inline speed skating

[kayskate]

I am thinking of buying a pair of inline speed skates for summer xtraining. Does anyone here inline speed skate? I am also interested in general fitness, wt loss and building strength.

I used to quad skate outdoors in a park. Now I am looking into street skating and want inlines b/c I believe the wheels are less likely to catch on a rock or pebble. Yes, I use protective gear.

Any thoughts, experiences?

Kay

[RachelSk8er]

I have quad speed skates that are set up for roller derby (combo of hard/soft wheels), but they don't have outdoor wheels. If I go outside, I use my rollerblades rather than mess around with changing my roller skate wheels back and forth (and I don't want those skates to get beat up/dirty/broken down faster since they're more expensive to replace than roller blades). We have a beautiful parkway with a paved bike/running path that goes for miles here and has slight hills that aren't too much to handle, so I went 10 miles the other day. It was great.

I hadn't worn my roller blades in a few years, the only thing I don't like is that they don't fit as well as my figure or roller skates. They fit how they're supposed to, it's just a looser fit and different feel (kind of like going from figure to hockey skates). Isn't the boot on a speed rollerblade a little different though, more like a speed ice/roller skate? Mine are more like hockey skates.

[kayskate]

Yes, the boot on the speed skates I am looking at is more of a tennis shoe type, in that it does not cover the ankle. I tried regular inlines once. Did not like the plastic ski boot set-up. Thanks for sharing your exp. Sounds good!

Kay