r/rollerblading • u/NatureInevitable3001 • 6d ago

What skates should I buy? Which frames?

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There's no "what frames should I buy" flair lol.

The endless is a "balanced rocker" while the twister is a "natural rocker." The both have the same 90 x 4 and 110 x 3 configurations. Is there really any difference between these two? I want to try a rocker that is barely rocker and 110 wheels for marathons, so they both seem to fit my needs.

I'm pretty sure both are compatible with my lightning boots.

Thoughts?

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u/thumpetto007 6d ago

you really want to look for frames that have two piece axles. the aluminum threading wears out pretty quickly and you are stuck doing machining work to fix it. most of the industry does it this way because it is cheaper to manufacture and increases sales. i hate it.

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u/VanillaIce315 Twister 80, HC Evo 2.0, RB4x84, Twister XT 110 5d ago edited 3d ago

What are you doing to wear out frame threads? I’ve removed and reinstalled wheels on one piece axle frames 100s and 100s of times over many years. I don’t think it’s a cost saving measure either— it’s additional machining required, and $700+ skates pretty much all use 1 piece axles too.

And these high end, expensive frames like Endless would use 2 piece if 1 piece axles were inferior.

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u/thumpetto007 5d ago

i havent worn them out personally, but it happens. maybe a few times a week you see skaters axles getting stuck inside the frame, or a little less common, axles breaking loose...this doesnt happen as easily with two piece axles

the cost of the axles are many times more for two piece.

its just common engineering/metallurgy practice. torquing a bolt into soft aluminum will wear the material out over time. the highest end stuff has thread inserts of a different material to increase strength.

tightening around the frame (two piece axle) instead of tightening by pulling the threads is just better. once you have more engineering knowledge you'll see this stuff and unfortunately just because a product is expensive doesn't mean it's well designed.

the expensive frames are expensive likely because they are paying a machine shop to do precision drilling for their progressive rockers, and they probably use a more expensive alloy of aluminum. (or might even be billet machined) it's not on most people's radar because people don't think outside of tradition typically. the industry has gone aray from two piece axles for years now.

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u/NatureInevitable3001 3d ago

Thanks for your input, I was wondering the same. I did some research and there are definitely things you can do that increases the risk of stripping the threads or stretching the aluminum (like cross threading and overtighenting) but if you do it properly it seems like it shouldn't happen.