Query
02-02-2008, 03:36 PM
:twisted: :twisted: :twisted:
Here’s a free marketing idea for enterprising folk.
Sell a “Sliding Sleeve Skate Spinner” ($59.99, since the high end Gold Medal Spinner Pro is $49.99, and this works better). Sell a 1 m square of linoleum as a “Sliding Sleeve Skate Spinning Surface” for another $39.99, or better still, a square of hardwood for $39.99, and floor wax as a “Sliding Sleeve Skate Spinner Lubricant”, for $29.99 (1 month supply, of course).
Background
Some time back I bought a skate spinner (also called a spin trainer - two plates with a bearing between them; you stand on it and practice spins) which didn’t work cause the bearing was bad. Needed all my weight to spin, and it kept stopping at one point in the rotation.
Tried cleaning it out, and re-lubing it, and now it spins easily – except at that one point.
I recently saw one of the same brand and model (very common, but I don't want a libel suit) in a store that spun perfectly, with or without full weight. Came back the next week to buy it. Was sold, but they had another. It also had a bad bearing, spun with friction. Obviously the manufacturing quality varies.
Besides, they get dirty, and stop working. They were too cheap to use a sealed bearing. These things are nothing but a turntable bearing (also called a spinner or swivel), with added mounting plates. Bill Scheider, who sometimes posts here, has a home-made device here:
http://oak.cats.ohiou.edu/~schneidw/skating/homemade_spinner.html
I started thinking about ways of improving the device.
Sealed turntable bearings can be bought that WON’T get dirty, for about $3-5.
With a floor standing spinner your foot has to be in exactly the right place, and you can’t easily step into a spin or jump. A little off, and you fly off to one side.
(I’ve tried the blue plastic one too (no bearings - just a plastic piece you step on that has a shape on the bottom that will rotate against a floor) – again it is hard to place your foot at the right point, and you need a surface to spin on so it doesn’t wreck the floor.)
So find a way to attach it to a shoe. Even better, mount a little swivel along a blade guard, and do it _with_ your skates on. You should be able to slide it into the place you want to spin. That's an idea almost good enough to sell. I probably should have patented it.
Then the obvious idea came to light. Put on a sock. Spin on the linoleum kitchen floor. Oh my god. It feels almost like the ice, with just a little more friction. Step into it. Jump from it. Works. Practice 3 turns. Sort of works.
Switched to a synthetic sock - more slippery than cotton or wool. Still better.
Now that I think of it, I’ve seen people practice routines in socks – not even an original idea.
Oh my G--. Why would anyone waste money on a commercial spinner?
But they do. I did. Twice, if you count the plastic one. With a little hype, and a some confusing gobbledygook, you should have no trouble marketing a sock for an outrageous price.
Should you charge more for a "left" or "right" sliding sleaze (I mean sleeve) skate spinner? Can anyone think of a way to make it more slippery? (A better Sliding Sleeve Skate Spinner Lubricant?)
(Magnetic levitation? Nah, costs too much to make. One sock, manufacturing cost a few pennies, $59.99, just right.)
:twisted: :twisted: :twisted:
Here’s a free marketing idea for enterprising folk.
Sell a “Sliding Sleeve Skate Spinner” ($59.99, since the high end Gold Medal Spinner Pro is $49.99, and this works better). Sell a 1 m square of linoleum as a “Sliding Sleeve Skate Spinning Surface” for another $39.99, or better still, a square of hardwood for $39.99, and floor wax as a “Sliding Sleeve Skate Spinner Lubricant”, for $29.99 (1 month supply, of course).
Background
Some time back I bought a skate spinner (also called a spin trainer - two plates with a bearing between them; you stand on it and practice spins) which didn’t work cause the bearing was bad. Needed all my weight to spin, and it kept stopping at one point in the rotation.
Tried cleaning it out, and re-lubing it, and now it spins easily – except at that one point.
I recently saw one of the same brand and model (very common, but I don't want a libel suit) in a store that spun perfectly, with or without full weight. Came back the next week to buy it. Was sold, but they had another. It also had a bad bearing, spun with friction. Obviously the manufacturing quality varies.
Besides, they get dirty, and stop working. They were too cheap to use a sealed bearing. These things are nothing but a turntable bearing (also called a spinner or swivel), with added mounting plates. Bill Scheider, who sometimes posts here, has a home-made device here:
http://oak.cats.ohiou.edu/~schneidw/skating/homemade_spinner.html
I started thinking about ways of improving the device.
Sealed turntable bearings can be bought that WON’T get dirty, for about $3-5.
With a floor standing spinner your foot has to be in exactly the right place, and you can’t easily step into a spin or jump. A little off, and you fly off to one side.
(I’ve tried the blue plastic one too (no bearings - just a plastic piece you step on that has a shape on the bottom that will rotate against a floor) – again it is hard to place your foot at the right point, and you need a surface to spin on so it doesn’t wreck the floor.)
So find a way to attach it to a shoe. Even better, mount a little swivel along a blade guard, and do it _with_ your skates on. You should be able to slide it into the place you want to spin. That's an idea almost good enough to sell. I probably should have patented it.
Then the obvious idea came to light. Put on a sock. Spin on the linoleum kitchen floor. Oh my god. It feels almost like the ice, with just a little more friction. Step into it. Jump from it. Works. Practice 3 turns. Sort of works.
Switched to a synthetic sock - more slippery than cotton or wool. Still better.
Now that I think of it, I’ve seen people practice routines in socks – not even an original idea.
Oh my G--. Why would anyone waste money on a commercial spinner?
But they do. I did. Twice, if you count the plastic one. With a little hype, and a some confusing gobbledygook, you should have no trouble marketing a sock for an outrageous price.
Should you charge more for a "left" or "right" sliding sleaze (I mean sleeve) skate spinner? Can anyone think of a way to make it more slippery? (A better Sliding Sleeve Skate Spinner Lubricant?)
(Magnetic levitation? Nah, costs too much to make. One sock, manufacturing cost a few pennies, $59.99, just right.)
:twisted: :twisted: :twisted: