Rollerblade Marathon Line

[Robert]

I know Mr. T has already previewed these skates. But Rollerblade wasn't officially ready to unveil them 'till this week.

So here we go:

http://www.inlineplanet.com/2006-08/09/marathon.html

What do you think?

Glad they brought back carbon. ... Are you big foots worried about the new "precision fit"?

[Mr. T]

I have mixed feelings.

The new models look spiffy and the return to carbon is welcome. But, they should have put more effort in their Pro-Marathon model within this segment (why only size them up to 29 and why not available in America? In Europe good luck finding them, anyway). The Pro-Marathon is the real deal among high cuff boots. These are just sophisticated toys.

Also, Rollerblade is showing in my opinions that it has no "balls": no 110mm wheels. I am probably not going to buy anything from them this year. Rollerblade was my darling, but we are beginning to grow apart. If anything I may give K2 Pro model a try because of its 100-100-110-110 setting.

In any case, after skating on custom made boots, boots off the shelf (either high or low) wouldn't do it as they feel so sloppy.

Somewhere in Europe it is possible to get the Problade model custom made. I doubt it is possible to do that in the US (since the boot is then custom made by Mariani).

That is my take. Normally I would have been all cheered up by the "unveiling" of the new Rollerblade products. Not so anymore. They are too conservative. Plus they sell the short 4x100 frames while I like them long. And there is no option there as far as I can tell. In other words Rollerblade makes too many choices for me. No good, sell the parts and let me assemble my skates instead.

[comprex]

Very much respect for bringing back CF, especially when we are reading articles such as the one from WSJ:

Amid rising demand, titanium and carbon-fiber makers are largely
catering to their bigger customers: the aerospace industry. Zsolt
Rumy, chief executive of St. Louis-based Carbon Fiber maker Zoltek
Companies Inc., says he is trying to keep prices lower for bigger
customers by raising prices for smaller ones, such as bike and
golf-club makers, who constitute 15% of his company's business. "We
really jack up the price" for smaller customers, he says. He's passed
on more of the 60% to 100% increases to sporting-goods customers.

Glad they brought back carbon. ... Are you big foots worried about the new "precision fit"?

I would like to see that ankle ratchet on a cuff that can adapt to various lower-leg angles.

IM(H?)O that would allow better, closer fit to the lower leg above the ankle and reduce point contact pressure by cuffs that merely get wider as they go up the leg.

[Robert]

Interesting clip from the Wall Street Journal. I hadn't thought about what was happening with demand for carbon fiber.

Here are photos of the base Carbon Marathon models:
http://www.inlineplanet.com/2006-08/10/ ... hotos.html

[Mikeyb]

Do you use RB's, Robert? I'd be curious to compare them to K2 Radicals.

[Robert]

I have used both Rollerblades and K2s, but not the 2005 Lightning 10, which had a carbon fiber shell, or Radical 100s. So I can only guess at how the new skates will compare.

I expect that the Marathon Carbons will fit more like a racing boot ... in other words, snug. (Rollerblade says they will have a "precision fit.") The Radical Pro, on the other hand, will likely have a more spongy, soft-boot fit, which will nonetheless be more snug than a typical rec boot.

But like I say, that's just my guess. What we need is to hear from skaters who have skates on the 2005 Lightning 10s and Radical 100s. That could give us some idea about the fit, although the cuff on both boots is new.