Silent Hockey Stops

[the460]

I'm hoping someone can help me with what I'm calling a silent hockey stop. So here's my issue- been skating on Riedell 395s, Dynapros with green hubbed Atom Strokers wide for the past year. Hockey stops are of a medium bark (screech). No where as loud as others at the rink. This is the same for t-stops as well. I recently built a pair of Riedell 911s with the Powerdyne Rival plates. I put the same Atom Strokers on the 911s- and the Hockey stops are silent - slipping that is. I've tried all kinds of combinations of cushions and adjustments. I've found that 2 barrels vs a barrel and cone gave me more bite, but not good enough. The only difference I recently noticed is that everyone else that has the loud screech is on nylon plates. I'd hate to pull off the Powerdyne Rivals as they are brand new, light and have great maneuverability.

Does anyone have any advice? None of the workers at the rink have any clue as to what the problem is. I would appreciate any advice.

I've tried hard to medium to soft cushions, barrels, cones, combinations of different ones. I also tried going to a softer wheel. My Atom Strokers are a 98.5A and I tried some Back Spin 93As. Still the same issue. Although if I put the Strokers back on my 395s, I get a half decent hockey stop.

I'm not so concerned with making loud noise, I want to stop without slipping and falling.

Thanks!

[rufusprime99]

Ok, so imagine a car pushed hard sideways, with the front wheels straight ahead. Loud screech.

Now take the same car. Turn the wheels about 30 degrees inward. Which is to say toward the pushing force. The back wheels are magically going to be the same as the front. Now push the car again. Because of a the greater turning, you will get wheel roll, not just sideways slide.

This is essentially what is happening when you go from the poor turning Dynapro, which I am assuming was stock cushions, to the much better turning Rival.

Softer wheels are the wrong direction. If you want wheel slide, and bark, you need to go harder.

Even then, things might not be the same. You are getting more truck action. That changes things.

[the460]

Ok, so imagine a car pushed hard sideways, with the front wheels straight ahead. Loud screech.

Now take the same car. Turn the wheels about 30 degrees inward. Which is to say toward the pushing force. The back wheels are magically going to be the same as the front. Now push the car again. Because of a the greater turning, you will get wheel roll, not just sideways slide.

This is essentially what is happening when you go from the poor turning Dynapro, which I am assuming was stock cushions, to the much better turning Rival.

Softer wheels are the wrong direction. If you want wheel slide, and bark, you need to go harder.

Even then, things might not be the same. You are getting more truck action. That changes things.

Thanks for the reply rufusprime99. I actually have the Orange Magic Cushions on the Dynapros which are 82A. Now the Rivals came with a stock green barrel/cone combo that is 84A. I thought they would be fine and not far from my orange cushions so I left them on for the first session. The maneuverability was amazing except I felt like I was slipping and sliding on the turns and the hockey stops were silent and slippery too. So I tried hard as a rock cushions to softer and everything in between. I tried all different combos. Finally I tried double barrels like my Dynapros and I actually got some bite on the wheels. The wheels are pretty hard- they are the 2nd gen green hubbed Atom Strokers. They are a 98.5A and are in great shape - that is no glazing, etc. The are clean as a whistle.

I'm really wondering if it's the Rivals? I haven't seen anyone post anything about the Rival plates. For the price, they are light and have amazing maneuverability, but something is still wrong. Maybe it's me?

Every other person at the rink that I know that can bark the wheels and wake the dead are skating on nylon plates. Some with the cheap skates and some with the laser plates, Sunlite plates, etc. Some of them have the same wheels that I have.

I'm stumped about the Rival plates.

[rufusprime99]

It is a matter of truck action. I am at the far end of the spectrum from a Dynapro and its 10 degree king pin. I skate DA45. NO hockey stops with that plate, but more, much more turning than the Rival. Those nylon plates are likely flexing, and the trucks turning very little. Hockey stops are wheels at right angle to the directions of travel and force. The Rival to some degree, and a DA45 to an even greater degree simply is not going to make the right angle. The truck action dampens the effect. It may boil down to, do you REALLY like them barking wheels, or are you enjoying the turning. Tough choice. 2 things make a badass at the rink. High speed and barking hockey stops that make the noobs jump. The Rivals are going to make that stunt harder. Unless you get some rock hard black rubber cushions and put it in the Rival. You will lose some turning ability, but you might get some bark back.

[Sonny01]

I skate with Imperials with the 45 degree(in actuality 30) actions with yellow barrel/cones 79a cushions and both front and back trucks are adjusted fairly loose. For me, action/truck adjustments have no bearing on the braking action on the wheels. What does is the hardness factor of the wheels. I skate on mainly wood but some concrete and if I use soft wheels they grip-release grip-release and chatter when I stop and it increases the stopping distance. I skate with the Powell Bones Super Elite 57mm/30mm 103a hardness and when I need to stop I make one heck of a screech especially on the wood but I have zero trouble stopping. For me these wheels are perfect but I think some might find them slippery. Softer wheels definitely hold the floor better but I skate with a lot of kids (and sometimes adults) who dart out in front of me and I need the stopping power. I've skated on them for years and know how far I can push them before they break contact with the floor.
Just my 2 cents worth...
Sonny01

[Sonny01]

I have an addendum to my above post.
I just finished skating a session with Roll Line Ring plates with the same Super Elite wheels that make so much noise on the Imperials...and you can't hear them stop on the Rings! Also, when I stop with the Imperials with the right foot doing the braking the right side wheels are the ones that do the stopping and those are the ones that I'm always replacing. With the Roll Line plates the four wheels press down evenly. I don't know how but they do. So, hardness makes a big difference in the Imperials but in other plates as Rufusprime99 said, it's the action. The Ring action is both lower and has less angle at 22 degrees vs 30 with the Imperials.
Sonny01

[Oldspeedskater67]

Loosen your nuts on the wheels. Helps with the loud chatter noise. I skate DA45, takes a hard wheels to really hockey slide. I skate wood floors, with excellent grip, and Fresh finish. I can slide 98-101. I'm 195 lbs, and when i hockey slide wheels don't last long. I Start getting flat spots, on a sticky floor. Another rink I hit occasionally is slick as snot. I can slide 92 8-10' older finish wood floor. Super loud too.