Maybe it seems obvious for everyone else, but price differences between skates from the same brand often involve the most trivial of details that make $40 differences in buying power.
For example, you're looking to get your hands on Cool Brand A, and you're not sure why the CBA Basic is $180 while the CBA Pro model is $320. You're comparing the photos and reading over the features and you're just not getting it.
Same wheels, same hardnesses, same frame lengths, minor aesthetic differences in cuff and boot shell that amount to very little, so what exactly are you paying for?
Well, higher price point skate models tend to come with "better" bearings. That CBA Pro model comes with ceramic twincam rustproof 6 ball bearings that are specially designed for inline skating and aren't ABEC rated, but are purportedly way beyond that scale. These bearings cost $180 for a set of 8, and they come on a higher level skate that is specialized for a specific discipline.
Whereas the CBA Basic skate is less specialized. It doesn't have quick lock features or an adjustable cuff with 9 points of articulation, and it has a velcro ankle lock versus a plastic strap with aluminum buckles, but the boots, cuffs, and frames are essentially the same. Additionally, its bearings might be standard ABEC-5 or ABEC-7 bearings, or maybe they're servicable unrated budget bearings that are designed to provide consistent performance throughout their lifespan, and only cost $13 for a set of 4, because they're from skateboards.
Essentially, if you buy the CBA Pro and stick skateboard bearings on it, it becomes a slightly upgraded version of the CBA Basic. with a better fit and marginally better production materials/methods. If you buy the CBA Basic and stick a better frame and bearings on it, you get a CBA Pro that might have cost $100 less overall, and the investment will show.
Ideally, you want to get the very best boot for your feet, and that means something different to you than it does me. What it mostly boils down to is Comfort vs Control vs Price. Something has to give. If you want quality comfort and master control, you're gonna have to fork out a lot of cash.
Me? I just want those Seba FR1 BOOTS... I already have pre-rockered frames and Twincam bearings...
Thursday, March 19, 2015
Tuesday, February 3, 2015
A New Ability Is Available In The Skill Tree
I finally did it! I wrapped my head around crossovers! And it was startlingly easy!
I've been struggling with the transition and realized something from my one-legged drills: I spend 100% of the time on the outer edges of whichever skate I'm on. So I approach each cone constantly on the outer edge on both feet and suddenly it works like magic. I need to polish the movements and master it with my other foot in front, but this looks pretty solid.
Now to master skating backwards... -sigh-
I've been struggling with the transition and realized something from my one-legged drills: I spend 100% of the time on the outer edges of whichever skate I'm on. So I approach each cone constantly on the outer edge on both feet and suddenly it works like magic. I need to polish the movements and master it with my other foot in front, but this looks pretty solid.
Now to master skating backwards... -sigh-
Monday, February 2, 2015
Fresh Kit
So the pre-rockered frames I ordered finally came in, and I'm in love with them. I wasn't convinced when I heard that the difference is only 2mm, but I have the same precision and control as I did with flat frames on 76-80-80-76.
One problem I did notice, which has nothing to do with the frames themselves, is that they sit awkwardly forward on the boots. I compared them to photos of SEBA brand skates and they are indeed placed awkwardly. I'd assume that this might affect forward stability on the back side, but nothing major that can't be compensated for. It also makes tight cornering a lot easier, so it's appreciated even if I'm still skeptical of it.
Nonetheless, I'm sure that it's not an intended effect, so I've decided to rush my investment on new boots ASAP. I always intended to use my Rollerblades for street only use with 76-80-80-80 and my SEBAs for hybrid use.
Another complication is that it's a little more strenuous on my ankles. I'll have to spend time acclimating to the change, but the sooner I swap them onto boots they were intended for the better off I'll be.
Moral of the story: Try to match brands. Sometimes you get lucky and it's perfect. Other times, you get this.
But first: Ice Blades.
Tuesday, January 27, 2015
Stiff Flats
Starting out, I used an all same wheel size set up: 4 80mm wheels, all touching the ground.
I next tried full rockers: 76-80-80-76
The difference is pretty dramatic. Now, I'm not the most fit person, but on flat 80mm, my top speed is around 16-17 mph on level terrain. With full rockers, that drops to about 15mph, tops. And I can go a little faster, but by 15mph my boot shudders terribly whenever I lean forward to push.
It's only a 1mph drop for a huge boost in control, maneuverability, and acceleration. My stride is much more natural and free on full rockers. On flat wheels I feel like my heel and toe have some kind of pickaxe tip digging into the ground every time I lift my feet to stride.
I have yet to try front rockers, but I've grown fond of controlling my turns on my heels, so I want to try back rockers for the hell of it. Considering my top speed on full flats is only 17mph, I don't think front rockers will be worth the loss of control, but it may be worth the increased stability during street skates.
Either way, on flat wheels it takes me twice as long to sprint up to full speed as it does on full rockers.
I've ordered SEBA prerockered frames. I'm a little disappointed to find that the difference is only 2mm between outer and inner wheels, but it's something I haven't tried yet, and it means I only need to order 80mm wheels from now on.
I next tried full rockers: 76-80-80-76
The difference is pretty dramatic. Now, I'm not the most fit person, but on flat 80mm, my top speed is around 16-17 mph on level terrain. With full rockers, that drops to about 15mph, tops. And I can go a little faster, but by 15mph my boot shudders terribly whenever I lean forward to push.
It's only a 1mph drop for a huge boost in control, maneuverability, and acceleration. My stride is much more natural and free on full rockers. On flat wheels I feel like my heel and toe have some kind of pickaxe tip digging into the ground every time I lift my feet to stride.
I have yet to try front rockers, but I've grown fond of controlling my turns on my heels, so I want to try back rockers for the hell of it. Considering my top speed on full flats is only 17mph, I don't think front rockers will be worth the loss of control, but it may be worth the increased stability during street skates.
Either way, on flat wheels it takes me twice as long to sprint up to full speed as it does on full rockers.
I've ordered SEBA prerockered frames. I'm a little disappointed to find that the difference is only 2mm between outer and inner wheels, but it's something I haven't tried yet, and it means I only need to order 80mm wheels from now on.
Thursday, January 22, 2015
Wheel Wear is Crazy
I've been realizing over the weeks I started slaloming that wheel wear is different with slalom. I predicted this because A to B skating relies primarily on the inside edges because you're only going forwards.
I didn't know the differences would be so drastic, though.
If you have a separate set of wheels for slalom and street skating, then what you're going to see on your slalom wheels is the exact opposite of flat wheels or front rockers. If I need to spell it out: Your wheels will wear on the outside if slalom is 99% of what you do with them.
If you use your slalom wheels for street skating use, though, it gets a little weird (for me). The middle two wheels are going to wear fairly evenly, though this is variable and your results may be slightly different from mine.
The outer 76mm will show the most obvious signs of wear, with the front wheels wearing asymmetrically on the inside and the rear wheels wearing on the outer edge. While I said the 80mm will wear fairly evenly, they will show a trend towards their respective positions front or back.
I'd like to mention my current strategy for wheel rotation: I have 2 sets of 80mm wheels (8 wheels) for one set of 76mm wheels (4 wheels) to make up one rocker kit. I rotate between the 80mm wheels because I figure the 76mms are getting less overall wear than the 80mms. So far it's holding okay. We'll try this for a while and see how it works out, then change it up.
Anyway, the unusual wheel wear created an interesting rotation scenario for me. I ended up bringing the front wheels to the back and reversing their sides while bringing the back wheels up to the front of the same boot in a pseudo "X" pattern.
It took me a little too long to figure out that I needed to place the unworn edges on the edges that will be worn down to balance the wear, but in my defense it was very unusual.
Rotate your wheels often. Get creative. Find new and flexible ways to maximize the lifespan of your wheels and get the results you want. As you grow as a skater, those old diagrams stop applying to how you skate.
I didn't know the differences would be so drastic, though.
If you have a separate set of wheels for slalom and street skating, then what you're going to see on your slalom wheels is the exact opposite of flat wheels or front rockers. If I need to spell it out: Your wheels will wear on the outside if slalom is 99% of what you do with them.
If you use your slalom wheels for street skating use, though, it gets a little weird (for me). The middle two wheels are going to wear fairly evenly, though this is variable and your results may be slightly different from mine.
The outer 76mm will show the most obvious signs of wear, with the front wheels wearing asymmetrically on the inside and the rear wheels wearing on the outer edge. While I said the 80mm will wear fairly evenly, they will show a trend towards their respective positions front or back.
I'd like to mention my current strategy for wheel rotation: I have 2 sets of 80mm wheels (8 wheels) for one set of 76mm wheels (4 wheels) to make up one rocker kit. I rotate between the 80mm wheels because I figure the 76mms are getting less overall wear than the 80mms. So far it's holding okay. We'll try this for a while and see how it works out, then change it up.
Anyway, the unusual wheel wear created an interesting rotation scenario for me. I ended up bringing the front wheels to the back and reversing their sides while bringing the back wheels up to the front of the same boot in a pseudo "X" pattern.
It took me a little too long to figure out that I needed to place the unworn edges on the edges that will be worn down to balance the wear, but in my defense it was very unusual.
Rotate your wheels often. Get creative. Find new and flexible ways to maximize the lifespan of your wheels and get the results you want. As you grow as a skater, those old diagrams stop applying to how you skate.
Tuesday, January 20, 2015
Wheel Cleaning
Oh, look, consecutive day posts...
I just wanted to talk a bit about cleaning your wheels.
Wheel rotation is one of the more important maintenance aspects of inline skating, but it's something most people only do when the asymmetrical wear is visibly obvious (which is already going too far).
I'm not saying you should rotate your wheels every day, or even every skate (if you don't skate every day), but it's important to periodically take your wheels out and wipe them off. Especially for street skaters. There's a lot of dust and grime out on the roads, in the open air where there is no air conditioning (or heating system) to filter out all the contaminants that you roll over.
These contaminants inevitably get inside your wheels, and thusly your bearings, degrading the tolerance of their innards and slowing you down.
Frequently removing your wheels means you have more ample opportunities to give your bearings a quick outer wipedown without having to go to the trouble of prying out your bearings. The grime that you wipe away is grime that isn't penetrating your metal.
Since starting slalom skating, I've had to frequently swap my bearings between different sets of wheels, and I've noticed that all 8 of my wheels still spin very freely even though I have been riding the same set of bearings for four months without washing them. They're all very quiet and smooth, with minimal hissing as I roll around.
I'm attributing this to the frequency with which I simply take a dry rag and scrub the areas around the wheel hub and skate frame.
And now it's time to roll. I'm running late as it is!
I just wanted to talk a bit about cleaning your wheels.
Wheel rotation is one of the more important maintenance aspects of inline skating, but it's something most people only do when the asymmetrical wear is visibly obvious (which is already going too far).
I'm not saying you should rotate your wheels every day, or even every skate (if you don't skate every day), but it's important to periodically take your wheels out and wipe them off. Especially for street skaters. There's a lot of dust and grime out on the roads, in the open air where there is no air conditioning (or heating system) to filter out all the contaminants that you roll over.
These contaminants inevitably get inside your wheels, and thusly your bearings, degrading the tolerance of their innards and slowing you down.
Frequently removing your wheels means you have more ample opportunities to give your bearings a quick outer wipedown without having to go to the trouble of prying out your bearings. The grime that you wipe away is grime that isn't penetrating your metal.
Since starting slalom skating, I've had to frequently swap my bearings between different sets of wheels, and I've noticed that all 8 of my wheels still spin very freely even though I have been riding the same set of bearings for four months without washing them. They're all very quiet and smooth, with minimal hissing as I roll around.
I'm attributing this to the frequency with which I simply take a dry rag and scrub the areas around the wheel hub and skate frame.
And now it's time to roll. I'm running late as it is!
Monday, January 19, 2015
Dealing with obstacles
Fuck format. Just write something. Get started, talk about what you're here to talk about. #blogtips101
I think one of the most critical skills for new skaters to learn is how to deal with obstacles. The better you get at skating and the more disciplines you master, the more creative and beautiful ways you have to deal with things like cracks, bumps, dips, gaps, and even paper cups that constantly suggest for you to "Take a Break".
But even the most beginner skater (using myself as an example) who has at least two months of experience skating on the street can deal with the normal obstacles reliably.
The first way is to master control of your speed. Honestly, this is a basic tenet of any sport, wheels or otherwise. If you're going too fast or slow to do what you need to do then you're going to get hurt, or at least just fail. For skating, you need to learn how to slow down and speed up and stop. You also need to learn when it's appropriate to do each of these things.
I think one of the most critical skills for new skaters to learn is how to deal with obstacles. The better you get at skating and the more disciplines you master, the more creative and beautiful ways you have to deal with things like cracks, bumps, dips, gaps, and even paper cups that constantly suggest for you to "Take a Break".
But even the most beginner skater (using myself as an example) who has at least two months of experience skating on the street can deal with the normal obstacles reliably.
The first way is to master control of your speed. Honestly, this is a basic tenet of any sport, wheels or otherwise. If you're going too fast or slow to do what you need to do then you're going to get hurt, or at least just fail. For skating, you need to learn how to slow down and speed up and stop. You also need to learn when it's appropriate to do each of these things.
- For small cracks or shifted pavement, it's often easier to speed up than it is to slow down. But if you don't see it, you'll get hurt.
- Scissors skating will get you over anything that isn't more than 2 feet high.
- Lift your toes over obstacles. Lean your body in the direction you are going, but lean on your heels, just a little. Skating this way means when you hit obstacles you didn't see, your skates are likely to roll over them rather than stop and throw you over. Just don't lean TOO far back...
- Take off that brake. Learn to drag stop. The brake is more of a hazard than any crack or curb or cone will ever be, because it's stuck to you.
- Learn to turn stop. Once you master the drag stop, you're ready to learn how to turn your forward momentum into stationary rotation. Pillage youtube for slowmotion video tutorials.
Personally, I find myself doing two things most often.
Over small cracks and bumps, I simply raise the toe wheel of my lead foot up over the obstacle. My second or third wheel snags the edge and throws my toe wheel down, letting my back wheel roll over. Then I lean on my lead foot to let my supporting leg roll over.
Over larger stoppers, I simply step over them. For curbs, I started with holding my lead foot up over the obstacle and letting my back foot slam into the curb. As I learned the timing, I started hopping over. For large cracks or broken asphalt, I time my strides so my wheels hit as few bumps as possible.
As you get better, you find your own ways of dealing with obstacles, but I find that these ways are the easiest and most reliable until you develop higher skills. Learn them and love them.
Slalom Stories
I wonder if I'll ever get good at blogging. I know my topics are pretty niche in scope, but all the same, I'm a terrible web content creator.
I've been away for quite a few months, and in those months, I've vastly improved my skating. I still can't quite jump onto curbs as well as I can comfortably fall off them, but I'm getting there, one foot at a time.
I've hit a skill cap, however. All I'm really doing is skating down streets and going forwards. Crossovers are great, turns and obstacle navigation is pretty smooth, but there's only so far to go with just that. If skating was just a way for me to get around, I've pretty much mastered it.
But I want more, so I'm entering specific disciplines to hone my skills. Specifically: Slalom/Freestyle skating.
If you've managed to find this post, but don't already know what that is, I fancifully describe it as a very technical dance around a row of straight, evenly spaced cones. I say "technical", because it is VERY technical in its precision and practice, but to the untrained and unfamiliar onlooker it has hypnotic floating effect. The legs begin to blur and bend together as they weave intricate, complex, unpredictable, yet beautiful patterns back and forth, between and around the cones while the body effortlessly hovers over like it's magnetically attracted.
And that's what I've been learning over the last three weeks. I've been pillaging youtube (#pintoponyproductions) for inspiration and googling slalom guides day after day, searching for resources to guide my efforts.
Over the last two weeks I've got a regimen together. The basics?
Forward Parallel (Fish)
Forward Line (Snake)
Forward One Foot
Forward Crossover
Backwards everything
Slalom skating involves a lot of smooth weight rotations on outside edges.
As it is, I can barely skate backwards in a straight line, much less weave my feet parallel around a row of tightly spaced cones. So from now, my new primary regimen is backwards skating. I actually picked up backwards scissor turning while I was out today and was so smiley that a couple girls watching me in the distance started laughing.
Will have to learn to apply backwards scissors very thoroughly...
I'll go into the setup for slalom skating in some other post, because until now I've only covered flat wheel setups where all the sizes are the same. Once I get a gopro I can start making video content, too...
-sigh- Now I need to learn how to edit videos.
I've been away for quite a few months, and in those months, I've vastly improved my skating. I still can't quite jump onto curbs as well as I can comfortably fall off them, but I'm getting there, one foot at a time.
I've hit a skill cap, however. All I'm really doing is skating down streets and going forwards. Crossovers are great, turns and obstacle navigation is pretty smooth, but there's only so far to go with just that. If skating was just a way for me to get around, I've pretty much mastered it.
But I want more, so I'm entering specific disciplines to hone my skills. Specifically: Slalom/Freestyle skating.
If you've managed to find this post, but don't already know what that is, I fancifully describe it as a very technical dance around a row of straight, evenly spaced cones. I say "technical", because it is VERY technical in its precision and practice, but to the untrained and unfamiliar onlooker it has hypnotic floating effect. The legs begin to blur and bend together as they weave intricate, complex, unpredictable, yet beautiful patterns back and forth, between and around the cones while the body effortlessly hovers over like it's magnetically attracted.
And that's what I've been learning over the last three weeks. I've been pillaging youtube (#pintoponyproductions) for inspiration and googling slalom guides day after day, searching for resources to guide my efforts.
Over the last two weeks I've got a regimen together. The basics?
Forward Parallel (Fish)
Forward Line (Snake)
Forward One Foot
Forward Crossover
Slalom skating involves a lot of smooth weight rotations on outside edges.
As it is, I can barely skate backwards in a straight line, much less weave my feet parallel around a row of tightly spaced cones. So from now, my new primary regimen is backwards skating. I actually picked up backwards scissor turning while I was out today and was so smiley that a couple girls watching me in the distance started laughing.
Will have to learn to apply backwards scissors very thoroughly...
I'll go into the setup for slalom skating in some other post, because until now I've only covered flat wheel setups where all the sizes are the same. Once I get a gopro I can start making video content, too...
-sigh- Now I need to learn how to edit videos.
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