Rollerski poles & protective gear

I've just acquired some used classic ProSki rollerskis, and am wondering if
I really need so-called rollerski poles or if I can just use my regular
training poles. Also wondering what's recommended for protection from the
inevitable asphalt face-plants, other than helmet.

[FYI, if I'm not comfortable on these, I'll be looking to resell.]

Thanks!

Well, you MUST have the proper roller ski tips if you roll on
pavement, because your normal tips will wear out in a single session.
Other than that, the poles are the same ones I use on snow.

For protective gear, I wear knee pads and elbow pads when it's cool,
and I risk it by 'going bare' once the temps reach about 70. I do
always wear a helmet tho, and I've used it. I've tried the roller
skate wrist guards with ski poles, and they interfere, so I use
cycling gloves.

HTH,
Erik Brooks
Seattle

----- Original Message -----
From: "David Snyder"
To: "Multiple recipients of list NORDIC-SKI"

Sent: Wednesday, April 07, 2004 10:16 PM
Subject: Rollerski poles & protective gear


I've just acquired some used classic ProSki rollerskis, and am
wondering if
I really need so-called rollerski poles or if I can just use my
regular
training poles. Also wondering what's recommended for protection
from the
inevitable asphalt face-plants, other than helmet.

[FYI, if I'm not comfortable on these, I'll be looking to resell.]

Thanks!

David:

I owned a pair of aluminum roller skiing poles and did not like them.
Too much vibration was passed along to my elbows/wrists. For this
reason, I would recommend using your regular ski poles. Definitely
replace the tips with carbide tipped "roller skiing" ferrules. Sharpen
them frequently with a diamond hone.

A helmet is necessary. I highly recommend knee pads as well. I use
biking gloves to protect my hands. Wrist guards and ski poles don't
cohabitate well. FWIW, I've thought about buying some MTB-style armored
shorts but haven't taken the plunge.

MOO,
Matt

David Snyder wrote:
I've just acquired some used classic ProSki rollerskis, and am wondering if
I really need so-called rollerski poles or if I can just use my regular
training poles. Also wondering what's recommended for protection from the
inevitable asphalt face-plants, other than helmet.

[FYI, if I'm not comfortable on these, I'll be looking to resell.]

Thanks!

Check out the Jenex Vasa carbon poles. Extremely lighweight at a very low
price.
Also, the Jenex road ferrules are great.
Fitzgerald

There are no inevitable "face plants' although small-wheeled
rollerskis are less safer than 100mm variety.

Rollerski poles are shorter than your snow poles even though you are
higher off the ground. Good snow carbon pole needs summer vacations too.
Get a carbide tip; Jenex is cheapest ($9) and the best.

You need some gloves - I use thin glove liner. If it gets too hot
put some duct tape on blister prone parts of your palm and keep
gloves handy anyway.

Wear the helmet. Do not wear elbow and knee pads. We rollerskiers look
like morons half the time anyway. Why add insult to an injury?

The theory behind it is : if you look like moron, you gonna
ski like moron too.
Everybody can fall, people with knee-elbow pads do it much
more readily - this is psychosomatic.

Serge:

A rather interesting albeit very incorrect post IMO.

Serge wrote:
There are no inevitable "face plants' although small-wheeled
rollerskis are less safer than 100mm variety.

Rollerski poles are shorter than your snow poles even though you are
higher off the ground. Good snow carbon pole needs summer vacations too.
Get a carbide tip; Jenex is cheapest ($9) and the best.

Why are rollerski poles shorter? My experience is not that at all. If
anything, if you're roller skiing on flatter roads you'll actually want
longer poles. Only if you RS on long steep climbs will you want shorter
poles. BTW, I do agree on the carbide tips!


You need some gloves - I use thin glove liner. If it gets too hot
put some duct tape on blister prone parts of your palm and keep
gloves handy anyway.

Wear the helmet. Do not wear elbow and knee pads. We rollerskiers look
like morons half the time anyway. Why add insult to an injury?

This certainly isn't the brightest statement I've read this week! If
you take that on face value, then I would highly suggest that you dump
the helmet, and make sure you wear the coolest, most radical garb you
can find. Don't worry about the implications of this.

Take a good fall at almost any speed and you'll either be happy you had
your knee pads or you'll wish you had them.


The theory behind it is : if you look like moron, you gonna
ski like moron too.
Everybody can fall, people with knee-elbow pads do it much
more readily - this is psychosomatic.

Whatever you say. Actually I haven't fallen since I purchased my knee
pads. Hmm, maybe that psychosomatic thing works better than I think!!

I hope the original poster discounts everything in your post.

MOO,
Matt

On Thu, 08 Apr 2004 08:56:25 -0400, ML
wrote:

A helmet is necessary.

Necessay?

No.

JT

On Thu, 8 Apr 2004, ML wrote:

. .

Wear the helmet. Do not wear elbow and knee pads. We rollerskiers look
like morons half the time anyway. Why add insult to an injury?

This certainly isn't the brightest statement I've read this week! If
you take that on face value, then I would highly suggest that you dump
the helmet, and make sure you wear the coolest, most radical garb you
can find. Don't worry about the implications of this.

Take a good fall at almost any speed and you'll either be happy you had
your knee pads or you'll wish you had them.

I've taken quite a number of falls on roller skis over the years (fewer
lately, though some), and never landed on my knees (or elbows). Hip pads
would have been quite useful a number of times, forearms have gotten
chewed up, the gloves have come in handy (and had to be replaced), the
shoes have gotten holes in them. The fastest, worst fall I ever took
(going down a hill I'd not scouted out beforehand, a truck coming up the
hill making slowing turns impossible, and the pavement deteriorating at
the fastest section) gave me road rash on my hip and butt that took weeks
to heal. Maybe if I'd had knee pads, I could have kneeled down and slid
on them :-).
-KS


************************************************** *********
Kenneth Salzberg
Hamline University
School of Law (651) 523-2354
1536 Hewitt Ave.
Sisu Skier - 50K Club St. Paul, MN 55104
************************************************** ****************

I have some MTB gloves that are well ventilated on the back ... nice for summer
poling.

Skip the pads, wear the helmet, and keep your eyes on the road and not on the
summertime distractions sunbathing along the parkways. The second you take your
eyes off the pave' ... your wheel will find that one stone to run over.
*SPLAT!*

:^P

jw
milwaukee

David, just practice and start out slow and take it easy. You might fall but
it's the same as regular inlining. You might have a pole incident---poles
hitting skis, boots or between legs or just getting in the way can happen.
The falls aren't bad usually. Pads do stop bleeding from the padded areas! :
) My worst was forearm---blood is very hot I found out---but elbow pads
might raise forearms off the ground. Gloves and helmet are great idea. For
starting out any pole will do---with rollertips. Classic is less pole
intensive anyway since poles are shorter. I didn't wear out my snow tips the
first time: I bent them over. The plastic collapses, not made for it. They
were still OK for snow after that (bent back). I learned RS classic a couple
years ago: I found it much harder than skate, which is just inlining with
poles. It took me maybe 10 outings to get comfy, then it was great. I'm still
looking for classic rollerskis myself---so email me if you bail out on those!
Thanks.

--

Jeff Potter
****
*Out Your Backdoor * http://www.outyourbackdoor.com
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