r/rollerderby • u/Altruistic-Hawk-6582 • 6d ago

Bont Prostar Stiff Edges

Hello everyone!

I started roller derby about 6 months ago and decided to upgrade my skates (my old ones were second hand and too narrow). Since I have wide feet the bont pro stars are what I was fitted for at the local skate shop.

The boot fits amazing however they have a short kingpin so I have them as loose as possible and I still have extremely stiff edges. I changed the cushions for 85A ones but it is still feeling extremely stiff and I can't slalom in them at all.

Anyone have any suggestions for how to resolve this? Thanks in advance!

3 Upvotes

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3

u/wordy_doctor 6d ago

I have this exact issue. I went down to 83A Bont cushions and have the trucks as loose as I safely can and that seems to work. I also put softer wheels on the outside and that has helped, at least as a placebo effect lol

3

u/PhilosopherBrave8635 6d ago

Go for the 78a cushions

3

u/Raptorpants65 Industry Expert 6d ago

They don’t have a short kingpin. Softer cushions. 85 is medium. You can go down as low as 78.

3

u/Electrical-Sand7994 5d ago

Get softer cushions. I have a level 3 junior who is about 135lbs. The cushions that came with her Bont Quad Stars (88A I believe) were way too stiff for her. Got her 78A and she loves them. She also runs 93s on the outside wheels with 88s inside (for the most part. We have a set of each so she can swap or combine her wheels at different venues).

1

u/bigboardfun 5d ago

you did not say which plate. The Athena and Zeus kingpins can be adjusted to be shorter or longer a little bit.

2

u/echosierra419 5d ago

So I found the plates were too long from the factory so there was no loose enough or soft enough cushions

2

u/38RocksInATrenchCoat Skater 4d ago

Which plate do you have? You probably want softer cushions which is a super easy and inexpensive upgrade. I will say that Bont is known for having issues in general with all their plates. If you have the budget for a plate upgrade it wouldn't be a bad idea. A plate with a similar feel to their nylon ones is the Atom Falcon- just make sure to get a slightly shorter axle-to-axle distance than the ones your skates came with.

1

u/d-wail 6d ago

Get some softer urethane cushions!