Best stick/blade/wheels for inline hockey (outdoors)

[nyrmetros]

I play outdoor roller hockey 3 - 4 times a week. We have a public rink that has asphault, but it's NYC asphault so it chews up wheels and blades. I currently use either the Labeda or Hyper outdoor asphault wheels, and a rbk graphite blade (my teamates think it's really a Jofa in disguise) attached to my Christain shaft. However after 3 weeks of play the wheels and blade get severely worn down. I can't afford new wheels and blades every 3 weeks. Any suggestions out there for good equipment that will last, or is there a way for me to not contstantly ruin my equipment?

thanx.

Click to read more...

 

[Ducks]

easton makes an ABS blade that is very durable and cheap. I'm using one for ice hockey right now and it does the job well. The glue will wear out before the blade ever does. Costs around 20 bucks, will last extremely long especially for roller.

The only very minor setback is that I use a graphite shaft and the blade is slightly heavier than a graphite one. But to be honest i really don't notice it while I'm playing. I use the forsberg curve and find it really good for pretty much everything, especially backhands.

 

[Nosebleed Section]

You definitley need an ABS blade as said these things will only wear down (not splinter and break) and they last quite a long while. As for wheels get the hardest wheels you can find. Also the surface your playing on sounds pretty harsh if you could find somewhere else maybe that could be better. Tennis courts are ultimate for this cause.

 

[nyrmetros]

Also the surface your playing on sounds pretty harsh if you could find somewhere else maybe that could be better. Tennis courts are ultimate for this cause.

It's NYC.... lol..... we use what they give us.

 

[nyrmetros]

so what exactly is an ABS blade? what is it made of?

 

[aerialis]

abs blades are made of abs its a pretty common plastic, you can find it all over the place.

 

[Debrincat93]

if your playing outside, you want outdoor wheels. if your playing on tile (that is used in indoor leagues) outside then youll want indoor wheels...

outdoor i got no idea who makes good wheels, any out door wheel im sure is fine.. as for a stick, just got a POS stick...

 

[Ducks]

Don't confuse ABS with the cheap plastic they put on street hockey sticks though. It's completely different.

An ABS blade feels a lot like really hard fiber glass. For your price range and for what you play it's really what you want to be using.

 

[Frogishi Willow]

Unfortunately, from what you have described, I don't think there is better solution to the combination that you are describing. The asphalt chews up wheels quite quickly. Any wheels currently on the market. Especially if you make a lot of quick turns which you probably do. The aforementioned ABS blade is probably the best price to abrasion resistant ratio option for the sticks. It probably would be a slight improvement to the graphite blade you are presently using, as once the epoxy wears off the graphite, the graphite fibres themselves are fairly brittle and break or layer off. (Note: ABS is of significantly less elastic modulus, or stiffness, than the graphite compound but should not be a significant "difference in feel" for outdoor play as you are probably not using the heavy ice hockey puck but a hockey ball.)

Think of it as the investment you are making in enjoying a great sport. Good luck.

 

[nyrmetros]

Unfortunately, from what you have described, I don't think there is better solution to the combination that you are describing. The asphalt chews up wheels quite quickly. Any wheels currently on the market. Especially if you make a lot of quick turns which you probably do. The aforementioned ABS blade is probably the best price to abrasion resistant ratio option for the sticks. It probably would be a slight improvement to the graphite blade you are presently using, as once the epoxy wears off the graphite, the graphite fibres themselves are fairly brittle and break or layer off. (Note: ABS is of significantly less elastic modulus, or stiffness, than the graphite compound but should not be a significant "difference in feel" for outdoor play as you are probably not using the heavy ice hockey puck but a hockey ball.)

Think of it as the investment you are making in enjoying a great sport. Good luck.

thanx for the info. Our outdoor pickup games can get very competitive so I am forced to make a ton of quick tons and ice/style stops, etc... We use a pro puck, no ball.

In addition, whatis the best way to clean off any rust I have on my abec 5 bearings? I was cleaning all the dirt off today when I noticed significant rust on the bearings.

This is my backup stick
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...e=380341&linkCode=asn&creativeASIN=B000LHL1NC

most of the other guys are using ice hockey blades attached to their shafts. While their blades do wear, none of them wear as much as my blades do. Granted I don't have soft hands and I am probably more abrasive in my stick blade contact with the asphault than they are.

Some of them say they use candle wax on the botom of their blades so as to reduce wear. Has anyone else tried this?

Edit - This is the blade attached to my christain shaft

http://www.inlinewarehouse.com/descpage.html?pcode=1KRB7# - the black one

 

[Ducks]

wax is more for ice hockey to help reduce snow buildup, it won't do much for street hockey. Your backup stick has an ABS blade so I'd recommend switching to that for a while and see if it doesn't wear down a lot slower than your graphite one.

 

[nyrmetros]

wax is more for ice hockey to help reduce snow buildup, it won't do much for street hockey. Your backup stick has an ABS blade so I'd recommend switching to that for a while and see if it doesn't wear down a lot slower than your graphite one.

I've used the backup koho many times and yes it doesn't wear as fast as the other one, however it just doesn't offer the same puck handling feel..... unless I am just being delusional ??

 

[nyrmetros]

This site actually gives a very good description of my rbk 1k blade

http://www.epuck.com/webapp/wcs/sto...Id=-1&categoryId=1808&parent_category_rn=1803

seems that the blade is made for a rough indoor player who occassioanly plays outdoor. I am more of a rough outdoor player hoping to eventually play indoor 1 day.


They have this Lousiville TPS ABS blade which they claim is designed for rough outdoor usage.
http://www.epuck.com/webapp/wcs/sto...Id=-1&categoryId=1808&parent_category_rn=1803

Has anyone tried this one?

 

[Ducks]

Well yeah it won't feel exactly the same it's a completely different stick, as well as the blade material is different. Here is the blade I use on one of my sticks for ice hockey. I mainly chose it because it was inexpensive and I wanted to try a different curve. However, it stick handles just fine for me and after seeing a good amount of playing time hasn't worn down at all yet.

 

[Ducks]

I'm not sure about the 100% ABS blades, I've never tried them. I don't think it's really necessary though as most blades have a ABS bottom with fiberglass molded sides. It's really only the bottom of the stick that grinds down outdoors.

 

[nyrmetros]

Here are the 2 wheels I have used recently

The Labeda outdoor
http://www.epuck.com/webapp/wcs/sto...=-1&categoryId=249308&parent_category_rn=4924

and the Hyper outdoor
http://www.epuck.com/webapp/wcs/sto...=-1&categoryId=249308&parent_category_rn=4924

After about 3 weeks using both these wheels they wore rather badly. I understand that is probably to be expected with the rough condition our NYC outdoor rink asphault is in. I just wanted to see if there was any different combo of wheels that could help remedy the insane time wearing situation?

Some of my teamates say they use outdoor wheels on the front and back, and indoor wheels in the 2 middles so they get better power and durability combined with good grip. anyone else try this?

 

[nyrmetros]

Well yeah it won't feel exactly the same it's a completely different stick, as well as the blade material is different. Here is the blade I use on one of my sticks for ice hockey. I mainly chose it because it was inexpensive and I wanted to try a different curve. However, it stick handles just fine for me and after seeing a good amount of playing time hasn't worn down at all yet.

I am 80% sure I have used that blade before. can't remember how I liked it or not, or why I didn't get it again.

 

[hckyfan0099]

Try using the Labeda Millenium Grippers. I have been using the wheels for 2 seasons and they have been great.

 

[nyrmetros]

So of course I play last night and find that my bearings are completely rusted. what's the best way to clean rusted bearings? wd40? motor oil? bacardi 151?

 

[Robo-Pope]

So of course I play last night and find that my bearings are completely rusted. what's the best way to clean rusted bearings? wd40? motor oil? bacardi 151?

Don't waste good 151.

Also, my skates came with Rink Rat VT333 wheels, the things are cheap as hell and last forever (I play on crap asphalt too). You can find them about anywhere online.

 

[wolfgaze]

I've played inline hockey outdoors exclusively for the last 15 years or so....

I swear by this blade:

Koho Ultimate 2100 It's only $16.99... Order them in bulk and you can qualify for free shipping... The blade never breaks on me and it's an ABS blade so it wears down much slower then non-ABS blades..

In terms of wheels... I'm not sure what to recommend... I play on asphault as well and my blades and wheels have taken a beating this summer... I think it has a lot to do with the heat as the heat will soften up your wheels and cause them to wear down much faster then in the winter when everything is cold and more dense...

I previously only used Hyper NHL Pro 250 outdoor wheels but I'm currently using Labeda Asphaul Gripper wheels and they are holding up pretty well...

Labeda Asphault Gripper

I wouldn't get too concerned over the price of replacement wheels/blades... After all, inline hockey is MUCH more affordable then ice hockey....

For a stick, I use 2 Easton Ultralite shafts...

Easton Ultra Lite (regular) Mine is orange-ish looking because it's much older

Easton Ultra Lite Grip (currently my primary stick that i use)

 

[WVP]

Any ABS blade (I use the Reebok) and 84-86A wheels should be fine. I'm not sure you can expect more than 12-14 hours of life for either the blades or the wheels, if you're playing hard everything is going to wear down. Especially in the heat, I've trashed wheels after a day.

 

[nyrmetros]

a lot of my teamates use labeda aspahult grippers on the 2 outside wheels, and labeda indoor grippers for the 2 inside wheels. They all swear by it. I guess I will try this combo when I go to the store tomorrow. right now I am playing on tiny little nubs (which is why I fell all damn night in my game tonight).

Has anyone tried this wheel?
http://www.inlinewarehouse.com/descpage.html?pcode=RSRO
It's new.....

 

[lotus]

I use the Rink Rat World Cup wheels. One season (13 games) and 2-3 games of pickup a week for 3-4 hours at a time. I've rotated the wheels once and I'm getting even wear. The only very noticeable wear actually is on the right front wheel(I clearly favor this skate). All the rest hold up very well. Expensive wheels but I love them. Also, I never realized how well I could hockey stop outdoors until I got these. I used to just turn around really quick. If you got the cash you can't be too upset with these imo.

I have a question as far as ABS blades go.

I'm playing in an outdoor ball league and every ABS blade I see has these gigantic curves on them. (Jagr to name one). It is IMPOSSIBLE for me to keep the ball down with a curve like that. Countless times I've had an empty net and not just cleared over the net, but over the rink. So I went to the Koho Ultimate with the Ultimate curve.

The curve was nice and I could get good lift on a back hander, loved it for ball hockey. But this blade is so damn heavy!!!! With that blade in a CCM Vector v6 at least, compared to the Koho Crossover in my synergy...I know the shafts are different in weight but I'm talkin blade heavy.

In short: Can anyone show me where to get a light-weight, ABS blade that doesn't have a gigantic curve? Some is good but I don't want to be killing birds. Ideal to me would be a Koho Crossover in Sakic curve. Oh yeah, left handed too. I cant even find a left handed stick at my LHS these days =\

What curve do you ball hockey players use? I feel like I'm doomed to either a bottom heavy stick or a Jagr curve for my entire ball hockey life, however short it may end up being !

 

[nyrmetros]

I picked up new wheels today. My local Play-it-Again sports had almost no wheels in stock, so they had to scrape together something for me. All I know is there are Hyper 150 83a 76mm wheels in the middle, and unidentified wheels on the front and back. lol