Review: Qube 8-Ball Bearings

Any sport that involves equipment will inevitably attract equipment junkies. I tried to think of any sport that doesn't have a top-of-the-range anything and failed miserably. Even swimming of the non-skinny variety has swimsuits that have been developed in wind tunnels and cost more than my skates. Of course, for every newbie dripping with top-of-the-range swim hats there's an old hand who's wearing the same speedos they were rocking back when people thought Zunes were cool.

None. None more black.

Most of the time, the difference for everyone except those at the very top of their game is negligible. However, derby is a different beast, the exception that proves the rule. As I've written about before, graduating to my Sure-Grips from my vintage ex-rentals was like learning derby all over again, only this time not on a track made of old glue. I reviewed my Heartless wheels last winter and I'm still chuffed with them. The one area I was a little unsure about laying down some money on was bearings.

The ABEC system which is used to grade the quality of bearings was developed to grade industrial ball bearings on precision, efficiency and speed capabilities. A higher rating bearing will be of higher quality but not necessarily have faster-spinning components. ABEC-9 bearings are normally found in surgical equipment and aircraft components. Does a roller skate really need something that good in it? There's a lot of arguments for and against, and I was happy enough with the ABEC-7s that came with my Sure-Grips. But when I got a bit of belated Christmas money, the desire to get me more derby gear proved too strong.

The blurb states that these bearings have 8 balls in the race, not the usual 7, and this gives you more points of contact on the bearing which spreads the load and allows greater lateral movement. Now, as I'm not an engineer I can't give you any firm evidence for this (and I LOVE evidence). I can, however, talk about how it feels to have a new set of bearings.

Bloody awesome.

Qube have made a point of not using the ABEC system for their bearings, but I've been told they're on a par with a 7. So, it's no great leap to compare like-for-like with my old bearings. Even before I hit the rink, the difference was pretty clear. The wheels spun longer, and quieter. On the rink I felt smoother, more able to dig into the corners and blast out. My 25-lap time at the same rink I spent most of 2010 and 11 on went down by nearly 20 seconds (a career best of 4 minutes and 3 seconds, fact fans!). Obviously, there are a lot of other factors that could account for this and I'm not saying it's just the bearings, but they do feel better than my old ones (which were looked after well, and cleaned regularly).

I think there's a strong case to be made for replacing bearings regularly. They often get forgotten, or there's an assumption that cleaning them means they'll last forever. However, when you're putting a personload on them for up to ten hours a week, every week, rolling them faster than the wheels of a NASCAR (apparently they've checked this), they are going to be affected. Given that wheels need replacing every couple of seasons, maybe there's a case to be made for swapping out your bearings at the same time?

Maybe it's just the gearhead in me speaking :)

Milestones

As I've no relevant pictures, today's post will be illustrated with what google comes up with if you do an image search for "Chinaman's Hill Auckland"

Today I did something I had a sneaky feeling I could do but hadn't had the courage to actually attempt before. I successfully ran ten kilometres, stopping only for traffic lights (and then I was running on the spot). I'm sure for quite a few of you, running 10k ain't no thang, but for me it felt pretty special!

knitting!

I didn't actually wake up this morning with any big running-related ideas (though I was going to run at some point) but when someone invited me to go skating outdoors (which I can't do now as I'm outdoorwheelless!), I replied with "I'm going for a run instead, might try and do 10k today!". Challenge made, I figured I actually had to go run the bloody thing now, or at least try. I went to MapMyFitness and plotted out a route that was a mashup of two of my more regular runs (including "Chinaman's Hill" which is a bit fierce). It looked huge on the map, but not intimidating. I've written here before that I run better when I stop planning and just go, but with the triathlon in a few weeks and a half marathon in the distance, it feels time to up the game a little.

The longest run I've done prior to this was 7k, and always felt destroyed after those, so how would that extra 3k feel?

Slug!

This evening was a triumph of positive thinking. I had told people I was going to, I knew I could do it, and I kept telling myself I could all the way around. I'm quite pleased that I can now run a good 6+km without feeling especially tired or winded. At about the 7km mark (fastest time for that little marker too), I started to feel it. Not gasping for air, just...fatigued. Legs getting heavy, my feet starting to chafe in my shoes, stomach feeling a bit sick. By the time I hit The Hill, I was running at snails pace. This is when the positive thinking went up a gear. I kept thinking about how awesome it would be to say I could run 10k, what nonsense I'd write in my blog after I'd got home, how if I could do a sprint tri I could definitely GET THE HELL UP THAT HILL! I grimaced a grin at all the lithe, toned runners sailing down it. I gritted teeth, focused on breathing in time with my steps. On not finding an excuse to walk. And I did it.

Of course, after The Hill, comes.....another hill! By then, though, I was all good. Blisters? Tiredness? Who cares! I was on the home stretch and though I wouldn't say I was flying up it I certainly put in the effort. I even took a slightly less direct route to my flat so I knew I'd definitely done 10k.

Rally cars!

I feel like I can say I'm a runner now. The first time I did 5k was memorable, but ten? That's a quarter of a marathon (15 April, folks, Orewa). That's Actual Fitness territory. It's left me feeling good that I've spent the last few months wisely and my training is moving in the right direction. My Marathon at 30 idea actually seems fairly reasonable tonight.

Whatever this is!

I also noticed today (thanks, summer evening shadows) that my backside wobbles a lot when I run. Like, wow. Now I know why all those cars full of drunk guys yell shit at me from time to time! I knew about the boobs (my sports bras be awesome but there are limits to all engineered structures) but the behind as well? Lordy. It struck me as I ran along one of Auckland's busiest roads, backside wibbling all the way, that there would have been a time that such a revelation would have made me slink back to my flat for a cry and (probably) a snack to feel better about having a large bum and it being seen to be working out in public. Today? Fuck it, went my line of reasoning. I'm out here running (10k!), fat ass or no. That automatically makes me above ridicule to anyone not exercising. And one thing I have noticed? People who work out don't hate on other people working out. And people who don't work out aren't really in a position to call you on your working out. So there.

Now, after all the life-affirming non-derby stuff, I received my bearings and new lid from One Woman 8 Wheels today (actually, they'd arrived on Saturday but my next door neighbour forgot to give them to me). The helmet's awesome, I look weirdly...professional? Serious? In a black helmet. The Qube 8-ball bearings are also black, and spin with ninja-like stealth. Reviews of both once the season gets underway (so close now!)

SHAMELESS PLUG: If you have a roller derby, triathlon/running or vegan-related (or all 3!) related product or service you'd like me to road/rink test for you, please get in touch by leaving me some details in the comments and I'll get right back to you!

Monday Night Idiocy: Buying a Helmet the Bruja Way

So, the new season, she bears down upon us. I spent a part of my evening going through my gear looking at what needs replaced and what's looking ok. Top of the list: bearings and a new helmet.

Admit it, you laughed.

My bearings are the ABEC 7's that came with my skates. They've done me fine for a while, but last time I cracked the skates to clean the little sods they were looking distinctly worse for wear. Not sure if that's to do with months of downtime or what, but they're a bit munted. Fine for outdoor, but not a proper indoor season. The helmet I have is a totally rad colour, has my name in the proper Irn Bru can font and a selection of stickers that make people crease up. Unfortunately, it's also a really cheap entry-level helmet that should have been replaced after my cracked my head and ended up in hospital last July (always important to replace lids after big crashes like that, as I'm sure you are all aware).

So, I got in touch with the lovely Trudy at One Woman 8 Wheels for some advice. she recommended some Qube Gold bearings and a TSG Evolution lid. Sorted! There shall be a review of the bearings once I've had a chance to properly road test them, but with the helmet came a problem: what colour?

Rocks like a fox in socks

Now, as you're probably aware, I am a fan of not-black. I have a lot of black clothes, yes, but if there's a colour option I'll take it. Skates? Bright green. Lid? Bright, clashing blue. Leg cast? Green and purple. Second cast? Blue and yellow. You get the idea. So, when I saw this bad boy in BRIGHT GODDAMN ORANGE I was sorely tempted.

HOWEVER. I was not convinced. Why?

• Orange doesn't go with any part of the Mascara Massacre strip
• Or the PCR travel team one
• Or...anything really.

It's like the Corolla of helmets. A sexy Corolla.

The other option? A saucy black model that's all glossy and shit. 
Black. It goes with anything and everything. Goths love it. So does almost everyone else. Nice looking bit of kit, but very, I dunno, safe. I'd need a lot of awesome stickers to make it stand out from the rest of the black helmet crowd.

So, as is fitting, I decided to put it to facebook and let other people do the thinking for me. Some comments from the masses..

" Will orange not look like a hard hat?"

"Can I vote until orange wins?"

"Are you or are you not Irn Bruja?? Need I say more?
Now go pick a fight with a coke machine."

After literally minutes of  considered debate, the following suggestion was made:

"Umm... have you actually held an orange thing up to see what you look like with an orange head?"

Of course, this is a genius suggestion. But what to use? Then my eyes were drawn to the snuffling coming from the cage of my long-suffering rats. In particular, the big ginger male known as Ferkel. As the most orange thing in the room, there was only one thing for it. 

I had to wear the rat as a hat.

Rat. As hat.

Ferkel is an elderly chap (an elder statesrat, if you will), and as such his balance and ability to hang on to the head of his deranged owner is greatly diminished. Despite much coaxing and promises of peanut treats, he fell off shortly after this was taken, and despite his best efforts to use my face as a climbing wall landed on my lap, devoid of injury but obviously mortified at this affront to his fluffy dignity. 

The facebook fraternity declared victory for black as a result of this mishap, but Trudy had a suggestion: did I have anything black as a comparison? As it happened, Pickle the rat is  black. Thus, a comparison was drawn:

Another rat. As hat.

 

 As you can clearly see, Pickle seems much happier up there than Ferkel did, and instead of falling off she decided to hang on with grim determination, possibly to get me back for an earlier accidental denial of peanut treats. The decision made, I put a perturbed Pickle back in her nest and got ordering. (and promptly ordered the wrong thing, a mistake easily rectified thankfully!)

Now, I'm not advocating the use of household pets to solve all your derby dilemmas, but it worked for me in this instance. If you have a derby dilemma that you think can be solved by The Rats, then drop them a line! Ferkel's hips aren't so good any more though, so he's not able to help with any skate or fitness questions. 

Obvious disclaimer: No rats were harmed in the making of this post. Derby Does You Good in no way endorses the wearing of rats as hats for an extended period. Unless you come up with some kind of harness. But that would just be crazy.