I am wondering whether blade width affects manoevrability?
Sure, there are other factors, like rocker radius, parabolic, tapered ends, but I'm wondering about the width of the blade.

I always assumed blades were all the same width, until I got my Ultima Matrix Freestyles. I have found significant improvement in my footwork, though because I switched to Proflex hinged boots at the same time., I can never figure out what is to do with boot and what is to do with the blade. A comment in another thread about dance blades width got me wondering whether there is any advantage/disadvantage to having narrower blades.

When I have money, I plan to get Phantoms again, possibly Phantom Specials. I think they are wider than normal Phantoms, if anything they at least don't have the tapered end. Do these things make a difference?

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Katz

Saved by Synchro!
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I noticed a number of improvements when I went to Proflex as well.

Width of blade should have little effect since blades don't vary all that much and just about everybody skates everything on an edge.

A narrower blade will require a smaller Radius of Hollow to feel as sharp as a wider blade.

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Dianne
(A.O.S.S.? Got it BAD! )

On the other hand, dance blades are narrower, and my assumption has always been because that allows for quicker changes of edge and more maneuverability. Anyone?
I think the Phantom Special is actually tapered toward the back, just as the regular Phantom is. Not sure what that is supposed to do, though.

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Yes, that's what I have heard too. Apparently (I haven't tried it myself so I am not speaking from my own experience) it is much easier to do all those three turns, brackets etc on dance blades, because they are thinner (narrower).

The Phantom blades are supposed to make edges easier, but I don't think they are as good as dance blades for all these turns. Saying that, I have Phantom parabolic and love them, but from what I heard,any dancing blade is better for turns than any freeskating blade.

I'd agree with that. Someone once compared it to getting power steering, and that is exactly how it feels. I have both dance and free blades; my dance blades are faster, more maneuverable and generally feel less clumsy. I don't like spinning or jumping in them - they feel less stable and lack toepicks - but for general skating and footwork, I can do much more with far less effort. I can't blame the lack of toepicks or heel, so I assume that the width of the blade is responsible for this.

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Hockey blades are thinner for the same reason.

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So what about rocker? I thought blades with a smaller rocker were easier turning than with a flatter rocker.

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That's correct, and hockey blades, in general, have a smaller rocker than figure blades. That's also one reason the high level freestyle blades have a large rocker. It makes landing jumps easier.

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That is true. The rounder the blade, the easier it is to get on the ball of the blade and turn. That's why you can't turn on speed skates, which are flat, and it's probably considerably harder to turn on hockey skates than figure skates, since they also have a 10-11' rocker (vs. 7' or 8' for figure skates).

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"You don't have to put an age limit on your dreams." - Dara Torres, 41, after her 2nd medal at the 2008 Olympics

I just said the exact opposite. We can't both be right and I hate being wrong - so it must be you . Actually, as much as this hurts , according to the first two web sites I checked (site 1, site 2), you are right. Although, I also found out that the issue of rocker size and shape is much more complicated for hockey blades, and that the profile of the blades and the fact that they are curved at both ends accounts for the fast turns hockey players need. Their blades are maximized for fast maneuvering.

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My Ultima Matrix Freestyles are significantly narrower than my old Phantoms.

Do free skating blades generally come in just the one width, or are they all standard apart from the Matrix blades?

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Katz

Saved by Synchro!
I was over it, now I'm into it again !

LOL! That's a good point about the hockey blades being curved at both the front and back. They must just use a completely different turning technique than we do (and I'm sure I would fall flat on my face on hockey skates because I would keep forgetting about the rounded front and back and the lack of toepicks! ).

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"You don't have to put an age limit on your dreams." - Dara Torres, 41, after her 2nd medal at the 2008 Olympics

Yeah....first time I tried hockey skates, I was fine going forwards, mohawked to go backwards and slid off the front of the blades because of the lack of toepicks. Turning in hockey skates actually didn't feel THAT much different to me. I can do rockers and counters (not extremely well, but I can do them) in hockey skates. Although, thinking about it, I do believe I was turning further back on the blade than I would in figure skates, as if the turning sweet spot is more in the middle of the blade.

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Yep, that's one reason I hate rollerblades. I kept forgetting not to do mohawks in them. . . Got the worst hip bruise ever, then unconsciously did another mohawk and went right down on the same hip again!

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"You don't have to put an age limit on your dreams." - Dara Torres, 41, after her 2nd medal at the 2008 Olympics