2022 Inline skating thread.

[slow-line-fast]

Making turns on skates, can it help ski technique?

I've been working on both for a while. I have found that speed-generating parallel turns on skates on flat pavement translates well into flat slalom sections on snow. But ramp up the pitch on pavement, I find myself moving the inside skate forward, because that seems to offer the best plastic-pavement grip in a situation where you want speed control in a narrow corridor (one travel lane). But on snow, scissoring the inside ski forward is no bueno.

So I think, skating is great for ski conditioning, but can help or hurt ski technique depending on how we do it. Thoughts?

 

[cantunamunch]

Unfortunately I have no local resources to even access some of the mid priced skates mentioned. I would literally have to drive 6+ hours (similar to find any good boot fitter).

That's no different from most USAians - the days of brick and mortar shops stocking mid-market skates is 15+ years gone.

I will admit at this point that I have an older pair of K2 Alexis X Pro Inline skates. Yup these are serious recreational skates. LOL. Whats different about these is they are HiLo set up with 84mm wheels in back and 80mm wheels in front, they have ILQ5 bearings. I have replaced the wheels / bearings as needed. Ok maybe not as much as they should be. As I understand, these are cheater skates for carving with the HiLo set up.

That's a perfectly fine rec/street skate.

But I love to carve on them.

Do you mean downhill parallel turns? Or something else?

The boots suck in that they are so soft, I really do have to be balanced which may actually be a good thing (translates to my back country skiboots?).

Honestly, they sound big for you. I know you said "pack out" but I suspect they started life being a looser fit than your ski boots.

So as I have no aspirations for speed and really only use for a workout, where to do I go? Those super big 3 wheeled skates seem a bit intimidating? I think I could get another K2 boot and simply bolt to the frame?

No aspirations for speed is fine - you can learn anything you want without being in a low-cut speed skate.

If I am picturing the correct skate, it's on a K2-specific frame with a keel on the bootie - so the future of the skates you have is probably best kept in their current form and maybe shopping for a tighter fit online.

Or is there something else out there that is a comparable as far as ease of carving?

What do you mean by 'carving'? Do you know what I mean when I say 'Every forward stride is also a turn'?

 

[cantunamunch]

Making turns on skates, can it help ski technique?

I've been working on both for a while. I have found that speed-generating parallel turns on skates on flat pavement translates well into flat slalom sections on snow.

Yes it does.

But ramp up the pitch on pavement,

Skating down steep pitches is not useful - unless you're trying to ingrain defensive moves like moving the upper body uphill.

Far better to tighten the turn radius on flats. Can you do super-tight parallel on flats? Tighter than your skates' nominal radius? While keeping the inside shoulder from dropping? Can you do it fast? Faster?

So I think, skating is great for ski conditioning, but can help or hurt ski technique depending on how we do it. Thoughts?

Certainly. No matter how good you get on skates, shifting back to skis will take reorientation on things like front to back pressure control, tipping rate, foot lead in turns.

But there are gobs of things that transfer very nicely - things like falling forward onto the new stance leg, like standing tall on the old stance leg as one gets high edge angles, like controlling the tipping angle of the new stance foot from LTE to BTE while restacking the upper body on top of it.

My thoughts have always been: there is nothing that transfers properly that requires downhill pitch to learn or execute on skates. One is far better off building every element of a proper ski turn into a flatland forward "stride" on skates - and then making it so strong that it can be done uphill.

I'll let others speak to the pivoty skiing skills transfers from backwards or cone skating.

 

[In2h2o]

Thank you @cantunamunch - K2 no longer makes the "X" or Hi-Lo set up as far as I know. I believe 2015 was the last year K2 made them. You are absolutely correct. I'm in at least a size too large, and I have a narrow LV foot. It also doesn't help that I have great dorsiflexion and I usually skate w/out socks....

As far as carving - @slow-line-fast I am not going down hill, and understand what you are saying about slowing down hill. I am generating speed with my turns so yes @cantunamunch forward turning. I can make long and short radius turns.... I do try to maintain my form and I can do tight parallels. I'm skating a two way car lane in a large parking lot, so I can I skate the middle divider line as tight as I can .... (I'm skating before its open so no cars...)

I guess my question is the fun I'm having really based on the wheel size/ Hi-lo set up ? Does that allow more ease of turning? If I upgraded to a new skate what would give me the same sensation? I understand my frustration with the boot is really size and well, just the level of skate.

 

[cantunamunch]

Going up to a ~90 wheel won't be too much fuss for you.

100+ is going to require a tight skate and ankle retraining.

The high/lo thing is K2's idea of how to do forward ramp angle; Rollerblade did 6mm++ of forward ramp on most of their street skates too. And so a lot of intermediate skaters transitioning from those to flat-top frames wound up getting shin splints and arch soreness.

So...yeh... I would definitely do a tighter bootie and do a flat frame or 100 mm+ wheels but not both at the same time.

Since you have a low-volume foot I probably don't need to tell you how much tighter Z-lacing is than X-lacing.

 

[slow-line-fast]

One is far better off building every element of a proper ski turn into a flatland forward "stride" on skates - and then making it so strong that it can be done uphill.

On uphills I've always liked turns with crossover strides (not sure that's the correct lingo), when steeper/narrower, 3: outside-inside-outside, when less steep and or wider, 5: outside-inside-outside-inside-outside. To me this has always felt unambiguously good for anything on snow, XC skating or downhill turns.

 

[In2h2o]

Thank you @cantunamunch I appreciate your advice!

The high/lo thing is K2's idea of how to do forward ramp angle; Rollerblade did 6mm++ of forward ramp on most of their street skates too. And so a lot of intermediate skaters transitioning from those to flat-top frames wound up getting shin splints and arch soreness.

This is really interesting. I may play around with the the ramp angle inside the boot, similar to recent ski boot boot board adjustments to see if it makes any difference. Crazy how heel stack/ ramp angle is in everything... running shoes/ski boots.....etc. At least my surfboards are somewhat foot neutral!

 

[slow-line-fast]

Skating down steep pitches is not useful - unless you're trying to ingrain defensive moves like moving the upper body uphill.

But... passes and mountain roads are just plain fun. Once we're up, we just have to descend, right? Of course, that's different question.

It's a cat-in-a-tree problem. Once my solution was to strap my skates to my pack upon reaching a pass, then go hiking over a nice peak and back down. Lots of comments from other hikers about when I would put those skates on my feet and roll down the hiking trail

 

[Raymond Slarver]

Sunday afternoon I punched out my first 25+ mile skate - 26.5 miles on the local multi-use rail trail, to be precise. This year I've been keeping most of my skating and running workouts around a MAF HR-based pace, so it was a comfortable cruise even as things got warm out there. A touch over 3 hours to do it, but I could have finished faster if I had to pretty easily.

Some observations from the rail trail - not just today but in general:
Kids - especially little boys in strollers or walking with their parents - really, REALLY dig inline skates. It's rare to go by little kids without hearing a "whoa' or seeing a "wow, shoes with wheels on them, Dad?" kind of look on their faces.
Dogs - nearly all dogs - really do not like them. So many of them go moderately bonkers when I go by. Glad people here are pretty observant of leash laws.

According to Garmin, I've gone just over 370 miles so far this year. We'll see if I make it to 800 or so before I'm taking the skis back out. Maybe I'll go do some Big Apple Roll activities this weekend to pad them stats.

 

[cantunamunch]

Dogs - nearly all dogs - really do not like them. So many of them go moderately bonkers when I go by. Glad people here are pretty observant of leash laws.

I'm starting to think some of our bearings have ultrasonic noises.

 

[Shawn]

Sunday afternoon I punched out my first 25+ mile skate - 26.5 miles on the local multi-use rail trail, to be precise. This year I've been keeping most of my skating and running workouts around a MAF HR-based pace, so it was a comfortable cruise even as things got warm out there. A touch over 3 hours to do it, but I could have finished faster if I had to pretty easily.

Some observations from the rail trail - not just today but in general:
Kids - especially little boys in strollers or walking with their parents - really, REALLY dig inline skates. It's rare to go by little kids without hearing a "whoa' or seeing a "wow, shoes with wheels on them, Dad?" kind of look on their faces.
Dogs - nearly all dogs - really do not like them. So many of them go moderately bonkers when I go by. Glad people here are pretty observant of leash laws.

According to Garmin, I've gone just over 370 miles so far this year. We'll see if I make it to 800 or so before I'm taking the skis back out. Maybe I'll go do some Big Apple Roll activities this weekend to pad them stats.

Nice!

-Last week, I passed 1,000 miles this year on the Powerslide Arise RD skates (swapped out the stock frames and wheels with a 12.5 inch, 125mm setup). On pace for 2,000.

-I try to do MAF HR-based training, too. I don't have the patience it requires to skate that slow though. And it's been a struggle to keep it down in this heat.

-Same observations about kids and dogs.

 

[neonorchid]

Nice!

-Last week, I passed 1,000 miles this year on the Powerslide Arise RD skates (swapped out the stock frames and wheels with a 12.5 inch, 125mm setup). On pace for 2,000.

-I try to do MAF HR-based training, too. I don't have the patience it requires to skate that slow though. And it's been a struggle to keep it down in this heat.

-Same observations about kids and dogs.

@Shawnc come do a weekend day on Philly's MLK Drive, it's closed to traffic from 8am to 5pm Sat & Sun.
~ 7.5 miles round trip wide road repaved during pandemic.

•No trouble with dogs or other bike paths annoying "ON YOUR LEFT" BS.

•You won't wear out wheels doing T-stops, zero reasons for braking to slow down and stop 99.9% of the time.

You can park on the side of the street along Neil Drive and MLK Drive by the gate around Falls Bridge. Or from 12 noon on you can access MLK Drive via Montgomery Drive exit of i76, tell the guard you are going to workout, and use one of the parking lots on the closed MLK Drive.

 

[Shawn]

@Shawnc come do a weekend day on Philly's MLK Drive, it's closed to traffic from 8am to 5pm Sat & Sun.
~ 7.5 miles round trip wide road repaved during pandemic.

•No trouble with dogs or other bike paths annoying "ON YOUR LEFT" BS.

•You won't wear out wheels doing T-stops, zero reasons for braking to slow down and stop 99.9% of the time.

You can park on the side of the street along Neil Drive and MLK Drive by the gate around Falls Bridge. Or from 12 noon on you can access MLK Drive via Montgomery Drive exit of i76, tell the guard you are going to workout, and use one of the parking lots on the closed MLK Drive.

-This is where I've been skating (plus the C&D Canal Trail in DE).

-Fiancee works weekend nights so after I drop her off I do the MLK/ Kelly Drive loop around 7. The MLK side is pretty deserted around then at least.

-I've been meaning to check out the hills on the 202 Parkway Trail soon.

 

[Raymond Slarver]

Nice!

-Last week, I passed 1,000 miles this year on the Powerslide Arise RD skates (swapped out the stock frames and wheels with a 12.5 inch, 125mm setup). On pace for 2,000.

That's some impressive mileage!

 

[cantunamunch]

That's some impressive mileage!

Especially considering the rains.

 

[slow-line-fast]

Probably a question for a nordic thread, are there any XC poles that have a safety release system? The LEKI shark seems to be a quick click in-out, but not a safety release. LEKI trigger seems to be only on alpine poles? Other manufacturers?

Something I think about with my non-releasable poles strapped on and locked in under wrist guards on the roads...

 

[Raymond Slarver]

The LEKI shark seems to be a quick click in-out, but not a safety release.

As I learned at the cost of a sprained thumb last winter.

 

[neonorchid]

Probably a question for a nordic thread, are there any XC poles that have a safety release system? The LEKI shark seems to be a quick click in-out, but not a safety release. LEKI trigger seems to be only on alpine poles? Other manufacturers?

Something I think about with my non-releasable poles strapped on and locked in under wrist guards on the roads...

Not that I know of, I mean how would it even work, that is Nordic we use the strap wrapped around and under the palm of hand side of wrist so the push isn't all from a closed fist of the grip.
No idea how you grip a pole wearing wrist guards.
I'd say if using the poles to mimic Alpine ski moves, Black Diamond makes a few poles with breakaway straps. $$$ proposition for inline skating, high probability trashing pole(s) first fall.

 

[slow-line-fast]

I’m using XC poles in an XC skating way, wrist guards are low profile and go over the pole straps.

I’m looking for a mechanism where the pole strap detatches from the pole under some substantial force, such as that which occurred when I once managed to plant the pole tip in a tiny hole in a sewer cover. It spun me around and stopped me on the spot, while popping the big iron sewer cover off and dragging it a few feet down the street. Amazingly I was uninjured and the pole didn’t break. That would have been the moment for the strap to detatch from the pole - a safety release.

 

[neonorchid]

Keep an eye on Sierra and Black Diamond websites for a sale on the Black Diamond Boundary Carbon Pole, I got a pair on Sierra for ~ $50. They would do what you want but may also prerelease, although it does take some degree of force for the strap to pop as it is designed to pop when snagged and hung up on a tree.
The grip isn't shaped like that of a Skate Ski pole, and I don't know if they are available in the long length of a skate ski pole, so there's that.
I can't visualize gripping the thing with a wrist guards rigid plastic palm in the mix. Skate glove?

K2 Redline Race Gloves - Inline Warehouse

www.inlinewarehouse.com

or

Atom Skate Gloves

Atom Skate Gloves

www.nettracing.com

IDK