Now That's Some Tasty Juice!

At the end of my last post, I asked G Spot readers to suggest review items, and they (you) delivered!  I have enough items to test/review to keep me busy for quite a while and, as promised, I will randomly give a gift basket worth over $100 from 2N1 Skate Shoppe to one of my fans who made a suggestion.  So, without further ado, congratulations Barbie OHavoc!  Shoot me an e-mail at 2N1SkateShoppe@gmail.com with your address and I'll get the goodies in the mail to you.

Juice Wheels Logo, Pretty Sweet Right?!

Now, I'd like to tell you a story.  A few months ago I received a set of wheels in the mail.  They were wheels I had never seen before from a company I had never heard of, but they had a sweet martini glass logo so I was quite intrigued.  I took to the dubbya dubbya dubbya to try to find more info on these mystery wheels, but still couldn't find anything...the mystery deepened.  Finally, I just said, "what the heck!" while slapping some bearings into the puppies and set off on my new Juice Cosmo Wheels.

I was skeptical when first testing out the Cosmo wheels.  The floor on which I was going to first test them was known for being super sticky, so I wondered if they would be too sticky, but I ended up skating 27 laps in 5 minutes.  That's only one lap fewer than my personal best and I had just returned from taking a couple months off from skating so I was quite pleased.  I was also pleased that it only took about 7 laps before the Cosmos were broken in.  That's the quickest I've ever experienced wheels breaking in, and I've tried out a lot of wheels!

After trying them on a sticky floor, I needed to see how they performed on a slick floor.  The track I found was not only slick but dusty as well, so I was prepared to be sliding all over the place.  Boy was I wrong!  Not only was the roll still incredibly fast and smooth, but they had amazing grip and a controlled slide.  It's almost impossible not to go fast when skating on these wheels, and as a big girl who is used to having to really work to get some speed, I have no problem with that.  These wheels are really giving my previous favorites, Crazy Play Slim 59mm, a run for their money!  (If you are interested in reading more about my experience with the Crazy Play wheels, check out my article on them, Crazy at Play.)

Juice Wheels got their website and FaceBook up and running a few weeks after sending me the tester wheels, so I was finally able to acquire the rest of the wheels they make in their Martini, Spiked, and Jolt series of quad wheels. 

Juice Cosmo 93a

Cosmos are the middle durometer offered by the Juice Wheels Martini series. The Martini line includes Sapphires (91a), Cosmos (93a), and Appletinis (95a), all are 59mm high by 38mm wide, and retail for around $120 for a set of 8 wheels.  That is a little steep compared to other wheels on the market, but it is because they are composed of dual poured urethane and a radial design core.  This dual poured urethane causes more wheel surface area to remain on the track longer than other wheels while the radial core retains and releases energy from your stride, which is why skaters are able to achieve amazing grip without having to compromise speed as sometimes happens with softer wheels.

I have been recommending the Juice Martini series to many of my fellow skaters for them to try out.  The Sapphire wheels have hit it off with my clients who don't weigh much or who need extra grip,  while the Appletinis are working better for skaters who want less grip, are heavier, or skate on extremely sticky surfaces.  For skaters who are just looking for an all around great wheel that works on many surfaces, the Cosmos have been a hands-down favorite.

Juice Monster 95a

Juice Wheels also offers two other wheel lines, Spiked and Jolt.  The Spiked line of wheels include AMP (91a), NRG (93a), and Monster (95a).  Spiked wheels retail at $100 for a set of 8, so they are more affordable, and while they still have the radial designed core, they don't have the dual poured urethane.

Juice Jolt 80a

Jolts are Juice's hybrid offering with a durometer of 80a and they come in two sizes, 62mm and 59mm.  They are $80 for a whole set and have worked well for skaters on super slick/dusty floors.  I haven't yet had the pleasure to try out any of the Spiked or Jolt wheels, but if they perform anywhere near the Martini series, I know I'm in for a treat!



One final note about Juice Martini Wheels: their marketing is genious.  They named the wheels after drinks, their packaging has a picture of a martini glass on the front, and on the back of their package they have "Supplement Facts" that read like nutritional information.  It all ties together quite nicely and has a theme I can get behind.  The only issue I have is that they didn't continue this theme with their Spiked and Jolt wheels and instead went with electricity inspired names.  At least the Spiked wheels have the Juice martini glass logo on the surface area.

To summarize my experiences and those of my fellow skaters who have tried the Juice Martini series of wheels, here is a list of pros and cons:

Pros:

• Excellent speed (can't say that enough)!
• Amazing grip that doesn't interfere with speed.
• Nice and lightweight.
• Great on many different surfaces.
• Pretty sweet marketing and packaging design.

Cons:

• Only comes in 59mm.
• Cost could be a little steep for some skaters.

If you are now interested in trying out some of the Juice Martini series wheels but want to try before you buy, you can check them out from the 2N1 Skate Shoppe Wheel Library for a $20 deposit.  If you aren't sure which ones might work best for you, send me an e-mail at 2N1SkateShoppe@gmail.com and I'll do my best to help you out.


For my next giveaway, I have 5 packs of KT Tape Pro to give away.  These KT Tape Pro packs come in 10 cool colors and include 20 pre-cut strips which makes applying them super easy.  You can use this stuff for just about every injury and the website has tons of video instructions which makes applying the strips super easy.



If you want to be in the running to win some, all you have to do is go to the 2N1 Skate Shoppe FaceBook page and write a review about anything related to 2N1.  You can write it on a product, service you have received, or even the 2N1 website, up to you.  I'll announce the winners in my next G Spot post.


Until we skate again!
Shocker

Stop, Toe Stop!

Well, hello there!  It seems like it's been ages since we've talked, and I must apologize.  I've been meaning to reach out and check up on you and don't have a good excuse as to why it has taken me so long to do so...oh wait, summer in Alaska is a great reason!  In case you have never lived in a region  close to the Arctic or Antarctic circles, daylight can be non-existent during the winter months.  During the near-24 hours of daylight in the summer months many of us try to get outside to enjoy it as much as possible.  Therefore, I hope you don't hold the two months I took off from updating my G Spot against me.

Short and Standard Stem Gumballs

For my first post-summer article, I wanted to talk about an issue that plagues many skaters: toe stops coming loose or popping off.


Over the years, I have heard the woes of skaters over and over again when it comes to toe stops coming off, often at the worst imaginable time.  There are a couple ways to prevent this from happening.


First, make sure you have at least 4 threads of the toe stop screwed into the plate.  If you are having trouble doing this and also having it come down far enough, you may need different toe stops.  I recommend Gumballs, Bionic Super Stoppers, or Crazy Big Blocs.  These all have nice long stems and thick stops that don't pop off.  I've also heard great things about the Crazy Bounce toe stops, but they are still in my queue of products to test out so I'll have to get back to you on those.  (Soon, my pretties!)

The next item to review is how your toe stop connects to your plate.  Is it a nut that goes around the toe stop or a screw that goes into the side of the plate?  For most of you having issues with your toe stops, it's probably going to be the nut.

Wrong Way!  Toe guard is between nut and plate.

To prevent the toe stop nut from loosening up, make sure you have the nut directly against the plate.  Many skaters that have come to me with the issue of their toe stop popping off have their skates set up like the pic to the right.  The leather toe guard is between the nut and the plate, which can cause the nut to loosen over time and eventually either the toe stop will turn to a strange angle or it will work itself completely loose.  Having a toe stop pop off in the middle of a bout, especially if you are jamming, is one of the worst feelings!  Here is a step by step guide on how to lessen the chances of that happening.

Toe stop stem being inserted through toe stop hole in toe guard.

Unlace your skate and take your toe stop off your plate and the nut off the toe stop.  Next, put your toe stop stem through the toe guard.

Screwing on toe stop nut after toe stop stem has gone through toe guard holes.

Screw the nut onto the toe stop stem.

Toe Stop Nut Under Toe Guard

Screw the toe stop into the plate, adjust to the correct height. 
Tighten down the toe stop with a wrench and lace those puppies up!








Those steps have helped many of my fellow skaters, but sometimes that isn't enough.  Whether you have the nut or screw, if your toe stop loosens or falls out, check all the threads (inner and outer) to ensure they are still serviceable.  If some of the threads are broken or you see metal shavings, you may need to replace that toe stop, screw, nut, or toe stop insert.  Unfortunately, some plates don't have replaceable toe stop inserts, so if you damage the threads on them you will need to replace the whole plate.

If your toe stop connects to your plate with a screw from the side and ratcheting down the screw just doesn't hold your stop anymore, you may have gunk in the space that normally gets smaller as you turn the screw, causing the plate to grip the stop.  I've found that the best way to clean out this crack is to unscrew the toe stop screw completely, then take something thin and hard such as a straightened-out paperclip to clean that sucker out.  If that doesn't do it, inspect your screw to see if it shows any signs of stripped threads, meaning you will either need to get a replacement screw or have to use a toe stop nut to keep your toe stop in place.

The last little bit of advice I can give you is to please, never use Red Locktite (permanent) on your toe stop threads.  If you have followed all of the above suggestions and your toe stop just won't stay put, Blue Locktite (temporary) can help you out and won't make it a pain in the rear to replace your stops.

Cosmo Wheels from Juice's Martini Series

I have quite a few treats for my G Spot fans in the coming months including reviews of wheels including Juice Martini, Radar Presto, and a bunch of the new wheels coming from Atom as well as other Roller Derby gear and, of course, I will be giving away prizes to reward my loyal readers.  To start this season out, I'm putting together a nice gift bag worth around $100 from 2N1 Skate Shoppe and all you have to do to be in the running to win is recommend an item 2N1 Skate Shoppe currently sells for me to test out and review in the comments of this article. 


While you are searching through 2N1's website, why not take a look at the new Wheel Library where you can check out a set for only $20, then when you return them you get a $20 gift certificate which you can use toward purchasing a set of wheels!  The Wheel Library has quickly become a huge hit and has helped skaters save time and money in the long run, so if you are in the market for some new wheels check out the selection, more are being added all the time.

Until we skate again,
Shocker