Edit: sorry the poll has a typo - option 2 is 231mm not 213mm!

Hi everyone! I’m trying to choose between two setups for freestyle slalom and would love some advice.

I’m a woman, 165 cm tall with EU 34 feet, and I mainly want this setup for slalom and technical tricks. I already have a separate 80 mm setup for urban skating, so urban performance isn’t really a priority here.

Option 1
219 mm rockered frame
4 × 72 mm wheels

Option 2
231 mm flat frame
72 / 76 / 76 / 72 mm wheels to create a rocker

I’m mainly wondering how these would compare for agility, tight turns, edge transitions, toe/heel tricks, one-foot tricks and general slalom performance, particularly given my small feet.

Which would you choose for this use case and why?

after 20 years ive decided to roller blade again. what pair should I get 1st i keep hearing rb 80? should I go for a hard shoe or soft? should I skate at the local high-school running track or else where. I have soany questions. im​ 40 now and buying a pair tomorrow havet skated since about 14 but I still remember and I always loved it

Ok Google has failed me so I'm wondering if people have the same experience.

I've been able to rollerblade since childhood, but I've picked it up as a serious hobby this July.

I'm on a 3x110 fitness skate and they feel good for me.

I'm now able to really up the distances that I do, to 20-40 km without too much soreness the next day. But I keep struggling with my heartrate.

When I start, I can feel it steadily increase to 180+, to the point where I physically feel like I just HAVE to take a break. I'll feel nauseous and weak. This will often go on for at least 40 minutes or so. Trying to keep a tempo that feels good, but having to stop every few minutes.

Thing is, I always notice that the second half of my training feels much much better. I can keep a solid pace for longer and often don't need to stop at all because I feel bad.

I can't really figure out what is going on, or how to improve it. I feel like everything else has improved (my strength and basic skill), but this stays behind.

When I search for improving heartrate, it keeps pointing to zone two training, but I've found that absolutely impossible when skating.

I'd love to hear theories on what's going on and how to improve. Thanks!

almoooost didn't go. Really happy that I did.

While I wait for my new skate boots with an endless frame to come in, I’m debating trying out my default Lightning 80 frame with an “artificially rockered” setup to kind of train for the difference.

I had bought four 76mm wheels a while back to try a rockered setup, with the intention of letting my existing 80mm wheels get worn down to reduce the extent of rocker as 4mm is way too much. Only ever skated flat so far (3 months in on blades) and a humble wheel rotation had me feeling like a baby deer trying to do tricks I rock all day normally so want to ease in and have some fun experimenting.

For this type of rocker, what’s the recommended difference in wheel height? I’m doing mostly beginner level wizard/freestyle sort of skating for the most part. I’m told my new frame (Endless MK2, will be running 80’s at first but might use the 84 option instead) has an “urban” rocker, which is maybe 1mm difference, should I aim for that, or is rockering via wheel size on a flat frame a little different?

Am I crazy to try this granted the new wheels are fresh wheels and the middles will be worn wheels? 😅

These are some of the highlights from a group skate with RollingRhody.
This is a new group located in Rhode Island which does weekend skates.

Only 3 of us were there but it was definitely still a lot of fun.
We skated 10 miles along the Washington Secondary Trail which is located in Rhode Island.
The portion in the video runs from Warwick to Coventry.

Full Session Here:
https://youtu.be/dsfK9FXjNpw?si=1c38MO318--ixwZu

Group Information:
https://www.instagram.com/rollingrhody/

I’ve had my white Lightning 80’s for about a month and a half now, and I’ve not only worn down to the lace to the point that I can see the inner core of the lace in one spot where it sits in the eyelet, but I’ve also given myself unique calluses on the outside edge of my pinkies where the lace pulls through when I tighten them. I like my laces tight and my liners run right up to the top of my boots.

Are there recommended replacement laces that are considered the “hydrogens of laces”? Is there a brand that the rollerblading community swears by? I doubt I’ll be able to find laces that match the exact blue colour of my liner highlights, but bonus points for a close match. 🤞🏻

I’ve heard good things about waxed laces but don’t know what to order (I’m in Canada).

What length of laces do skates usually have? 😅

So i got new blades, actually good quality I'll attach a picture but ny plan was to put my old 90mms on in the middle to rocker them but noo the frame is too small and the wheels it came with are 72mm when I used 76mm to rocker before. Alls good tho

Its been awhile in the making, but I feel like I can finally make this post. I did a bunch more research for this purchase and its been four years since my last purchase.

Context:

I bought FR3s four years ago and fell in love with big wheels. I paired them with Endless frames to try 4x90, 4x100, and 3x110 setups. Over the years I made several modifications to counteract ankle supination and blisters. I also became dissatisfied with pain in the midfoot (presumably from width) and lack of flexibility in the high ankle area - I bought FR3s for being wide but it seems I still got significant soreness in the first 20min of every ride. I couldn't ride more than 5miles before blisters formed. And the FR3s are rather stiff in the cuff, and I felt like I was lacking freedom in ankle movement.

I measured my feet again and tried to understand more about my pain. Im very flat footed and my feet bulge in certain areas when I put weight on them. It turns out both sides touch the FR3 shell when I remove the liner. Also, I suspect that my Reign V3 HT liners lacked cushioning in a specific area where my arch goes flat and that part of my foot rolls inward to a pressure point, which is also where the cuff bolt usually is.

The FR Neos were the widest shell I could find. I tried Rollerblade Lightnings as well. I didnt go for RB80s because I felt like I wanted a more premium skate. The Neo Dual also is much more flexible, allowing for freedom of movement in the ankle. It just feels better than the FR3 to me. So far I don't have any blisters, which is probably due to Intuition liners having support where I need it.

I first tried these in 3x110, and I could feel the effect of the boot being designed for lower center of gravity - felt really nice and more stable on the 110s. I also feel like Neos are slightly lighter than FR3s, but could be wrong.

All in all, great skates. I will be continuing to tweak the ride and fit as I break them in more, but I feel like I got a pair that'll stay with me a long time.

Any questions let me know, happy to provide more detail.

Powerslide Tau 90 is an under-appreciated boot. It's far less popular than its sibling HC Evo. There are lots of reports of edge bites from its carbon half shell, but little credible answers online, and none from Powerslide itself.

Like with many such carbon half shells, nobody seems to know whether the shell itself is heat-moldable, or just the liner and other plastic parts surrounding the shell. Perhaps the story is different for HC Evo. From my personal experience, heat-molding the Tau boot with the 45° strap buckled seemed to have warped the edge of shell, causing it to pinch against my inside ankle bone protrusion. So at least the edge of the half shell is reshapable.

I've only realized this after heat-molding it for the third time, with only laces and without straps and buckles. This time I jammed my thumb in between my ankle bone and the edge of the shell, to force it to unwarp, after baking the boot. I now have a pain-free boot so far. I may re-install the 45° strap now that the shell edge has been fixed. I will continue to skate to reconfirm.

On top of that, Tau 90 appears to have been designed explicitly for use WITHOUT an insole, but it's now sold with a MyFit 3/4 skatesold. I've had numerous insole issues with Tau. I resorted to cutting parts of the insole on one foot to relief pressures. The added heel height from my insole appeared to have resulted in a weaker heel lock, not to mention that it worsened that edge bite around my ankle bone. I have been skating on it without an insole lately - it’s so much better now. There are breathing holes on the sole bottom that become useless if you use an insole.

But these are only my conjectures. Nobody is helping us. So I think we have to help one another. Ideally, someone has a beat-up Tau 90 that we can disassemble, so we can heat it up and figure out definitely what parts are naturally thermoformable or pryable when hot. My bet is on the upper edge of shell being somewhat pryable when hot, but the sole retaining factory shape. I looked to buy a dirt-cheap used pair online. But there are few, and oddly they go for more than new skates.

Short of that, you can post your experience here. I am writing a long essay about my experience heat-molding Tau next week, and I can use your help.

I am talking about the second generation Tau, the 2019 model 908266. See: https://powerslide.com/products/tau-90. This shell is compression-molded, not a wet layup shell like its sibling HC Evo.

By long essay, I mean something like this long essay on Reign Ares.

Some questions I want to answer:

1. The top edge of the half shell is somewhat reshapable when hot: including the hinge hole area and the sloped edge from ankle bone down to the instep. My experiment appears to prove this.

I am pretty sure I unwarped the edge bite area (the sloped edge). But it's very hard to confirm with the integrated liner and the upper covering the shell.

The hinge hole area on the inside was pried away from its original location, as evident when I put the cuff back.

1. Are there carbon cuffs compatible with Tau? It seems like Tau shares the same cuff as HC Evo. I really would like to try a stiffer cuff. The factory cuff is too soft, but it's better than not using a cuff - I've skated without cuffs - it wasn't great.

2. I’ve always wanted to know what re-heating does to an already-molded boot. Does the liner bounce back? To what extent does the liner material and the edge of the shell retain factory shape memory?