Quad skates to inline speed skates

[bigred875]

I was hoping some of you could provide some advice. What is the best route to inline speed skating?

I am a decent quad and used to be a decent inline skater am looking to get into some inline speed skates...

Do I bit the bullet and pick up a set? Should i start with fitness skates until I get my bearings back?

Any advice would be great....I have no idea what I am doing

[spdkls]

First question is, where do you live?

There might be a team locally to help out the transition.

Secondly! My train of thought is go with higher boots till your ankles get strong enough. There are plenty for sale second hand. Too many beginner speed skaters want to spend 1000's of dollars and then quit due to foot/lower leg pain.

[chuckboucher]

Originally Posted by spdkls

First question is, where do you live?

There might be a team locally to help out the transition.

Secondly! My train of thought is go with higher boots till your ankles get strong enough. There are plenty for sale second hand. Too many beginner speed skaters want to spend 1000's of dollars and then quit due to foot/lower leg pain.

Some REALLY good points here. Ryan lives pretty close to me and there is only one indoor short track team in the ENTIRE region, which operates out of two somewhat local rinks (Taunton, MA and Wilbraham, MA)

As for taking the plunge and just buying skates, I'd definitely advise against it. While you can usually get away with adapting yourself to most quads that you buy, the same is not always true of inline skates. Sizing is crucial, as they are more of a fit to foot. I went through a half dozen shelf inline speed boots a little over a decade ago before finally putting up the dough for a set of full customs. I actually spent more in stock boots ($300-$500 per pair) than I did on the customs ($1200 at the time) and only recovered half of what I spent reselling the boots.

The technique that is involved in inline speed skating is different from that of recreational skating, especially with edging. In short track, you're power comes from being able to keep the wheels on the proper edged and pushing through them. In outdoor racing, the best skaters use a double push and swap over from edge to edge. If your skates are floppy (IE, they're loose at the collars), you're not as efficient and lose power in both cases. The hard part is that there aren't any local dealers that carry a large stock of inline speed boots. Forrest may have a few at his rink, so I'd start there.

Another factor in keeping edges is ankle strength. If you're not used to constant pressure on your ankles, your power suffers. Wheel height and frame type are also factors. The bigger the wheel, the higher the deck, the more strain on your ankles as you get onto your edges.

We run practices out of Taunton on Tuesday evenings from 5:30-7:30pm. Practices in Wilbraham are Wed & Thu from 5:00-7:00pm and Sunday from 9:00-11:00am. You're more than welcome to drop by for any practices. It cost nothing to talk.

[bigred875]

thanks, this is kind of what i was thinking. I do not want to spend crazy $ on skates...it's just not an option right now.

I have been threatening to swing by those practices...if I do I have a feeling I will end up buying something sooner than later... I actually spoke with a or the coach of vortex, I can't remember his name but he was really nice and invited me to come watch too....

if there a "fresh meat" package to help people get into the sport? A friend has some Bont Jet's...are skates in this class worth looking at?

Is this a "beginner" setup or should I look for more of a fitness boot? http://www.inlinewarehouse.com/Bont_...age-BSRBK.html

[chuckboucher]

Originally Posted by bigred875

thanks, this is kind of what i was thinking. I do not want to spend crazy $ on skates...it's just not an option right now.

I have been threatening to swing by those practices...if I do I have a feeling I will end up buying something sooner than later... I actually spoke with a or the coach of vortex, I can't remember his name but he was really nice and invited me to come watch too....

if there a "fresh meat" package to help people get into the sport? A friend has some Bont Jet's...are skates in this class worth looking at?

Is this a "beginner" setup or should I look for more of a fitness boot? http://www.inlinewarehouse.com/Bont_...age-BSRBK.html

One of the skaters uses Bont Jets boots on his skates. The semi-race is a good set up to get you used to edging. Looks like they're $360 for the 4x110. A couple of things to think about w/ those Bont skates:

Sizing: Bont's sizing is really "off". That is to say that you won't be using the same size EU that you normally would. Example, I wear a size 10.5US shoe, which translates into a 44.5EU. My Bont quads are a size 42 or what would normally translate into a 9US. Bont boots also tend to have more of a wider and more square toe box, so if your feet are wide, this might help.

Proprietary: That particular pair of skates is a 3-point mounting system, which means that you can only use Bont's 3 point frames with the boots and vise versa. If you wanted to change frames later down he road and keep using the boots, your options are limited. The same holds true if you wanted to keep the frames and change the boots. Most inline speed skates are 2-point mounts, either 195mm (long mount) and more common for frames of 4x100mm and 4x110mm or 165mm (short mount) and more common for hi-lo (3x110mm/1x100mm) and smaller sizing. 3x125mm frames work on either (depending on the frame).

Collar height: These are great to get you used to edging, but as you get faster, the higher collar may impede your edging. That said, one of the skater was using a Bont short track ice boot with his 3x125mm setup and he said he really liked it. The collar is about 1/2" taller than his Jet boots. Unfortunately, he had a fall where he contacted a wall pretty hard w/ his skate and the carbon fiber cracked. He'll be sanding them back to Bont for replacement. (not a common occurrence)

The coach you spoke to is Dan (or Speedy Dan in the Derby world, as he is also one of the training coaches for the Boston Roller Derby women's teams.). He and I actually complete against each other in the short track competitions that I do in the mid-Atlantic states.

I know that you're impulsive about buying skates, but I really advise against just grabbing what may look good, because $300+ is a lot of money to throw away on an experiment. If you're REALLY itching to take a shot w/ the Bonts, I would advise sending inline warehouse an email, asking what their policy is on trying to fit and restocking fees if skates don't fit. If you do decide to go that route, make sure that you try the skates on at the END of the day (5:00ish) when your feet are at their biggest and MAKE SURE THEY FIT very well. In inline skating, what may be a little inconvenience when standing still can translate into a HUGE issue and cause hotspots and blistering. The boots can be heat molded to some extent, but if there is major crowding or pinching right off the bat, no amount of heat molding will fix that.

[bigred875]

Yup...Dan, that's him

I'm definitely not going to impulse buy anything this time lol I'm still digging myself out of that hole Boot fit is going to be the top priority.

Which other brands should I look into?

[chuckboucher]

Originally Posted by bigred875

Yup...Dan, that's him

I'm definitely not going to impulse buy anything this time lol I'm still digging myself out of that hole Boot fit is going to be the top priority.

Which other brands should I look into?

If you're looking into whole skates, there are quite a few: Lugino and CityRun come to mind.

A very good friend of mine runs Skate Life LLC, which sells City Run skates (Korean made). Their web site is here: https://skatelifellc.com/ and Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/pg/cityruns...=page_internal. My friend's name is Bob. Shoot him a Facebook message via their page and let him know that I sent you. Maybe he can work with you on this.

If you're a little apprehensive about the City Run brand because of where they're made, know that most Bont skates are made in China. Think of Hyundai and how their quality has improved dramatically over the last decade or so. I have seen their products and they are very comparable to all of the other stock skates out there.

[Mark1975]

A Bont Semi Race or Powerslide R4 would be a good place to start, as they provide more ankle support. If you plan to speed skate I wouldn't recommend a fitness skate, as within afew weeks you will most likely want something else. 5+ years back I got back into speed skating after a almost 15+ year break, at first I used a pair of hockey inlines that I already had, then I bought a pair of Bont semi race skates. I guess I used the Semi race boots for a few months starting on 84mm and then 100mm, before going to a lower boot and bigger wheels.

[bigred875]

Originally Posted by chuckboucher

If you're looking into whole skates, there are quite a few: Lugino and CityRun come to mind.

A very good friend of mine runs Skate Life LLC, which sells City Run skates (Korean made). Their web site is here: https://skatelifellc.com/ and Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/pg/cityruns...=page_internal. My friend's name is Bob. Shoot him a Facebook message via their page and let him know that I sent you. Maybe he can work with you on this.

If you're a little apprehensive about the City Run brand because of where they're made, know that most Bont skates are made in China. Think of Hyundai and how their quality has improved dramatically over the last decade or so. I have seen their products and they are very comparable to all of the other stock skates out there.

i don't care where they are made...those skates look good. I'll contact him, thanks!

[bigred875]

Originally Posted by Mark1975

A Bont Semi Race or Powerslide R4 would be a good place to start, as they provide more ankle support. If you plan to speed skate I wouldn't recommend a fitness skate, as within afew weeks you will most likely want something else. 5+ years back I got back into speed skating after a almost 15+ year break, at first I used a pair of hockey inlines that I already had, then I bought a pair of Bont semi race skates. I guess I used the Semi race boots for a few months starting on 84mm and then 100mm, before going to a lower boot and bigger wheels.

those both look like an easy way to dabble, thanks!