Marwe 610; First 150kms

I have had my Marwe 610 rollerskis for ~3weeks and I have skied about 150kms on them. I have found these freestyle rollerskis simulate the real thing better than other freestyle rollerskis I have used.

Specs
- Freestyle Technique
- Honecomb Chassis
- Weight ~ 1.75kg/pair
- Clearance ~3.5cm
- Wheels 105x25mm
- Rolling Resistance = Medium

Price - $325
- $40/replacement wheel

Most of the rollerskiing I do is in the footshills west of Denver where (surprisingly) you will see more bicycles than cars, making for some ideal spots to ski. The terrain is mostly hills and the road surface ranges from smooth to rough.

Marwe rollerskis are imported from Finland by Finn Sisu out of Minnesota. I ordered my skis predrilled and I mounted the bindings. Mounting was straight forward. I found that threading the holes with the binding screws first(before mounting bindings) made the process much easier and insured the screws would go in straight when mounting the bindings.

The first thing that caught my attention when I tried the skis was the snow-like feel they have. When the ski is compressed the honeycomb shaft flexes somewhat like a snow ski. This also dampens much of the road vibration that a aluminum ski will not.

The wheels are 105x25mm. They roll over most road debris I encounter. After 150 km the wear on the wheels (or lack thereof) is good. The front and back wheels wear fairly evenly. I think this is due to where Finn Sisu places the binding - Which is more forward than what Marwe recommends. My old skis have the bindings mounted closer to the rear wheel, and I did not get even wheel wear. Marwe wheels come in four different rolling resistances (I think Finn Sisu only offers medium): very low, low, medium, great. The medium friction wheels produce a snow-like speed on all terrain.

The rollerskis seem fairly durable. My one concern is the bottom of the ski does make contact with the pavement when edging off the ski on occasion. The ski does have a protective plastic runner on the bottom, but as the tires wear and the ski clearance is lowered the ski is more likely to scrape the pavment and damage the shaft.

Marwe rollerskis come with plastic mudguards which can be removed if so desired. I have not used them in the rain yet so I cannot comment on their effectiveness in keeping wheel spray at a minimum. The mudguards are effective by keeping the skis free of dirt/grit which can damage the binding if it gets trapped under the boot.

There is one setback - No speed reducer/brake. Speed control has been somewhat of a problem. Hills are manageable. Anything less than a 5% grade can be controlled with a wide snow-plow. A steep hill takes a while to negotiate.

Strengths:
- snow-like feel
- relatively light weight
- tire wear
- rides over debris
- vibration damping
- mudguards
Weaknesses:
- speed reducers/brake (lack of)
- cost? (probably offset by long term cost w/ wheel durabilty)

Overall:

- Highly recommend as an effective training device to
simulate nordic freestyle skiing. 4.5/5 stars

Pics: click below "Attach Files" (low quality)