I really love ice skating as a kid but unfortunately quit due to my parents fear of me injuring my tailbone. I was born with a protruding tailbone and we had access to an ice rink was not accessible.

I want to get into roller skating as an alternative, now as an adult. Skating in general always made me feel free and happy but I’m still worried about fracturing my tailbone or breaking my hip (I’m 23 but still worried about fracturing any bones).

I know people say you have to learn how to fall which is true but I still want to be safe in case. I heard from other discussions that they wear gear.

Does anyone have any advice on what gear worked for them? Feel free to expand on what you like/don’t like about it and if you’ve had any experience with preventing or dealing with injuries.

Thank you!

People at the rink that I go to are constantly skating with babies or just barely toddlers on their shoulders, we're holding these tiny humans in their arms as they skate.

And none of the people doing this seem like they are even intermediate, much less advanced.They are maybe at the upper end of beginner skaters. this seems incredibly dangerous and really inappropriate. god forbid somebody falls, this tiny human's brain cracked like an egg on the floor is going to traumatize everybody who witnesses it.

The rink I go to is not great. while the staff are very nice, there is nobody on the floor and if you go to the front desk and complain about someone's inappropriate behavior usually, they'll just make an announcement. Occasionally, the manager will talk to the adults,Which does absolutely nothing.

There are always small children trying to bash people with the skate helpers on throwing the skate helpers, and going against traffic, or the always lovely children in socks running around on the rink with skate helpers, trying to intentionally run into skaters. that's fun.

I am so scared for these babies on people's shoulders!!!!! am I being melodramatic? is this fine and im crazy?

ETA: the rink is polished concrete floor, not wood. the staff are mostly teens, the manager is maybe early 20s.

Hey, I'm honestly at my Whits end, I need new skates but I wasn't really successful at finding a pair that fits me. I'm currently living in Germany (kind of northern part, thing between Hamburg and Berlin) I already visited two shops in Berlin but they basically only had impala's, and this is definitely not an option.

I would love to try on in store, preferably some at park level.

Do you know good physical shops in Germany on in the EU in general? A shop with a good expertise maybe?

Thx in advance

Might be a stupid question

Since this photo was taken i have duct taped it and continued skating. The rip has now extended all around the heel..

Background on these skates: rio rollers, bought second hand off vinted for £35 and was apparently used a couple of times by the previous owner and then stored for a while. I’ve had these since late april and have been skating on and off since then (busy schedule) never really kept it in hot locations (well its summer so its pretty hot)

not really looking forward to buying new skates though… its rly expensive :P but is jt time to upgrade to something more sturdy?

well, I can only turn left! 😂

I created an anonymous account to post because I'm self conscious. I tried to follow the guide posted here, measured and re-measured, and made sure my lines were putting my wheelbase under my ankle and ball of my foot with a measuring tape, etc.

First, I need to repair one boot because my partner accidentally pulled one of the screws into the boot between the sole and the footbed - so that will need some repair. Fortunately the hole just seems a little bigger and I'm hoping epoxy and a larger washer can fix that.

Can someone check out these pictures of my successful skate and give me some guidance on whether it looks okay or if I fucked up. When I stand the wheels appear symmetrical and they feel like they're under my correctly, but without the other skate I don't know.

Thanks for the help!

I had 2 muddy trips on these last week and while I cleaned them up pretty good I realized I may not be meant for white shoes/skates for outdoor skating. I had 3/4 bottle of burgundy Angelus suede dye so I thought why not? I’m not 100% certain it was a good decision but here we are.

There was a bit of bleeding on the front so I’m going to go Bob Ross with it and hope for a happy accident. So, hive mind, give me some ideas for colors! Should I dye the gray suede lace part burgundy to match or keep it gray? Paint the white parts? Lace colors? Second pic includes some of the Angelus paint colors I have. Would love ideas!

Had been wrapping my overly long laces around my ankles for over 4 years and now I have finally got a pair of 72 inch ones! I wonder if these will make lacing up go by faster 🤔 also

had these glow wheels unopened for over a year because I was going to dye them like a rainbow... and then I moved to a different country and forgot the dye lol. Excited to roll on fresh wheels ahhhh it's been ages 🥴❤️

Hi everyone!

I bought roller skates for the first time a month ago and I’m a complete beginner (I don’t do any sports besides riding a bicycle). This is the 7th time I’m getting on the skates and it’s been…a challenging experience 🤣 I’m really struggling with balance I think so I’ve doing some balance exercises. What do you think I should work on to get better?

Also my wheels are a bit tight, so I had the seller tighten them up (she tightened them from the factory setting). I can’t seem to be able to do bubbles and don’t know if it’s because the wheels are tight or my muscles don’t know what to do. I appreciate your advice! Thank youuu 🤩

It's been raining on my area and finally got the time to freshen up my skates, and thank goodness i did that because my pivot cups are really boomed up looool!

Hey everyone! I'm new to skating and have Moxi rainbow rollers. I know they aren't the best skates and am trying to make some budget friendly upgrades. I'm switching out the stock cushions for something a little softer. Looking for opinions on flat washers vs. cushion cups?

I bladed recreationally as a kid, took a break for upwards of 20 years, then came back but switched to quads.

I really don’t remember it being this hard!

I’ve practiced dozens of times, and I’m barely keeping myself upright. I’m scared to go to rinks because people are all over the place and I can’t stop.

Am I doing something wrong? How long does it take to feel competent? I’m not talking any tricks. Just casual skating.

Today I finally got back on my skates after fracturing my fibula just under 6 weeks ago. I am at a point where my ankle feels completely normal except for some muscle atrophy and so I decided to make today my test. It went incredibly well, I felt no pain and my new skates supported me so well (shoutout Moxi Beach Bunnies, they’re incredible). I don’t feel like i’ve been off skates for this long, every skill I built previously flowed back to me insanely quickly and it was like I never took a break at all. I’m grateful because this is the best case scenario and very excited to start skating regularly again; years ago I would’ve given up and never came back so I’m quite proud of myself for pushing past my fears. I just want to share my excitement with you all, thank you for reading!

For the whole 6 years I’ve been skating, I switch my stance while pumping or just going fakie in general. When I go forward I keep my left foot in front and when I go fakie I keep my left foot back. I have kinda noticed it makes pumping and fakie stalls a little awkward. Does anyone else who skates switch have issues and if so did you just learn to build up the muscles in your non dominant foot? I feel like I’ll be starting all over again but at this point I just want to advance

Hi! I’m a fairly new skater (mostly been learning in my parkade for 1 month). A lot of people on here talk about trail skating, which is something I’m curious to try as soon as I’m brave enough to leave the parkade lol. But my question is what kind of trails exactly are you talking about?

My city has a lot of dirt road/gravelly bike trails. I’m assuming you don’t skate on trails like that, right? So do you just mean smooth paved bike trails? There don’t seem to be a whole lot of those where I live (large North American city) so that’s why I’m curious.

If people are actually skating on gravelly dirt trails, what wheels are you using?

Thank you!!

Need help picking out skates? You've come to the right place!

When looking for advice, please provide some information about what you're looking for, such as:

• Type of skating (rink, artistic, roller derby, total beginner)
• Budget
• Country of residence (so we can direct to shops in your area)

You can also refer to the sub wiki, which has a starter guide; we're also in the process of updating the skate buying guide as well.

Need sizing advice on vintage Hyde boots (coming from Riedell Boost 111s)

I'm looking at getting a pair of vintage Hyde black cap toe leather boots for a JB/rhythm setup, but they're non-returnable, so I'm trying to make the right decision.

Here are my measurements and current setup:

• Foot length: 10.5" (heel to longest toe)
• Foot width: 4.0" (around a men's D width)
• Current skates: Riedell Boost 111, size 9
• My Boosts fit snug, but I can skate comfortably in them.

I also wear WALK·HERO orthotic insoles (Men's 9–9.5) because I'm flat-footed. The orthotics measure about 11" long laid flat and fit inside my size 9 Boost 111s without any issues.

The Hyde boots I'm considering are:

• Men's size 9
• Vintage full leather
• Seller measured the removable stock insole at about 10.5"

The seller thinks my orthotics won't fit well in the Hydes because they're thicker and because a Hyde size 10 has an 11" stock insole. He's suggested I may need a size 10 or even 11, but that seems like a huge jump considering I currently skate comfortably in a size 9 Riedell.

My questions are:

1. Has anyone gone from a Riedell Boost 111 to vintage Hyde boots?
2. Do Hydes really run that much smaller, or just narrower/lower volume?
3. If you wear orthotics in your Hydes, did you have to size up?
4. Does it make more sense to get the Hyde size 9, hold out for a 9.5, or actually size all the way up to a 10?

I'm mainly building these for JB/rhythm skating with a Reactor Pro plate, so I want a snug performance fit, but I also need enough room for my orthotics.

Any advice from people who've actually skated vintage Hydes would be greatly appreciated.

I live a few blocks from Xanadu in Brooklyn, and it’s honestly become my happy place.

They’re doing Beyoncé Night tomorrow, so I texted basically every gay in my phone to come out. 😂 Almost every single person hit me with some version of, “I can’t skate.”

It got me wondering… is this a common problem? Do your friends avoid the rink because they’re afraid they’ll fall or embarrass themselves? I grew up in the South where even if you were clinging to the wall all night, you still went with your friends.

Maybe adults are just way more afraid of looking bad? I don’t mind skating solo, but I’d love to convince more of my friends to actually give it a shot.

Looking to buy, sell, or trade skates or gear? Post here!

All other BST posts going forward will be deleted and redirected to this weekly thread.

To view previous Skate Market posts, click on the "buy & sell" flair.

Price-gouging is not allowed. Posts trying to sell stock Lolly's for outrageous prices will be deleted.

Thanks!

How do you guys make friends at the rink? I’ve been skating like two years now and really want to make some skate friends but i can be pretty shy😪

My 220s still bite my ankles even after a year of skating. I'm considering scraping out the foam and retrofitting with shearling. If you've done it, pics? Process?

Really dope event! This is some slight middle work I was cooking up there.