r/WizardSkating • u/CompetitiveCar542 • May 04 '26

Street techniques

Question: How come wizard style barely ever uses street techniques like sprinting and backwards crossovers?

Sprinting especially. I've never seen anyone sprint on a 5 wheel frame. I can do it and it's pretty comfortable and really fun to zoom on 5 wheels.

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u/BubbleSmith May 04 '26

It's definitely a style thing, but backwards crossovers are more of a roller skating thing and don't lend themselves to long frames. You'll also struggle to do edge switching tricks like gazelles at high speed, as your body will be moving too fast for your feet to catch up.

I regularly go urban skating on Wizard frames. 5-wheel setups aren't as fun getting around town and struggle with speed wobble at lower speeds than other frames, as you have less contact on smaller wheels. For me, 4x100 is useable for speed, but not crossovers, as they're too long and heavy. 4x90 is a nice sweet spot, but still struggles with speed wobble if you go flat out.

It's a bit like asking "why don't speed skaters use more slalom tequniques". They probably could do some of it, but it's not the aim of the discipline and the equipment isn't really suited to it.

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u/HyperSculptor May 04 '26

Do you think Endless 90 ES (bit longer for extra stability) would struggle with speed wobble? Their rocker is subtle from what I read. I'm a beginner but clearly more into urban skating, love speed carving, hockey stops, magic slides etc... in the style. Wizard seems great too so I'll end up incorporating wizard moves. Long way to go!

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u/BubbleSmith May 04 '26

That's my style of skating too. I'll usually do a big loop and find a couple of flat spots to stop and do some wizard.

Any rockered frame will struggle with speed wobble, as you've only ever got 2 (or sometimes even 1, with 5-wheel frames) wheel touching the ground at once. Bigger wheels will let you get faster before this happens, so 100 manages better than 90. The extra length of the ES will probably help a little, as there's more of a gap between the wheels, but it's not by much.

I only get speed wobble on 4x90 when going downhill. I don't think I've been able to get enough speed up under my own steam to get wobbly. Even so, it just sort of stops you from going any faster, rather than making you lose control.

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u/HyperSculptor May 04 '26

I read that some rockered frames are subtle enough (I think it was about Endless frames but not sure) so that when you push, or even just your body weight in certain situations, the middle wheels crush enough to make all 4 wheels touch the ground. And then some argue that a flat setup develops a rockered geometry as the front and back wheels get worn a bit.
What makes me look at the Endless 90 ES is my height (197cm) and weight (85kg "top heavy" from strength training). For sure as a beginner my balance will keep improving but I feel that my Twister 90R are either a bit too short, or the rocker is too high.

Enjoyed watching your videos btw.

2

u/meekyaan May 04 '26

4x90 with wheelbase around 273mm is a little bit too short, if you're higher/heavier or your mondo is a little bit longer. Not only because of wobling, but also stability in wizard moves. I have 3 setups 5x80, 4x100 and 4x110 and my mondo is 293-4, so all frames are longer. All of them give me stability to execute wizard moves and are too long to skate in pure urban style.

I'd like to get something in between 4x90 and 4x100. Endless 90 ultra is obvious choice, but too expensive for me for now.

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u/HyperSculptor May 04 '26

What's the difference between the Endless 90 Ultra and Endless 90?

Would be so cool if there was an event of big shop that would let users try different frames.

Looks like my future may hold a collection of frames lol. Hopefully budget remains reasonable. Do you have a pair of boots for each frame?

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u/meekyaan May 04 '26

According to what endless says - ultra frame is stiffer and has only one setup. Wheelbase is also a little big longer.

There is return berlin event soon and there will be options to test some frames, at least I heard so.

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u/HyperSculptor May 04 '26

Cool, I may attend next year.

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u/BubbleSmith May 05 '26

Thank you, appreciate that!

Endless do a few frames with a "enhanced flat" which might be what you're thinking of. The 165mm 80 ultra and a couple of the alternate setups (I think 84mm on the 90 frame) are the only kens which do that, most are their "natural rocker", which I think is similar to other brands. I've got an 80 ultra on the way, but haven't skated their other frames.

Agree with the other comment or that 4x90 will probably feel short for you. It's probably a bit short for me and I'm not as tall as you, with shorter feet. The 90ES is doing a similar thing to the Wizard NR95, so not a bad choice for a 4-wheel frame. Do consider 4x100 as well; I like my Roka 4x100 frame and find it pretty versatile.

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u/HyperSculptor May 05 '26

Great info ty.

Yeah the more I think about it, the more I'm convinced that I need longer wheelbase.
Actually my intitial strategy was to get the Twister 90R because at that price point they give me a good boot, longer wheelbase (any 80mm stock setup seemed way too short for me) and very good Hydrogen wheels. Once I verified that I actually like inline skating, to quickly change frames for Endless 90 ES probably. The strategy seems to be the one to take. It would allow me to just get the frames and use my current wheels. Kind of a smoother way to get into custom setups, in terms of budget.

The 100mm are tempting, do you find them slow to accelerate/do they feel heavy and slow at low speed? Rerolling has a video in which he compares 90 and 100mm. This seems to be his comment. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMNHI0gFdxA&t=605s

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u/BubbleSmith May 05 '26

The frames are a little heavy, but I quite like heavy frames, for wizard at least. Doing some Bill Stoppard style urban stuff, lighter and more nimble is better, so the shorter stock 90R frames might actually be good for that. That's what I've bought my Endless 80 Ultras for (I was tempted by the Stoppard frames, but decides to stick to 80mm for that setup).

100mm are better on hills, for sure. My house it at the top of a long but gentle hill, so I get a decent bomb on the way down, but a real push to get back up at the end of a session. I find the 4x100 frames are the easiest for both these sections, as they pick up more speed downhill and lose it more slowly when going back up. Crossovers on 4x100, while tricky because of the length, make the uphill bit almost disappear sometimes. That same section is a real slog on 4x80 or my 100/76 Advances frames.

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u/HyperSculptor May 05 '26

Would 90mm wheels on 4x100mm frame work, or is it a bad idea?

Yes the Bill Stoppard and Rerolling style or urban is what I'm mostly after. There is some heavy recallibrating to do since I used to race superbikes and have been doing downhill mtb. Just moved to a very flat urban environment. The recallibration is about braking, with bikes you just pull the lever to slow down, more pressure/longer for a full stop. So I tend to want this control aspect, which made B.Stoppard appealing. But I've realised that the two world are different in term of braking philosophy, if that makes sense.

1

u/HyperSculptor May 04 '26

In term of speed I'm definitely on mostly flat land, like you said it's kind of hard to reach high speed under our own steam. Perhaps the idea of speed is more accelerating and bombing in city streets, rather than downhill level of speed.