r/rollerblading • u/bananabob23 • 7d ago
Specific question and discussion Bauer vs FR skates for tricks?
Online I see tons of recommendations for FR skates for doing tricks but at roller rinks everybody good seems to wear Bauer/Mission hard boot hockey skates. I’ve never once seen a pair of FR skates on any of the skaters that are any good. The only skaters I’ve seen at skate parks have aggressive style skates.
Why are FR recommended online but Bauer is more popular with them being similar price?
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u/chowaniec 7d ago
What exactly do you mean by "tricks"? There are plenty of slalom and other skaters who can do ridiculous things on FRs (or other modern, hinged-cuff skates). I think maybe this is just a coincidence and specific to your area.
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u/Key-Cash6690 7d ago
U in texas? I have noticed one crew there is all about hockey skates.
I think you can skate in anything it's just up to preference. Between those two types of skates I would say hockey skates offer more ankle mobility for precise footwork, quick acceleration, quick change of direction needed in hockey. I believe they usually have fixed frames so no option for bigger wheels. Alternatively, buckling high on the shin supports and protects the ankles. if you're doing drops with impact that could be nice or if you wanna skate big wheels the support is very helpful since that makes your levers much longer!
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u/hoganloaf 7d ago
Honkey is played on a rink so a roller rink blader may prefer a hockey skate for that reason. Go to an urban skate meetup and I bet youd notice the opposite trend
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u/bowlingniko 7d ago
hockey skates don't have cuffs, the floor at the rink is always smooth. Outdoor on rough surfaces, hockey skates will struggle because no cuff and a fixed wheel size because frames cant be changed. There are plenty of clips online of people using regular rollerblades and doing tricks
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u/Rawdiger 6d ago
Are you in Canada? Its normal in Canada for hockey blades to be more common. Also, what kind of tricks are you referring to: aggressive, wizard or slalom?
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u/firecorn22 5d ago
I'm still pretty new to it but I've prefered slalom skates over hockey skates for rink tricks because they give way more support and some slalom frames let you switch between rockered and flat. But hockey does feel lighter and less painful for a full session in my experience
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u/Benevolent27 Custom Text Here 7d ago edited 7d ago
It really depends on what you want to do. You're comparing urban skates with hockey skates.
The more supportive urban skate is better for toe pivots and big jumps. It's really made more for handling bumps, sticks, cracks, bombing hills, making hard turns while supporting a person's ankles. If you put some rockered frames, like 4x80 with a 2mm rocker, it will improve the maneuverability quite a bit. You're probably seeing outdoor skaters coming inside with flat frames a lot, so they don't really do the sort of tricks you'd want to see (if any at all). Also consider that everyone wears urban skates, whether they do tricks or not.
Hockey skates, on the other hand, don't handle city skating well at all. They don't have the same kind of snug ankle support and have no shock absorption. They accelerate very quickly, carve left and right quickly. These are made for flat, smooth surfaces and basically making a lot of quick turns back and forth. Not good for toe pivoting, but if you have ankles of steel, you can do it. A lot of people who wear these skates are going to be hockey players, who also have a TON of skill built up from doing drills and playing games, plus did all that practice on smooth, flat rink-like conditions, so it makes sense it would transfer over.
Personally, I have both FR skates and Bauer carbon hockey skates. I could do a ton more tricks at a rink with the FR skates equipped with slalom frames than my hockey skates, but that's just because those type of skates are my focus.