Hockey skates to fitness/distance skates

[vipermj9]

Hello everyone,
I've been checking out the forums here for a few weeks now and decided to look for some guidance. I'm 22 years old and I've been in-line skating and playing roller hockey since I was 7. I really love my Mission hockey skates but I'm looking to get skates that I can go out and skate for miles. And hockey skates can hurt after a while. I guess what I'm asking for is some guidance in skates.

I've tried on some Rollerblades and some K2s at the local sports authority and was leaning more towards the fit of Rollerblades. I was looking at the Crossfire 90 and the Astro 50. I'm just somewhat concerned with the transition to bigger wheels. But I don't want to get something too small that I will grow out of too quick and I like the idea of bigger wheels and being better on rough surfaces.

Any help or other suggestions of skates? Or good stores to buy skates?

[Robert]

Hi, vipermj9,

With all your hockey experience, you already know now to skate and brake, so I think you could probably handle a pretty advanced skate. We haven't tried the new Bont Alpha yet, but that would seem like something you might want to try ... $250 for the 90mm version, which I think you could probably handle.

http://www.inlineplanet.com/2007-06/alpha.html

Otherwise, you might want to try the Rollerblade Lightning II.

Hope that helps. ... Be sure to wear some protective gear when you are trying out the new skates.

[sk8teacher]

I was looking at the Crossfire 90 and the Astro 50. I'm just somewhat concerned with the transition to bigger wheels.

Fit is the most important part of buying new skates. Once you have discovered what fits you best, then its what do you want to do on skates. Based on your description you have the fit down. Now for the decision. The Astro 50 is a very good skate, but slanted more towards the beginning to intermediate skater, while the Crossfire 90 is more for the strong intermediate to advanced skater.

Given your background, going to larger wheels will not bother you much. They will be a little harder to manuever, but with practice you will be able to do everything on the larger wheels that you can currently do with your hockey skates.

My recommendation is to go for the Crossfire 90. While the Astro 50 would be a little bit easier to transition to, you will very quickly be outskating it.

Cheers,

[ckmost]

I think the Bont Alpha just might be a little too much skate (price too).

I was more or less in the same position you were about a month or two ago, except my original skates were more of a rec skate with 80mm wheels. I would highly recomend that you not waste your money on the Astro 50, while this is a good skate I would venture to guess that you are way past it. Besides You will get much improved bearings, frame and wheels size with the Cross 90s. Overall I felt these skates were very solid all around (perfomance, value, comfort) I borrowed a friends pair.

You should not have a very hard time adjusting to the new skates, just this initial feeling that your feet are too fast, that you quickly get used to. You will probably even feel more in control with the better fit of the boots.

Frame length has a lot to do with the speed you can reach - The Astro frame is noticeably smaller and you will not be able to go quite as fast (wheel size also a factor).

Looking at you options you seem to be somewhat on a budget. I would actually suggest the Salomon Chill LX. This skate has great bearings Twincam ILQ-9, 84mm wheels and a 275 mm frame (same as the 90) and you can get them for a price right in between the two skates you mentioned. As far as the fit, this would be hard to determine, however, with these skates you can use most low cut sneakers that already fit you the way you want. One down side is that they dont sell the brand stateside and you would have a little problems getting parts (e.g., brake pads) This skate might be the perfect compromise in your situation.

As far as the lightning. To me the incremental perfomance difference in the lightning is not really worth the premium (price), plus the boot is not as comfortable as the 90.

If you were going to spend $250 for a skate you would be much better off with a longer frame (K2 Radical 90 or Bont Alpha) 320mm plus. These are low cut boots that are more like a speed skate. These sacrifice some comfort and manuverability for a good gain in perfomance. I'm not sure you want to go here yet. I actually got a used pair of Radical 90 and haven't used them as much because I just go a little too fast for my skating partner (he has K2 Motos).

If you want to play it safe just get yourself the Crossfire 90s, i'm sure you will be very happy with these.

Good Luck!
--Chris

[vipermj9]

I just ordered the crossfire 90's. I figured they will give me some room to grow in my skating. We'll see if I get into it more and maybe in a year or two I'll upgrade to something below the ankle. I just wish I could try something below the ankle as I've never skated in anything like that.

[ckmost]

Thats great, you are going to really enjoy the new skates ( I wouldn't mind a pair for myself). I prefer to have two sets of skates: a higher end rec skate with a full cuff (like the 90s u got) and a lower cut highend rec/speed skate or a full speedskate. You will have a chance to build up your strength and technique in the 90s so you can really appreciate a pair of low cut speed skate when you get them. In my experience the lower cut skates are very nice in the performance area, but have been a little bit of trouble as far as the comfort and practicality of them (i.e., if you friends don't have equal skates it sucks).

Few stores carry these higher end skates anymore as the industry as a whole is in a consolidation stage (but there are stores, you just have to look harder).

Here is an idea if you are determined to try on a pair. Purchase a pair of Radical 90's (or comparable skate) from an online retailer and switch out the wheels with used ones. Go out for a skate (make sure you wash your feet and use clean socks!) and be extra careful not to scuff them (use protective covers if you have). Then when you have had your fix either switch the wheels back out and return them or keep them. Note that these type of skates do take a bit more time to get used to as you develop ankle strength and adjust to the new frame (plus you usually need to mess with the frame alignment).

[vipermj9]

so i got the skates yesterday. I tried them on and at first they hurt the sides of my feet. I have wide feet and sometimes have a problem finding shoes,skates or boots that don't hurt my feet. I thought I'd try them on again today and they still hurt. Will they stretch at all or should i be looking for some new skates?

[vipermj9]

I think I'm going to try the K2 Moto 90's. Anyone have experience with them?

[Robert]

Sorry to hear the skates don't fit well. ... Skates generally do give a bit to accommodate your feet. But if your feet are especially wide, the skate might not give enough.

I haven't tried the Motos but they appear to be nice skates. ... You might want to give Steve as Asphalt Beach a call and talk the situation over with him. ... He will probably be able to provide you with some good advice.

http://www.asphaltbeach.com/

[ckmost]

I've tried the K2 Motos (80,84mm) not the 90s and they were quite nice in my opinion. The boot is essentially the same for all the Motos. As far as performance these skates were excellent. The overall comfort (for me) was also great, the boot felt that it fit the contours of my foot very well. Here is were you may have a problem though as you foot is a bit wider.

I do know that these boots are heat mouldable to a certain extent. What this does is makes the padding compress to form better to the shape of your foot. Most of the padding is in the cuff and some on the sides of the foot. This will help out the breaking in period and may be the solution for you. Only thing is that once you do this, you cant return it of course. If this does not provide enough lateral stretching to accommodate your wide foot you may want to try out a pair of shoe stretchers (mechanical device that stretches out a shoe) and leave them in while the skates are not in use.

Depending on how bad the fit problem is, i think you eventually will break in the boots as they conform to you feet and you feet conform to the boot.

The last alternative if you just can't seem to deal with an off the shelf boot would be to get a custom boot (very expensive). Here you will be mostly limited to much higher end speed skates with a low cuff, as I do not know of any rec-custom skate makers.

Hopefully you will be ok with the Motos though, they are great skates. Its hard to give definitive advice as everyones foot is different. One last consideration I have for you is to look at the arch of you foot (flat, medium, or high arch) as this has allot to do with how you foot feels in the boot. With medium to higher arches Superfeet insoles make life much more pleasant. However, these higher arched insoles will make your life miserable if you have flat feet.

Good luck

[vipermj9]

I went to the local sports authority and tried on the regular moto skates not the 90's. they seemed to fit ok, so i think im going to go and order the 90s and give them a shot.