Live Interview w/ Brad: Founder & Designer of Endless Blading Co.

[@rerollinginline]

Massive thanks to Brad at @endlessblading, the audience and those hanging out in chat! It was a ton of fun getting to chat with Brad and bring his insights to the rollerblading community.

[@mvk2053]

Best skating discussion ever. I could listen to 3 more hours of this no problem!

[@rerollinginline]

Thank so much, I’m glad you enjoyed it!

[@kuemagecollector]

Best discussion ever about skates. Thanks Jim and Brad for the wonderful questions and answers.

[@rerollinginline]

Really appreciate the comment, thanks. I’m glad you enjoyed it!

[@endlessblading]

Thank you!

[@BuDu-ms2qe]

The flow of the interview and conversation was just as smooth as your skating Jim! congratulations on your first stream! I'll take the liberty to speak for the rest of your subs and say we look forward to many more streams to come in the future!

[@rerollinginline]

Thanks so much, I’m glad you enjoyed it!

[@FinnBjerke]

Why is the frame so expensive? It's just bracket? It's not rocket science? 😊 Thx for good info... Keep rolling

[@sosterbruna]

I just saw this and absolutely love it! I’m sad I missed when was live. Amazing content. I’m still a beginner, and just love to spend hours per day studying everything I can about skating styles, techniques, hardware, brands, inspirational skaters and etc; and the rest of my day actually using all of that stuff to go out and skate. I love my Endless frame and I go out converting people to it because it’s just so much fun and freedom hahaha I can’t wait to purchase new ones! Jim, you are the first person I saw doing a SoulSlide and I’m obsessed with it now, so practicing a lot and hopefully soon using it 🥰

[@rerollinginline]

Comments like these keep the channel going, thank you! I’m glad you got something from the chat with Brad and good luck with soul slide :)

[@Rollerbalder]

Man this was one fun, nerdy skate interview. Thanks to you both for doing it! I'm planning on grabbing a pair of the Endless 4x90 UFS frames soon.

[@endlessblading]

Thanks for watching. I’m hoping the white Endless 90 UFS show up soon. Those are going to be sweet.

[@rerollinginline]

Really glad you liked it, thanks for the support!

[@imgnku]

Love my endless frames, good interview. thanks!

[@slurpalurple]

Hey!! I watched this entirely from start to end, and this was incredibly informative and I literally took notes along the way 😅. I learned so much, and just hearing both of your opinions on any topic was so helpful. Thank you so much!

[@blenrowley8445]

Awesome interview. I found it very interesting - I have a FR SL seven boot with endless 100s. Love it!!!

[@rerollinginline]

Thanks, I’m glad you enjoyed it! Can’t go wrong with FR and Endless

[@spookwackadoo]

Great stream!! I was driving so I couldnt chat, but it went so well. Thanks for making this happen. Can't wait to see what you do next 🤟

[@rerollinginline]

I’m glad you could still tune in, appreciate the support!

[@pingo7498]

Thank you! This was great

[@rerollinginline]

You’re welcome, thanks for the comment!

[@rhinousprotected4347]

Thank you ... very interesting ... 👍👍

[@rerollinginline]

You’re welcome, thanks for watching!

[@DSRekulaar]

I'm sold! I have got to give endless a try. I'm just running a pair of K2 LT Trio 100s.

[@SaccoBelmonte]

Awesome interview. I have so many 80mm and 110mm wheels I ended buying wizard frames from other brands but the endless are for sure nice frames. And yes, those other brands also use 6061 Aluminium. As a musician I can tell these frames all have this nice specific sound and is simply because they don't have weight relief holes so the walls can resonate freely from the vibration of the wheels on the floor transferred to them.

[@edwardtaylor5207]

Really enjoyed the chat. Some very interesting insights. I have the Tron blue 90s which I love, thinking of getting the 100s as 90 is a little small for my foot size. As I was listening my 110 endless/MPC wheels arrived. I've been using MPC wheels on my speed skates for years so I'm very interested to try these single pour versions

[@endlessblading]

Cool! Let me know what you think. Thanks for supporting Endless.

[@rerollinginline]

Thanks for watching, I’m glad you enjoyed. Hope you like those 110s!

[@boonsfrc]

This is perfect I'm 400+ lbs and I love road ripping definitely got to get me a set of the 90s and skate with confidence with my weight

[@kaushikjayanarayanan1893]

02:27:30’s : skate colours. Both powerslide and Adapt have custom skate creation tools . Can get several colours. Pretty cool.

[@rerollinginline]

Ah yes, I’ve played with both of those creation tools. Definitely cool!

[@endlessblading]

I made customer HC Evos using that tool that turned out pretty cool.

[@blairtaylor9552]

You guys are the best of the best, so I have a couple questions in you have time: #1) I haven't skated in 5 or 6 years since I broke a wrist, but want to recreational skate again. I'm pushing 65, 6'-4", around 240, and still fit enough to skate. Mostly trail/greenway skating 15-20 miles a pop. What frames/wheels size would you recommend for smooth cruising for a big guy like me??? And another HUGE question: #2) How do I find a heat moldable boot that I can modify to fit my mens' 12 XX--WIDE feet. (I'll probably also make hard plaster foot/ankle replicas that I can insert into the boots, heat everything, and wrap with a bunch of Ace bandages until cool). Finding a nice boot out of the box is near impossible when you're 12 XX-wide. I did some serious stretching in the past on my Salomons and K2's.. Yes, I'm a designer too, and have Solidworks at home :-). Any advice here with these 2 questions would be hugely appreciated! Tks

[@endlessblading]

Hi Blair. Welcome back to skating! Since you are a size 12 I would recommend you go with either the Endless 90 ES or 100 and then use it 3x110 for your long distance trail skating. The 4x100 setup on the Endless 100 sits a little taller than 4x90 on the 90 ES but carries momentum a little better and feels smoother to skate on less than ideal pavement. Both of the 4-wheel setups will give you the Balanced Rocker which will feel more nimble than the flat 3-wheel setups. But the 3x110 will give you speed you want on those longer skates. You might want to see if an FR1 size 45-47 shell fits you in the width and then spend time trying to find a liner that works with your foot and that shell. I believe the new Intuition Premium liners are available up to size 13 or so. My gut tells me that is likely your best chance of making things work without having to customize. I’d probably take the shell to a ski boot fitter to have it stretched. Keep us posted on how you make out.

[@blairtaylor9552]

@@endlessblading Thanks a bunch. I know my options are limited being tall and having 12 XX-wide duck feet. I don't want to have to stretch the boots using various shoe stretchers like I did in the past, so I won't settle for less than heat moldable this time around. (with Superfeet insoles and Intuition liners). If I have to make molded plaster feet to perfectly mold them onto, then so be it! And of course, a 3-point frame. Excellent design 5*****

[@endlessblading]

@@blairtaylor9552 Have you considered visiting a ski boot fitter like I was mentioning? They have the tools to reform plastic boots. I've heard the results are very good. Something to consider. Heat moldable carbon can only change shape so much in my experience. And if you mess it up, it's costly.

[@leetnux]

@endlessblading You've mentioned the FR1 and Twister shells having their own pros & cons with the latter being very rigid (anti-torsion box). What's something the FR1 shell does better? Is the weight difference noticeable?

[@endlessblading]

It's available with the Intuition liner. That's a huge selling point. The other thing is that is has 7-hole mounting plates that can do 165, 180, and 195 mm mounting. It also happens to be a very light boot due to the open shell. It has an adjustable cuff too. As a stock boot I feel like the FR1 is ready to take on taller setups that require more support. The Twister XT gets there once you add an Intuition liner.

[@marlonmj5]

Agree, if Twister would sell it boot only... I would buy. Same, don't care about another 4x80. And also as a small feet person, I like 4x84, 90, even with rocker is slightly too long for me. So I hope other brand will also propose frames for this

[@StreetBladerBloke]

Flying eagle have ego frames. They are the most solid 243mm 4x 80 i have ever come across. They are built from 7000 alumnium alloy and have 3 bridges nothing bends in them at all. If u want solid 243mm frame ego frame is the best.

[@Dark_Oopa]

FINALLY! At last some nerdy freeskate talk! It was honey to the ears, I loved it :) Brad's insights were really interresting. If Brad is still around, is there a point to try 3x110 with a 4x100 endless frame? I mean, is there a real difference between 100 and 110? 6x110 wheels is not cheap so I wonder if it's worth having 2 sets of wheels. thx

[@endlessblading]

Thanks for watching! I love 3x110 on the Endless 100. It’s lighter and faster. If you do a lot of trail or distance skating I think you’ll find it better suited than 4x100 with the rocker. If you try it let me know what you think!

[@rerollinginline]

Thanks, I’m glad you liked it! It was great getting Brad’s perspective and insights.

[@pit9623]

I have the Seba HighLight and I think the original rail is the best. I compared to the Endless 80/84/100.

[@kaushikjayanarayanan1893]

57:20’s : about the arc for flatland and urban. Agree flatland. For me personally, urban just did not work. Smaller foot.

[@rerollinginline]

Thanks for watching! Bummer you don’t like the Arc for urban. You mention a smaller foot, is it too long for you? I’ve had some great urban sessions, like this one: kzbin.info/www/bejne/n5aZpnSNo5WDrMU

[@kaushikjayanarayanan1893]

@@rerollinginline Yeah I’m a 250 mondo. The arcs were too long for me. Maybe the cs arc but I’m very happy on my trinity LR mounted on Ps evo gutted intuition premiums

[@SeniorDelinquentSk8s]

Lol! "Old man accessibility stuff." That's me at 67... not! And yes, it's hard to be hip when you don't have one. Interesting interview.

[@rerollinginline]

I’m sure I speak for everyone when I say I hope I’m skating like you at 67. Keep up the inspiration! Thanks for watching.

[@SeniorDelinquentSk8s]

@@rerollinginline Much appreciated.That's why I post. I was you (although you're better than I was) and we're all lifers on wheels. Keep up the good work!

[@gongo787]

The only problem with Endless is that they cant keep up with demand. Must of their product are out of stock or not avaliable in certain colors for month, bad for business!!!

[@kitsaurus]

Interesting interview, even though I don't skate urban or Endless. Hope I was misinterpreting but was disappointed in the elitism about wheels and the disparaging tone towards redditors who base their purchase decisions on durability. To borrow from Brad's engineering philosophy, what specific problem does a 2-3x priced wheel solve for me? Well, I don't have a problem with my wheels and never felt like they hindered my ability to skate and enjoy myself. I'm not claiming to be the best or the fastest, but have managed to take CRs on a few Strava segments with my 4x80 Oxelo MF500s, which is simply to prove that performance is mostly dependent on the skater, not the gear. I think if your goal is to get more people into skating, you should be careful not to imply that people's skating experiences are subpar because they have average wheels, or that we might be reddit plebs for making value judgements that differ from yours. Should we also scoff at people who can afford to, but choose not to buy top end skates? What about those who buy FR boots with stock liners? Everybody knows Intuition make the best liners, so surely they're fair game? ;) Important to remember that us enthusiasts pay big premiums for diminishing returns and often exaggerate the benefits. Are my FR SL Speeds faster? Sure, but only marginally. Are they $600 faster? Well, that's entirely subjective and my honest opinion is no.

[@rerollinginline]

Thanks for watching and commenting, I appreciate it! I certainly didn’t mean to have a disparaging or condescending tone. I meant to express a couple of things: 1) That wheels make a huge difference to how a skate feels in my experience and 2) That the price-to-durability value assessment like this comment from Reddit implies can limit your experience if you have the budget for better wheels: “To be honest I can't compare to high-end wheels since I can't get myself to pay more for a set of wheels than my skates are worth brand new”. Putting expensive wheels on cheap skates is a nice hack for a better experience if you ask me! I think a lot of people with this mindset would be pleasantly surprised if they tried something more expensive or deemed a higher quality. These are my opinions of course and I don’t think anything less of anyone with a differing opinion. I’m judging wheels here, not people and certainly not their budgets. The reason I used the term “sentiment” to describe what I was paraphrasing from Reddit is because I never meant to call out the person who made the comment, but that I disagree conceptually. If you’re the person I was paraphrasing (or that person reads this) I apologize if you felt belittled or called out in any way - I truly didn’t mean to come off like that. Happy Skating, and thanks again for stopping by.

[@kitsaurus]

@@rerollinginline Cheers and respect for clarifying. I'm not that commenter. I actually advocated for people to try both cheap and premium to decide for themselves. I don't disagree at all about premium wheels offering a nicer experience. Not having tried them yet, my guess is they offer better grip/traction, absorb vibrations better, are slightly faster and last a bit longer. That being said, you're a top skater likely pushing the boundaries of performance, and your experience is highly contextual to your style and skill level. Edit for succinctness: buying nice things is fine, I just wonder, for people not pushing the performance envelope, if they'd be better off focusing less on high end gear :) Thanks for the entertaining content. I think a lot of us 30+ fitness skaters are living vicariously through you.

[@DEJ915]

@@kitsaurus I've talked to a lot of skaters over my 30 years of skating about why they quit when I try to get people to skate again and they more often then not have one of two main reasons: the wheels were soft and chunked and they don't want to spend money to replace if that happens all the time and the other is their wheels were hard and hurt to ride on and/or they slipped because they had no grip. If you have decent wheels you won't get either of those things, they'll be comfortable to ride due to dampening vibrations but also have good grip and durability. People don't need to spend a lot either, a set of 8 hyper or hydrogen wheels for 40-60 euros/dollars is more than enough for the vast majority of people, nobody is suggesting to buy racing wheels at 200+ a set. I don't know anything about your skates you mentioned since they aren't sold in the USA but most skates here sold at stores usually have the soft wheels that chunk fairly quickly on rough pavement which is very common here in the USA. I did get some higher end K2 Redline skates a while ago and they had the hard as rock slippery wheels on them which is absurd for skates that expensive (I paid under $300 and even then I think it is absurd much less at their full price) so those still exist as well I guess. Anyway, it sounds like your skates came with nice wheels to start which is awesome, I wish more did. Unfortunately here not the case plus we have the disaster of horrible pavement so either your wheels die really fast or hurt to ride. Most people don't know anything about skates let alone go online to forums or watch videos about them. They just assume their bad experience is the norm so they quit.

[@kitsaurus]

​@@DEJ915 Yeah that sounds like a valid reason to upgrade if the stock wheels aren't quite fit for purpose for outdoor skating. I wasn't aware of that common scenario/experience. The wheels that came with my skates were generic 86A which were fine for outdoors. I have also skated various generic 85A - 90A wheels from aliexpress. Certainly no premium USA polyurethane, but they were good enough and did not feel like they hindered my experience. I was disagreeing with the idea that people like myself might be ignorant fools for choosing not to buy the most expensive sets of wheels based on the fact that they don't last as long as their price suggests. I just think that as long as your wheels are fit for purpose and the conditions you're skating in, it would be wise to avoid all the hype and marketing that says you need to spend lots of money to have fun on skates.

[@DEJ915]

@@kitsaurus If you mean hype on forums or youtube as examples then yeah but most people don't browse those places for skating stuff either it's a pretty niche thing only gearheads do. It is kind of funny though seeing somebody post a photo of a skate with wheels worn to the cores asking if they need new skates because they didn't realize you could or should replace the wheels lol.