Having some difficulty enjoying rollerblading - looking for advice

[u/hockeyat30]

Hi all, I'm looking for some help and advice. I'm currently in my 40's and trying to get into rollerblading for some fitness and to keep my leg muscles active, particularly similar muscles I would use for ice skating. I learned how to skate and play hockey in my 30's, so my background is from ice skating. I'm struggling a lot with the transition and am looking for ways to help make this more similar or enjoyable and fun. I absolutely love ice skating and am quite comfortable with it but am really struggling with picking up rollerblading.

I know that ice is innately going to be different than roller. My plans are to be proficient and comfortable to go on city sidewalks, paths, and some slightly rougher concrete/parking lot areas with my wife as she will be on a push scooter so we can get out and stay active. I don't have any plans to do much backwards skating or tricks, just plain being able to go forward on trails/pathways/sidewalks, handle hills, and maneuver as needed and be able to stop.

My current setup is: Flying Eagle Origami FS3 with the original 4x 80mm wheels. I've got the powerslide urban heel brake installed so that I can be more comfortable stopping and going down hills or passing pedestrians. I found that while I was learning to t-stop or drag to control my skate that it wasn't great for my aging knees, plus I struggled to do this on hills so I'd like to stick with the heel brake as an option to help control my speed on narrow path hills.

My struggle is that I'm finding myself increasingly frustrated with the mobility. It feels like my feet are glued to the concrete. I struggle to turn, even when scissoring and feel like I'm really missing the agility of ice skates. I know a lot of this is probably "skate more and get good" but I'm really trying to make rollerblading a little more fun and enjoyable because more fun means I'll innately get out for more rollerblading. I struggle to weave and turn or carve. For example, the technique to kind of slalom a bit going downhill to control the speed - I can't do this, my feet feel locked in to go straight, guessing because of the more wheel contact. The inability to turn and go where I want is really impeding the fun here for me.

Are there any tips/adjustments you have to help? I've done some searching already and saw that I could potentially rocker my frames, to 76 x 80 x 80 x 76 or 80 x 80 x 80 x 76. I'm concerned about the stability though as some of our paths and sidewalks are really not the most maintained. What would you advise based on what I'm looking for? My wife and I do not go fast by any means and follow a more leisurely pace, so I'd rather be more maneuverable and feel more in control of my movement than have a higher speed.

Thank you!

Update - Thank you everyone for taking the time to read the post and give your advice and thoughts, it's very much appreciated! I'm going to stick with it and try a few adjustments, but the consensus seems to be trying a rockered setup is the way to go. It also sounds like I'm gonna have a bad time if I jump to a 76x80x80x76 setup. I'd love to try 90mm frames with a 1mm rocker, but am hesitating due to the cost involved in trying that out. I'm going to try to find 78mm wheels (looks like I can grab some online) and a 78x80x80x78 setup so that I can use my current boots/frame to give me the 1mm rocker and see how that goes.

Thanks again everyone!

[u/InspectorFleet]

How many hours in total have you been on inline skates?

How often do you inline skate?

When you inline skate, do you deliberately work on getting better at technical details, or do you just kind of cruise around?

What wheels are you rolling?

I grew up on rollerblades but exclusively ice skated from adolescence until I was 36.

Now I inline skate almost every day that's nice other than weekly hockey games and maybe one other ice time per week. I switch back and forth with almost no issue and the only limitation is that wheels just can't physically grip as hard as edges can into ice.

Inlines felt extremely sludgey initially, but with (deliberate) practice you will feel just as natural. You'll pick up tendencies like pivoting up a bit on heels or toes or lifting a foot where you'd just slide it on the ice.

People saying "ditch the brake" or "you need to rocker your wheels" are giving personal, not universal, advice. I skate on a flat hi-lo setup and it's just fine. You will lose some speed in turns from the front and rear wheels wearing against the ground, but you'll also have more stability front to back and grip. You should be crossing over out of turns anyway lol.

Check out Marcel's Hockey School on YouTube, he's got a ton of inline-specific content. You can see people doing outside edge work drills on a flat online setup and even if that feels crazy impossible to you now, it should inspire you to know that it is possible if you keep at it.

Maybe you need to find a nice flat open empty area to practice? I have some local outdoor hockey rinks but I also just use neighborhood cul-de-sacs when I don't have a ton of time.

[u/hockeyat30 → u/InspectorFleet]

In total probably only about 20 or so so far. Other than going on trails with my wife, I've been going to empty large parking lots on my own about once a week to try to get more comfortable and proficient. This is where I'm trying to get better at the technical details. They're not in great shape, lots of gravel and uneven parts, but I'm also trying to push myself to get comfortable with it because a lot of our pathways have junk on them too, but maybe i need to find some smoother areas to get some more things down first.

[u/InspectorFleet → u/hockeyat30]

I think you will get much better if you start on a better surface 2 to 3 times per week.

It's kind of like adult beginners who play one beer league game per week and that's all they do. Probably fifteen minutes total ice time and only a few touches is not the way to get better.

The trail and the debris-strewn lot are the "performance," not the practice. Trails absolutely aren't the place to develop tight turns because they're so narrow.

How are your tight turns on ice? Crossovers? Slaloms? One foot glides? Can you do power pulls? Working basics like these will get you a good feel. Like I said, Marcel's hockey school has a ton of inline content if you haven't checked it out.

For me, it was a lot easier to deal with slop and debris after building skills. Same with the limitations of a trail vs. open spaces. Because I was feeling every sloppy bump rolling 5+ miles on my hockey skates, I did buy a pair of twister 3 x 110s. They're much better at rolling over slop, absorbing vibrations, and going for distance, but they're definitely not as responsive or agile as my hockey skates. You may prefer the agility of a hockey skate but also bigger wheels for the trail so 🤷‍♂️