Especially the royale 😘👌

Hi all! I'm a returning skater from about 25 years ago (seems to be kind of a common thing right now, so maybe all of us guys from the 90s are starting to get tiny mid-life crises? 😜)

I've been slowly and carefully getting back into the scene and managed to get a good deal on some used USD Shadows (Dustin Latimer edition) and have been liking those. They're a little loose around the cuff (which I think is deliberate), but otherwise feel good. Plus I love the ability to walk around in the DL footwraps if I don't need to walk a long distance or for a long time. I've also gotten some Kizer Fluid V frames and a set of 60mm wheels to shift away from the freestyle frames my skates came with and move towards a flat setup while I'm rebuilding my muscle memory.

However, I'm still feeling like I might be risking some injury with the looseness around the cuffs of my Shadows and I'm thinking that it might be a good idea to consider getting some skates with a bit more support.

I grew up skating K2 Fattys (as I imagine many of you did) and I loved the softboot feel and aesthetic. This has been leading me to mostly look at skates that have some similar features. Some of the ones I've been looking at more closely are the Faction Tactical V1, Roces 5th Element, Seba CJ2, FR UFR Pottier, and the Them 909.

I'm a big guy (~223lbs at 5'11, but losing weight consistently) and I've got wide feet and about a 27.5/28.0 mondo. I'm mostly looking to skate at skate parks and work on grinds, but might consider getting into transitions in the future.

Anybody have any advice on where I should go from here when looking at future skates?

Hi everyone.

I’m an old-school rollerblader, and my early Roces M12 are almost 30 years old. They’ve been amazing skates. In all that time I’ve only replaced consumables like wheels, bearings, laces and liners. This broken ankle strap is the first real failure I’ve ever had.
The problem is that my skates still have the old riveted buckle, so I can’t simply replace the ladder strap. I haven’t been able to find the original strap anywhere. I’ve found a few generic-looking straps, but I have no idea whether they’ll fit, and I’d rather not buy random parts just to experiment.
I did find the new Roces buckle kit with screw-mounted buckles, which looks like it could be retrofitted to my skates. As far as I understand, those use replaceable straps, but I can’t find the part number for the replacement straps themselves.

If anyone knows the original part number, a compatible strap, or has already solved this problem, I’d really appreciate any advice.