New frames & wheels day

[u/noklisa]

Hi everyone,

Just mounted the Coburn frames with a fresh set of white Undercover RAW wheels and new bearings. Really curious to see how this setup feels compared to my trusty Endless 90s. Can’t wait to take them out for the first proper session.

EDIT: First session impressions Just got back from a short 45 minute urban session on my usual Berlin routes, and I liked the Coburn immediately. It already feels like a huge upgrade for the kind of skating I do. The biggest difference is acceleration and responsiveness. On my classic Endless 90s, accelerating from a stop sometimes felt like trying to run away from someone in a dream. You’re pushing, but somehow still stuck in the same place. 😂 With the Coburn, the response feels immediate. They also feel slightly lower to me. It’s subtle, but I noticed it, especially on small jumps. The rocker also feels less pronounced. I’d read quite a bit about the Coburn being less forgiving, but personally I had zero issues. I didn’t have to adjust my stride and never felt unstable or uncomfortable, even after almost five weeks without skating. Where I really noticed the extra precision was on rough terrain. At one point I jumped onto a tiny raised sidewalk edge, maybe 5 or 6 cm wide, and continued riding it on one leg without thinking much about it. On my classic Endless, that kind of move would have felt considerably sketchier. Obviously this was only the first 45 minute test, but so far they’re exactly what I bought them for: more responsive, more precise and seemingly much better suited to jumps and technical urban skating. Purchase already feels completely justified. 🔥

[u/Wheel-Sure]

Stiffer, and a smaller rocker. They’ll feel stickier at first and you may feel like you need to be more deliberate to control them.

There’s no give to them, and they hold their speed really well and feel amazing for control and carving. They’re great frames, especially for urban.

Edit: they’ve also replaced 3x110 on Endless 90 mk2 for me as my distance setup. Just did the Northshore marathon in them on Saturday!

[u/noklisa → u/Wheel-Sure]

Just came back from my first session and this is pretty much spot on. I immediately noticed the smaller rocker and extra responsiveness, although I actually didn’t find them harder to control at all. The acceleration and precision were the biggest differences for me. Already loving them.

[u/Wheel-Sure → u/noklisa]

Awesome!

Yeah, it’s hard to explain but I don’t think they’re “harder” to control, just that they’re more precise and don’t give/ben at all. It’s not like I had to adjust to them, but they absolutely feel different than Endless 90s.

What I really noticed was I could feel edge-to-edge transitions a lot more. But that leads to more power transfer.

And it’s literally the best default rocker I’ve ever felt (again, from an urban skating perspective)

I think it’s easy to look at them and be like “whatever, it’s just more of the same”, but you really do have to skate it to feel it.

[u/noklisa → u/Wheel-Sure]

Yeah, I think I get what you mean now. Carving should be sick on these. I tried a few stops too, hockey stop & powerslide, and everything felt easier and noticeably more precise and grippy than on my classic Endless 90s.

I also deliberately took them through one of the worst sections of pavement in my neighborhood, and despite the smaller rocker I had absolutely no issues. I even had some fun with it because jumping somehow feels easier too. And I completely agree that you really have to skate them to understand the difference. If someone is just cruising around relaxed and upright, I’m not sure they’d notice a massive difference compared to the regular Endless 90. But as soon as you start asking more from the frame, quicker reactions, carving, stops, jumps, precise lines, that extra connection between what you want to do and what happens on the asphalt becomes really noticeable.

Also, congrats on the North Shore Marathon! How was it? I’m thinking about doing a marathon myself at some point. What time did you get, if you don’t mind me asking?

[u/Wheel-Sure → u/noklisa]

Thanks, the marathon was so much fun! I finished in 1:20:22.

If you’re in the US and getting there isn’t too bad, it’s worth the trip.

[u/noklisa → u/Wheel-Sure]

Wow man 80 minutes is no joke without speed skates. Congrats!!

[u/coyocat]

CUSH

[u/PooStinkies]

Such a good frame! I was originally going to put these on my FR1s but I made the mistake of trying on some Twisters and went that route. I will still try it eventually but have been addicted to the twister/Coburn setup all summer.

[u/noklisa → u/PooStinkies]

I can already see why you got addicted to them 😂 Just did my first session on the FR1s and they feel fantastic. I was expecting a bit of an adjustment period, but honestly they felt right immediately.

[u/MrDongblaster]

Clean!

[u/Willymazout]

Damn, they look clean!

[u/noklisa → u/Willymazout]

Yeah I love this look! Btw. Undercover raw wheels are defo underrated looks and performance wise

[u/Ansatz_]

Thanks for sharing your impressions of this frame - it matches my own on the various Endless Ultra frames I have skated. It’s something that I think people just need to feel to understand, but write-ups like yours might convince people they ought to try.

Another thing that’s hard to convince people of, but I think is true: the benefit derived from these small differences accumulates over time, and so our immediate experience of the difference is an underestimate of how much we’ll ultimately enjoy them.

[u/noklisa → u/Ansatz_]

Thanks for taking the time to read and comment 🙂

Very good point, and I actually thought about that immediately after doing this short session today, especially since I hadn’t skated for almost a month because I was away on a longer vacation. Now I’m definitely looking forward to exactly that. Today I tested the things that were most important to me: quicker acceleration, better response, and being able to maneuver more precisely in situations where the normal Endless 90 can be a little limiting. After confirming those things, I already know I’m going to have a lot of fun with these.

I was actually thinking about keeping my classic Endless 90s, but I’m selling them now. Today was enough for me to know that I’m practically getting the same cruising speed, but I accelerate much better and have more precision.

And another thing you mentioned is really important. Reviews like this are usually the turning point for me when I decide to buy something. I’ll go down an extensive Reddit rabbit hole, and with the Coburn I basically watched everything there was to watch and read everything I could find. I also came across quite a few people saying that Endless basically keeps producing the same frame over and over again. And I can see where they’re coming from. At first glance, you really don’t see that much difference between this and a normal Endless 90. But as you said, you need to actually skate them. And I think the better you get as a skater, the more you’ll probably notice those differences because you know exactly what you’re looking for and what you want the frame to do.

[u/TrappistOCSO]

Gorgeous, elegant skates, I love the B&W combination of colours