Nexed Stingers

[Yekcoh]

Hi. I just bought a new pair of Nexed Stingers from Hockey Giant and I haven't broken them in yet and there isn't any skate bakes around here too. I'd like to hear from you guys about how it performs, as in, its advantages and disadvantages, some pointers and things that I should watch out for. Especially with the unique 2 degree chassis, is there any change in skating style that should be taken into account?

Thanks! Any comments would be greatly appreciated.

[Yekcoh]

Guys help! I wore them for the first time during our scrimmage last night and it felt like I'm skating on flat frames again. Why's is that? Isn't the heel suppose to feel higher since its been raised by 2 degrees? Or is just because I haven't broken them in yet?

[MDE3]

The heel/toe angle is not what the two degrees refers to.

The nexed 2 degree and 8 degree chassis was an evolved from the old "v-form" chassis which was originally 16 degrees. This refers to the angle at which the wheels are set relative to each other. If you look down the skate while holding it upside down, you will see a slight angular offset between each wheel.

My son has been using these chassis for three years now, and loves them. His boot sole came apart due to his very caustic perspiration (all his skates have done the same thing eventually) but he has remounted the chassis on different boots because he likes it so much.

As far as the boot angle goes, that will very from manufacturer to manufacturer, and even model to model. Give it time and you should get used to it. Others who have tried this chassis have really liked it as well.

[Yekcoh]

Ahh okay. Now I understand. Thanks a lot!

So I'm supposed to have better control during turns and during braking right? How about speed and agility, are they decreased?

[MDE3]

My son seemed to pick up about 5% speed when he switched to the 2 degree chassis, seened to get a better push off. His cuts and turning are not hurt at all.

The theory of the high lows is that the smaller diameter wheels (low)are easier to make turn than the larger wheels (Hi) which are better for overall speed (see speed skaters on all 80 mm wheeled chassis). The other thing which so few actually look at is the length of the chassis relative to the boot. I think the ideal chassis for a hockey player should have the wheel base slightly shorter than the sole of the boot. By this I mean the end of wheel to end of wheel length. A shorter chassis is much more manouverable, but gives up a little push in exchange. If you are mounting your own chassis, another little trick is to use a chassis one size smaller, but mount it a bit farther forward - maybe 1/4" forward of perfectly centered front to rear. Putting the chassis a bit farther forward may feel awkward at first for skating backwards, but will give you a little stronger toe push and hence more speed..like having a longer chassis. But given that it is still a "short" chassis, it will still be pretty manouverable.

Also as was mentioned in a post above on frame mounting, it is important on Inline skates to get the chassis just a bit on the inside of the boot center line(like maybe 1/32"- 1/16" but still parrellel to the centerline of the boot), which helps in getting the weight on the chassis when pushing. This does take a bit of getting used to when doing cross overs while "pushing under" but then you just shorten the "under push" a bit. There is always some compromise.