Attività

Each skating discipline requires special frame features. You’ll need handiness and reactivity in slalom, rigidity and efficiency in speed, comfort in long-distance, solidity and sliding in street, etc.

Frames can be molded, pressed, extruded or cast in one piece. Three other processes also exist for composite frames with carbon basis, they are detailed in our article written in collaboration with EOSkates on the making of composite frames.

Molded/injected frames

It is the most common manufacturing process for frames made of plastic, the material is injected into a mold of the shape of the frame. That process is inexpensive and it is used for entry level products in the fitness range as well as for street Skating Frames.

Pressed frames

Take a metal slab, most of the time it is aluminum, and press it to give it the shape you want. That process is common for mid-range fitness and long-distance skates.

At BJ Concept’s, a French manufacturer of speed frames, the process is slightly different: An aluminum foil is laser cut and folded with a press brake. Then the bearing seats are embossed and the screw heads are milled. All it is left is to polish the surface of the frame to remove the manufacturing traces and anodize it in black.

HOW THE SKATE BLADES FUNCTION

The sole function of the flat of the blade is to glide straight forward and straight backward. To be on the flat you must stand so that the skate is upright (blade perpendicular to the ice). You will be gliding equally on both edges and in a straight line.

Edges have multiple functions.

Blade edges are designed to cut into the ice. Because blades are rockered (have a radius) they are also designed to curve. Therefore, edges have two functions:

• To create a grip into the ice and set up the possibility for a powerful push, and

• To travel a curved path.

The pushing skate is the one that must grip the ice to set up a powerful push. The gliding (directional) skate is the one that must be on a strong edge so that you can travel tight curves. These two functions are totally separate and distinct from one another. One skate digs in to push while the other digs in to travel a curve or circle.

At the very cheapest end of the industry, hubs are made from three pieces of steel – two pieces for the spoke flanges and one tube in between. In the middle price range sits one piece aluminium hubs. These can be machined or forged from a chunk of alloy. Small production runs and intricate shapes rely on the machining process whereas large production runs and smooth, flowing shapes work better with the forging process. Many of the high end hubs return to the three piece construction paradigm; often with exotic dissimilar materials for the flanges and the hub centre tube.

Another area where hubs fall into two camps is in the bearings. Most hubs have a cartridge bearing pressfitted into the central tube. If something goes wrong with the bearings, they can be fairly easily replaced with an entirely new unit (including hybrid- and full-ceramic options). The more traditional bearing option is the cup and cone design. Inside the hub shell is a steel cup that holds the ball bearings, while on the axle is a cone that holds the balls against the cups allowing the load to get from axle to hub shell. Cup and cone hubs are more easily adjusted and repaired than the cartridge bearing option, however, once the cup is damaged you are usually looking at a replacement hub.