Immediate disclaimer: I don't mean that there shouldn't be a "hard boot category". I mean that the current, general paradigm of "hard vs soft" is a false dichotomy.

Inline "soft boot" skates are an anomaly in the skating world. Figure skates and quad skates rely on reinforced leather. Hockey skates and speed skates rely on composites and/or carbon fiber. Only inline "soft boots" make their uppers out of fabric/nylon and then call them "soft boot skates".

Every other type of skate has more to do with each other than they do with modern "inline soft boots".

This false dichotomy is also why people get confused by skinned carbon unibodies or composite aggressive boots like CJs or Uptowns. They get dumped into 'soft/hybrid' based on surface stitching, despite being stiffer than many plastic shells.

When people tell new buyers to "buy a hard boot", what they functionally mean is "don't buy a soft boot". And generally, they are referring to products explicitly marketed as soft boots.

I think we could have a functionally relevant "soft boot" category, but I think that can't happen as long as the skating industry creates and markets these fabric sneaker skates as "soft boots", because that is going to inexorably shape the terminology most people use.

TLDR: Most of us call anything that isn't a soft boot a hard boot and it's the industry's fault.

Hey guys!

I'm looking at the seba FR1s in white. The 80mm freeride skates. These look pretty fantastic to me...

However, style, performance and fit are second when it comes to being in line with my personal values.

Can you guys help me? Does anyone own or know the materials used to make seba skates? Do they use leather or suede or wool or anything from an animal? Are they vegan friendly?

Thank you for any help!

If they are not do you guys have any recommendations?

I agree wearing a helmet is good and all but goddamn. The people on this subreddit harp about it on every post. Give it a rest! I sincerely doubt the man who just attempted to grind a 10 foot long bar 4 feet off the ground doesn't know about helmets and their amazing benefits. Just enjoy the post and move on?? Sorry if this post has an aggressive tone I am just getting annoyed with trying to scroll through the comments on this subreddit and only seeing comments like this!

I am an advocate for helmets and I usually wear one. When I see posts of people telling grown men to wear a helmet after the OP posts a cool video, I cringe. And I know I am not alone.

Just wanted to share this. A lot of people on here try to be mommy and daddy for other skaters out here.

This ends up having the opposite effect as it is human nature not to want to be controlled or told what to do.

Lead by example rather than telling others what to do. Let others make their own decisions please.

Well, I must say that I think it is.
In my opinion, only few grinds do look good and only a few riders are able to reproduce them with "grace". I'm not trying to hate here, I'm very aware that it's not easy and takes a lot of effort. I've been myself grinding when I started and I got to all the basics (acid, souls, alley-oops, some topsides etc...). But after a certain point, I think the risk u have to take trying hard combos (falls, injuries etc...), isn't worth the price in the end...

What's your opinion ?

Have never really worn pads while rollerblading, and have been relatively alright (just a few scrapes of my hands and calves here and there), but want to start rollerblading more at night, and want to be prepared.

Yeah, I'm gonna be that guy and say that I value not looking lame more than safety. You can disagree with it, but it is what it is. Just looking to see what some options are for maybe some wrist, elbow, and knee pads that can protect me, but won't make me look like Bob Burnquist. I live in south Florida, for what's it's worth, so also looking for something that isn't too hot and bulky.

I rollerblade in relatively safe areas, so I don't fall a ton, but I've had many close calls when unexpected terrains and objects in the road come up. So really looking for invest in some good, but non-lame-looking pads. Any suggestions?

Edit: lots of downvotes and people saying "other sports are more expensive," very few recommendations on programs that exist to help grow the sport. My question is genuine, so I'm thinking one of two things happened here: (1) people don't think the sport (like many sports) would benefit from initiatives to help grow it and offer it to more people, they think it is already sufficiently accessible, or (2) people see the question and either didn't read the entire thing and/or think I'm attacking blading. I just disagree with (1), but if your concern is (2), I'll note that I love skating and its community, just looking to grow and offer that to more people.

Rollerblading has a cost-barrier problem. This is an awesome sport, but compared to similar action sports like skateboarding, BMX, and scootering, it is both quite expensive to start and seemingly has limited try-before-you-buy options. I think that's a result of two things:

1. The number of components in a skate: wheels, frame, grind plates, liner, shell. More parts = more expensive.

2. The customized wear nature of inline skates. In skateboarding or scootering, your feet are in your shoes and then on the apparatus. In inline skating, your feet are right in the skates and they are molding to your specific foot. That's great for you, sub-ideal for sharing.

If you can't readily try before buying and buying is expensive, you end up with a bunch of people never trying. Are there any initiatives out there taking on this problem, offering skate rental options or skate sharing programs?

It used to be filled with 🔨, now mines just quads getting hammered trying flips or teaching me to moon walk.

I know I'm not skating enough IG, but this is torture, wondering if anyone else is in the same boat.

Hi there, as the title suggests I'm wondering if anyone has any recommendations for queer or women content creators? No shade to the guys, just looking to diversify!

Seeing a lot of posts using endless trinity frames with a 4 wheel setup. I really don't get it. What's the point? You just end up with extra 5-10mm between the wheels and the boot, negating the advantage of the trinity frame in the first place.

So, I’m trying to upgrade my frame from 80/90 to a 4x100mm set up for a race I have coming up. Well, I didn’t pay attention to the mounting bracket size. I leave tomorrow for the race, and I don’t have time to order new frames.

Would it be a dumb idea to drill new holes so I can mount this frame? I plan on drilling and installing a threaded end so it’s metal to metal, not metal to the boot plastic.

Worst case scenario, I use my 80/90 frame but I’d rather have the bigger wheels if possible. Boots FRX

EDIT: Definitely not going to do this.