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Does anybody know if skate manufacturers make any note regarding wheel span of their chassis? The shorter the distance from front axle to rear axle, the less space in between the wheels front-to-back, and the greater the manuverability (sp?)of the skate. For little kids, and us old guys, this is a helpful thing, and it has come up for discussion in local circles. Any ideas?
I know all the major frame Manufacturer's (Labeda, Mission, Labeda, Bauer) all designate a certain size chassis for a certain size range of boots. For example, mission uses a small chassis for sizes 6-9, medium for 9-11.5, and large for 11.5+....... but not all chassis use the same sizing scale.
http://www.phatwhippincrx.20m.com/images/dumbass.jpg
Yes if you like a "quick skate" order your boot of choice and mount the smaller chasis of your choice. You can probably can only fit one size down though as the mounting bases may fall in funny spots making the rivets hard to position. If you are in the size 10 - 10.5 range you will probably already have the smallest chassis you can mount, but in a size 9 - 9.5 you may be able to fit the "small" chassis on your boot. Going too far down in chassis size will affect your fore and aft stability quite a bit, and the shorter chassis will also give you less inline "push" and so a little less top end speed. Look at the length of speed skating chassis to see what I mean. If fore and aft stability is not an issue because your balance is very centered, then move the shorter chassis a bit forward on the sole and this will add some "toe push" speed off-setting some of the effect of the shorter wheel base.