buckles vs. laces - INLINE
Steve LaSala
cons of buckles and laces. It would seem that laces might offer a more
individual fit, but take time to get on and off. Buckles look like they
might be faster on/off for transportation-around-town purposes but I worry
that they might be too rigid (like an alpine ski boot) for good skating.
How about the combination of laces and a top buckle? Any enlightening opinions
and experiences would be welcome.
Luis Alves
I haven't tried a pair of buckles that fit my foot so far. I am
looking at laces now.
Luis
Ellis Kim
I used to own rollerblades, low end, laces only. I found the laces only to be
a real pain. After about 5 minutes i needed to retighten around the ankle which
is timeconsuming with the laces.
i just recently moved up and invested in some bauer's xt7. these have combina-
tion laces and one buckle around the ankle. seems to work just fine for me.
doesn't cut down on time to don them and take them off, but gives good fit and
is easy to retighten. i tried bauer's all-buckle inlines, but they didn't fit
well on my foot. don't know why. the buckles are adjustable, so i don't think
that the fault is with the buckle design.
my $0.02.
ellis
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Young Sul
they took about 20 minutes to get them tight enough for me. After about
an hour of skating, I'd have to tighten AGAIN...bogus!
With my Aeroblades, it takes me very little time to switch from skates to
shoes...I don't find the buckles restrictive at all. The best part is that
I can get better ankle support with a buckle than with laces. One problem
you may encounter is that its easy to over tighten with buckles -- be careful
or you might cut off the circulation to your feet!
-y
Greg Bowne
>In article <1992Apr13.1...@cs.cornell.edu> las...@cs.cornell.edu (Steve LaSala) writes:
>>
>> I'm debating between models of inline and wondering about the pros and
>>cons of buckles and laces. It would seem that laces might offer a more
>>individual fit, but take time to get on and off. Buckles look like they
>>might be faster on/off for transportation-around-town purposes but I worry
>>that they might be too rigid (like an alpine ski boot) for good skating.
>>How about the combination of laces and a top buckle? Any enlightening opinions
>>and experiences would be welcome.
>
the deciding factors for me buying inlines. None of the lace only skates that
I tried on really fit that well, and I didn't feel that lacing really made much
of a difference in the fit of the boot--they were still pretty flimsy around
the ankle. I settled on a pair of Roces Seoul (SEL) which just has an ankle
buckle and no adjustments across the top of the foot, only because the boot
really fit me well, and didn't need any adjusting across that area. The buckle
combined with a solid shell that wasn't broken by a lacing area gave me the
support I was used to. (I use Reidel Royal figure skates)
Greg Bowne
93...@vax.cc.williams.edu
Anthony D. Chen
>>
>is easy to retighten. i tried bauer's all-buckle inlines, but they didn't fit
>well on my foot. don't know why. the buckles are adjustable, so i don't think
>that the fault is with the buckle design.
Bauer has an all-buckle skate now? Pray tell, what is the model name
for this skate? I'd be interested in the stats for this skate. Last I
knew of, they didn't have a buckle skate. But I guess they're matching
all the other manufacturers now (unless the above poster was mistaken).
-Tony Chen
adc...@phoenix.princeton.edu
Ellis Kim
Me: is easy to retighten. i tried bauer's all-buckle inlines, but they didn't
Me: fit well on my foot. don't know why. the buckles are adjustable, so i
Me: don't think that the fault is with the buckle design.
Tony: Bauer has an all-buckle skate now? Pray tell, what is the model name
Tony: for this skate? I'd be interested in the stats for this skate. Last I
Tony: knew of, they didn't have a buckle skate. But I guess they're matching
Tony: all the other manufacturers now (unless the above poster was mistaken).
Yeah, I just checked it out again, because i didn't have the model number
in my memory banks (sheez, the things one does for one's fellow netters ;-)
Anyway, the model number is Bauer XF-3. It's an all-buckle skate. The reason
Tony hasn't heard of it is probably because it is a women's inline. And as
such probably of no use to the original poster. Sorry. Didn't realize it
was a women's skate until i checked it out again today. The shop didn't know
if Bauer was coming out with a men's all-buckle skate. Don't know what stats
you would be interested in.
Am i reading correctly between the lines that you are not in favor of all-
buckle skates? If yes, what is the reason? I have no experience with an
all-buckle skate , but if the xf-3 had fit my feet, i would have probably
bought that one. It does seem as if the buckle thing would be extremely
convenient.
== Ellis
Anthony D. Chen
>in my memory banks (sheez, the things one does for one's fellow netters ;-)
>Anyway, the model number is Bauer XF-3. It's an all-buckle skate. The reason
>Tony hasn't heard of it is probably because it is a women's inline. And as
Ah, silly me. I knew of the Bauer Women's skate long ago. Of course,
being male, it didn't stick in my mind too well 8-) Actually, I think
the main reason I didn't remember is that it's an all *velcro*-buckle
skate, which makes a difference (to me anyway). It's not even the velcro
buckles + clip buckles of the Macroblades. It's all velcro. IMHO, it seems
like this method would wear out the velcro all too soon. Velcro on, velcro
off, velcro on, velcro off (ala Karate Kid)...
>Am i reading correctly between the lines that you are not in favor of all-
>buckle skates? If yes, what is the reason? I have no experience with an
Hmmm, did I sound anti-buckle in my post? I'm quite the opposite! 8-)
I started out on Aeroblades (3 rachet buckles) and I'm still on 'em. The
buckles allow for really quick transitions from shoes to skates and back,
being able to adjust the support while rolling is very useful, and the
light weight is good for jumping stairs too 8-).
Happy shredding...
-Tony Chen
adc...@phoenix.princeton.edu
Dale
Christmas and they have laces halfway up the skate and a top buckle. Whoever
designed the buckle should be shot because it keeps slipping whenever I put
some pressure on it (skating backwards, things of that nature). I usually
tie some laces around the buckle and this seems to help. If I were buying
new skates for myself, I would go with laces all the way.
Dale English
Gary Robishaw x5960
better. You are, of course, correct about the speed issue. Buckles _are_
faster than laces. A key seems to carefully examine the method used to
attach the buckle to the boot. My daughters boyfreind is on his second
pair of RollerBlades (forget which model, but they are a combination lace/
single top buckle). The first pair he had lost a buckle on his _first_
outing. The buckles are held on with a single rivet. I would expect him to
lose another one with this pair. I'd look for buckles that had at least two
attachment points. Does anybody know if any one makes these?
Gary
PS - He bought them at Herman's who immediatly replaced them.
--
Gary Robishaw "The only trouble with instant gratification
robi...@uranus.lrmsc.loral.com is that it takes so long!"
408/432-5960 Me
Usnail -- 3151 Zanker Rd. San Jose, Ca. 95134-1928
Ian Clements
I used to be a fan of buckles. Now, I'd much rather use
laces. Go with the cotton ones rather than synthetic kind. They
seem to retain tension better.
--
--
Ian Clements, i...@sgi.com, 415/962-3410
Jan Steinman - CONS
... You are, of course, correct about the speed issue. Buckles
_are_ faster than laces.
Why, just the other day I was at a race, and ALL the top finishers had
buckles! Some of them only had four wheels, even! (Sorry, couldn't
resist! :-)
--
::::: Jan Steinman stei...@is.morgan.com Bytesmiths :::::
::::: 2002 Parkside Court West Linn, OR 97068-2767 :::::
::::: 503/657-7703 212/956-8722 :::::
Phil Earnhardt
>Go for the laces. I have a pair if RollerTech inline skates that I got for
>Christmas and they have laces halfway up the skate and a top buckle. Whoever
>designed the buckle should be shot because it keeps slipping whenever I put
This is probably more a commentary on how RollerTech attaches the buckles than
a categorical reason to avoid buckles entirely.
In order to work well, it's necessary for the lever arm of the buckle to be on
the side of the boot, and for the prawl (the thing that ratchets) to be near
the front of the boot. Most skates have some sort of overlap on the piece of
boot plastic that the prawl is riveted to.
Look at the Rollerblade skates; they do not have the problem of releasing the
buckle when there's forward pressure on the boots. I'd guess that the Bauer
and SwitcHit and Ultra Wheels and the Roces skate designs are equally
competent. A stupid design can easily cause release with forward pressure on
the buckle.
>If I were buying new skates for myself, I would go with laces all the way.
Hmmmm. I think the lower lace with an single ankle buckle is a nice tradeoff.
>Dale English
Phil Earnhardt p...@netwise.com
Netwise, Inc. Boulder, CO (303) 442-8280
l...@cunyvms1.gc.cuny.edu
Whether buckles or laces depends on what distances you plan on transporting
yourself. For short distances which involve removing skates upon arrival, I
would choose buckles. For very long distances where comfort is a must I would
use laces. Laces are more comfortable but more time consuming to use.
Buckles are quite easy to handle and are quite comfortable You can usually
adjust the degree of tightness, but the fit is not as adjustable as is the fit
with laces. You might try a combination of the two.
Anthony D. Chen
>
>In article <1992Apr13.1...@cs.cornell.edu>, las...@cs.cornell.edu (Steve LaSala) writes:
>>individual fit, but take time to get on and off. Buckles look like they
>>might be faster on/off for transportation-around-town purposes but I worry
>>that they might be too rigid (like an alpine ski boot) for good skating.
>
>adjust the degree of tightness, but the fit is not as adjustable as is the fit
>with laces. You might try a combination of the two.
There seems to be a slight misconception about all-buckle inlines.
Granted, they're inspired by ski boots and they look pretty darn similar.
However, you'll note that inline shells are no where nearly as stiff as ski
boots. Even the SwitcHits, with the high and tight upper buckle is fairly
flexible when you bend down. The Aeroblades, Macroblades, Gretzky Wings, etc.
all allow a fair amount of flex.
IMHO, all-buckle skates have just as good a fit as lace-only skates, if
not better. As an Aeroblade-user I find it very easy to adjust the three
buckles to varying tensions even while I'm rolling. This allows me to have
a snug fit early on in a skating session, and when my feet get sweaty,
smelly, and a little cramped after 4 hours of skating 8-) I can loosen the
bottom one or two buckles for a more relaxing fit.
-Tony Chen
adc...@phoenix.princeton.edu
David Chinn
I live in Cambridge, Ma, and in order to get more skate time in,
I use them to zip around running errands: going to the store for
(small) things, dropping off the laundry, etc. I'm always getting
in and out of the skates. I used to have a pair of zetras, and
though they were a good first pair, the buckles on the Aeros, are
really convenient.
I've found that it's much easier to get a snugger fit with the buckles
than with the laces. But as I've become more at ease in the skates,
I've found that a really tight fit doesn't seem to be necessary, so
lately I've been skating with much looser boots than I used to.
david chinn
ch...@osf.org