Rollerblade Blank SK | Some thoughts (ft. Twister SE)

I have found the Blank SK a bit dissapointing, though it remains a high performing skate. I want to give it more use at the skate park, and with my knee healed up, it feels like it has a chance to wow me.
I also succumbed to marketing and bought the Twister SE, though as you will see it is not the standard setup. I find the color very attarctive, though still very tame.
This weekend I plan to record some stuff, even if my skating is less than boring.
Feel free to leave any comments, I do read them, and remember to skate on!
Estrellas en mis botas

[@SaccoBelmonte]

Very nice setup. :) You'll see they feel a bit more like "wearing trucks" but if you mentally forget about it and skate normally they will respond as good as the XTs with its own quirks, one of them, you need to tighten the cuff a bit more or your ankles will take a beating. 4 to 5th strap notch. (I usually start a 3 cause the front plastics needs to sit for a bit) I just got the 4x80 rockered frame for my XTs and, ooooh man they're like 10 times more maneuverable, night and day, it is crazy but in a good way after you get used to them. A bit unstable mostly when striding and being on the front wheels, you'll notice a wobble but it seems is a self correcting one (it never went out of control even while going as fast as I could). I haven't tried going downhill under a bridge and honestly is a scary proposition. You're gonna notice a noticeable drop in speed. You'll quickly find yourself having fun slaloming and not so much accelerating fast. You can still achieve a good speed and depends on your technique with the new setup but the sprint you get with a flat setup is gone.

[@seriouslyreallyserious]

I have given these a lot more time and while I still find the heel to be a bit loose I have developed a better method of lacing these so they are comfortable. I have mostly been working on jumps, so once I feel confident I will do some grinds.

[@uu3903]

Those little metal rings are frame bosses. Just saw a solution to loose bearings from a speed skater yesterday. Lay a strip, two, or three of cello tape thru your wheel until the bearings fit snuggly. If you want to try rockered frames there are cheaper options than Wizard from Endless, NN, Rockin', and Roka. And it seems like there are new brands coming online every month. I think the budget entry is the K2 R100 - 4x100mm with adjustable rockering. Or during rotation, flip your wheels without changing position to develop a natural rocker (maybe first and last if you have a particularly strong toe flick which causes faster wheel 1 wear).

[@seriouslyreallyserious]

Some good advice, they always fall out when I work on them. I may try that out, though I usually wait too long to rotate so maybe if I am more frequent that shold help. I find sometimes the falt setup sticks too much for twirls, so that should help a bit.

[@benr2952]

1 year later, do you have additional thoughts? Have you tried the blanks with a big wheel setup? I’m curious how power transfer feels with the Blanks vs Twister (effectively, UFS vs 165).

[@seriouslyreallyserious]

Felt bad about not replying. Power transfer is about the same as the frame attaches directly to boot. Though it feels a bit sloppy because of how heavy the setup is.

[@benr2952]

No sweat! Thanks for circling back. I had a similar experience having tried both out too now. UFS boots are heavy, especially Blanks. I got some inexpensive K2 110 frames off Ebay for my Blanks and I loved how much road jitter they absorb, although I am significantly more fatigued big-wheeling in them vs the Twister. The Twister is a weird foot shape though that would squeeze my pinkies so I just stick with the Blanks for both types of skating.

[@bibletrials8811]

Upload a video of you on a ride

[@seriouslyreallyserious]

I am working on a video this weekend, stay tuned.