I have no experience with either but my wife and I are going to take the plunge this spring. We are skate skiers and will be moving to Eugene, OR at the end of May (not sure if Bachelor will still have snow this season). We have been skate skiing for four seasons and I have ice skated/inline skated since a kid if that makes any difference. Any advice on poles would be appreciated too. Thanks.
I have no experience with either but my wife and I are going to take the plunge this spring. We are skate skiers and will be moving to Eugene, OR at the end of May (not sure if Bachelor will still have snow this season). We have been skate skiing for four seasons and I have ice skated/inline skated since a kid if that makes any difference. Any advice on poles would be appreciated too. Thanks.
Rollerskis is the only way to go if you are skiers.
I live in Australia & got mine (skate) shipped over by these guys. I found them very helpful as I didn’t really know what I needed.
I got adjustable Skike poles but I think that was more to do with what would ship more easily. They do the job for my relatively novice purposes.
Excellent…thanks. No one will confuse us with Ola and Marit but we are working on it.
I have no experience with either but my wife and I are going to take the plunge this spring. We are skate skiers and will be moving to Eugene, OR at the end of May (not sure if Bachelor will still have snow this season). We have been skate skiing for four seasons and I have ice skated/inline skated since a kid if that makes any difference. Any advice on poles would be appreciated too. Thanks.
Rollerskis is the only way to go if you are skiers.
Halvard, I would generally agree with the above statement, but then I just watched some videos only for the Nordic Cross skates. They look pretty good and it seems they might be 1000% safer with built in brakes and big 15mm pneumatic wheels. My biggest worry during roller skiing is hitting a pebble that I don’t see at full speed and having the thing jam my wheel and then face plant on pavement. These look much safer. Also, I have some nerve damage in my left leg that has stopped me from skate skiing (I just did classic this year)…perhaps doing it in my running shoes (soft) might be good and not having the entire weight of the ski hanging off my toes and having it attached to my entire foot might help…just a thought. I really missed skate skiing this winter although it was nice to work on my classic.
I have no experience with either but my wife and I are going to take the plunge this spring. We are skate skiers and will be moving to Eugene, OR at the end of May (not sure if Bachelor will still have snow this season). We have been skate skiing for four seasons and I have ice skated/inline skated since a kid if that makes any difference. Any advice on poles would be appreciated too. Thanks.
I have these (V2-150 with ankle brake) and like them a lot. Get funny looks here in California when I take them out.
Be forewarned, changing the tubes is nearly impossible. Jenex makes a tire changing jig that’s worth its weight in gold. You clamp the jig into your bench vise and it allows you to get the leverage you need. http://jenex.com/products/accessories/item/v2-tire-station
After changing one, I went to a bike shop and bough some Mr. Tuffy tire liners and some slime sealent. All my wheels now have them installed so I hope to never have to change another until it wears out.
Jenex has some of the best gear and prices in North America - http://jenex.com/...ex-retail-price-list
Any advice on poles would be appreciated too. Thanks.
Good not great poles, that is with some carbon but need not be top-of-the-line, with roller ferrules. The Excel poles for around $100-110 at Nordic Skater looks like great value for that.
I have V2s, use old skate poles with roller ski tips. My next pair of roller skiis will be Marwes. There is a small shop in VT called www.nordicskater.com that has everything you would need and is well priced.
I don’t have any experience rollerskiing, but every year I think about getting a pair. I ask my buddies what brand they like and they all say something to the effect of “you know you’ll fall, right?” And I know one regular rollerskiier who gave his away as he worried to much about taking a spill, so I’ve held off. I don’t say that to scare you away from them, but rather to suggest that you ease into it; (None of the buddies have had any serious injury.)
Others have mentioned NordicSkater; I’ve ordered once from them. I really wanted to like that place–interesting selection (I love my Exel world cup poles-- they were half the price of comparable poles) and good prices. But man, my experience was a headache-- the online reviews match my experience. I won’t say don’t order from them, but if you do, go in with low expectations, assume that they won’t reply to emails, and you might come out happy.
-Mark
I’m going to opt for the slower wheels and I’ll have a helmet, knee and elbow guards on. I’ll also be restricting myself to flat, smooth surfaces. Can’t be anymore dangerous than the downhill mountain biking I do. My friend who is an accomplished biathlete said he uses his more for technique work and will run and ride for his endurance and high intensity training during spring, summer and fall.
I’ve used Nordic Skater for my skis and Nordic skates and they were excellent recommending different setups and the delivery was swift (I was living in NY state at the time and they are in VT). Smaller companies can be a crapshoot though.
Thanks for the information.
I do think you need to assume you will fall. I would recommend gloves and a helmet. I alos think you need a really wide shoulder if you are on the roads, I use a stretch that has a 6 foot shoulder. Knee pads are good too if you are really new ot it.
I have wrecked 2 times on roller skiis (actually 3 but one was trying a jump off a curb!), nothing worse than wrecking on a road bike at slower speeds. Some road rash but that was it.
I’m going to opt for the slower wheels and I’ll have a helmet, knee and elbow guards on. I’ll also be restricting myself to flat, smooth surfaces. Can’t be anymore dangerous than the downhill mountain biking I do. My friend who is an accomplished biathlete said he uses his more for technique work and will run and ride for his endurance and high intensity training during spring, summer and fall.
I’ve used Nordic Skater for my skis and Nordic skates and they were excellent recommending different setups and the delivery was swift (I was living in NY state at the time and they are in VT). Smaller companies can be a crapshoot though.
Thanks for the information.
It is more dangerous than downhill MTB since it is done on roads. If you can find empty (ie closed to motor vehicle) roads/paths, that is a different discussion. You will fall and you will have trouble stopping in an emergency (grass shoulders are great options).
The bigger question/comment I’d have is why are you looking to rollerski? Are you trying to improve your race times in skiing during the winter? If that isn’t the reason, I would suggest not bothering to do it. Basically when an elite skier retires, they will likely never rollerski again. It is something they do because they need the specificity during the summer, not because it is an amazing activity. Cycling, running, hiking in the mountains with ski poles are all way more fun (IMHO).
Your second paragraph is sage advice and is just what I was looking for. Thank you…I’ll save my money to save up for a new downhill bike.
I’ve used Nordic Skater for my skis and Nordic skates and they were excellent recommending different setups and the delivery was swift (I was living in NY state at the time and they are in VT). Smaller companies can be a crapshoot though.
Yeah - I bought a pair of skis from them in 2011. I emailed them with a question about their stock and got good info in the answers - I placed the order and got the skis no problem and love them. I highly recommend that place for value.
You wrote:
The bigger question/comment I’d have is why are you looking to rollerski? Are you trying to improve your race times in skiing during the winter? If that isn’t the reason, I would suggest not bothering to do it. Basically when an elite skier retires, they will likely never rollerski again.
This is actually wrong, not only a little wrong, but really wrong. Rollerskiing is a good activity from you are 13-14 and until you are 6 feet under. I am not sure where you have your information from but rollerskiing is an essential part of preparation for skiing no matter age. If you are a skier you need to train your upper body.
I will recommend rollerskiing to all ages. It is a really good and essential way of training for xc-skiing. And YES age groupers are using it.
So, reading comprehension 101. I said if you are looking to race faster on skis, that rollerskis makes sense. If you are a rec skier that doesn’t race, or isn’t serious about racing, there are many safer and more enjoyable ways to get a workout in the summer. Also said that some areas have better roads and safer places to rollerski. In Canmore we had a dedicated training loop and a 25km path better towns. In Toronto I wouldn’t recommend it as a safe activity.
Would it help if I dropped names like Braten and Monsen as some of the coaches I’ve worked with. Or some guy named Harvey who finished 3rd on the circuit this year. The FIS guys rollerski because they have to, not because it is a great activity.
You are saying the rollerskiing is just for the FIS athletes and that is wrong.
First of all rollerskiing can be a lot of fun. It is a great way if you cannot run a lot, or you want an upper body activity.
Why should you do rollerskiing, the same way as you should do running, swimming or cycling. Because you like it.
I will be surprise if Norwegian coaches are saying that you should stop training on rollerskis when you stop competing on world cup level. That is not what is common in Norway.
I am over 40 and I do rollerskiing because I like it. It is fun and I am not the only one here on the east side of Seattle.
You know, you’re right. Everyone should rollerski all the time. It’s an amazing activity.
You know, you’re right. Everyone should rollerski all the time.Nice strawman.
You know, you’re right. Everyone should rollerski all the time.Nice strawman.
Thank you 