Hello everyone,
As a former ice hockey player, I’m considering getting inline skates for my commute to work. However, I’m a bit unsure about which type to choose, especially since the pavement and roads in my area vary in quality.
Could you please recommend a suitable type of skate?
Thanks!
How much are you willing to spend?
Boot: If you’re skating on roads, there’s no ambiguity - get a hard boot. The adjustment from ice skates won’t take long and it’s a much more pleasant experience.
Mounting system: id say avoid trinity mount if you can. It reduces your options for changing your frames later on - 165 and UFS are more common
Wheel configuration: this is the Goldilocks decision for all skaters. Every config has pros/cons and there’s no “right” choice. If you’re planning to rec skate on roads, get at least 80mm wheels and dont get a slalom rocker. Beyond that it’s up to you. Your main options are (1) 4x flat, (2) 3x flat and (3) 4x “wizard rocker”. 4x flat is the classic. feels the most stable, but takes more work to manuver if you get 84mm or above size wheels. 3x flat let’s you get big wheels and still be manuverable, but puts you higher off the ground which makes it harder to balance. 4x “wizard rocker” means your front and back wheels are about 1mm off the ground, which let’s you get bigger wheels but still maneuver very easily, however these are slightly less stable at high speed.
I stret skate in a big city. I started with flat 4x84 then moved to 4x90 wizard (endless 90 frames). I skate my endless frames exclusively now, but i have had to adapt how I carve at high speed going downhill.
As for wheels and bearings: tldr bearings don’t really matter, and for wheels get 85A hardness and buy good expensive ones. You’ll notice a big feel and speed difference and they will last longer.
If you lmk your price range I can give some specific product recs! Happy skating!
- Definitely a hardboot. it gives more control and a little bit of protection
- So look in categories “urban skates” or “freestyle”. Maybe “slalom” too but these usually sit in higher price range
- Probably not “aggressive” as these often have small wheels. There has been a trend of putting 80mm on these recently, hence “probably”
- Definitely not “fitness”
- Research tri-skates
- You shouldn’t have a problem with more ankle strength these require, as you are playing hockey. But they do behave a little bit different than 4-wheels. There are quite a few yt videos about the differences, see if there are any that convince you one way or the other. There are some frames that allow to change between the number of wheels but these are often more pricey, not sure if you want to spend on that.
- I don’t want to say “buy tri-skates”. But I did the switch from 4-wheels to 3-wheels and IMO the latter is definitely better for the city. Bigger wheels are less sensitive to ground imperfections
- Don’t buy so called Wizard frames if you aren’t set on doing the gazelles etc. On rough pavement the longer frame will not be an asset IMO. The longer the frame is, the longer it rolls off curbs and bumps
- Please, wear at least a helmet
While “advanced” wizard frames are not the best for urban use, the “normal” ones (ie; the ones with a small, non-progressive rocker) are perfect for it - they offer more agility and reaction speed than a flat setup, while being just as stable due to the length of the frame, with the only trade-offs being requiring more energy -as any rockered setup-, and being less safe when turning at high speeds (50km/h+), which isn’t a problem unless you live in a city in Switzerland or similar.
I live in a city where there’s a pothole every corner and poor pavement is the norm, and I can say that the Endless are much better than standard flat frames; not only does the rocker help prevent getting caught on imperfections, but the longer frame also gives you more stability.
- Definitely a hardboot. it gives more control and a little bit of protection
