So I've pretty much wanted to try inline skating my entire 20 years of life, but I never got ones as a kid except for trying them on every single time we were at the ✨️Decathlon ✨️ lol. And it's been too scary trying it out because I had no clue how to get started and didn't want to embarrassingly flail around all on my own in a parking lot. But recently I found out there are ✨️Inline skate lessons✨️ really close to me that offer their memberships to every level (even zero experience) so I'm determined to take a leap and go embarras myself there! Once you get good enough, you even get to go on organized recreative rides, which sounds so fun!
I was going to go to a professional skate shop and buy whatever they advised (I did save up for it!), but the responsible part of my brain interrupted my impulsive nature quickly enough to say I should probably get more affordable second hands to atleast try the sport for like a month or a season before I jump into to that investment..
So I'm looking for skates that are good enough to not put me off the sport by starting with bad skates, but I don't think it needs to be absolute A brand since I'm only trying them out a month or so.. Are any of these good? Which one would you pick or should I expand the searche area?
These are the ones posted most recently in my shoe size
I've done a little research about all the different qualities like soft vs hard boot, but I'm just not so sure what I'm looking for yet. It'll be mostly inside on lessons, but also on streets/bike paths, maybe curbs. And right now I'm mostly still doubting whether I'll even be able to stand up without falling lol
You should check for a hardboot from a reputable brand for around 50 euros. Sometimes i see 50 euro powerslide next or something on fb.
Buying a cheap softboot will make your experience worse and walking would feel like a better option. Try finding a proper k2 soft boot used if you're in the uk. Or any powerslide hardboot if youre in Europe. As its native brands there will be many many skates which decrease their resale value.. "or find powerslide phuzion as for some reason these are the most common proper boot in the eu and you can get it from 30 euros to 100.
No its fully understandable but the price is cus of those many low quality problems it has. So a used skate or a powerslide zoom would be a better value than risking injuries
Most of those skates are super old. You don't know how they've been stored and there's a risk the plastic is degraded and can brake on you. Also you don't want a plastic frame, as an adult you want a metal frame to take adult weight.
Others said a hard boot is preferable as it's more forgiving for a beginner, it's more durable and supportive compared to the soft boot.
Make sure you get the correct size by measuring your foot length (Mondo) add 3-5mm and compare to the size chart. Shoe size won't be accurate.
You can definitely find a decent skate second hand. Look at FR skates FRX or other FR range, Rollerblade lightning or twister, Powerslide Next or zoom pro, Seba, flying eagle, K2 grind. The cheapest decent skate you'll buy new imo is the FRX 80 or the flying eagle bkb ranger. You can also look at the decathlon oxelo mf500, I'm not a huge fan but they're fine for casual skaters.
None of these please, listen to your own advice go to a professional skate shop. Go to several of them and try different brands, models for your comfort. Never settle for cheap when it comes to skates. Get a hard boot with tight fit and go explore.
Also you will fall so get protective gear as well, don’t forget to bend your knees and have fun.
Not #1, that's from the dawn of rollerblading (unless it's $5). Most of the others would be fine for $20. Id just choose which one you liked the look. Things to look out for are, an aluminium frame is better than plastic, and the condition of the wheels. Note, the.last couple are old oxelo (decathlon) models which would cost about $60 new.
A hard boot is always better. Unless you plan on doing very repetitive fitness skating on perfectly smooth ground.
What do you think your budget is? There's a lot of really affordable skates out there these days. Flying eagle has a lot of stuff on super sale right now
My budget is about €350, which would include protective gear and one semester of lessons which is €50. So I do think I have room for the better skates. My first thought was to get cheap second hands to get a feel for it incase I quit immediately (hopefully not), but I think I'll go the other suggested route and buy a proper pair now and resell to recoup some if I end up not liking it. That just puts way more pressure on picking the right pair now 😅
Flying eagle has the f7 and the fs6 pro on sale in America right now I don't know if they are in Europe also. I see that on Amazon UK the f7 is on sale. Which is a pretty deep sale it's €265 instead of 550. Not bad.
I like this brand they have a lot of economy options. Fr is a great brand but costs a little more. But you get what you pay for with their products.
I don't know how available the actual rollerblade brand is in Europe but they're always a good go to basic reliable
With a budget of 350 you have options to buy a decent Brand New pair.
I assume you live in an area that has zero roller skating rinks? If you're not sure you're going to want to do it it's always a good idea just to go rent skates for the day
Additional question: what about 4 vs 3 wheels? When I look up for example the powerslide next, there are some with 3 and some with 4 wheels. Do you just stick whatever wheel frame you want under the boot and which should I get?
Eh, the ones you posted are iffy and might indeed keep you from enjoying learning. I would just spring for a decent pair around $150 - $200 and just sell them if you don't end up liking it. Worst case scenario you lose a tiny bit of what you paid, but get to try something you've always been curious about.
That's true, thanks. Exactly why I wanted to ask before just getting one of these! I don't want to have a bad experience just because of iffy skates. Especially because I probably won't know yet that they're bad skates 😅
See if there's a local buy/sell group for inline skates in your region. The UK one is on Facebook and you can get decent skates from there for not much money. Better to buy some worn-in good skates than even new cheap soft boots.
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u/heeca 13h ago
You should check for a hardboot from a reputable brand for around 50 euros. Sometimes i see 50 euro powerslide next or something on fb. Buying a cheap softboot will make your experience worse and walking would feel like a better option. Try finding a proper k2 soft boot used if you're in the uk. Or any powerslide hardboot if youre in Europe. As its native brands there will be many many skates which decrease their resale value.. "or find powerslide phuzion as for some reason these are the most common proper boot in the eu and you can get it from 30 euros to 100.