You know you're a skate junkie when...
Franklin's UsenetSpamTrap
I got to try out Fila's F100 today... Wow! Apart from being impressed by
the hardware I'm also impressed by myself. I really didn't think I could
skate in a low cut carbon boot as I have tried a similar type boot
skating long track on ice without success. But now I've got the feeling,
and it feels good! :-)
Per, one of our instructors, had bought a couple of new skates from Fila
and a lot of us have been testing and buying the M90 (4x90 high cuff),
Nighthawk 90 (4x90 active steering), M100 (4x100 high cuff) and now F100
(4x100 racing). The F100 is a carbon heeled boot with a teeny bit more
padding than a custom boot, but in the same style. The boot is softer
over the foot and has ordinary lacing and a micro clasp. I am not sure
if it is heat moldable like Powerslide's boots though. I got to try out
size 43, much too small than my usual 44/45 I thought, but I managed to
get my foot in. No way was I going to survive the foot crushing pain,
much too small across although my toes were free. And then I stood up...
They were so slippery and unsteady, almost like my first time on skates
5-6 years ago, and somewhat like being on ice the first few minutes,
very unlike the M90 4x90 I tried earlier this summer... Very strange. I
then spent the next 2 hours on 100 mm! Yihaa!!! :-)
It took me an hour to feel comfortable on them, just stroking and
finding my balance. A half hour more and I could do left crossovers. Two
hours and I was about as relaxed as normal. They are so smooth and
energy efficient it feels, I hardly have to push to get some speed up.
After two hours it felt like either my foot had adjusted itself or that
the boot had molded itself around my foot. No pain, just a bit tired.
There is a 5-10 m patch of bad concrete on our 400 m oval here in Oslo
and the 100 mm wheels just roll over it with much less vibration than I
am used too. Running over the gutter around the oval was also smoother.
I tried running them over some pebbles, but that felt more or less the
same as the 5x80 mm wheels I am used too.
I finally got this carbon boot thing about energy transfer at least. My
old skates feel mushy now! The boot really feels like it is part of my
foot. I didn't feel any acceleration lag, to me it felt very easy to
pick up speed. The ground connection is so much stiffer, somewhat like I
felt going from my very soft rec 4 wheelers to my then less cushioned 5
wheelers.
I also tried slaloming some cones with success. But it is apparent that
better technique is required, both in the push, turning, crossovers and
slalom. I might fudge something on my 5x80s but I couldn't do that now,
either the skates didn't want to turn or the push felt wrong. The 100 mm
wheels accentuate by bad right side, it felt much harder to glide on my
right foot alone.
On 100 mm wheels it's either Eddy's way or no way! :-)
And the sound! You know the different engine sounds those racing pods in
Star Wars make? Well, these skates sound just as wonderful! :-)
So, what are the cons then? Well, they are all my fault and not the skates.
I got rubbed raw on the inside ankles. My heels were not moving, but I
might have not laced the boots properly, I think I laced them to tight
to the toes and left the ankle too loose. Probably just from too much
sideways ankle movement though.
I felt the skate lacked a little in the arch support area in the
beginning, the sole felt too flat, but I am not sure really as the
feeling disappeared after a while. Maybe too small a boot?
No brake assembly in the package so I would not dare skate in town with
them, but it can be bought aftermarket. I did try long track style
braking and it seemed to brake faster or easier which is strange. I
didn't dare try snow plowing or slalom braking and I didn't want to mess
up the new wheels with a t-stop.
The thing is, I wonder if I would dare skate with them in town, they
feel so fast. Prime candidates for skate runaway!
After just two hours I would skate with them on a trail or in a flat
area, no problemo. But how they/I function in downhills and over
cobblestones would be interesting.
So now I've got to think seriously about 100 mm, I wish I could try a
size 44 though.
br
Franklin
-still smiling... :-)
dave...@yahoo.com
Franklin's UsenetSpamTrap
:-) They do it on purpose, knowing our affliction!
br Franklin
motorblade
ARE YOU SERIOUS
i just got my first pair of 100's and now i need to lust for the next
size up? When will the madness end?
fritz
B Fuhrmann
>> If you love the 100's wait til you try the 110's.
"motorblade" wrote ...
> i just got my first pair of 100's and now i need to lust for the next
> size up? When will the madness end?
Somewhere smaller than 100cm. (new size created by a friend's slip)
--
Bill Fuhrmann
Remove DELETE to reply
Ken Roberts
> i just got my first pair of 100's and now i need
> to lust for the next size up?
I'll wait for 125mm wheels to get popular. Enough of a jump to make it worth
it.
> When will the madness end?
Madness? Every time they introduce a larger size into wide-production wheels
and frames, it converts 15% more miles of American roads into fun places to
skate.
Too bad that I've heard some racing authorities are putting a limit on wheel
size for some official races. My picture is that one of the valuable roles
of racers is that they're motivated enough to push the limits on equipment,
and we all can benefit when they find something that works and it gets
distributed more widely.
Ken
dave...@yahoo.com
so I would call it enough of a jump to make it worth it. If you put
110's next to 100's they make the 100's look small. I have to believe
125's will come in some form or another.
Eric Edwards
>Madness? Every time they introduce a larger size into wide-production wheels
>and frames, it converts 15% more miles of American roads into fun places to
>skate.
>
>Too bad that I've heard some racing authorities are putting a limit on wheel
>size for some official races. My picture is that one of the valuable roles
>of racers is that they're motivated enough to push the limits on equipment,
>and we all can benefit when they find something that works and it gets
>distributed more widely.
As of this year, FIRS limits wheel size to 100mm and frame length to
500mm. This makes both larger wheels and 5x100mm impossible for FIRS
sanctioned events.
Mogema, however, does make a 4x110mm frame.
--
Photos and travelogues from Africa and Southeast Asia: http://www.exile.org
cul...@cse.ohio-state.edu
>500mm. This makes both larger wheels and 5x100mm impossible for FIRS
>sanctioned events.
wheels stick off, so that apace can be placed between the wheels on
the frame, and a 500mm frame can hold 5x100mm wheels. It might not be
easy to create an efficient frame, but it can be done. Or am I
misunderstanding the measurements here.
I can't wait until I can attach a bike to each foot. Then I'll have no
problems with some of the paths around here.
Eric Edwards
>>As of this year, FIRS limits wheel size to 100mm and frame length to
>>500mm. This makes both larger wheels and 5x100mm impossible for FIRS
>>sanctioned events.
>5x100mm shouldn't be impossible. Nearly half of the front and back
>wheels stick off, so that apace can be placed between the wheels on
>the frame, and a 500mm frame can hold 5x100mm wheels. It might not be
>easy to create an efficient frame, but it can be done. Or am I
>misunderstanding the measurements here.
My understanding is that the 500mm limit is total length. I.e., wheel
to wheel, not axle to axle. 5x100 would leave nothing at all for
clearance between the wheels.
Franklin's UsenetSpamTrap
> ARE YOU SERIOUS
> i just got my first pair of 100's and now i need to lust for the next
> size up? When will the madness end?
Actually I am waiting for skates like the bat swinging kid's skateboard
from one of the Back to the Future films!
Think about having hover shoes with a swiveling jet nozzle underneath
each sole... Rad, man!
:-)
br Franklin
-works over water too!
Franklin's UsenetSpamTrap
> I can't wait until I can attach a bike to each foot. Then I'll have no
> problems with some of the paths around here.
Have you seen these bike wheeled "skates" kiters use in the desert? Try
googling for this, I looked at these home made 20" wheeled frankenskates
on some kite websites a year ago. Very interesting!
br Franklin
-damn, frankenskate shows 429 hits, I thought I had coined a new word!
dave...@yahoo.com
Don't think they would skate well without a kite attached. I believe
125's will be an upper limit in wheel size but I could be very wrong
about that.
Franklin's UsenetSpamTrap
Interesting. The pics I say last year were of bike wheels, much thinner
and larger. I remember thinking then that with a kite pulling you across
the desert at a good pace it would make for interesting spills. But they
do look ungainly.
br Franklin
inlina
Eric Edwards wrote:
> As of this year, FIRS limits wheel size to 100mm and frame length to
> 500mm. This makes both larger wheels and 5x100mm impossible for FIRS
> sanctioned events.
Yes, but there are still non-FIRS events you can run larger than 100's.
Bill Begg has raised concerns on the potential damage 100mm is doing to
peoples knees. There seems to be a rise in non-crash related knee
problems this year.
CG
inlina
...you stop buying skates to fit a functional purpose and start buying
them on novelty value (my RB Coyotes and Bont XX's)
...the freight cost of a pair of skates is as much as the price you
paid for them (it cost about US$100 to get the Coyotes from the USA to
Australia!)
...you convince loved ones they need a new pair of skates to fill a
functional need they might not actually have just as an excuse to spend
money at a skate shop (my GF's RB Broskows and Salomon Crossmax's)
...you forgo getting a pair of skates at wholesale through contacts
cause it's going to be 2-3 months before they can get them and instead
search the state for the the last pair until the new shipment arrives,
drive an hour each way to get them, and pay retail (my daughter's tiny
Roces Orlando's)
CG