Sweet spot on Ultima (Mirage) blades

[sampaguita]

My Mirage blades are my 2nd pair of blades (after Quest Onyx) and the first thing I noticed about it was that it seemed a lot flatter than the Onyx. Jumping was easier since the toe pick was set low, but spinning is more difficult -- go just a little too forward and you reach the toepick, go a little too back and you drag the blade.

I thought that it was because of the 8 in rocker, but after watching this video, I'm thinking it's an Ultima design issue. Any thoughts on this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9f9SnKS8xvQ

[amy1984]

I've skated on these blades a couple sets of blades ago and I will agree with you - better for jumping, harder for spins.  But in no way would I call it a design flaw as these blades and their profile work very well for a lot of skaters.  I think it's up to the skater as to what they prefer... what sort of toe pick, what sort of rocker, etc.  Nothing is going to be perfect.  For me, I enjoy a shorter rocker because I struggle with spinning on a flatter blade.  In order to compensate with jumps, I have a larger toe pick.  But at the same time, for me, the rock forward on my skating leg on toe jumps also seems to work, so for me, the 7 ft rocker is certainly the way to go.  I'm sure there are others reading this post going WHAT IS SHE SAYING???  I LOVE FLATTER BLADES!!!  And that's fine because as I said, it's all personal choice and what works best for you personally.  It's important to tell your skate shop what you like and don't like so that you get what will work best for you - there's so many options!  Recently, when I purchased new blades, the sales person was nice enough to lay them all out for me and point out the differences and then let me pick and choose features that I liked and then based his rec on that.

How long have you been on the blades?  It also takes awhile to get comfortable spinning on new blades.  For me, that's the longest process... spinning comes slower than my jumps, skills and dance no matter the change to the blade.

[sampaguita]

@amy1984: I've had the blade for almost a year now. The difficulty in finding the sweet spot hasn't lessened in any way. I wouldn't say I'm bothered by the flatter blade, as it is good for landing jumps. I just thought it was weird to have a sweet spot so narrow that a small change in balance can put you off the sweet spot.

As I said, I thought it was because I changed rocker from 7ft to 8ft, but after I saw this video, I realized that maybe it was how Ultima really designed those blades. I wanted to know what others who've had these blades think about it, and maybe, WHY Ultimate chose that particular profile. What blades did you have after the Mirage, and how difficult or easy were they to adjust to?

[Skittl1321]

I didn't have problems spinning on Mirage. I learned my spins on those blades.  I've always heard that 8ft is better for stable jump landings and 7 ft for spins, and I've never used a 7 ft rocker- so I can't compare, but I didn't have any issues with the Mirages.

After Mirage I've gone through 3 other blades: Gold Seals (used), Mid-Level Paramounts, and now Ultima Matrix Legacy.  When I changed from Mirage to Gold Seal, I felt my turns got much better, but no difference in spins.  Obviously my spins in each blade got a little better, as I've been taking more lessons and practicing more- but after the initial adjustment of 'I can't spin at all' (a few weeks for me...I don't handle change well!) my spins were back exactly where they were, possibly a little faster when the blades are new, but then as I've had a few sharpening, they generally slow down (I love new blades).

Personally I think that angle the video shows is much ado about nothing. We have tons of skaters at our rink in all levels of Ultimas doing everything from Basic skills to Triple jumps. 

Mirages aren't a great blade- they are a low level, inexpensive option.  If you can upgrade you might get some benefits, but since they come with so many skates, hundreds of skaters successfully learn to spin in them every year.  The blade is designed for figure skating, including spinning.

Since you learned spins on a 7 ft rocker, I would guess spinning on ANY 8 ft rocker will be tougher for you.

[amy1984]

I was thinking this over and an 8ft rocker should really give you a larger sweet spot.  I think the problems come from it being less drastic, if that makes sense... you don't really feel the change happening and then whoops you're on your heel.  But I guess the why doesn't really matter It's still a problem.  Just a thought.

After the Mirage, I had Aspire XP, which was okay.  Now I have an Eclipse Mist.  I believe both had the 7ft rocker.  The Aspire XP were pretty easy to adjust to, although not as good quality as I would have liked (which is why I left the Mirage so it was a waste to get the Aspire XP... I guess I really hadn't done my research before purchasing!).  The Eclipse Mist has been a bit more of a learning curve, but I can already feel that they are much more suited to my level of skating.  However, I can also already feel that it's going to be a bit longer of an adjustment

As for why Ultima chose that profile... I'd say because it works for some people.  I passed the blades (and skates) on and the person using them LOVES them.  It's simply personal choice.

That's too bad that you've had the blade so long and you're still having difficulties   But I guess you're now armed with a host of likes and dislikes to tell your skate shop about the next time you purchase!

[sarahspins]

Since you learned spins on a 7 ft rocker, I would guess spinning on ANY 8 ft rocker will be tougher for you.

Actually the radius of the whole blade matters very little for spins... it's the radius of the spin profile rocker itself, which can vary a lot between blade models - every 8' blade is not the same.  Consider a gold seal with it's 12" spin rocker to a Pattern 99 with it's 12 to 27" two radius profile, and they behave very differently for the skater.