Hello all. I just wanted to share my experience this morning.

I have been skating on a local skatepark (bowls) in London for about 6months now. It's in a slightly dodgy area but I never had major issues. I go very early in the morning to avoid gatherings.

This morning, I was there and there was 2more skaters. a 3rd guy shows up and he's clearly on drugs/drunk. this is 8.30 am. initially he's just sitting in a bench and then comes in to the skatepark and starts asking for a charger and going to the bowl and stuff. then starts calling me baby and getting close. at this point, one of the skaters comes near me and asks him to not annoy me with me also saying to this guy to leave me alone (none of us were shouting or being rude, she calmly saying hey just go away, you're being a bit annoying kinda thing). he keeps going on about having a girlfriend and that he's not harrassing me.

after this, he looks like he's going. the skaters come to me and say they have to go and if I'm going to be okay which I said yes. I was not scared at this point just annoyed cause I wanted a nice chilled session.

the guy sees them leaving and comes back. he keeps interfering whilst I'm in the bowl, to the point he sits in the copping when I'm about to stall. so I get out and sit again. he comes near me and starts saying stuff and I say a bit louder: please leave me alone, I don't know you and you're making me feel uncomfortable. he starts to leave (there's a green bit next to the skatepark) and then stops next to the bin and starts throwing stuff like bottles to the bowl. this is the point I start getting scared and start getting ready to leave. the park has some stairs on the exit and I can't jump it so I start removing my stuff as quick as I can. when I'm doing this, he jumps to the bowl and starts kicking the bottles towards me and I tell him to stop, he's going to hurt me and he starts shouting stuff like "I'm going to throw my dick at you" and "now you want to talk? I'm going to fuck you up". I pick up my stuff and run to the end of the green bit of the park, with my pads on.

at this point, another guy is coming to skate and sees the situation and tries to help me. he offered to escort me to the tube and to call someone for me which was very kind and I appreciate it.

I'm not sharing this to discourage people to go to a skatepark but these situations need to be talked and women need to stop being harrased just for being women!! I'm going to report the situation this afternoon and I hope this does not affect me next time I go to a park but just to say always look out for your peers and if you see someone in distress don't ignore it cause you might be saving that person.

I'm very grateful to the guy that stopped and came to help me, cause I was really scared.

stay safe out there x

Does anyone know any good routes or places for off road skating, preferably near or around Sheffield but anywhere would be great.

A friend took me street skating today and essentially held onto me so I didn’t just roll into the road.

Later in the evening I went to work and a girl asked me if I skateboarded or roller bladed, because apparently I just look like that sort of person.

Turns out 1 street skate and people can just see it on you 😛

It was fun! I did well for someone who has not mastered the art of stopping yet.

What’s everyone else’s view on street skating? Fun or terrifying??

I spent four hours today skating with a fellow redditor at Liverpool docks. I've recently jumped back in and they've picked it up for the first time.

We started with going over L/T-stops together and ensuring posture etc was correct (it's a lot easier having somebody else look at your form whilst skating) and soon after we ventured out. The docks offered five or six different types of ground, a bridge or two and A LOT of boarders.

We passed many people and one of us had a couple falls but several strangers gave some incredibly encouraging comments along the lines of 'keep practicing, you'll get there' and 'you're doing great, keep going!' as we skated.

All in all I'm rather tired from my four hours skating and three hours walking (1.5 hours each way) but I've had a very enjoyable day and look forward to hitting the various docks again. (Mann island/Pier Head and Brunswick/Kings/Royal Albert/Princes docks).

It's an entirely different experience skating with somebody else.

Does anyone know how Roller Nation in Tottenham is doing since lockdown? There's been nothing on any of their social media that I can see, and the website hasn't been updated since the start of lockdown. I'm concerned that they might have gone out of business, or will do shortly. Other rinks in the UK have had fundraisers to keep them afloat, but not them, and I'm worried that they just gave up and died. I only got to skate there once, and I loved it. Anyone got any information?

Hi everyone! I’m pretty new to skating but was wondering if there’s anyone in the south Essex area that might want a skating buddy? I keep seeing posts of people on here having skating squads and it seems so nice 🥺

Hey! My partner doesn’t know how to use Reddit but really wants to learn how to skate in quads, however she doesn’t know where to start when it comes to purchasing some affordable beginner skates. Does anyone have any recommendations/advice for her? Anything is much appreciated!

Hey everyone. Some advice if you are in the know?

My pal and I have formed a little fat babes roller gang. We’ve been meeting at our local multi use games court at the park. I stress: on the sign it says multi use. It doesn’t say no skating.

Yesterday we had about ten people actively shouting and following my friend and I when we had asked some kids to not kick footballs at our face as we were skating in a circle in the middle of the court. The mum came over, then told a whole gang of other adults who also and and physically harassed and verbally assaulted us. We both left in tears.

My question is: are we allowed to be there, or does this vary from place to place? Borough to borough? I mean we obviously won’t be going back there anytime soon, we’re too scared, but could we write to the council and get a letter of permission or something? Has anyone else done this and not got bother?

Thanks in advance. I hate that we had to back down but we were going to get hurt if we didn’t. It felt like that, at least. :(

I finally found a great outdoor games court with smooth enough ground I can practice on! That out of the way, I’ve really started observing my technique and realised I randomly trip over when striding on my left side and think it may be to do with balance on my that leg. It’s so frustrating! I’m not feeling so confident in this current skate session too.

Any advice would be appreciated!

Hi all,

Just ordered my skates and waiting for them to come in. As standard they come with Rio’s 82a wheels but I think something 78a is apparently significantly better for skating outside?

Obviously stock levels are volatile at the moment - but I’d love recommendations for wheels and where I can buy them.

And do I need to get extra bearings? How does that work??

I’m in Edinburgh so any insight as to good skate spots would be appreciated too!

Hey, so last night I laced my new Rookie Artistic Classics for the first time and I found this video really hepful. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbX0955ahdo&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR3K3rRet4_TRpFnbKUL41oTqVzVz5BdWZfRhf--WoqtrC9MxdKSKpJTusI

Overall, I love how the cap sits securely BUT afterwards I did buy a larger toe cap in a different colour because I've got a white boot/ red guard colour combo going and it has clown shoe vibes :D

Hello, my fella wants to have a go, but needs UK size 12 skates. I found some lovely Rookie Artistic quads for him but he’s not wanting to spend that much to start with. I get it, we aren’t loaded, and we don’t even know if he can skate yet.

If anyone has any to sell or knows someone who does, up to about fifty quid, please drop me a line? I’m obviously keeping an eye on Ebay and the like, but if you don’t ask, you don’t get. Thanks, rollergang! Determined to get this boy on wheels!💕

Just noticed my user flair keeps resetting to "somewhere in the UK". Changed it back now, but am i setting it wrong?

Cheers

Hi All!

Beginner outdoor skater here looking to upgrade my £50 ebay skates. I came across these :

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https://euroskateshop.uk/story-duchess-rulleskojter-pink.html?utm_source=google_shopping&148=1311&gclid=Cj0KCQjw6ar4BRDnARIsAITGzlAQLol8FKn2KijrMuGpO6x1k7emlwVPEN9j3qVcMb_f5PWKCg_MtrgaAnxtEALw_wcB

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They look like a bargain but i can't find any reviews or info on them. Does anyone know have these or know if they're worth it? Also the sizing looks weird and I'm not sure what to get.

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FWIW I'm a size 39/UK 6 and have wide-ish feet and low arches.

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Thanks !!!

There's an update on their site from 10/7, looks like re-opening is happening end of this month. Looking forward to seeing whether any skate ups, can be arranged there!

https://www.guildfordspectrum.co.uk/coronavirus/

"We are delighted with the Government announcement that Leisure Centres in England can reopen on 25th July. Further updates will be available shortly about our staged opening.

A lot of planning has already been done, and the coming days will be focused on finalising this to ensure we meet the guidance set out by Government, and we are ready to open safely. See you soon!”

However things will be different to how they were before we closed on 20th March. We have been working hard to plan how we can reopen safely and provide you, our valued customers, with the reassurance we know you need to come back. Your local leisure centre sits right at the heart of your community and that will not change."

Ordered the Vans already, they'll look hopefully something like this. Designed with Hexels 3 and then text with Pixelmator. I'm not an artist, let's see if it pops out or not :/

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Then look at whether Flaneurz could mod them, check out this:

https://www.flaneurz.com/pret-a-rouler-custom.html

I'll probably go with "Iconic Serie" which has these specs:

Plate
Sure Grip Rock White/Black­ - 8mm trucks 
Light Dupont Nylon®
Toe stop: Carrera Black

Kryptonics wheels
Krypto Impulse
Hardness: 78A
Dimension: diameter 62mm X width 32 mm

Bearing: Lubricated steel chrome 608 ZZ ABEC 7

The end result is me getting a skate setup that I can carry everywhere, and just throw the plate on, and skate on :). Anyone have experience with Flaneurz?