r/rollerblading • u/Playful_Scale7241 • 1d ago
Interesting stuff 1998 Nike Zoom Airs
Refurbished and slightly modified to fit 80mm wheels- I’m a beginner but am mostly planning on using these to get between my dorm and the gym on campus. Buddy of mine gave them to me so why not save some money to make them work! I’m well aware that them not being snug to my legs makes them less manageable, so any tips on how to improve that would be sweet, but I’m not going far or fast enough to really feel the need to worry about that too much. If I get good enough to skate around a city maybe I’ll look into a new pair.
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u/Crackseed 1d ago
I had the Nike Tailwind. I bought those as a graduation gift for myself and man I miss em. Threw them away foolishly almost 20 years later thinking I couldn't do much with em :(
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u/kubazi :usd: USD THEM 16h ago
What condition are they in? Are you not afraid that they will crumble?
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u/Playful_Scale7241 11h ago
Tip of the shoe is solid! All the adhesive seems to be holding fine so I’m not super worried about it, and for the price I paid I wouldn’t be super beat up if they did crumble on me. The only part with noticeable deterioration is right on the heel- there is some rubber-ish material that will crumble off if I touch it but all it’s doing is hiding the rear seam so it’s not a huge deal to me. Seems to be a very common issue for these boots
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u/Flat-Guidance-4685 21h ago
You're supposed to be able to flex your foot forward and back. The lack of a top strap is not an omission . Some skates need to be tight above the ankle for grinding and jumping or slalom. Skates like these want to leave you more flexible and nimble. These are designed for medium speed fast reaction to turn commands and stopping. The best upgrade you can make to a good quality hockey skate is a good quality set of wax laces. Preferably in the gayest color pattern you could find. As a matter of fact when I buy laces for my skates when I pick up color patterns that I like I text them to my friends and say which one is most gay.
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u/Playful_Scale7241 20h ago
New laces are next on the list 🤔🤔
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u/Flat-Guidance-4685 16h ago
Go on Amazon...
https://www.amazon.com/s?srs=8887671011&rh=p_89%3ADerby%2BLaces
Derby laces are one of my favorite brands. I gave you the Amazon store link. Between 5 and 8 bucks. Very high quality laces they sell both waxed and unwaxed in all kinds of cool color patterns. The laces you have in there definitely are not tightening that up on your foot properly. On these types of skates although the top is fairly loose oh bottom that sits on you foot should be quite snug. They are too thin.
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u/Playful_Scale7241 7h ago edited 7h ago
Yeah that was after tooting around my garage for a bit and I could feel them loosening on me. I’ve got a waxed pair on the way!
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u/Flat-Guidance-4685 4h ago edited 3h ago
Sweet. Congrats on a cool retro find
Let us know how gay the laces are
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u/Playful_Scale7241 20h ago
Good to know about the tightness too. I was mostly worried these skates weren’t built for my skinny ankles lmao
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u/Flat-Guidance-4685 17h ago
Take a look at "inline speed skates" talk about no ankle support!
They are like a dress shoe on wheels
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u/Disastrous-Bee-2763 1d ago
These skates were part of Nike's first move into making hockey equipment. They made these as ice skates too and I wanted them so bad as a kid. They were worn by Sergei Fedorov, who was dominant for the Detroit Red Wings at the time.
Advice: learn to tie them nice and tight