Choosing a mounting cup is one of those small short track decisions that quietly shapes how your whole skate feels. The cup sits between your boot and your blade tube, and it is the part that sets your blade height, holds your alignment true and takes the load every time you push through a corner. Get it right and you stop thinking about it. Get it wrong and you chase a vague, unsettled feel for weeks without knowing why.
StayBent makes two short track cup sets that skaters most often weigh up against each other, the standard StayBent Short Track Mounting Cups and the StayBent Short Track PRO Mounting Cups. They look similar, they are built the same way, and they solve the same problem. The real difference is the height range they cover, and that is what this guide is about. By the end you will know exactly which set fits your setup and why.
What a mounting cup actually does
On a short track skate the blade is not bolted flat to the sole of the boot. It sits on a pair of cups, one toward the toe and one toward the heel, and those cups raise the blade to a set distance below the boot. That gap is your blade height, and it is one of the biggest levers you have over how the skate handles. The cup also has a second job that matters just as much. It clamps the blade tube solidly so nothing shifts under load, which keeps your alignment and your pitch exactly where you set them, session after session.
The cup raises the blade a set distance below the boot and clamps the tube so your alignment stays put.
Why StayBent builds cups you keep
Both StayBent sets are made to be a permanent part of your rig rather than a throwaway part that comes free in a box and gets binned. Each cup is precision machined from 6061 aluminium billet, so it is light, stiff and strong enough to hold a true mount under the sideways load of a hard crossover. They are anodized in a clean blue grey and engraved with their size, which sounds like a small thing until you are trying to remember what height you ran last season. The engraving means your setup is always readable and always repeatable.
The core difference is height range
Here is the part that actually decides your purchase. The two sets cover slightly different bands of blade height, measured in millimetres, and each cup is marked with its number. The standard set runs 12 sizes in 1 mm steps, from minus 1 up to plus 10. The PRO set runs 13 sizes in 1 mm steps, from 0 up to plus 12. The number is simply how much the cup lifts the blade, so a higher number means more height under the boot.
The ranges overlap across most of the middle. Standard reaches one step lower, PRO reaches two steps higher.
Standard cups, minus 1 to plus 10
The standard StayBent Short Track Mounting Cups are the everyday workhorse of the range. Twelve sizes from minus 1 to plus 10 covers the height that the large majority of short track skaters actually run, from a low, direct setup right through to a fairly tall one. If you like sitting a touch closer to the ice, the minus 1 step is only offered here, which is the one genuine advantage the standard set has over the PRO at the low end.
PRO cups, 0 to plus 12
The StayBent Short Track PRO Mounting Cups shift the same idea two steps taller. Thirteen sizes from 0 to plus 12 give you extra height at the top of the range, which suits skaters who deliberately run a tall setup for a deeper lean angle and more corner clearance. If you have ever felt like you wanted just a little more height than a plus 10 could give you, the PRO set is the reason to look here.
What both sets share
Beyond the range, these two cup sets are close cousins. Both are precision machined from 6061 aluminium billet, both are engineered to be light, stiff and strong for a solid and consistent mount, and both wear the same anodized blue grey finish with the size engraved on the body. Both are sold as a set of 4, which is a full pair of skates at two cups per boot. And both let you choose whether the mounting bolts come in the box or not, so you can buy fresh hardware or reuse bolts that are still in good condition.
How cup height changes the way you skate
Because the cup sets blade height, swapping cup size changes the feel of the skate in a way you can genuinely notice. More height lifts your boot further from the ice, which lets you lean the skate over further before the boot would touch down, so you get a deeper possible lean angle and more clearance through the corner. Less height brings you closer to the ice, which tends to feel more stable and more direct under the foot, with a quicker, more planted response.
Taller cups allow a deeper lean before the boot runs out of room. Lower cups feel planted and quick to react.
The practical advice is the same whichever set you own. Change height in small steps of a millimetre or two at a time, and give yourself a few sessions to adapt before you judge it. Your body reads the new height as a new balance point, and it takes a little skating for that to settle. Chasing big jumps in one go usually just leaves you confused about what actually helped.
Bolts, sets and fitting to EHS boots
Both sets come as four cups with the option to add bolts, and they are made for standard short track boot and blade mounting. If you skate the EHS Short Track Boots, the mounting hardware that comes with those boots is already set up for this kind of mount, so fitting a StayBent cup and a StayBent blade such as the StayBent JaeBee is a clean and familiar job. Keep your bolts to the correct torque, check them before every race, and treat a loose cup as a stop and fix problem rather than something to skate through.
Do you need the adapter set as well
Most skaters do not, but it is worth knowing about. If you are bridging two different mounting standards, for example fitting short track hardware to a boot or frame drilled to an inline pattern, the StayBent EHS Short Track Adapter Set converts a 195 mm inline mounting pattern down to the 165 mm spacing that short track boots use. That is a separate problem from height, which the cups handle, so the two parts work together rather than replacing each other. If your boot and blade already share the same standard, you can ignore the adapter entirely.
Which set should you choose
The decision comes down to where you want to sit in the height range. If you run a low or middle setup, or you specifically want the minus 1 option, the standard set is the natural and more affordable choice, and it covers the height that most skaters will ever need. If you deliberately run tall, or you have already been living at the top of a standard set and wishing for more, the PRO set gives you those extra steps up to plus 12. Both are the same honest aluminium build, so you are not trading away quality either way. You are simply picking the range that matches how you like to skate. If you are still unsure, note your current cup size, decide whether you want to go higher or lower from there, and let that number point you at the right set. You can always browse the full StayBent Short Track range to see how the cups sit alongside the blades and hardware they pair with.
Frequently asked questions
What do the cup numbers mean?
The number is the height in millimetres that the cup adds under your boot, in 1 mm steps. A higher number lifts the blade further from the boot. If you are simply replacing worn cups, match the number engraved on the ones you already run.
Can I mix a standard cup and a PRO cup?
It is best to run a matched pair at the height you want. Since the ranges overlap across the middle, you can usually get the exact height you need from a single set without mixing, which keeps your setup simple and consistent.
How many cups come in a set?
Four cups, which is a full pair of skates at two cups per boot. Choose the bolt option if you want fresh mounting hardware, or skip it to reuse bolts that are still sound.
Will taller cups make me faster?
Not on their own. Taller cups give you more lean and clearance, which can help your cornering if that is what your skating needs, but height is a fit and feel choice rather than a free speed upgrade. Set it to suit your stance and the ice you skate.
Are the cups reusable?
Yes. Both sets are machined aluminium built to be kept and reused across many blade changes, which is the whole point of the StayBent approach. Look after them and they will outlast several sets of steel.
