Skate Equipment
How to buy inline skates
如何购买轮滑鞋
4/10/2021 Lincheng Xiu
每年春天轮滑季节到来的时候，经常有人问买什么样的轮滑鞋，什么型号，怎么买？我在这里统一回答如下：
休闲鞋：我们建议两个厂商，无论是成人还是小孩，Rollerblade或K2。轴承一般是ABEC，ABEC7，ILQ7，高档轴承也有ILQ9。架子，初学者可以是塑料的，中级及高级建议买铝合金的。轮子直径：68mm -125mm都有可能。初学可选72mm-80mm；中级90mm， 100mm；高级110mm,125mm；休闲鞋用到125mm的轮子不多，个别现象。 休闲鞋通常是一套固定的，即鞋，架子和轮子作为一个整体卖，个别的可以自己组装。
儿童鞋：2岁到6岁，我们小孩轮滑班用过两种比较好（其它没试过）：Bladerunner和K2，大小可以调节，68mm轮子或72mm。儿童鞋比较杂，有些是玩具鞋，轮子不怎么转，用手拨一下轮子，只转一秒就停了（专业速滑鞋可以转60秒到90秒），这类玩具鞋不能用于轮滑课，我们曾出现小朋友长时间滑不起来的现象，后来发现是这种玩具鞋轮子不怎么转引起的。
速滑鞋：专业商店或参加比赛时，在轮滑器材展会上才能买到合适的。这种鞋邦低，不好控制，但效率高，可以高速滑行，稳定性好，价格也高一些。休闲级有了一定的技术后才换成这种鞋。上鞋，架子和轮子可单买自己组装，也可以买组装好的成品，成人小孩都可以这样做，小孩的鞋偏向于买组装好的，成人专业级则是无一例外的自已选件组装。价格从$200-$2000不等。一般7岁左右的小朋友，成品（一套）大约$250上下，成人大约$800，专业级在$1000-2000。
在什么地方买轮滑鞋：网上或实体店
休闲鞋可以在网上买或当地的实体体育用品店。网上买有很多类可选，但不能当场试，不知道大小，买回来试了之后，如果不合适退货很麻烦，费时。实体体育用品店15年前，有很多品牌可选，但现在越来越少，优点是可以再场试穿。
一种新的买鞋方式-画脚印：这是我们Kids Inline Skating轮滑群从2018年开始一直在用的一种订鞋方式，一开始主要用买速滑鞋，后来买休闲鞋也开始用这种方法，实践证明，非常准确。具体做法是按你的脚的大小，画1：1的脚印到两张A4纸上，写上你要订的鞋种类，要求，你的名字，身高，年龄，体重，电话，和寄回来时的shipping地址，注明是Lincheng Xiu Skate Class Member，将两张纸（左右脚印）用普通邮件，从邮局寄给Steve Larios, （615-838-6461个人电话）， Asphalt Beach Skate Shop （615-228-1105）地址 961 Woodland St, Nashville, TN 37206），如果有更多的要求，可以打电话或Email asphaltbeach@comcast.net 给Steve，一般来说Steve收到后会给你打电话，选好鞋后会寄给你。Asphalt Beach是一家全美最大的轮滑店之一，Steve曾是职业级的轮滑运动员，很有经验如何在人不去店里的情况下，根据你的脚印选一双最适合你的轮滑鞋。群里大多数小孩的速滑鞋都是Steve选好后寄来的。
认识Steve是因为Bob推荐我加入Asphalt Beach速滑队，这是一个在全美很有名的速滑队，每次我外出比赛，外地的人可能不认识我，但他们认得我的队服。Steve是Asphalt Beach速滑队的老板，给每个速滑队员都有一定的优惠，他知道我在教轮滑班，轮滑班里的人去订鞋，可以申请优惠。最近群里好几个小朋友买速滑鞋，价格都很好(最近的一个例子,我估计至少$240的鞋，结果家长只付了$220)。依我看，价格是否最低并不重要，重要的是专业人员帮你选鞋，省心。
关于3轮鞋与4轮鞋
几年前开始，速滑鞋由4轮向3轮鞋发展。很长一段时间，都是四轮的，如4x110，我用了很多年。后来轮子直径增加到了125mm,再用4轮的话，架子太长了，鞋也太重了，于是变成了3轮。用了一段时间的三轮鞋后，我发现3轮好象更安全，因为轮与轮之间有很大的孔隙，压了小石子或小树枝之类的东西，不容易卡到两轮之间。当然，这只是我个人的感觉，也许还有别的原因，如身高，体重，天气等。
Helmet and Roller Skating Protective Gears
头盔与轮滑专用护具
4/11/2021 Lincheng Xiu
参加本群所组织的轮滑活动,请大家佩戴齐全头盔，护手护肘和护膝，（专业级轮滑爱好者头盔与护手是必须，护膝和护肘可以不戴），初学者建议使用护臀。这些装备网上都有，可以在群里问一下在什么地方购买。这些护具已经被证明，对多数人来说，会100%的起作用。特别是刷街，因为路况不明，需要在线判断，比场地轮滑要复杂的多，一旦出现问题，你所能指望的就是护具保护你。
2000年，我在新加坡初学轮滑时，只在场地上练习，对于头盔没有硬性要求，但护具还是要的。2001年来美国后，发现这里有硬性要求“No helmit no skate”，在我第一次去参加华盛顿DC轮滑俱乐部之前，不得不特意买了一个三十几块钱的自行车头盔。当时我认为我永远都不会用上这个头盔，只是装一下样子。实际并非如此，在不久后的一次轮滑活动结束时，在白宫后面的那段封闭的路上，因为高兴，很快的倒滑着，一个小石子儿卡到了两个轮子中间，在没有任何预警的情况下，后脑重重地砸向地面，把头盔摔裂了...，如果没那个头盔，就没有现在我写的这段关于头盔的重要性的文章。正是那个头盔，让我当时还能爬起来，滑回停车处，并开了一个小时的车回家，之后是脖子酸了好几天。
说点儿近的事儿吧，大约两年前，我们的轮滑班在West clay上课，课结束的时候我和赵学峰正在拆卸计圈系统。远远看着一位我们的小朋友，穿着轮滑鞋在篮球场附近玩，不知道什么原因失去了平衡，头盔砸在了地上，发出很大的响声，当时我们很担心会不会摔坏，结果小朋友没事儿似的，爬起来滑走了。
轮滑上路，要与车打交道，万一被车撞了，致命的伤害不是车撞的那一下，而是被车撞倒之后，头砸向地面的那个冲击，有头盔你存活的概率就很大。
曾经有一个报道，一位骑自行车的人，摔倒后被卡车压过头部，但没有受伤，原因是他用的头盔很好。20年前，网络上曾经有一个说法是“你的头很值得你花钱买一个好头盔”。
护具同样重要。当人体摔倒时各关节会首先着地，如果着地的关节有护具， 可有效防止或大大减轻受伤的程度。最有可能受伤的是手腕，其次是膝盖，最后是胳膊肘，这些都有具体的统计数据，可以在网上找到。
轮滑护具是专用的，不要用其它护具代替。轮滑护具有硬壳，能够在地上滑动，通过延长作用时间，减小冲击力，消耗掉摔倒之前的动能。如果护具很涩，不能在地上滑动，容易引起关节骨折，这点我亲眼所见。大家在参加轮滑刷街时一定要使用轮滑专用护具，认真佩戴，活动之前仔细检查。如同你买的一个保险一样，不一定会用得上，但一旦事故发生100%起作用。
练习轮滑多长时间后才可以少用护具？例如只用护手? 这个没有一个统一的答案，也没见到统计数据，根据我的经历是10年。也就是说，你如果非常活跃的练习轮滑，例如每周划3~4次，每次两个小时，10年之后，每年的摔倒的次数会降到一次以下，在这种情况下，你可以只用护手。
总之，我们要求大家戴好头盔，戴好护具，再参加我们的轮滑刷街活动。如果你还没有准备这些护具的话，请尽快准备，下周五就要用了。
How to buy inline skates
4/10/2021 Lincheng Xiu
When the roller skating season arrives every spring, people often ask what kind of roller skates to buy, what model, and how to buy them. I will answer these questions here in a unified manner:
Reactional skates: We recommend two manufacturers, whether for adults or children, Rollerblade or K2. Bearings are generally ABEC, ABEC7, ILQ7, and high-end bearings may also have ILQ9. For the frame, beginners can choose plastic, and intermediate and advanced skaters are recommended to buy aluminum alloy frames. Wheel diameters range from 68mm to 125mm. Beginners can choose 72mm to 80mm; intermediate skaters can choose 90mm or 100mm; advanced skaters can choose 110mm or 125mm. It is rare to use 125mm wheels for casual skating. Casual skates usually come as a fixed set, with the boots, frames, and wheels sold as a whole. Some skates can be assembled by the buyer themselves.
Children's skates: For children aged 2 to 6 years old, we have tried two good brands in our children's roller skating class (we haven't tried others): Bladerunner and K2. They can be adjusted in size and have 68mm or 72mm wheels. Children's skates vary greatly, some are toy skates with wheels that do not turn well. If you try to spin the wheels with your hand, they only spin for a second before stopping (Professional speed skates can spin for 60 to 90 seconds.) These types of toy skates cannot be used in roller skating classes. We have experienced situations where children are unable to skate for a long time, and later found out that it was due to the poor wheel rotation of these toy skates.
Speed skates: suitable ones can only be purchased at roller skating equipment exhibitions in professional stores or when participating in competitions. These shoes have a low ankle and are difficult to control, but are efficient and can reach high speeds. They have good stability, but are also relatively expensive. It is recommended to switch to these shoes only after acquiring a certain level of skill. The shoes, frames, and wheels can be purchased separately for self-assembly or as pre-assembled sets. Both adults and children can do this, but children's shoes are more likely to be pre-assembled sets, while adults in the professional level always choose to assemble their own equipment. Prices range from $200 to $2000. A typical pre-assembled set for a child around 7 years old costs around $250, while for adults it is around $800. Professional level equipment can range from $1000 to $2000.
Where to buy roller skates: online or in physical stores.
Leisure skates can be purchased online or at local physical sporting goods stores. There are many options to choose from online, but you cannot try them on in person, and you may not know the size. If you buy them and find that they do not fit, returning them can be difficult and time-consuming. Physical sporting goods stores had many brands to choose from 15 years ago, but now there are fewer options. The advantage of buying in a physical store is that you can try them on before purchasing.
A New Way of Buying Shoes - Tracing Footprints: This is a shoe ordering method that our Kids Inline Skating roller skating group has been using since 2018. At first, it was mainly used for buying speed skates, but later it was also used for buying casual shoes. It has been proven to be very accurate. The specific method is to trace a 1:1 footprint of your foot on two A4 papers, write down the type of shoe you want to order, your requirements, your name, height, age, weight, phone number, and shipping address when sending it back. Please also indicate that you are a member of the Lincheng Xiu Skate Class. Send the two pieces of paper (left and right footprints) by regular mail to Steve Larios (personal phone number: 615-838-6461) at Asphalt Beach Skate Shop (address: 961 Woodland St, Nashville, TN 37206). If you have any further requirements, you can call or email asphaltbeach@comcast.net to contact Steve. Generally, Steve will call you after receiving the footprints and will send you the chosen shoes after making a selection that best fits your feet. Asphalt Beach is one of the largest roller skate shops in the United States, and Steve is a former professional roller skater with extensive experience in selecting the most suitable roller skates for you based on your footprints, even if you cannot visit the shop in person. Most of the speed skates owned by the kids in our group were selected and sent by Steve.
I met Steve because Bob recommended me to join the Asphalt Beach speed skating team, which is a well-known team throughout the United States. Whenever I compete in other cities, people may not know me, but they recognize my team uniform. Steve is the owner of the Asphalt Beach speed skating team, and he offers discounts to each team member. He also knows that I teach roller skating classes, so he extends the discount to my students when they buy skates. Recently, several kids in our group bought speed skates at a great price (for example, a pair of skates that would normally cost at least $240, but the parents only paid $220). In my opinion, the lowest price isn't the most important thing - it's having a professional help you choose the right skates, which saves you a lot of trouble.
About 3-Wheel Skates and 4-Wheel Skates
A few years ago, speed skates began to shift from 4-wheel to 3-wheel designs. For a long time, they were all four-wheeled, such as 4x110, which I used for many years. Later, when the wheel diameter increased to 125mm, if you continued to use a 4-wheel setup, the frame would become too long and the shoes too heavy. As a result, the 3-wheel design became popular. After using 3-wheel skates for a while, I found that they seemed safer because there is a large gap between each wheel, making it less likely to get jammed by small rocks or twigs between the two wheels. Of course, this is just my personal feeling, and there may be other factors to consider, such as height, weight, weather, etc.
Helmet and Roller Skating Protective Gears
4/11/2021 Lincheng Xiu
Helmet, wrist guards, elbow pads, and knee pads - everyone should wear them all. Otherwise, please do not participate in the roller skating activities organized by this group. (For professional-level roller skating enthusiasts, helmets and wrist guards are a must, and knee pads and elbow pads are optional, but recommended. For beginners, it is recommended to use hip protectors.) These equipment can be purchased online, and you can ask the group for recommendations on where to buy them. These protective gears have been proven to work 100% for most people. This is especially important when skating on the streets where the road conditions are unpredictable and require quick decision making. Compared to skating in a controlled environment, street skating is much more complicated. In case of any accidents, protective gears are your best defense.
In the year 2000, when I started learning inline skating in Singapore, I only practiced on the rink, and there was no strict requirement for helmets, but protective gear was still necessary. In 2001, when I came to the United States, I found out that there was a strict requirement of "No helmet no skate." Before my first visit to the Washington DC Roller Skating Club, I had to deliberately buy a bicycle helmet for around 30 dollars. At the time, I thought I would never need to use this helmet, it was just for show. But it turned out to be necessary. During a roller skating event shortly after, on a closed road behind the White House, I was so happy that I quickly slid backwards. A small stone got stuck between the two wheels and without any warning, I fell backward and hit the back of my head hard on the ground, shattering the helmet... If it wasn't for that helmet, I wouldn't be writing this article on the importance of helmets today. It was the helmet that allowed me to get up at that time, skate back to the parking lot, and drive home for an hour, but my neck was sore for several days afterward.
Let me tell you something more recent. About two years ago, our roller skating class was held on West Clay. At the end of the class, Zhao Xuefeng and I were dismantling the wheel rotation system. From a distance, we saw one of our young skaters wearing roller skates playing near the basketball court. For some reason, the child lost balance and the helmet hit the ground, making a loud noise. We were worried that the child might have been injured, but the child seemed fine and got up and skated away.
When roller skating on the road, you have to interact with cars. If you are hit by a car, the fatal injury is not from the impact of the car itself, but from the impact of your head hitting the ground after being knocked down by the car. If you wear a helmet, your chances of surviving are greatly increased.
There was once a news report about a person riding a bicycle who fell and had their head run over by a truck, but was not injured because they were wearing a good quality helmet. Twenty years ago, there was a saying on the internet that "Your head is worth spending money on a good helmet."
Protective gear is equally important. When a person falls, the joints are the first to hit the ground. If the joints have protective gear, it can effectively prevent or greatly reduce the degree of injury. The most vulnerable areas to injury are the wrists, followed by the knees, and finally the elbows. There are specific statistics available online regarding these injuries.
Roller skating protective gear is specialized and should not be substituted with other types of protective gear. Roller skating protective gear has a hard shell that can slide on the ground, which extends the impact time, reduces the impact force, and consumes the kinetic energy before falling. If the protective gear is too stiff and cannot slide on the ground, it can easily cause joint fractures, which I have witnessed myself. When participating in roller skating activities, you must use specialized roller skating protective gear, wear it carefully, and carefully check it before each activity. It is like buying insurance, you may not need it, but it will be 100% effective once an accident happens.
There is no unified answer or statistical data on how long one should practice roller skating before reducing the use of protective gear, such as only wearing wrist guards. Based on my experience, it takes about 10 years of very active roller skating, such as skating 3-4 times a week for 2 hours each time, to reduce the number of falls to once a year or less. Under such circumstances, you can consider only wearing wrist guards.
In short, we require everyone to wear helmets and protective gear before participating in our roller skating street activities. If you have not prepared these protective gears yet, please do so as soon as possible, as they will be needed by next Friday.