THE LONDON ROLLERGIRLS

i started with these, and skated on them for 6 months because i was too broke to buy better ones. At the end they were actually held together with tape. They are fine for starter skates, if you get some decent wheels on them, but if find you fucking love roller derby you'll want to upgrade before they are held together with tape.

Thanks for your replies!

Haha, that is good to know... I just didn't want to turn up and then people look at my feet and be like what the hell...

I saw a post somewhere else about wheels which i'll have a look at, do all wheels fit all skates generally?

If you are going to be skating at Cola and Brixton for the 12 weeks fresh meat/rec league sessions you'll want something grippy. You can get away with second rate skates for actually quite a long time if you have good wheels, and good wheels will last so they're a good investment. For CoLA/Brixton you'll want something like Atom Poisons or Radar ghosts/phantoms.

You can get the radars here - http://www.skateattack.co.uk/roller-der ... =2&sort=2a the only difference between the ghost and the phantom is the size. Ghosts are smaller/slimmer so you'll get more agility, the phantoms larger/wider so you'll have more stability.

Billys stock the poisons - http://www.billys.co.uk/english/product ... 501&page=1
they come in normal width, slim and slim with aluminium hubs. I've never used these, but people rave about them on a slick surface. Bear in mind these are usually sold in sets of 4, unlike the radars, so you'd need to buy 2 sets.

Thank you that's super helpful!

This is indeed very useful. I currently have a pair of Rios (since a lot of you experienced rollergirls say that you started on them, I hope you might be able to answer this):
My plan is to use the Rios for a while during the fresh meat programme and eventually switch to Riedells (maybe R3) once I know what kind of more professional skates would be suitable for me. So I would like to buy new bearings and wheels for the Rios that I could definitely later use on Riedells. How do I know what wheels and bearings will fit together + fit both types of skates?

Also, what is people's opinion on slim vs normal width wheels (for a beginner roller girl with intermediate skating skills)?

It's the plate that counts. Pretty much all plates (unelss you are a skate geek and deliberately buy something different, or you have really old vintage skates) will bones reds bearings. These which are the best ones to go for in terms of price & performance. You can often find them cheaper on ebay. They are usually sold in packs of 8, you need 16 for your skates. Any derby wheel will fit these bearings.

Slim vs wide is entirely personal preference. When I started i used wide wheels borrowed from an LRGer with loads of spare wheels. I switched to narrow after I borrowed someone else's, and liked the lightness and the extra ability, they suit me down to the ground. Not everyone likes them though. It can take a while of skating before you know what suits you best, so I'm afraid there's no standard answer to this.

Having said that I suspect unless you are a really confident skater wider ones would give you more stability and grip in your early days in the 12 week programme which is on quite a slick floor; you can always change up later as you develop, and there are usually other people who are happy to let you have a go on their wheels.

Edited to add: Amazon have a really good deal on bones reds right now
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B004JAK44O/r ... B004JAK44O

Hi,
get ready for a million noob questions!

I have these skates, I bought them super-cheap to practice skating outside, before I got interested in Derby.


I know I'll have to upgrade them if I get through to Fresh meat, but should I buy some new wheels and bearings before Boot Camp? Will Bones Reds and Derby wheels fit my cheap-ass disco skates??

Also I have this knee/elbow/wrist pad package:
http://www.rawk.com/product/triple-8-3-pack-combo-protection-set-saver-series/2263/
Is it advisable to buy a gasket for my knees witht hese pads? What is a gasket? Where can I buy them?

And finally,
is this helmet good enough?
http://www.rawk.com/product/matt-black-helmet/35/
or should I splash out and go for the 'brainsaver' helmet?

Thanks in advance to anyone who can give advice

Yes



Personally, I would get gaskets. I use them even with my decent TSG pads. You can get gaskets at any decent derby supply store, Billys, Skate Attack, Everglides etc. Like with kneepads they vary in price and quality. I have Anarchy ones from Everglides, which are cheap and cheerful but do the job for me.



Yes. The most important thing about a helmet isn't so much the brand as the fit. It should fit tight over your head and not move around when the strap is undone. The strap should be snug under your chin. The front of the helmet should be a straight line above your eyebrows. I wish I had a pound for every new skater I've seen with a poorly fitting too big wonky helmet, I'd have about £50.

Different brands come up different sizes. Nutcase (for example) come up quite big, the S/M tehy do is too big for my pea head. The triple 8 small though is the right size for me if i wear a bandana. Most (decent) skate shops would be able to give you the helmet circumference if you contact them so you can make sure it fits right, or you can go to a skateboard shop and buy in person. I tried loads of other people's helmets on until I found one that was small enough for me.

Thanks May!
I'll order the bearings tonight, as they're super cheap on Amazon at the moment, and do a bit more research into wheels.

I guess for now I'll get a fairly cheap all purpose wheel like maybe the Radar Zens, as there's no point splashing out on nice wheels when i don't know anything about them haha.

As for helmets and gaskets I guess I'll go to a shop and try everything on.

Thanks for the advice!

sorry if I sound really stupid, but why do we need 8 wheels? Is it just so we have a spare set?

Trust us on this one

two skates, four wheels on each...

I am the biggest n00b in the world.
How did it take me so long for this to click??

It's certainly one of the more interesting questions we've got on this forum so far!

It actually took me until my (pack of 4) wheels arrived and I started putting them on my skates, and I was like OHHHHHHHH

All 8 Atom Poisons are on the skates now, and they roll ridiculously faster than the shitty wheels the skates came with. Now it's like learning to skate all over again!

Hi everyone,

So I'm sure you're the MOST tired of these kind of questions, but I thought I'd give it a go anyway.

I've not wobbled around on a set of wheels for about 15 years, and have zilch equipment. I really want to give it a go, but don't want to go out and spend £££££ and then find out I'm useless!

I've read through many of the posts on here about the importance of knee pads and good wheels / bearings above all else, but just wanted to get some opinions as to where to begin.

Even if I buy the cheapest skates, helmet, etc - looking at the recommended wheels / bearings / pads for newbies, it still looks like an initial spend of around £200. (The wheels and bearings alone come to around £100?) Is this the case, or is there any way around this until I've discovered whether I can move, let alone come to a tryout?

Thanks a bundle in advance for reading my paranoid ramblings