#grn mnstr

[witchwhohits]

My skates are 2 years old.

[derbygearadvice]

I know you can dye gumball toe stops. Can you do the same thing with moonwalkers? For example dying red moonwalkers black?

Because Moonwalkers come in different colors already, I haven't heard about dyeing them.

In theory, you should be able to dye any of the colors black, but it would be difficult to dye them anything other than black.

You would use the same steps as for Gumballs, I just don't know if Moonwalkers will hold the dye as well.

If you test it out, please let us know how it works!

[derbygearadvice]

Are vegan antiks more expensive? also, are they worth it? because a skater i know said that it took her a month to break them in, so i'm kinda scared haha, help!

The vegan Antiks are more expensive.

However the upgrade to vegan includes the other customizations as well.

I do think it's worth it if you want an Antik and don't want leather, but they do take longer to break in.

There are other vegan skate options that get you a lot more for our money, like Bonts, soccer shoe skates, and there is a new Crazy Skates boot that is vegan and so far getting good reviews.

[derbygearadvice]

Hey there, a friend bought me some gumball toe stops for christmas and told me that it was possible to dye them, however he was unable to tell me how. could you please tell me how this is done and what kind of dye you recommend?

No problem!

They are super easy to dye. I use RIT dye and find that that seems to work best. Get a bowl or pot and fill it a few inches deep with very warm (but not quite hot) water. Add about 1/4 - 1/2 a bottle (or 1/2 to a full powder packet) of dye to the water and place the stops (make sure they are clean first) in the dye water.

Let them sit in the water, stirring every so often, until the stops are a color just slightly darker than how you want them to look.

Once they're there, just rinse and wash them off really well and let them dry completely before putting them back into your plates. At that point, it's a good idea to put a little grease on the stems to prevent crossthreading in your plates.

When you dye your stops, the dye sinks fairly deep into the stop, but over time as you wear them down, you might wear through the dyed part and get to a rubber colored spot again. At that point you can just dye them again if you don't like it.

[vivalaskates-blog]

We are curious to know what everyone thinks of Antik’s new Spyder? Everyone in the shop is anxious to get their greedy little hands on one and feel it out for themselves.

[vivalaskates-blog]

Custom Antik skates for Sin City Roller Girl Cherry Potter.

[derbygearadvice]

My skateguy has a picture of my Antik AR1 skates on his website with a price of $1,000,000!

It all started last September when the BisMan Bombshellz was formed.  I was on the derby train as soon as it started rolling and probably even running in front of it so I wouldn’t get left behind.

My first pair of derby skates were what everyone else was getting and at the time were ok since I had never derby skated before and had no idea what I wanted and needed my skates to do for me.  However, for many years I was an artistic skater so I was familiar with skate boots and eventually I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted and needed for my next pair of derby skates.

While researching boots I found the Antik AR1 on a site and fell in love with the look especially the nice thick tongue padding (just like my Gold Star boots from so long ago), the color options, and the fact I could build my own skate once I decided on the color of the boot. The boots are custom made when ordered so my skate guy had the company dropship boots in my size and the color I chose directly to my house to try on before we mounted plates on them.  They fit PERFECTLY!  I totally fell in love and even asked my skate guy if I could wear them out shopping and even shovel in them before sending them to him to finish building my skates.

We then mounted Sure Grip XK4 Plates with DA45 double action trucks, Poison alloy wheels, and gumball toestops on my gorgeous pink, white, and gold Antik AR1 boots.  He posted a picture to his website and the compliments poured in and everyone loved and wanted MY skates.

As far as any break-in period… NONE!  The boot is slightly higher on the ankle than other derby boots which I really like.  I thought I might have some break-in issues on the back of my ankle since the boot was higher and would be rubbing there more than the lower ones and I had absolutely NO problem there either.  It was like it was made just for my foot.  There are lace holes lower on the heels for skaters with narrower heels and the toe is reinforced with leather so toe protectors are not necessary.  The leather on the toes will still get a slightly “worn leather look” if you do not put protectors on them but for indoor skating (even on cement) they wear extremely well.  If skating outside I would probably use toe protectors simply because of the roughness of outside surfaces and rocks.

In my first derby skates I had to place inserts in them.  Without inserts I was pretty much skating on the plate screws.  The Antik AR1 has an excellent liner and even a shock absorbing heel.  I have spent 6+ hours on my skates in one day and my feet felt as great when I took them off as they did at the beginning of the day.  Wish I could say the same for the rest of my body.

$1,000,000????!!!!  Hmmmm, I probably wouldn’t even sell them for that………. ;-)  When skating in these boots there really is no price for how I feel

[derbygearadvice]

GRN MNSTR's Gumball Toe Stops (and how to dye them)

I bought Gumball toe stops a while ago, when I was on some very small ones that made stopping and running on them very difficult. 

I liked them a lot. I got the long stem, which worked well for me on my R3s and as fresh meat still figuring out stopping and such. I then moved to a Revenge plate and the stops started hitting my wheels. At that point I decided to chop down the stem a few threads and they were just fine. I'm now on an Avenger and the slightly shorter stem works perfectly with these plates (I have them up all the way). The greater surface area makes for much quicker stops than smaller stops, but these are very heavy. When I got my Avenger plate and a soccer shoe for a boot, the setup was light as a feather - except the toe stop seems to weigh as much as the bare plate. 

Also, they do wear out over time, especially if you are using them on rougher surfaces. They aren't going to last you forever, but I definitely like them a lot and when these wear out, I'll probably get the same ones over again.

Another great thing about Gumball stops is that they take to being dyed very well. Right now mine are a deep purple. If you want to dye yours, all you need is moderately hot water, a pot or bowl, RIT liquid dye, and maybe some grease.

Clean your stops. Mix in about half a bottle of liquid dye with enough water to completely cover your stops. Put the stops in and check on them every 30 minutes or so, stirring the dye each time. When they get to about the color you want, take them out and rinse them very well. Let the stops dry completely, and great the stems a bit before putting them back in your plates. The dye doesn't come off on a skating surface any more than the rubber itself would, so you don't need to worry about marking up your practice or game space.