Is this a normal feeling?

[2Luke2]

So I bought my first pair of inline skates(K2 EXO skates 2010). Even though I did a bit of research before I bought I feel I may have chose the wrong brand or size or a combination of both. The skate fits tight on my foot, and my toe but for some reason it feels like when I push off that the skate wants to slide out from under me? They also feel very slow on brand new pavement. That's the best I can describe my issues for now. I've only skated on them a few times, but I almost bought another pair this morning. I'm looking at buying a pair of Rollerblade Crossfire 90 MX Skates 2010 or Rollerblade Crossfire 100 Skates 2010.

So I guess my question is are the skates supposed to feel like that? Does anyone have any suggestions about the brand of skates I have chosen or the brand that I might buy? Any tips are certainly appreciated.

-Luke

[fierocious1]

Originally Posted by 2Luke2

So I bought my first pair of inline skates(K2 EXO skates 2010). Even though I did a bit of research before I bought I feel I may have chose the wrong brand or size or a combination of both. The skate fits tight on my foot, and my toe but for some reason it feels like when I push off that the skate wants to slide out from under me? They also feel very slow on brand new pavement. That's the best I can describe my issues for now. I've only skated on them a few times, but I almost bought another pair this morning. I'm looking at buying a pair of Rollerblade Crossfire 90 MX Skates 2010 or Rollerblade Crossfire 100 Skates 2010.

So I guess my question is are the skates supposed to feel like that? Does anyone have any suggestions about the brand of skates I have chosen or the brand that I might buy? Any tips are certainly appreciated.

-Luke

You are having problems with too soft of wheels it sounds like. I bought some roller blades a while back and it was like skating in mud until I changed the wheels to a harder wheel

[2Luke2]

Originally Posted by fierocious1

You are having problems with too soft of wheels it sounds like. I bought some roller blades a while back and it was like skating in mud until I changed the wheels to a harder wheel

Thanks for the quick reply. The wheels are just the stock wheels that came on the skate. How do I know how hard or soft they are?


Edit: Just did some reading on how to find out the hardness of the wheel. I also looked up some other wheels. I'm not sure the max height I can put on my skates, but at least up to 80mm.

[fierocious1]

Originally Posted by 2Luke2

Thanks for the quick reply. The wheels are just the stock wheels that came on the skate. How do I know how hard or soft they are?


Edit: Just did some reading on how to find out the hardness of the wheel. I also looked up some other wheels. I'm not sure the max height I can put on my skates, but at least up to 80mm.

The skates I have had 80 duro hardness wheels. I looked on ebay and bought a set of 85 duro, no name(blemished wheels probably) wheels. My weight was crushing the wheels so I had to go to a much harder wheel. People that don't weigh that much can use softer wheels.

[BlackLace]

My first skates had 80A K2 fitness wheels on them. Horrible things. Was like skating in mud. Good for building fitness though!

Also, plastic frames suck.

[2Luke2]

Originally Posted by BlackLace

My first skates had 80A K2 fitness wheels on them. Horrible things. Was like skating in mud. Good for building fitness though!

Also, plastic frames suck.

Would you be able to suggest a different skate? I feel that if I'm going to invest another 40-50 bucks in another set of wheels I don't mind spending another 100-200 on another set of skates if they are going to be more capable in the end.

[fierocious1]

Originally Posted by 2Luke2

Would you be able to suggest a different skate? I feel that if I'm going to invest another 40-50 bucks in another set of wheels I don't mind spending another 100-200 on another set of skates if they are going to be more capable in the end.

K2 moto 90s, but I upgraded the wheels on these too. I now use the green machine 90s. You will go through wheels until you find what you are looking for. hard 80mm wheels are not that expensive.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-Kryptoni...#ht_1023wt_902

http://cgi.ebay.com/Ten-Hyper-Hyocta...#ht_499wt_1153

http://cgi.ebay.com/Hyper-HyOctane-8...#ht_1735wt_902

[

My search was 90mm inline wheel 91a is hard but works well on skate rink floors. Street skating hardnesses should be around 82a to 85a. IMO

[BlackLace]

I'd suggest waiting to buy new skates until you have found some online that you can't possibly live without. If you aren't sure, keep researching.

It all depends what sort of skating you do. I'm sure I'd hate Moto 90s, but lots of folks love them.

[fierocious1]

Originally Posted by BlackLace

I'd suggest waiting to buy new skates until you have found some online that you can't possibly live without. If you aren't sure, keep researching.

It all depends what sort of skating you do. I'm sure I'd hate Moto 90s, but lots of folks love them.

Took me a while to get used to them. I basically am using them as a trainer to get up to skating my Radical Pros. It was just too big a step from 80mm to Radical Pros(2x100 and 2x110). I like moto 90s well enough. Do your research and you will come up with something worth waiting for. I have never been able to skate on short top race type boots on inlines. On quads short top race boots are not a problem for me. Don't get in a hurry, research, research and research again.

[2Luke2]

Originally Posted by BlackLace

I'd suggest waiting to buy new skates until you have found some online that you can't possibly live without. If you aren't sure, keep researching.

It all depends what sort of skating you do. I'm sure I'd hate Moto 90s, but lots of folks love them.

Well that may be never lol. I can live without any skate, but I would like to have one that I enjoy using for the time being. If the plastic frame/wheel size limit is a problem then I think I should go ahead and look for a new pair of skates. They all seem pretty inexpensive compared to a few other hobbies of mine. I don't mind buying a couple pairs to see if they work better for me. I live in Key West so there's not much of a chance for me finding a place to try on different ones down here.

[2Luke2]

Ok so I rode my skates for another 2 hours or so today to try to get used to them, but they still don't feel right. I noticed today that it feels like the left skate's wheels are tilted inwards. It feels as though the top of the skate is pushing onto my leg so I can't stand straight on the wheels.

It kind of looks like this lol...

||
\\
o

Should I try to use a pad or something inside of my boot to try and force my wheels straight or a bit outward?

[fierocious1]

Originally Posted by 2Luke2

Ok so I rode my skates for another 2 hours or so today to try to get used to them, but they still don't feel right. I noticed today that it feels like the left skate's wheels are tilted inwards. It feels as though the top of the skate is pushing onto my leg so I can't stand straight on the wheels.

It kind of looks like this lol...

||
\\
o

Should I try to use a pad or something inside of my boot to try and force my wheels straight or a bit outward?

If your skates feel very slow and mushy, the skates can make you try to compensate for that and prevent you from skating correctly. After reading what you posted. Today I went to the park, just got back. I skated my old Rollerblade Zetra's. Plastic frame. I was pretty happy with how they skated in comparison to my Moto 90s(90s are better but Zetras are fine for my out door workout). With the shorter frame, it makes you pay more attention to your forward and rear balancing on your skates. The long frames of the motos lets me get away with not being as tight on my balance as the rollerblades. I imagine that if I skated the moto 90s now it would feel a little different. I still think your should get some harder wheels and save up for your dream skate. That is what I did. I couldn't skate them well so had to take it in steps. I'm getting there though. I am primarily a quad skater, but am getting much more comfortable with inlines and now skate both.

[2Luke2]

Originally Posted by fierocious1

If your skates feel very slow and mushy, the skates can make you try to compensate for that and prevent you from skating correctly. After reading what you posted. Today I went to the park, just got back. I skated my old Rollerblade Zetra's. Plastic frame. I was pretty happy with how they skated in comparison to my Moto 90s(90s are better but Zetras are fine for my out door workout). With the shorter frame, it makes you pay more attention to your forward and rear balancing on your skates. The long frames of the motos lets me get away with not being as tight on my balance as the rollerblades. I imagine that if I skated the moto 90s now it would feel a little different. I still think your should get some harder wheels and save up for your dream skate. That is what I did. I couldn't skate them well so had to take it in steps. I'm getting there though. I am primarily a quad skater, but am getting much more comfortable with inlines and now skate both.

After skating again last night, I found that if I loosen up the top buckle on my left skate that it would allow me to move my leg outward a bit. That allowed me to put the skate in the right position. I took a look and it doesn't really look any different than my right skate. So that brings me back to looking for a new set of skates lol. Though I'm not sure what would be considered a dream skate. I think the most expensive pair I saw was $500 bucks?

[MANY_SkatingDave]

Hi 2Luke2,

Everybody is helping great. I personally don't like the plastic anymore yet I did skate on them for years and they were OK when I started.

Some of the stuff you describe can be: New to skating
or New to setting up your new boots to fit right for you entire foot
The ones I am thinking about take quite a bit of fiddling till you get
them set just correct.

How Long Skating?

Another thing we tend to recommend is to find a group close by for comradarie, education.

A few recommend buying used skates for your first buy to make sure that you will stick with skating, learn what you want after going on lots of outings.

Yours in Skating, MA/NY Skating Dave

[alvag]

I don't know what kind of skating you plan to do, but the Exos have small, soft wheels (78mm/80A) that make them unsuitable for outdoor skating.
If money is not a problem, you should buy the Rollerblade Tempest 90 (<$300).
Those are quality fitness skates that you won't outgrow in a couple of months. In contrast to the K2 models in the same price range, they give you the possibility to laterally adjust the frames. This is quite important is you tend to pronate or supinate.

[2Luke2]

Originally Posted by MANY_SkatingDave

Hi 2Luke2,

Everybody is helping great. I personally don't like the plastic anymore yet I did skate on them for years and they were OK when I started.

Some of the stuff you describe can be: New to skating
or New to setting up your new boots to fit right for you entire foot
The ones I am thinking about take quite a bit of fiddling till you get
them set just correct.

How Long Skating?

Another thing we tend to recommend is to find a group close by for comradarie, education.

A few recommend buying used skates for your first buy to make sure that you will stick with skating, learn what you want after going on lots of outings.

Yours in Skating, MA/NY Skating Dave

Thank you for the suggestions and information friend.

Originally Posted by alvag

I don't know what kind of skating you plan to do, but the Exos have small, soft wheels (78mm/80A) that make them unsuitable for outdoor skating.
If money is not a problem, you should buy the Rollerblade Tempest 90 (<$300).
Those are quality fitness skates that you won't outgrow in a couple of months. In contrast to the K2 models in the same price range, they give you the possibility to laterally adjust the frames. This is quite important is you tend to pronate or supinate.

Well to be honest I let my brother do the research for me as I was pretty busy with other things going on so we both got the same pair lol. Either way money isn't an issue and I'm currently looking at a pair of Sebas. I read that they have a pair that have 7 holes for adjusting the skate to the foot of the rider. I think that would solve my problem and I read they are a pretty good skate to boot lol... no pun intended ;P

I also thank you for your recommendation and will take a look at them before I make my next purchase.

-Luke

[BlackLace]

If money was no object I'd certainly be the proud owner of some Seba FR1's. Have heard though that they are extremely uncomfortable until they are broken in (then they are utterly fantastic).

Rollerblade Twister 80's on the other hand, are apparently good from day one. They only have lateral frame adjustment, but that's all mere mortals need. You only need front-back adjustability if you are doing tricks that involve skating balanced on just a single heel or toe wheel.

But, I've skated on 4 sets of inline skates now, and only one set needed frame adjustment (the one with a plastic frame as it happens) The other 3 were fine out of the box. So adjustment may well turn out to be irrelevent, once you have decent skates anyway.

[gabi]

2luke2, it seems that you have a problem with pronation (or the opposite) on one of your skates. If you are a new skater, that issue might go away as your ankles become stronger, so you might not need to waste money on another pair of skates. If that is the case, you might want to save your money towards purchasing skates with bigger wheels once you become proficient on the skates you already have.

[MANY_SkatingDave]

Hi gabi

Even though he didn't answer my question 'New and Sure' is my guess.

The next question is did his brother buy him all the proper safety equipment?

When I started I never did a Helmet, or the elbow pads, yet many outdoor InLiners would say that was not so smart. Yet hey that was a long long time ago.

Yours in Skating, MA/NY Skating Dave
P.S. Hey 2Luke2 watch those videos from Evilzzz from the UK. You will find them by going back through my posts and seeing "Thanks Evil"

[BlackLace]

Originally Posted by gabi

2luke2, it seems that you have a problem with pronation (or the opposite) on one of your skates. If you are a new skater, that issue might go away as your ankles become stronger, so you might not need to waste money on another pair of skates. If that is the case, you might want to save your money towards purchasing skates with bigger wheels once you become proficient on the skates you already have.

My experience with this was a bit of a chicken and egg thing. My first skates had badly placed frames that caused/promoted pronation. Once I aligned them just right, suddenly I could effectively use the outside edges, at which point I started using them, which itself increased ankle strength, which means that now I could probably cope with somewhat badly alignmed frames. Not that I'd want to of course.

Summary: beginners need proper alignment more than experts do.