Rink Rats - has anyone else had this happen?

[MDE3]

Just took the plunge for a new set of Rink Rats, and had to also get new bearings as well as the old minis were getting rotted out (from sweat).

Put new Boss Swiss bearings with all new spacers in and when we tightened the axles the bearings tightened right up. Not so as they didn't spin any more, but stopped after about 2 revolutions. Relax the axle and they spin fine. I thought maybe the bearing counterbores are a bit shallow. I even mic'd.(yes I happen to keep a vernier caliper with me at all times lol) the new spacers to be sure they were the same as the old ones - they were. Tapped the wheel axles after putting them in to see if i could make the bearings seat better - no difference. Over tightened the axles to push everything in - and then relaxed them - no difference. It looks like the inner race is not bottoming out on the center spacer until you actually collapse the bearing slightly - which may well mean that the bearing seats are not quite deep enough, or there is a mismatch between the outer bearing radius, and the seat radius - not allowing the bearing to fully rest on the seat until pressure is applied - thus causing the bearing to be under a slight side load.

My son used them anyway and the grip was as promised, but the bearings were definitely still tight after the tournament weekend. Not what I'd expect from wheels in that price range - assuming it is the wheels. Never had that problem with the other wheels we used - Milleniums and Trinities - sometimes you had to "pop" them from side to side to make then seat straight - but couldn't do that with the Rink Rats.

Anyone else noticed this?

[chrisg21]

I had the exact same experience with my Rink Rat wheels. The only way to get them to spin properly is by loosening the axles off. Needless to say I switched back to the Trinities after just three games. They seem like good wheels, I like the grip, seemed to have some "jump", and weren't too soft even for a "heavier" guy. I thought it was just my chassis, but I also saw a post at the CoreBeam board where a guy couldn't get his to spin either. Maybe it is as you say in the depth of the wheel hub, I will be curious if there are more people seeing the same.

Chris

[NuHusky]

I had the same the problem and tried 3 sets of bearings and 2 pairs of skates. I originally tried them in the a medium sized labeda sensor chassis and the 76mm wheel was too large and rubbed up against the chassis, so I had to file down a part of my chassis. Even still none of the wheels would spin like the dynasty wheels i was skating on before hand. Then I tried the wheels on my mission d-1's and the wheels would still not spin. Another guy on my team got the wheels and his too still won't spin. I sent an email to Mike Hunt about this but still have yet to get a reply, I am kind a pissed off considering the price of these wheels.

[MDE3]

Ok I didn't think I was alone in this.

I will take one of the wheels off later today and do some further checking - I have better micrometers here at home than I carry with me. (not for measuring wheels) and will find out exactly what the problem is. I suspect it's what I said in the first post. Years ago I had the same problem with some Hyper wheels - bad series of hub castings -- the counterbore was too shallow by about .005".

Just measured the counterbore versus the spacer on these Rink Rat wheels, and the counterbore shoulder width was .414", the spacer only .402" Allowing some room for measurement error, I would say there is at least .010" of squash being put on the bearings - no doubt outside the lateral runout tolerance. Also I checked the spin again this morning and it is better than it was originally, but still not "loose", and still had some obvious bearing noise like dry metal on metal - which would happen if all the lube is forced away from the contact point by having side load pressure. In any case it shouldn't happen.

We'll see how rapidly we hear back on this post - normally we hear pretty quickly if anyone has anything good to say about them or even good to say about a competitor's wheel.

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by MDE3 on 06/02/03 11:16 AM.</EM></FONT></P>

[slapshot09]

Mike are you a Rocket Scientist? HAHA...I have also heard similer problems people are having with the Rink Rats not spinning well. Is there any kind of return policiy on them?

[-venom-]

? Mine are fine.......

Maybe a bad set?

[SpeedDemon]

I am on a third pair of Rink Rat's now and yes, I do have this 'problem.' Part of it might be attributed to the fact I have 2 year old Missions that are desperately in need of an upgrade, so the chassis aren't as strong as they used to be. While the wheels could possibly feature a wider hub (that's a question for Michael), I'm more inclined to think that it is an issue with the chassis bending inwards slightly when tightening.

I make sure I don't overtighten the axles, and to date still receive the same amount of positive comments regarding my skating speed. So I guess I can say that it hasn't affected me all that much.

[MDE3]

Nope - just a one time factory service and then product engineering/marketing manager for two different construction equipment manufacturers - used to dealing with manufacturing "inconsistencies".

It wouldn't surprise me if the "product service" department tells us they were designed that way for "precision fit" - like many factories they may be less than willing to admit to a "flaw". In my experience it is normal to set up this kind of bearing with "zero preload", in the middle of the runout tolerance. But let's give them a chance to respond and see how they do. Sorry to be so picky but hey - better to know why there is a problem instead of just guessing. Maybe they'll pay me for my mechanical analyses - lol.

Hope there is some kind of compensation for the problem. They do work well as far as the grip goes, but the wheel drag is a pain, not to mention what bearing life may be.

[MDE3]

Maybe two different suppliers for the hub castings - using different tolerances, or the casting and the hubs have run into a "stack of tolerances limitation" - a common problem.

[missionhockey21]

I dont like the sound of that, hopefully its not a common thing.

[missionhockey21]

Wow, maybe I should stick with my Dynasties.

[gekigangarIII]

just to confirm, I know of two other people with the exact same problems (shallow hubs, wheels not spinning). I have yet to hear anyone other than WRX without the problem.

[MDE3]

Just a footnote - I also measured one of my Trinities - the shoulder width was .004" less than the width of the spacer as compared to .010" more than the width of the spacer on the Rink Rats.

Please dont get me wrong here - not just busting Rink Rat - their wheel appears to have the grip and response they promise, I just hope they correct this flaw. Maybe it's only in one of the two models? I also hope we at least hear from them. They seem to have been paying attention before whenever a comparison of their product to others was mentioned here. It doesn't appear that this is only one incidence based on the responses I see in here.

[missionhockey21]

I wonder why rinkrat15 hasnt posted on this yet ;-)

[rinkrat15]

HI everybody, First let me apoligize for the fact I havent responded, I am, and have been for a week in Winnipeg Canada, So this is the first chance I Have had to read.

Ok, lets start out with your exactly right, we had a minor glitch with our hub in the fact that apparently we didnt carve out enough space for the bearing to sit flat. I think the persice measurement was 20 one thousance of an inch, anyhow we recognize the problem and like any great company will stand by our wheels,If your having a problem with the wheels just take them back to your retailer and we will replace them. This was a small problem that has been corrected and were moving forward, Thanks for talking amongst yourselves and giving me a fair chance to respond before everyone got to excited. And just food for thought, Rink Rat has a few suprises coming out soon that will amaze you..Take care guys and see you all soon, I am back in the office wednesday...MIke

National Inline manager for Rink Rat wheels.

[force88]

I have a feeling this problem may be with certain bearings and not others. I have both sets of rinkrat wheels, the yellow for the hi-lows, and the red for the flat chassis. When I used Boss Swiss bearing for both, they spin with no problem. However, when I use Boss Abec 7 bearings this is where they both have trouble spinning for both tour redline chassis and suregrip 505's.
Other than having to switch bearings, I am beyond satisfied with the wheels.

[MDE3]

Thanks for the response - always more important how a company handles it's problems than it's successes. What's the procedure? Return the wheels to the proshop where they were purchased - and how will they know which ones are ok - short of measuring them?

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by MDE3 on 06/03/03 07:59 AM.</EM></FONT></P>

[MDE3]

That could be too, but I used Boss Swiss on mine and had the problem. I think Mike from Rink Rat has recognised that they have a problem with some of the hub castings - maybe not all - but certainly some - as the posts above would indicate. He has indicated what they will do and has offered to exchange them for wheels without the problem.
It's not an uncommon problem in the wheel business - Labeda had the same thing happen with one version of their "grippers" too.

[rinkrat15]

yes guys, tell your retailer and they will call us and we will issue the replacements, sound fair....MIke

National Inline manager for Rink Rat wheels.

[missionhockey21]

Sounds good :-)

[MDE3]

Thanks Mike - I apprecate the response - which will make my son my son feel better because they are the best feeling wheels he has ever used - not just grip.

[sieve28]

I just got a set of rink rats and have had no problems with them. I bought them after getting a set of Trinities from a friend and thinking they felt the same as the wheels I had been wearing for 3 years. Didn't seem like new technology to me. I love the way the Rink Rat wheels feel. So far they have lived up to billing. I'm hoping that this means they have fixed the problem, and the cash I dropped on these wheel will be well worth it. Your posts had me a little worried.

[MDE3]

Was never any argument on their performance, but apparently there was a limited series which has had this problem. Rink Rat offered to exchange them through the dealer if anyone has the problem.