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New Skates

Submitted by Marianne on Sat Aug 30 2008 1:18am
 I will have to give up my dear old Salomon TR Vitess sooner or later. They never gave me a blister, never had a pressure point, in short; they fit like a glove and feel like a slipper. But during the last 100 km I did get a pressure point on the top of my left foot. Very annoying! Also the ankle support is starting to packed down. Now that Salomon is not selling skates any more I am in trouble. I did buy a K2 radical 90. Big Mistake! Even after getting the Boot Fitter put in new insoles, I was right back into my Salomon.

I need a pair of skates where I can put on breaks because of all the hills in my area I have to be able to break fast at intersections. Dragging the wheels is not fast enough and replacements are expensive.

Any recommendations?

I am hoping to try a few at the 24 in Montreal.

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Comments

MikeB's picture

Don't give up on Salomon

Submitted by MikeB on Sat Aug 30 2008 12:13pm.

Perhaps an internet search on ebay, craigslist, and skating websites could yield good results.  Otherwise I bet the www.roadskater.net community or www.triangleskateclub.com could offer useful advice.  I'm using Powerslides and I need to tweak the heal fit a little - anything more than 40K isn't good. 

 

roadskater's picture

Many of us use a Gatorbrake, Miller or Powerslide Speed Brake

Submitted by roadskater on Sat Aug 30 2008 4:30pm.
Hey. I used to burn up wheels so I wouldn't have a brake on the back, but the Mark F said something pretty cool about his 30-pack of brake pads for $70..."about the cost of one set of wheels." Now I had thought of saving wheels, particularly the profile of them, all nice and St. Louis Archysweet, but when Mark F said that, it went ding ding ding in my fuzzy head. Skatey-Mark sold me an extra he had (on generous and patient terms) and a gatorleash too. Check out gatorbackskate.com to see info on this unit, or if that's not available, on skate frames with brake holder built in. A sweet idea. Miller used to make such a brake as well and it was the favorite of many. Powerslide makes a bolt-on too, but I've heard it's not quite as good as the other two (but I don't know). There are some 3x100+84 Salomon frames like eebee and northinsouth both have and they take some standard brake that Salomon put on some of their skates. Not sure about the pads on that though. Those are my thoughts for now. Good luck researching!
skatey-mark's picture

I don't recall there being

Submitted by skatey-mark on Tue Sep 2 2008 1:10pm.
I don't recall there being any vendors with skates at the 24 hour race last year, but maybe that will be different this year... Most likely, though, you'll have to just bite the bullet and order another set (assuming you can't get your K2s to fit well.) People have had good luck ordering from Asphalt Beach (http://www.asphaltbeach.com/) which has a nice return policy if they don't fit right. Call them to confirm details of that first though... I think basically as long as you don't skate on them outside and they still look new, they'll take them back. Just about any skate can take a brake. Some come with a brake, some have it available as an option, and others require an after-market brake. GatorbackSkate used to sell a very nice aftermarket brake, but I don't think he makes them anymore. (He just sells the pads for it now.) If you get boots & frames separately, he does sell a frame with a built-in (and non-removable) brake that is very good. Bont has a couple skates that you can get brakes for, but I've heard the brake pads are awful (and expensive.) The "right skate" is going to depend a lot on the type of skating you want to do. If you want to stick with a "recreational" skate, I'd say try a Rollerblade skate next and see how that fits your foot. If you're ready to upgrade to something more like a "racing" skate, then there are tons of options. The most important thing, in my opinion, is to find something that fits well and is comfortable. If it's not comfortable, you're not going to want to skate so it defeats the whole purpose of getting the skates in the first place. - SM -
roadskater's picture

eBay Offers Skate Rentals

Submitted by roadskater on Tue Sep 2 2008 2:24pm.
Not really. However, if you bid anything other than the minimum on something (not buy it now) there's someone out there who has bid a dollar or a few less than you. If shipping and handling are reasonable, and you are willing to resell the item, there's not a huge risk. I bought several pairs of skates before I got what I have now. In all cases, I was able to try out the skates to see how I felt about it, then sell the items, selling them for nearly as much or more than what I paid. The true cost for me was basically the shipping and handling on one or both sides of the transaction. Again, this is for a non-minimum bid on an auction, not a buy it now. I think this is a great strategy even if you plan to have custom boots made later. Why not get a look at what several manufacturers offer by intentionally NOT being the person who paid the big bucks to find out it did NOT make them go to the next level...certainly not without next level training. And once you find what you like, it's a good idea to keep a watch out for more copies of the same boot or frame! Yes Roadskater.net does display eBay ads, and when you use them to search eBay and actually buy, it helps keep Roadskater.net free and alive, but even if you don't use those eBay ads here, use eBay somehow to search. Right now, eBay is a better place to buy than sell, I think...another subject for another day.

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