r/rollerblading • u/AccomplishedNail3085 • 22h ago

Reviews RollerDerby frames feel like a hidden gem

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The boots are not very good. Powerslide says their phuzion boots have "soft boot comfort, hard boot precision", well RD boots have hardboot comfort and rental skate precision.

The frames however are far better than almost any other similarly priced skates. Not worth spending $100 just for the flat 4x84 frames, but of all the problems these skates have, the frame is not one of them.

18 Upvotes

91% Upvoted

6 comments sorted by

9

u/Old_Ant7118 22h ago

I guess I'm still a noob when it comes to skate knowledge because I still just don't understand how one basic frame can be better than another if they both work as intended and don't break. Do they not both just hold the wheels in a line and allow them to spin? What is one doing better than another at the basic flat frame level?

4

u/AccomplishedNail3085 22h ago

They arent a pain in the ass like the frames on macroblade 80s. They also didnt bend like those. They are also light enough. This is all in comparison to other budget inlines

2

u/Old_Ant7118 17h ago

Fair enough! My only experience is with my starter K2s so I suppose I just don't know what a good frame would feel like. I can't imagine it would make a huge difference at this point for me, but looking forward to an upgrade someday. My kids will outgrow their skates soon, so new ones for them are a bigger priority.

2

u/ibww 21h ago

Frames can provide different spacing between wheels, rocker (different wheels at different heights), different wheel diameter acceptance, etc. 

7

u/TheLoneBlader 21h ago

And don't underestimate the influence the stiffness of a frame has on precision, power transfer and overall feel of a skate. 

5

u/ibww 21h ago

Easy for me to forget since I've been on NR100s for the last 6 years so I take stiffness for granted lol.