Freshmeat FAQ
Skates
Q: Why don't you carry many skates under $100?
A: The best answer to this is they are not appropriate for Derby. Some of the skates we carry which are less expensive (around $100 - the boxers and R3's and Rebels) will only last you a season or so. Skates that are less expensive than that will not only not last you a season, and may not even last you a couple months. We skate aggressively in Derby and want to make sure you are safe and happy doing so. We have seen girls skate in cheap $50 skates for 3 weeks, they fell apart and had to buy new skates again... that to us is like throwing away $50. They will cut costs on things that make the skates inappropriate for Derby. Non-adjustable toestops, really slow bearings, plastic wheels, plastic trucks... etc. You will want to upgrade a lot of these items to better ones and will end up spending a lot more money to do so then if you bought a pair of decent skates for $100-$130 to start....
Q: I'm overwhelmed by the choices. What skates are the right skates for beginners?
There is no right answer for this. You need to factor in a couple of things.
1. How sure are you that you want to play roller derby?
- How psyched are you? You're about to become a rollergirl or rollerboy, but if you are unsure as to whether you want to do it, it would be unwise to buy the most expensive skates on the market. If you think you are going to be sticking it out for at least a whole season, it may be less cost effective for you to buy the cheapest skates. If you want to try it out and see, I suggest buying a low to mid priced skate. Remember you can always sell your skates if you decide it's not for you. People love to buy used gear and save a little money.
2. Do I have anything particular about my foot that needs attention?
- Wide Feet, narrow heels, Big Toe Knuckles, a lot of hair.... whatever it is, there's some important factors to what kind of skates to buy. Here are some general
Skates that lace down to the toe means you can adjust how narrow and how wide all the way down to the toe box. - Good for wide or narrow feet.
Skates that are made of leather may be more apt to "break in" to your foot shape because man made materials don't do that as easily.
Although a lot of people are used to the "support" of artistic skates on your ankles, Skates with lower collars or less padding in the collar will give you less blisters on your ankles because when you skate derby you actually need a lot more mobility in your ankles than in other kinds of skating.
Aluminum Plates are heavier and more expensive than Nylon Plates and last longer. There is a lot of jumping in Roller Derby and that aluminum plates are stronger for that purpose.
Of course if you have other questions ask your league what they like and why! Rollergirls love to talk about gear.
3.What is my price range?
- the answer to this question will really help you decide which skates are right for you. There are skates in every price point.
Another thing to note is, you will learn what you like and what you don't like. You will buy new skates and sell your old skates. You will be ok. Don't freak out.
Q: What size should I get?
- For speed skates, they are all in men's sizes. Men, you will just get your normal shoe size, unless otherwise noted on the item page. Ladies, we recommend that you down one size from their shoe size. Some skates do run small tho. This will usually be noted in the product's page tho.
Q: What does manmade materials vs. leather mean?
-
* Leather Outside with Leather Lining
Top quality boot and has the maximum amount of durability and lasts longer than other boots. This will be the best kind of boot in most situations. Once the leather breaks in and forms to your foot, this is the most comfortable type of boot. Example: Riedell 265
* Manmade Material Outside with Padded Inside This is a very comfortable boot as well as a very durable and affordable. Example: R3
BEARINGS
Q: What does ABEC mean?
- ABEC stands for Annular Bearing Engineering Council (boooooring) and it is a rating of how "fast" bearings are.
Basically the higher the number after ABEC-, the better the bearing is supposed to be. This does not mean how "fast" you can go, but rather think of it as... how much resistance the bearing will give you or the amount of effort you will put out when you decide to go fast. Bearings don't make you go fast. You make you go fast. But It feels like you are pushing as hard as you can but not going anywhere when you skate on abec 1 bearings, you skate effortlessly with abec 9 or Swiss bearings.
The scale goes ABEC-1, ABEC-3, ABEC-5, ABEC-7 and ABEC-9 then you have skate rated and swiss and ceramic. Bones Bearings are "Skate Rated" and are basically better than most of the bearings rated on the ABEC scale.
WHEELS
Q: What does the hardness number mean?
- The Hardness (or Durometer) of a wheel is measured on a scale of a number and then an A.
For example: 96A.
the lower the hardness or durometer, the "grippier" or softer and also the "slower" the wheel. The Higher the hardness or durometer the "faster" and "slicker" the wheel.
Q: That's awesome, but what the heck does that mean to me?
- nothing really. it's pretty relative, and also depends on the type of urethane used in the production and other factors. Basically. Ask around, try people's wheels. I suggest you might want to try a grippy wheel to start if you are new to derby and skating like the Flat Outs or the grippy Fugitives, however if you are an old artistic skater or sure on your feet you might want a harder wheel like the Green Tuners or a medium wheel like the Witch Docs. It's all preference tho. What we always end up doing is buying wheels and trading wheels with girls and boys on your league.
Q: Why don't you carry many skates under $100?
A: The best answer to this is they are not appropriate for Derby. Some of the skates we carry which are less expensive (around $100 - the boxers and R3's and Rebels) will only last you a season or so. Skates that are less expensive than that will not only not last you a season, and may not even last you a couple months. We skate aggressively in Derby and want to make sure you are safe and happy doing so. We have seen girls skate in cheap $50 skates for 3 weeks, they fell apart and had to buy new skates again... that to us is like throwing away $50. They will cut costs on things that make the skates inappropriate for Derby. Non-adjustable toestops, really slow bearings, plastic wheels, plastic trucks... etc. You will want to upgrade a lot of these items to better ones and will end up spending a lot more money to do so then if you bought a pair of decent skates for $100-$130 to start....
Q: I'm overwhelmed by the choices. What skates are the right skates for beginners?
There is no right answer for this. You need to factor in a couple of things.
1. How sure are you that you want to play roller derby?
- How psyched are you? You're about to become a rollergirl or rollerboy, but if you are unsure as to whether you want to do it, it would be unwise to buy the most expensive skates on the market. If you think you are going to be sticking it out for at least a whole season, it may be less cost effective for you to buy the cheapest skates. If you want to try it out and see, I suggest buying a low to mid priced skate. Remember you can always sell your skates if you decide it's not for you. People love to buy used gear and save a little money.
2. Do I have anything particular about my foot that needs attention?
- Wide Feet, narrow heels, Big Toe Knuckles, a lot of hair.... whatever it is, there's some important factors to what kind of skates to buy. Here are some general
Skates that lace down to the toe means you can adjust how narrow and how wide all the way down to the toe box. - Good for wide or narrow feet.
Skates that are made of leather may be more apt to "break in" to your foot shape because man made materials don't do that as easily.
Although a lot of people are used to the "support" of artistic skates on your ankles, Skates with lower collars or less padding in the collar will give you less blisters on your ankles because when you skate derby you actually need a lot more mobility in your ankles than in other kinds of skating.
Aluminum Plates are heavier and more expensive than Nylon Plates and last longer. There is a lot of jumping in Roller Derby and that aluminum plates are stronger for that purpose.
Of course if you have other questions ask your league what they like and why! Rollergirls love to talk about gear.
3.What is my price range?
- the answer to this question will really help you decide which skates are right for you. There are skates in every price point.
Another thing to note is, you will learn what you like and what you don't like. You will buy new skates and sell your old skates. You will be ok. Don't freak out.
Q: What size should I get?
- For speed skates, they are all in men's sizes. Men, you will just get your normal shoe size, unless otherwise noted on the item page. Ladies, we recommend that you down one size from their shoe size. Some skates do run small tho. This will usually be noted in the product's page tho.
Q: What does manmade materials vs. leather mean?
-
* Leather Outside with Leather Lining
Top quality boot and has the maximum amount of durability and lasts longer than other boots. This will be the best kind of boot in most situations. Once the leather breaks in and forms to your foot, this is the most comfortable type of boot. Example: Riedell 265
* Manmade Material Outside with Padded Inside This is a very comfortable boot as well as a very durable and affordable. Example: R3
BEARINGS
Q: What does ABEC mean?
- ABEC stands for Annular Bearing Engineering Council (boooooring) and it is a rating of how "fast" bearings are.
Basically the higher the number after ABEC-, the better the bearing is supposed to be. This does not mean how "fast" you can go, but rather think of it as... how much resistance the bearing will give you or the amount of effort you will put out when you decide to go fast. Bearings don't make you go fast. You make you go fast. But It feels like you are pushing as hard as you can but not going anywhere when you skate on abec 1 bearings, you skate effortlessly with abec 9 or Swiss bearings.
The scale goes ABEC-1, ABEC-3, ABEC-5, ABEC-7 and ABEC-9 then you have skate rated and swiss and ceramic. Bones Bearings are "Skate Rated" and are basically better than most of the bearings rated on the ABEC scale.
WHEELS
Q: What does the hardness number mean?
- The Hardness (or Durometer) of a wheel is measured on a scale of a number and then an A.
For example: 96A.
the lower the hardness or durometer, the "grippier" or softer and also the "slower" the wheel. The Higher the hardness or durometer the "faster" and "slicker" the wheel.
Q: That's awesome, but what the heck does that mean to me?
- nothing really. it's pretty relative, and also depends on the type of urethane used in the production and other factors. Basically. Ask around, try people's wheels. I suggest you might want to try a grippy wheel to start if you are new to derby and skating like the Flat Outs or the grippy Fugitives, however if you are an old artistic skater or sure on your feet you might want a harder wheel like the Green Tuners or a medium wheel like the Witch Docs. It's all preference tho. What we always end up doing is buying wheels and trading wheels with girls and boys on your league.
