Entries Tagged 'Skating' ↓
February 7th, 2012 — Skating, Surf Skate Wake
To a lot of people, inline skating is likely seen as something as simple as putting on a pair of inline skates and rolling way. While this is true on a very broad scale, inline skating as a whole is quite a bit more than that. Inline skates come in a few different types, each specialized for the type of skating it is used for. There are 4 different types of inline skate. Those types are: Recreational/Fitness, Hockey, Speed, and Aggressive.
No matter the type of skate, all have 3 main parts: the boot, the frame, and the wheels. Brakes are rare on any skate besides recreational/fitness skates, as they otherwise only serve to get in the way. Some skates that are designed for simulating ice skating will actually have a toe brake, but for skates with a brake, the traditional placement is at the heel.
Now, the first question to ask in regards to inline skates and figuring out which is right for you, is what you will be doing on the skates you buy? If you are a novice, then you should start out on a basic recreational skate, and learn all of the basics of inline skating. If you have already been riding inline skates for awhile, then it comes down to what you want to do.
Recreational Skates
By far the most popular type of skate is the recreational skate. Recreational skates are designed for anyone who simply wishes to put on a pair of skates and roll. They are generally good for use on any urban surface. Pretty much every maker of inline skates will have at least one model of recreational skate, and more than likely, they will have many more. Different skates will have different features and be made from different materials. There are numerous types of enclosure systems, and they will have nearly as many ways to secure them to your feet.
Aggressive Skates
Aggressive skates much more closely resemble inline skates as they were first introduced. They employ a more boot like appearance for overall durability, with reinforced frames. The wheels tend to be smaller and harder for landing tricks. Also, more oft than not, they will have smaller center wheels and grind plates installed, as well as having reinforced boot heels for the various grinds and slides that can be done.
Hockey Skates
Inline hockey skates are pretty much exact replicas of ice hockey skates, but with wheels. The boot design is the same, and the wheel frames are made to be durable, stiff, and light weight.
Speed Skates
If you like going fast, like competition, or even both, then speed skates are for you. Speed skates are built similar to running shoes. Low profile, light, with a slightly raised heel, and sporting 5 wheels on each foot, these things are all about one thing, and that is going fast. It should be noted that speed skating is for those of a high fitness level.
Photo Credits: cesarastudillo
Originally posted 2009-10-13 03:18:18. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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February 3rd, 2012 — Skating, Surf Skate Wake
If you have been into inline skating for any decent amount of time, then chances are you have heard the term rockering before. You might even know what rockering is, and this will just be remedial information for you. But if you do not, then this could be quite enlightening for you.
Out of the box, most inline skates are configured in what is known as a “flat setup”. All three, four, or five (child’s skate, standard recreational or short racing skate, and full size racing skate wheel counts, respectively) wheeled skates will have the wheels set at the same height. This is a flat setup, and is an all around good way to start out skating. It is also the standard setup for recreational / fitness skating.
The next main setup is known as a full rocker, or banana / crescent. This involves setting your front and back wheels slight higher than your middle two wheels. This is going to provide the inline skater with great maneuverability, which is good for those who wish to emulate ice skating on dry land. It also provides less stability, so balance can be an issue. Obviously it should go without saying that use of full rockering should be used with great care, and then only by skilled inline skaters. Novice inline skaters will likely find them selves unable to control their direction very well, and will also spend large amounts of time on the ground, possibly with skinned palms or knees.
The next type of rocker is called a front rocker. This style of rockering has the lead wheel on each skate set high, with the trailing 3 in their regular placement. This rockering style is generally used by street skaters, and has two main purposes: the high front wheel allows the skate to better go over imperfections in the ground instead of digging in and stopping, while the remaining 3 flat wheels still provide you with a decent flat profile for pushing power, so that good speed can be kept.
Another type of front rocker setup is one sometimes used by inline hockey skaters, and involves the rockering of the rear 2 wheels, and using smaller wheels for the front two. This makes it resemble a flat setup, sine all 4 wheels are in fact touching the ground. It is purported that this setup provides better maneuvering in corners while still giving the speed of larger wheels when going straight, but this is debatable.
Lastly is the anti-rocker setup. This is the reverse of standard rockering, in that your front and back wheels will be on the ground, while your middle two will not. This, coupled with devices called “grind plates” facilitate ease of sliding along hand railings, curbs, benches, and other surfaces on which an aggressive, or trick skater may wish to grind. The means by which this rocker is accomplished can be done in one of two ways: use small wheels for the two center wheels, or raise the center two wheels. The use of small wheels is the most prevalent means.
Photo Credits: digicla
Originally posted 2009-10-09 03:47:12. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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January 31st, 2012 — Clothes Shoes and Gear, Skating, Surf Skate Wake
When it comes to inline skates, the wheels you choose to ride on could quite possibly have the biggest impact on how well you skate. Inline skate wheels come in many different shapes, sizes, and materials (or composition). Different wheels are made for different skating styles, so picking the proper set of wheels is going to prove to be a very important choice.
When you are out shopping for that perfect diamond engagement ring, if you have done your homework your choice of diamond will be based on a set of criteria known as the 4 C’s. Well, buying wheels for your inline skates also has its four basic criteria to be considered: your body weight, your skating level (novice, intermediate, advanced, pro), your skating style, and lastly, your comfort zone in regards to speed. There are 4 properties, those being size, profile, core, and hardness. These are all equally important, since they all have a direct bearing on your choice of wheels.
First up, we will go over the hardness, or durometer, of the wheel. The higher the durometer is, the higher the hardness of the wheel. Harder wheels will last much longer, but they will also transmit much more of the bumps and shocks of the ground to your foot and knees. In general, you will be able to find wheels in the range of 74A which is the softest, up to 88A, which is quite hard. The A denotes the durometer scale. The average recreational skater will be interested in wheels in the range of 78A to 82A, since these wheels provide a fairly decent compromise between grip and smoothness or roll.
In general, you will want harder wheels for skating on smooth surfaces like skating rinks or smooth concrete, if you are a heavier skater, or you value your wheels lasting longer over comfort of ride. In contrast, a lower durometer wheel will be wanted if you will be riding on streets and other rough surfaces a lot, area lighter rider, desire better shock absorption or just want better traction overall.
Next up is wheel size. Larger wheels will allow you to skate faster since they will provide less rolling resistance. Sadly, as you get larger, stability goes down, and requires the skater to be of higher ability to make good use of them. Smaller wheels will have lower top speed, but will provide for a much more stable ride. Aggressive skaters will generally go for smaller wheels for stability, because speed is not quite as much of an issue, whereas speed skaters will use the much larger diameter wheels for the decreased rolling resistance. Recreational skaters will generally find themselves with a choice of wheels between 72mm and 80mm. Be sure to check the users manual for your particular skates, because different models will have limits to the minimum and maximum wheel sizes they accommodate.
There will be more about wheels next time. Trust us, there is plenty to be said!
Photo Credits: y_katsuuu
Originally posted 2009-10-06 03:24:20. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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January 28th, 2012 — Skating, Surf Skate Wake
There is a great deal of interest in high tech deck skate park materials today as more and more people are becoming interested in the sport once again. As you watch the interest in skateboarding becoming more popular every year, there is more reason than ever for the innovations in skate park material to become high tech.
Recently there has been some information that skate parks and boards have been undergoing some changes over the years. Many of these changes are very high tech and will change the way that skateboarding is done forever. The materials that are used in skate parks has fueled a whole new interest in the design and building of the best skate parks in the sport.
There are some changes to skate parks in the area of water collection. Many times a hover board park or skate park will serve as a water collection area as well as the skate park. They must have high tech draining, filtration and methods for bringing the water where it needs to be after it is collected in the skate park.
The high tech deck skate park of the future can be an important part of your community. The simple fact is that if your city or town does not have a skate park, kids will skate in areas where you might not want them to be. When the town makes the decision to build a skate park, there is a greater ability to enforce safety rules and make sure that kids have a smaller chance of being injured while skateboarding. This is a great point to bring up to the city when you are lobbying for a skate park.
The skate parks can be designed to increase the fun that a skater will have while at the same time keeping everyone as safe as possible. If you don’t want the neighborhood kids using a vacant parking lot for skating, then a high tech deck skate park is the answer.
The sport has evolved over time to include many innovations in the boards and the tricks that they are able to accomplish. The skate parks have developed over time as well to become a safe place for kids to hang out and try their hand at the tricks that the pros use. It is also a great place to hold exhibitions for professional skateboarders to come and have events that local kids can participate in with their favorite pros.
With a little time and investment, a high tech deck skate park is a worthwhile addition to any community. When kids have a place to go where they can practice their tricks on the skateboard, there will be much less chance of kids skateboarding down city sidewalks creating an unsafe environment for pedestrians.
If your child is skateboarding, make sure that they are wearing the proper safety equipment while they are at the skate park. Helmets, knee pads and elbow pads should be worn to avoid serious injury. Make certain that your child has this equipment while they are at the local skate park.
Photo Credits: JanetandPhil
Originally posted 2009-06-04 05:54:25. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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January 19th, 2012 — Skating, Surf Skate Wake
Now do you see what I mean by these tolerances being mangled by the first few minutes of riding down the sidewalk? The pressure of you riding, along with the shocks of bumps and the cracks in the sidewalk will quickly add a lot more eccentricity to this groove, but nothing that you can truly notice at all.
These tolerances only mean something if the bearings are used in the capacity they were intended, which is high speed and precision industrial machinery. So for all that cash you threw down on some ultra machined, cryogenically treated ABEC 9 bearings, you might as well have just bought ABEC 1 bearings, because after about 5 minutes of riding, you won’t be able to tell the ABEC 9 from the ABEC 1. As far as speed goes, the only way those ultra fancy ABEC 9 bearings would begin to show you any benefit is if you were able to reach a speed of about 240MPH on a perfectly smooth surface, with 65mm wheels and grease as a lubricant.
If you want to know what things make a greater difference in regards to speed and bearing longevity, look at things like the type of seal used, as well as the materials used to make the ball bearings themselves, not to mention the precision at which the ball bearings were made. Harder bearings will last longer, and rounder bearings will roll truer, longer, and probably faster. Most ball bearings are made of either stainless steel, or chrome steel. However, as previously mentioned, you can get bearings that use ceramic for the balls from companies like Bones with their Swiss and Redz lines, and Quadline.
While there is no evidence these bearings are inherently any faster, one could come to the conclusion that they are superior due to greater hardness, and the fact they will not corrode like stainless and chrome steel balls will. They also will be lighter (though with being so small the weight savings is negligible), as well as having superior heat dissipation, for what that might be worth. They also require less lubrication that standard steel skate bearings.
Speaking of lubrication, this is one of the other methods by which you can actually make a difference in your skate speed and overall rolling distance, as well as significantly increase the life of your bearings. Teflon based oil lubricants work quite well (one article I read said Slick 50 One Lube was the trick). WD 40 can also be used, but being mostly liquid, they will offer no protection once the lubricant has been expelled. Personally, I only used WD 40 to de grease dirty bearings for re-packing. One could also use lithium based grease for longevity of the grease, while maintaining a lighter weight like oil for speed.
So there you have it, the real scoop on ABEC ratings. Feel free to educate your buddies on this stuff, or further look things up yourself for further learning.
Photo Credits: Wondershock
Originally posted 2009-09-24 03:21:37. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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January 16th, 2012 — Skating, Surf Skate Wake
In the worlds of inline and board skating, you will find many areas of much debate. However, one of the most contested areas you will encounter is that of skate bearings. German? Swiss? Ceramic? Stainless Steel? ABEC rating? So many choices, and so many opinions on what is better and what is not. When I was in grade school and into skateboarding, most boards had one of 2 types of bearings: cheap, crappy “American” bearings universally known by their shape which could be described as either mushroom, or T shaped like the Tetris piece, or “German” bearings, which were flat in that profile.
Needless to say, “German” bearings were the bees’ knees. They rolled smoother, longer, and generally faster. They were of much higher quality through and through, while the “American” bearings had cheap shields, generally a press fit cap style. They were sloppy and wore out quickly, as well as being slow in general. If you were rich, you could buy a pack of Bones “Swiss” high precision ceramic bearings, and you would get all the notoriety that came with it, provided you could skate worth a darn. One of the terms tossed around with the “German” bearings was “German Industrial Grade 3” bearings. Those, per all of my skateboarding buddies, were the best, bar none. They made you roll faster, ollie higher, kick flip more accurately, and anything else that could be attributed to such mythically awesome bearings.
If only us kids knew then what can be known now, we would have saved ourselves and our friends some cash, which we could then have spent on more important things like Garbage Pail Kids, marbles, skate shop stickers, and M.U.S.C.L.E. men, among other things. But I digress. Today’s ABEC ratings share a lot of similarities with the bearings of old that I and my friends knew, especially when it comes to sales pitches. Most notable of all being that a higher number equates to a better bearing. Now this is not entirely a lie. In certain industries, a higher number is indeed better. But this would be for reasons that pretty much mean jack for inline skaters and skateboarders alike.
You see, ABEC ratings cover a whole load of tolerance requirements for a bearing, but not much in regards to component quality, lubricant types, or any of that. So basically, ABEC ratings mean next to nothing for skaters at all. The tolerances and precisions that ABEC ratings deal with get mangled in the first few minutes of the bearings life by the simple act of getting on and riding down the sidewalk.
What am I talking about exactly? Well, let us just use the facts: ABEC ratings only specify the eccentricity of the bearings inner ring, or rather, its out of roundness. ABEC 1, the lowest grade, the max allowed out of roundness is .0075mm. As you can see, that’s pretty darn precise already. ABEC 3 is .005mm, ABEC 5 is .0035mm, ABEC 7 is .0025mm, and ABEC 9 is .0012mm.
Continued in part 2.
Photo Credits: Josh [unemployed IT dude]
Originally posted 2009-09-21 03:15:01. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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December 30th, 2011 — Skating, Surf Skate Wake, Tips and Tricks
One of the most popular questions that is asked by people learning how to roller skate has to do with the mechanics involved in roller skating. Many brand new roller skaters find themselves wondering how they can achieve acceleration in a forward motion while they are skating on a surface that is flat. Some new roller skaters believe that skating occurs when the weight of the body is shifted forward, back and forth or side to side in order to create a forward acceleration, but this is not quite the truth. So what is the truth about the mechanics behind the art of roller skating?
When you are skating on a surface that is flat using quad skates or inline skates, the safest and the most efficient way for you to achieve forward motion is for you to utilize side push in conjunction with only a minimal amount of body movement.
If you treat each skating foot as if it were an individual scooter, then the forward motion would come from keeping your body weight over only one skate at a time, the employed skate, while you are pushing to the side and then back using the other skate, which is the free skate. The more control that a skater has while keeping the feet close for the purpose of transferring feet, and the more that the skater is able to keep his or her body over the supporting skate or employed skater, the faster the skater will go and the safer he or she will be.
Skating occurs when a number of different right foot and left foot pushes are completed in a sequence, maintaining the concept of using each foot as if it were an individual scooter in order to generate the right amount of momentum. The only body movement that is required is a very slight shift of the skater’s weight in order to keep the main weight behind the head, the chest and the hips situated above the skate that is rolling.
Rollerblading or inline skating techniques are not difficult to learn, but it does take some practice to perfect moves like these in order to get the most out of the basic mechanics behind the sport. If you are not roller skating in this manner, then you are probably utilizing more energy than you should need to, making your inline skating inefficient. If you want to get the most out of your inline skating habit, you have to make sure that you are getting the most out of the mechanics behind the use of roller skates. When you perfect the art of the basic momentum and mechanics of inline skating, that is when you can effectively graduate into tricks and other skating endeavors to get the most out of what your skates are capable of.
Photo Credits: vanlaar
Originally posted 2009-09-04 03:33:50. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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December 21st, 2011 — Consider This, Skating, Surf Skate Wake
Roller blading is a name that has been applied to the inline skating sport as a result of the large role that the “Rollerblade Company” played in creating popularity out of the inline skating sport. Rollerblade, Inc. was not responsible for inventing, manufacturing or designing the very first inline skates. However, the Rollerblade Company or Rollerblade, Inc. was so successful in their endeavor to market inline skates and inline skating equipment, that it led to the term “rollerblading” becoming extremely popular when referring to sports involving inline skates. Not only was this popular at the time, but the term rollerblading is still being used today to refer to the sport, even though the official name for the sport of using inline skates is simply “inline skating”.
Regardless of which inline skate manufacturing company is responsible for building a specific pair of inline skates, most inline skates are simply known as rollerblades in this day and age. The name Rollerblade has become the symbol of inline skating for most people, unfortunately overshadowing a large number of inline skate manufacturers as well as leaving out a lot of information pertaining to the history of inline skating and rollerblading. Many people, despite having skated for years, are unaware of the true history of inline skating, attributing the design and invention of inline skates to Rollerblade, Inc. when they are not actually responsible for the design of the sport.
The official name for all rollerblading or for “blading” sporting is actually inline roller skating or inline skating. The correct name for any rollerblades that are manufactured by a company other than Rollerblade, Inc. is inline skates or simply skates, rather than rollerblades or blades. If you are actually using Rollerblade, Inc. brand skates, then you really are rollerblading. If you are using any other type of skates, then the proper description for the sport is skating or inline skating. The difference between typical skating and inline skating is, of course, the arrangement of the wheels on your skates. This is because inline skates are skates where four wheels are arranged in a straight line from front to back. Roller skates or quad skates also possess four wheels, but they are arranged in the four corners of the skate instead.
Learning more about the history of inline skating is a good way to generate an appreciation for the sport. You might be surprised at what you learn about how inline skating sports came to be and how the Rollerblade, Inc company managed to successfully market them to the point where “rollerblading” became the common name for the inline skating sport and the true inventors behind the inline skate fell to the wayside.
Photo Credits: Murky1
Originally posted 2009-08-26 03:17:59. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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December 16th, 2011 — Skating, Surf Skate Wake, Tips and Tricks
There are a wide variety of different skateboarding tricks that you can try to perform out there. They range significantly in terms of level of difficulty. There are a wide variety of different tricks that you can learn, depending on what your own skateboarding skills are and what types of tricks you are actually interested in. If you decide that you want to compete in different competitions then you are going to want to learn a number of different skateboarding tricks so that you will have a much greater chance of earning lots of points and potentially winning the competition.
For the people who are just learning skateboarding tricks for the first time, or if you do not have access to a skate park where you can learn, one of the more common types of skateboarding tricks is called lip tricks. Lip skateboarding tricks involve using a ramp that you can purchase for relatively cheap, or that you can build on your own if you so choose. It is going to take some time for you to get the speed and angle combination down when it comes to building ramps for skateboarding tricks, so keep this in mind and make sure that you are doing your research on the angle of the ramp and the angle of your board, otherwise you may end up having more difficulty with the trick performance. Performing skateboarding tricks is all about having the angles right, and having a bad ramp is only going to make it that much harder for you in the long run.
Another worthwhile category of skateboarding tricks for you to consider is flip tricks. You can easily master these types of skateboarding tricks, and then as you build up your own confidence level you will be able to try out other skateboarding tricks as well. The most popular of all skateboarding tricks is the Ollie, which fits into the category of flip tricks. Another type of flip trick is the kick flip. You are going to find a number of more advanced skateboarding tricks fall into this category as well, especially with more rotations than the basic tricks offer as well.
Another category of skateboarding tricks is pressure tricks, which involve placing pressure on different parts of the board such as the nose of the tail. You need to be really precise when it comes to these skateboarding tricks if you want to get them right the first time. Manual tricks also fall along these same basic lines, allowing you to have good control over the board if you are not moving quickly while you are performing them.
If you want your skateboarding tricks to make you feel exhilarated, what you might try is aerial skateboarding tricks. It will take you time to learn how to get the most out of aerial skateboarding tricks, but if you master what these tricks have to offer, they can be truly amazing. Keep this in mind when it comes to learning different skateboarding tricks and getting the most out of what the skateboarding tricks you learn have to offer.
Photo Credits: Jackson J Hillman
Originally posted 2009-08-21 03:39:49. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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December 13th, 2011 — Clothes Shoes and Gear, Skating, Surf Skate Wake
Rollerblading is a truly wonderful sport and it provides for great exercise, keeping you in shape. People from all over the world and all kinds of walks of life can enjoy rollerblading simply because its very nature is fun and easy. Coupled with the enjoyment of the sport of rollerblading, however, you also have some important safety measures that need to be followed if you want to avoid accidents, falls and injuries.
Certain rollerblading situations are going to be beyond your control, and knowing this is important. However, this does not mean that you should simply throw all caution to the wind. You may have to take a nasty spill occasionally while rollerblading, but you’ll likely only suffer minor scrapes and injuries if you are careful. You may also crash while rollerblading, which can result in a concussion or serious injuries if you are not careful. It is vitally important, as you can tell, that you use the proper rollerblading gear when you go out so that you can either completely avoid these injuries, or at least lessen how badly they injure you when they do happen.
First and foremost, the most important piece of protective equipment for rollerblading that you can have in your arsenal is a rollerblading helmet. You should absolutely never, ever go rollerblading without first securing your helmet properly on your head. It should fit your head adequately and it should be tightly attached in order to protect your head. If your rollerblading helmet is oversized or too tight, it will not help you. Oversized rollerblading helmets are not going to provide any kind of protection whatsoever, and on the other hand small helmets will be too uncomfortable, too tight and may even restrict your vision. The interior lining inside your rollerblading helmet is also important, as you need cushioning and padding in order to maintain protection and comfort.
You also need to make sure that you have the complete package when it comes to your protective gear for rollerblading, meaning that you should also have elbow pads, knee pads and wrist guards in order to keep yourself safe when you go rollerblading.
It is also vital that you learn the basics of rollerblading before you hit the streets. If you want to avoid rollerblading accidents then you need to be willing to practice all of the basics including rollerblading forward, rollerblading backward, stopping, turning and even falling. Do this before you hit the streets, because they are far less forgiving when it comes to crashing or potentially hurting yourself.
Other things matter as well. For example, you need to watch out for potholes and cracks in the road, you need to watch out for water and slippery oil, and you need to watch out for road hazards and road signs. The more aware of your surroundings that you are, the better off you will be in the long run. Rollerblading is not really a dangerous sport, but it can be if you are not careful.
Photo Credits: aprilzosia
Originally posted 2009-08-18 03:38:18. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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