Boing, Boing, CRACK! Darn, err, yay?

[BitLord83]

So, just got my new Air-Trekkers yesterday.   I weigh 98 KG and I got 102 springs. My old M series Powerstriders where 109's and I can bottom them out too easily so I figured the new much stiffer ones at a low 100 would be good. Well, first off, they are a lot softer than I thought they might be. Standing on them brand new I sink into them a good inch or two. I thought to myself "Dang, I just spent a bunch of money on new stilts and hopefully stronger springs and now I got ones that are too soft. This is annoying."

So I go into the gym today and bounce around easy at first to break them in a little. I got a bit higher and was jumping about 3 feet for a little bit. Well, I really broke them in alright. My right stilt made a pretty loud "crack" sound and went pretty soft. As I was half walking back to the wall to brace myself and take off the broken one some guy was like "You broke the right one, careful!" I felt like saying "You think?" but I was nice and said that I knew and thanks.

So, I'm not so happy that I broke a spring, but I'm happy in a weird way because I wish to request higher weight replacements, probably 110's. I don't see why he'd have a problem doing that. They usually replace springs in pairs even with a warranty claim correct? We'll see what he says to my email in response.

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[Joe Legg]

nice break. Now and again you will get a bad pair of springs and they should replace them as its a fault. But I always say go for springs higher than your weight range if you know how to use them. ie if 100kg go for 110 or higher.

I'm 75kg and go for the 90's. The springs should not be easy to bottom out.

By the sounds of it you are using springs that are to soft. As when you stand on them they should not bend unless you put pressure into them.

[BitLord83]

I'm not quite as springy as you Joe, but I can pretty easily jump about 3 feet in the air and the only limitation right now are my stilts bottoming out. 110's sound like they would be good but do you think I should even go higher? I don't know how much stiffer a 10KG increment really is.

On the main topic: The Air-Trekkers guy Gary responded already and apologized and said he would send out new springs Monday (good service!) but he also wanted to know my weight etc and try to figure out why my spring broke. I told him all I knew and said I'd like the 110's. We shall see what he thinks.

He said he only gets a few breaks a year and never in the first month even so he seemed quite surprised. I managed to break one on my first go!

[Joe Legg]

I think 110's are the hardest springs they do. If they do go higher i would recommend high 110's. ( no harm in asking).

I'm 90% sure yours broke because you needed harder springs. when you said you put them on and they compressing a couple of inches before you had even jumped. This shouldn't happen.

I know they said they were for your weight range and as your learning its fine, as the springs will feel springy and makes learning the jumping technique easier.
But once you have the hang of jumping (like you said about 3 ft and bottoming them out) That's a sign you need to upgrade your springs.

Ask for some hard 110's and you will get a lot more fun out of them.

[BitLord83]

You can also order 120's from them. High 110's sound like a good way to go though. Thanks for the advice.

[Jason]

While I would agree with joe if you weigh a fair bit mate I would advise caution with going too high weight wise

I have 3 sets of springs on the go at the moment and find the stiffest ones are the worst to jump on

First ask yourself if on your short go on them were you bottoming out or were they just nice and springy

It would definately be a faulty spring due to the speed it broke so you want to be wary of getting a set that are too stiff for you as they slow down your learning curve

On the other hand if you could bottom them out easily go higher

Just to give you an idea I weigh about 118kg and I am happiest on 109-112 kg range

Jason 

[BitLord83]

Yeah, Jason, I get what you mean, but these were definitely too soft. I was jumping easily, not very much effort at all, and my fiance said I was definitely going past half compression. I was only getting between 2 and 3 feet height too. My other springs are limiting me to about 3 feet. Based on what I saw with these new ones, they would probably limit me to about 4 feet and not being able to put all into it like I'd want to. Also, my fitness level is continuing to grow as well. I definitely want room to grow into a stiffer spring. I still think 110's are the way to go for me now. Too bad it had to be learned the hard way.

Thanks for the advice guys!

[Jason]

Just read your fist post properly and realised that your as good as 100kg

Yes I would say 110's but make sure you are in the mid to lower range as 110 goes all the way up to 120 and you wouldn't believe the difference 5kg makes

I had a set of 123kg springs on the old style and they were a nightmare to use at first (must admit they got better with age)

I have had 119kg springs in the new style but I have seen so many people go to high weight wise and actualy get less height in a jump as they can't use the full spring

When you say "The Hard Way" do you mean by breaking them or cost as I would think they would still be under warrenty if they broke that quick

Jason 

[BitLord83]

I meant breaking the springs. After feeling how soft they were, and being disappointed, I was almost happy to hear the spring crack. I was horrified and then was like "Yay, I can get new springs!"

Air-Trekkers have a full 1 year warranty on everything including springs (pretty good!). I emailed Air-Trekkers and he emailed back the same day and said he would send out new ones Monday. He was wondering why it happened so I told him everything, sent pictures, and requested 110's. I should be all set to go in a week or two, depending on how long they take to ship and when I can get the time to replace them.

While I'm at it I might as well glue the bushings up if I can too. As I mentioned previously I might try to make a tutorial for gluing bushings in the new model. I'll take plenty of pictures.

Thanks for all the help and advice guys.

[BitLord83]

Well I got an email that he will be sending out 110's for me. I can't wait!

[Jason]

Thats what I like to hear

Well done mate

Jason 

[BitLord83]

Well, got my new springs today. They are 116's! We shall see how they work out. I think this will be a lot better or even ideal for me. I have them all wrapped up in bicycle inner tubes for spring protection, and in my down time, I glued up all the bushings solid. All I need to do is oil up all the joints and start adjusting the calf cuffs and start bouncing. Even better, I have the day off tomorrow. I will give an update on how the springs feel for me.

*Note: Air-Trekkers took care of my very well.

*Note #2: I am working on a tutorial for gluing bushings in the new CZ/Exo model stilts.