pro/CA level blades will probably carry me through the rest of my skating career just fine.
Everyone learns differently, but for me and the way I skate, a 7’ rocker helps now that I’m learning certain skills that require maneuverability, and graduating to an 8’ rocker will help with getting the stability I need for solid running edges out of double jumps (if I ever get there!) - but I really think that MK Pro/CA level blades will probably carry me through the rest of my skating career just fine.
We were visiting Sp-Teri for a sharpening today and talking about boots and blades. George's opinion is that the Mirage and Aspire XP are too low a level blade for the boots that they are on (Jackson Elle and Freestyle), but most people (myself included) are reluctant to buy the boot at that level and immediately remove the blade. Turns out that's exactly what we should have done, but our coach at the time didn't make that recommendation. Probably held my skater back more than a bit now that I think about it. George said that the best blades for skaters at that level of boots are the MK Pro and CA, so I retract my comments on the Aspire and defer to your first hand experience and his professional expertise. If the OP really wants that 8' rocker it's going to cost.
I've done the same comparison between my friends Aspire XP and the Coronation Ace. I couldn't believe how little the Aspire lifted before the toepick hit! It's an incredibly flat blade. I have another blade of uncertain origin which lifts even further than the CA, I kinda love it.
I went from the real Wilson Coronation Ace to the Eclipse Aurora, because I wanted the longer edge life provided by the 440C stainless steel of the Aurora over the carbon steel of the Coronation Ace; at the time, the prices were about the same. The Aurora is a well-designed and manufactured blade; and I really like the Eclipse customer service. The problem is that the Aurora has a flatter spin rocker than the Coronation Ace (as demonstrated by heel lift comparison and also confirmed by Eclipse customer service). I asked Eclipse whether they would custom make a blade with a smaller radius spin rocker, but they told me they don't do custom blades. My coach strongly urged me to move up to a Gold Seal. Since I wanted to stay with a high-end stainless steel, however, I first checked with Eclipse for details of the Titanium Pinnacle (nominally comparable to the Gold Seal, but with a stainless steel runner), but found out it has a much flatter spin rocker. I ended up with the Paramount version in 440C stainless steel.
My conclusion is that it's a brilliant marketing ploy by Jackson/Ultima. The Jackson beginner boots (in the recreational line) are sold only as kits with pre-mounted Ultima blades (all 8' rockers). Not many skaters (or their parents) are willing to remove the blades they've paid for and swap them out for another pair. So they learn on 8' rockers. Then when it comes time to upgrade, many (such as the OP) are hesitant to switch over to a 7' rocker, leaving them with the original Legacy (now rebranded Legacy 8) as their principal option. So they're pretty much tethered to Ultima.
Riedell, on the other hand, sells many of their beginner boots (except for their lowest grades) with two options: (a) pre-mounted with beginner Eclipse blades (all 7' rocker) or (b) boot only, allowing the skater to pick any blade. I don't have any numbers, but from discussions with skate techs, it appears that Jackson/Ultima is winning out.
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- Mar 23, 2014
Yeah right that makes sense. Except you have one exception here, that's exactly what I did, got Jackson with pre-mounted blades, got rid of them and replaced them with Coronation Aces.
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- Aug 13, 2016
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