skikes

Anyone have an opinion on these?

dwall wrote:
Anyone have an opinion on these?
I tried something similar a couple years ago, 150mm wheels front and
back, but found that on all but a really hard surface (I tried grass,
stone dust (packed), dirt) it was like going uphill all the time.... no
glide.
gr

On Sat, 10 Apr 2010 16:48:16 -0400
dwall wrote:

Anyone have an opinion on these?

Hadn't heard of them. They are labeled skates and sold by a skate shop
in SF (skates.com), but seem to be bootless rollerskis essentially the
same as Jenex's earlier NordicXC skate, which had 150mm wheels (vs. 125
for these). Fairly heavy weight (distorts technique by forcing higher
foot lift), higher off the ground than is optimal, very convenient as
long as you can strap in comfortably, and great brakes (saved my rear
end a couple of times). Be cautious about tubed tires: Jenex had a lot
of quality problems, pain to change, need $40 Fox or similar pump,
subject to overheating on warmer days running longer downhills, and
Skike wheels are expensive ($90/pr in U.S., not clear if they sell
wheels only). Those tubes can probably be found through a medical
supply house. And the photos of rollerskiing on gravel trail... yeah,
right. Asphalt all the way.

Gene

I have them, but rarely use. Skiing on roads is just not in the same league for enjoyment as on snow. Like a totally different sport to me. I can ski alone for weeks, but can't get myself out the door on Skikes.

They're easier to skate than Jenex 150mm's (less tipsy due to shin braces and no XC bindings), but the off-road moniker is an overstatement. They just won't roll over a marble. Promotional vids are always of top level skiers, going downhill. Rolling down a steep gravel road is different from skating up it...
No free heels, but that part isn't really an issue.
I'll admit that for crushed sea shell or really fine crushed rock park style tracks, the resistance is quite pleasant. Those kinds of tracks to me are rare though.

Some call the 150mm air wheels "too fast" for real resistance training. They are not inline-fast though. They need 7 bars of pressure to somewhat work, which is way too much to work on anything but pavement. Really, such skates need higher quality, bigger, WIDER tires. The higher quality can compensate for the otherwise expected weight increase.

The brakes are really awesome, no way to over-state those. They are not for long descends though, I suppose, just braking short and hard.

For what it does, Skikes seem cheap compared to skis. No boots or bindings needed. If they'd offer a higher-quality product, same weight, better off-road roll, nicer shin braces (they "roll" laterally on my shins, introducing back the tipsiness I hate), I'd probably get them.
To me, they feel more restricting than liberating. I used to have Crosskates, which were way heavier, but somehow much easier to deal with. A cross-over of both, the bigger wheels, the better Skike's weight and brakes, etc, would make a great product.

On European forums, people are building their own skates. One guy made them from carbon, with 12" wheels. Rolls WAY better, at nearly the same weight. Same kind of brakes and shin brace. It CAN be done.

http://www.youtube.com/user/OmniBlader