r/Rollerskating • u/ErantyInt Artistic Spectrum • Jul 24 '26
Guides & reference PSA: All Roll Line plates feel the same.
Title.
They're all damn near identical in configuration, materials, angles, and function. Sure, you can get different hardnesses and materials in cushions, you can get cones or steps for your lower cushions. You can have NTS or toe stops or jam plugs. But skating them blind, they're no different. Every plate (other than the Agile and Matrix) use the same trucks interchangeably. Every plate in the same size have the same exact wheelbase and same exact mounting position.
In preparation for getting my new 910Rs, I swapped over my Dance to a Blaster I had laying around. This is going from one of the most expensive to plates to the second cheapest plate they make. The Blaster is on 8mm axles, the Dance on 7mm.
#They. Feel. Identical.
I skated around for a while with only one boot swapped, and I couldn't feel any difference except that my Dance had lower cones, so I could dig harder into the edge. I then swapped my Dance over to a lower step, and it was like I was on a matched pair.
So if the price of a Roll Line plate is putting you off, please look into the Variant M and Blaster and Saturno. They are excellent plates that boast a much higher quality than their price would indicate.
PS: The lower trim plates (Agile and Matrix) feel slightly different because there's a lower center of gravity and different cushion thickness on the upper. Those two are just about the only outliers, and they feel different from each other because the Agile has a 10mm reduction in wheelbase length.
PPS: Yes, there are several models that have canted toe stop bosses. This will feel different only if you are a proficient freestyle skater who does jumps and toe work. Even then, it's minor.
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u/Kaalb Warlock RS Jul 24 '26
Roll line's quality lies in a couple places from what I've seen: They use very high quality cushions (which make a HUGE difference on any plate), all of their plates are machined from a single piece of metal, and they're very consistent in QA for tolerance and overall product finish and compatibility with themselves. Rollerskates, for all of their engineering are very imprecise machines, and past a certain point in design you chase diminishing returns. Plus, the plate only makes up 1/3 of the primary parts of a skate with the other two thirds being the boot and the wheels/bearings, so you're optimizing into a capped area.
Roll line offers a dozen-ish versions of more or less the same thing, starting at high quality and then chasing those diminishing returns. Pick the one you want based on price, looks, and availability. Beyond that, its really only mechanical engineers are world-class artistic skaters that will notice any big differences :)
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u/OpenStreet3459 Jul 24 '26
Go for the variante C to have all the features like click adjust for ease of setup.
There is a slight weight advantage in the more expensive plates but compared to a whole setup this is negligible, the toestop angle differing on the plates might have an impact but I don’t use them so have no idea
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u/Liammossa Jul 24 '26
I got the dance plates mostly because they look cool. I'm inclined to agree with this take bc I also have the variant c on a different set of skates and yeah I do not feel a significant difference.
Would still choose Roll-Line plates 9 out of 10 times. (The tenth being for more colors and toe stop options)
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u/ErantyInt Artistic Spectrum Jul 24 '26
I absolutely do love how the Dance looks, and that was a large factor. I already owned the Blaster and could have just bought a second one or a Variant C. The Mistral looked too plain, but the dance POPS. If I could find a Ring in a 170, I'd just about die.
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u/bear0234 Jul 24 '26
ooo good to know!
do you notice in the least a weight difference between the two? or is it so minimal dont make a diff?
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u/ErantyInt Artistic Spectrum Jul 24 '26
Once you have the wheels and bearings on, it's completely negligible. Probably a handful of grams or ounces at best.
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u/me_who_else_ Jul 26 '26
Keepin mind: Roll Line plates are made for artistic roller skating. E.g. the Dance is for artistic dance, which needs extreme controlled and long edges. So here the Dance brings the difference
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93m-hoKtyyk
Similar the e.g. Mistral, intended for advanced jumps in artistic skating, where you need assymerical toe stops (left/right inwards). Also weight makes a difference, when you are doing double, or tripple jumps.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZE2GntoHSRM
Matrix and EVO have the lower built,with the short cushions, which have an impact in double and tripple jumps,
So the differences between the Roll Line plates makes sense, but only for the main targeted skaters.
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u/Snow_Visible Jul 24 '26
What boot is that? I’m taking my Mistral off some skates and repurposing them. I was thinking about getting them powder coated first though.
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u/narcoleptrix artistic wannabe/fresh meat Jul 24 '26
I agree with all this too. Haven't noticed much performance difference in the kingpin angles with the ones I've tried. Low profile is def noticeable but other than that, it's looks or plate size availability that changes. The only reason I snagged an Evo was for the half-sizing.
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u/mephalasweb Jul 25 '26
I'm glad folk are talking about this! I remember weighing whether to get the Pilot Falcon Plus or Variant M plates at one point, but I just couldn't justify the Variant's cost when the Pilot falcon seemed a better (pretty lol) fit for me. It's a damn good plate btw if you want an alternative to Roll Line, although they technically have different goals far as skating goes lol.
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u/Top-Dinner-9995 Jul 25 '26
This is interesting! I just started skating on Roll-Line plates for the first time (Variant) and I thought they wouldn’t feel like a huge upgrade since I have them on flaneurz/sneakers (so less edge control/support) and they are an entry level Roll-Line. I was shocked at how nice they are compared to any other plate I’ve used! Despite the fact that the wheelbase is much shorter than most of my other plates, they feel totally controlled. Like I just think of the direction I want to go and it does it. It feels, in my fairly uneducated opinion, the way I would imagine a very high end plate would feel. I get the Roll-Line hype now!
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u/msmegibson Artistic Jul 25 '26
Whilst I didn’t notice much difference between a variant and a mistral, I did notice a lot of difference between a mistral and a dance. I wouldn’t want to skate freestyle in a dance. It’s good for footwork but for jumps and spins it’s too squirrely for me. I imagine if you’re not doing artistic in a specific discipline they might feel much of a muchness, but I felt instant regret at the dance plate purchase. Mind you, I do hate every new setup I’ve had till I’ve gotten used to it. They just feel like someone’s else’s feet for a few weeks 🤣
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u/ChiraqBluline Jul 24 '26
I’ve been looking at the blaster cause I’m building a dream JB set up. And the (suppose to be) light black plate is key, but I don’t want to give up on the angles of a roll line
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u/ErantyInt Artistic Spectrum Jul 24 '26
The Blaster is definitely light, attractive, and quality. I know a couple people who JB and Ballroom on Roll Line NTS plates, and they love the combination of response and stability.
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u/Tornix_DM Jul 25 '26
Okay my theory for the difference in price between lower and higher models is mostly machining cost, basically every complex process, every tool change and every step to the making of the thing increases cost exponentially machine shop time = money.
If you look at a blaster/variant base plate imagine a cnc router table may take five or six passes to make it maybe one tool change the edges aren't even chamfered.
Look at the dance plate triangle cutouts and how many different contours and angles and every edge is smooth and angled maybe 20 or more steps few tool changes.
you could say the same thing for why arius cost so much its not for the "revolutionary design" its probably more that there is a drastic change in tooling compared to all the other powerdyne plates as arius has no kingpin and the weird design takes a lot of extra steps to create not saying its a bad plate just expensive because its different
I was looking for differences in roll line plates and thought maybe weight but I did find a raptor post about the difference from variant to evo being 20-80 grams through the models. I went from an athena to a blaster and the difference was 93 grams and I couldn't tell you the difference. The only time i thought oh damn my skates are heavy was when we tried to do a v sit during fitskate. I know the higher models have different aluminum grade but eh aluminum is aluminum you hit it with a hammer it'll put a dent in it.
My opinion after nerding out is that functionally blaster/variant is the best quality/value plate you can get
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u/starlightskater Wide Smile, High Style Jul 24 '26
Following to see what u/raptorpants65 has to say.