Following to see if anyone else chimes in. I have a pair of inline speedskates from the late 90s, and your post has rejuvenated my interest. I haven't put my skates on in years, but they are low cut race boots, with 5 x 80mm wheels. I knew that the standard for inline racing had gone to 4 x 100mm wheels, and now I see online that there are 3 x 125mm wheel setups too. My cursory online research seems to indicate that the bigger wheels are better for cracks and rough spots on pavement. Now I'm wondering if I can upgrade my old race boots with new 3 x125mm frames and wheels.....

I don't have a lot of personal experience, but my sister has done a couple of inline marathons. Her experience is that the larger wheels result in a smoother ride and a higher average speed. I asked, and she recommended nothing smaller than 100mm if I were buying now.

She recently switched from 82mm on a speed skater boot to 110mms on a similar boot, and she loves the bigger wheels. I come from k2 aggro skates, which I think had 56mm. The boot was super supportive, but the wheels were pretty harsh.

Can't help a ton, but last year I picked up some used inline skates as my wife wanted new roller blades. 4x100mm wheels. She was scared at how fast they were. She ended up not using them and selling them to someone.

I would highly suggest either 4x100 or 4x110.

The bigger wheels roll better, roll over objects better, and last much longer. A 100mm wheel is a huge upgrade over 76mm or 80mm wheels.

Personally, I skate on 3x125. I race marathons competitively, and feel as though 3x125 is the fastest setup right now; however, they do feel a little less stable than 4x110 and in my experience they aren't as good over cracks and rocks. That seems counter intuitive that they are worse on cracks and rocks, but that's my experience. Some racers are going back to 110s, but I will stay on 125s. All of my personal best times in training and racing have been on 3x125, so i won't switch back.

But, i do think that 4x110s were more "fun" because they were easier to skate in. Unless you are looking for every marginal gain, get 100s or 110s. They aren't any more difficult to skate in than 76s, but you will be able to go faster, have a smoother ride, and you'll probably enjoy skating more.

Lol what on earth

Skating marathons? I only ever used mine for skateparks & ramps & such

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"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

It's an older video, but here's one of me skating: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hFUsOr6OwQ

Here's what a race looks like: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktfGBfkMgRM

I'm old and 53 but I still have my original "Roller Blades" yes thats the company name I use to use them as cross training. I would wear a helmet and I also wore wrist guards. I would also probably wear knee pads, I do remember it was a great workout going up hill. I should get them out and try it again.

110 mm wheels or 125 is the way to go. I’d you’re serious about this sport, then it’s worth the money to get a good heat moldable boot. I have some Bont Vaypors and they are some of the most comfortable shoes/boots I have ever owned. Bont skate sizes are different so it takes care to get the right size.

Thanks for the suggestions, videos, and expertise! What's your marathon PR?? Watching the pacelines and attacks in competitive inline skating is really interesting, so much like cycling.

57:56, but the course was a few hundred meters short.

My wife is looking into getting into inline skating for cross training. What would you recommend for an entry level pair of skates that would be good for non-recreational, aerobic, +1 long workouts?

I have watched some marathons. They're like a crit. Tons of breakaways and the 5 or 6 I watched ended in bunch sprints.

I was inline skating earlier in the spring because I'm having a medical issue that is aggravated by sitting on a bike seat. I have an old pair of Salomon recreational skates, 82 mm I think. I did a 4x4 VO2 workout up a hill on the grounds of the local high school which has no traffic. It was a killer workout. Hopping back on the bike after skating a couple of weeks I felt fine.

Years ago there was group of inline skaters that would show up for cycling group rides. They would form a subgroup and work together to average 20+ MPH for more than 60 miles. They had no problem keeping up with the group.

Something like the K2 Mod is what i would recommend, which is a 4x110 skate.

Honestly, I don't follow the cross-training type skates super closely. Just looking at a few websites, it looks like there is a big trend towards 3x110 or 3x100 instead of 4x100 and 4x110. I have a lot of experience on 4x100 and 4x110 and i liked them a lot. As i mentioned above, my 3x125s are faster but less fun and a little more difficult to skate in. It's probably mostly because of the increased height rather than the decrease in number of wheels.

Since the major brands i trust (rollerblade, K2, and powerslide) are all trending toward the 3x110 and 3x100, i'd say that's probably a good sign that the 3x110 and 3x100 skates are pretty easy to skate on. So that would be something like the Powerslide Swell or Rollerblade Macroblade. Sticking with one of those 3 brands and looking for something in the $200-$300 range will pretty much guarantee you get decent quality, long lasting, comfortable skates with pretty good wheels and bearings.

Something like the bont semi-race will get you into more of a speed-skate style but with a bit more ankle support. And it would be heat moldable. For most people, a higher boot will be easier to learn on. I wouldn't trade my low cut speed boots for anything, but they are specifically built for my type of skating. If i was just out for fitness and fun and not speed, i'd buy the k2 mod.

And leadouts too! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NK2LES2Khc

Double push!

Check out the Pro Berlin Marathon Inline Skating Videos on youtube. It's sick.
Like olympic speed skating only no ice, and they draft and do all the normal race stuff...sprint finishes, taking pulls, big crashes. I would love to get into it, but nowhere to practice it in Japan

2019, Vid on wet pavement.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrDYaifWXVE

Just out of curiosity, how riskier is it compared to cycling? I'm just thinking you hit a rut, pothole, sand or pebble on the road and your toast. Can you really go out on country roads? Do you stay on bike trails?

I'm interested in rob_bell's answer to this question too...

In my experience, it doesn't feel nearly as easy to stop or handle hills on skates as on the bike (no gears, no brakes on the wheels themselves). You also take up much more space laterally, and are more sensitive to small ruts or grooves in the pavement. So overall not nearly as versatile as cycling. Bike paths or wide flat roads with little traffic are more or less the only places I skate, but stronger skaters with urban skates can be far more versatile about obstacles.

Great questions.

I typically stick to bike trails or hill repeats on low-traffic roads that i know well. A bike takes up about a 2 foot wide section of road. When skating, I take up about 6 feet.

The bigger wheels handle cracks, ruts, and shallow potholes a lot better than the old school skates with small wheels. I'm not nervous about crashing on obstacles, but i am worried about being mowed down by drivers. Plus, i really don't like being in the way. I feel like a car can pass me a lot easier when I'm on my bike than my skates.

Rough roads aren't that dangerous, but road vibration can get pretty bad on chip and seal type roads.

It's been a while, but I used to skate behind group rides (with people i know well). It was a ton of fun. I had an ex-pro cyclist friend that would be my brake. I could be behind him and when we needed to slow down i could put my hands on his back and he could use his brakes to slow us both down. I could easily slow down by dragging my wheels, but that gets expensive. In headwind and up climbs i could hang in well. Down hills or in tailwind, they could drop me pretty easy. The top end on skates (no gears) is slower than bikes.

It's excellent cross training. An hour of skating leaves me way more worked than an hour of riding. If you are keeping good form (long powerful stroke, keeping your knees bent and butt low) you are automatically going to go fast and have a high heart rate. Just imagine doing a wall sit or air squats for an hour, and that's about how it feels.

Finally have my skates in front of me to comment. I have 2 pairs. Standard fitness skates (probably K2 and 82 mm), and Rollerblade SG9 speedskates (4 x 100). I bought the latter for the Berlin marathon & did the back-to-back skate and run in 2011.

My 2 cents.
- Ease, the smaller wheels have a shorter overall length on the ground so are more maneuverable, easier to do cross-overs, change directions, stop with the brake. But they feel slow. The 100's are a longer wheel base and therefore you need to be more purposeful with cross-overs, particularly right over left if the brake is left on. The brake is really awkward to use b/c the wheel base is so long.

-Comfort, the 100's feel superior over cracks, small rocks, uneven pavement and sure, sometimes you feel a hickup in your momentum when you hit something (ie cobbles, rumble strips). Keep your weight low and you should be fine. Also on this topic, as a female I have to say how bloddy uncomfortable most "unisex" boots are to me. All the upper strapping sucks - cuts off my calf without actually providing any stabiity. My vote would be a low racing boot (eg Bont) and develop your ankle strength.

- Where to use. I generally use a paved multiuse trail at less popular times b/c I can hit 17 mph in a snap in the 100's but can't stop for shit. I've skated in a beach town w/ gorgeous new asphalt and a breeze at my back and was blasting along in an on-road bike lane, pretty concerned about the potential for cars to pull out of strip malls. Again, maybe an idea best enjoyed during off hours. My most enjoyable in-line skating was at the old Berlin airport, which is a public park now (or was in 2011, at any rate). Can't beat airplane landing strips for long fast laps. Anyway, waaaaaaay less control than when on a bike.

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To breathe, to feel, to know I'm alive.

This thread has piqued my interest. I used the heck out of a pair of Rollerblades I had in college but haven’t even thought about inline skating until now.

My neighborhood has a lot of sidewalks, but they have small joints every 4-5 feet. Sounds like a 3x100 or 3x110 would be a better match for that? Or would sidewalks be incredibly annoying to skate over regardless of the type of skate?

Also, with a good set of skates, what’s a typical cruising speed and what is an upper end speed? I realize it’ll depend on the individual, but for an average fit and experienced skater.

I have pretty decent fitness carryover from running + cycling and find I can average 15-16 mph on a flat quiet road loop with good pavement (using old 4x76mm skates which are likely quite slow). This is piddling along relative to what people like rob_bell are talking about (marathon in less than an hour!), though much of the fastest skating in races is of course aided by pacelines.

I would guess sidewalks are generally going to be unsafe for skating speeds once you are comfortable with spending most of your time low and your push gets decently forceful, unless the visibility and surface is exceptional and the sidewalks are quite wide.