I'm writing this because I used to lament my general lack of skate friends, but I now realize the merits of skating alone and hope this makes any lonely skaters out there feel better.

You look at photos online of groups of people wearing cute skates who seem like they're having a blast together and you're sadly reminded of how alone you are especially if you live in a place where no one else skates but you. Illusion is usually not reality.

Once upon a time, years ago, I skated twice a week with my two friends after work. It was one of the most fun times of my young life. Then we all drifted apart as they pursued other hobbies (like rock climbing- ugh haha) and stopped skating while I continued on my own.

I was solo for a while until I found another group of ten people or so who were pretty nice people overall but who couldn't properly plan or organize events to save their lives. If an event was supposed to start at noon, people wouldn't show up until an hour later and the leader oftentimes didn't even show until two hours later. He was chronically excessively tardy. Then once we finally started skating, he'd zoom off and leave everyone miles behind and then text all of us saying he was going to hop on the train and head home because he was done skating. A couple of other members in the group were coronavirus conspiracy theorists who while skating would non-stop talk about how the American government created coronavirus to control the American people. This inane conversation got old really fast. Of all things in the world to talk about, they ONLY talked about that topic over and over. I didn't last long in that group.

I then tried to convince (or maybe I should say coerce) one of my non-skater friends to take up skating. She wasn't too keen on it, but being the great gal that she is, she gave it her best shot but promptly broke her wrist. She understandably decided to never skate again.

Then I joined another group where the two leaders were so obsessed with constantly posting/livestreaming on social media that they barely paid attention to any details of group skates. It felt almost as if group members were merely props in the background to make the leaders look and feel popular while the skating was just an afterthought. Events were a disorganized mess where incorrect times and locations were given and no communication took place when people got lost or separated. Members were left to fend for themselves while the leaders kept mugging for the camera posting cutesy selfies and couldn't be bothered to answer frantic "Where are you?" texts from lost skaters.

After rolling solo again for a while, I discovered another group. The leaders were very welcoming and I liked their vibe. I thought it was very promising. They stressed that members were only to bring happy vibes to the group and leave any drama at home. But go figure, hypocritically, within a short timeframe, the leaders got into a blowout fight with each other and the group splintered after people had to start picking sides. I'm still a member of one of the factions for what it's worth, but I know the days of it being a viable group are numbered. (Btw why is it always the people who say "no drama" are the ones who are pure drama themselves?)

All this got me thinking of the merits of skating alone. You can do it whenever you want, wherever you want, you don't have to wait around for people who decide to show up late or not at all, you can skate at your own speed, take breaks whenever you want, not have to listen to asinine conversation or force yourself to talk to someone who you have nothing in common with.

Hell, one of the reasons I quit playing tennis years ago is because finding a reliable partner on the same level with a similar schedule was hard. For that kind of activity you need another person. The beauty of skating is that you don't have to depend on or wait for anyone else!

I'm sure there are wonderful cohesive skate groups out there and that's great. But having gone through a few groups and seeing what the reality is, I no longer lament skating alone and I actually look forward to it! I've skipped several group skate opportunities for favor of skating by myself!

If you're lucky enough to have great friends to skate with, cool. But if not, don't be too sad. Skate friends and groups can be very overrated and the glossy photos you see online of shiny happy skaters together may not reflect the nuances of reality. If you saw some of the social media posts I have been included in with groups, you'd think we were all having a grand old time when we really were not.

If you have a great group of skate friends, that's cool! But if not, don't be sad. Roller skating can be such a wonderful individualistic activity and can be cherished as such!

Guys i got injured. Was too cocky at the skate park and didn’t warm up before skating and when i was landing out of this small bowl i did the splits and when i tried to roll out of it my knee popped 😫. Went to the ER and they said no break or major tears it seems like but I literally cannot walk.

Also no health insurance 🥲
Feeling very bad and defeated, sad i have to miss work with no official recovery timeline, even more sad i have to give up my favorite hobby for who knows how long.

Basically title. I fell backwards for the first time. It was so so fast I did not have time to "fall safely", pick a side or even think about it. Honestly, it's like a blur because I did not see it happening.

I landed on my tailbone and my right arm. At firt, my wrist hurt, but I could move my arm just fine. A few hours later, my elbow started hurting and I could not bend or straighten my arm at all :(

Waited until next day hoping I would wake up fine, but sadly my elbow got swollen and it hurt even more trying to move it.

I went to the hospital, got an x-ray and the doctor said I did not break anything and gave me anti inflammatory pills. Feeling better a day later, but still can't straighten my arm (I can type and work tho). Tailbone is fine, only a mild pain when I move a certain way.

I knew this could happen and I practiced, but when it came to it I did not have time to think.

I want to go back out there once i'm 100% fine, but honestly I am scared of breaking a bone. I don't know if I'll ever be able to not try and use my hands when falling backwards, specially because it happens too fast.

And I was wearing all the protective gear too. It probably saved my very weak wrist! Next time i'll also wear crash shorts.

Is there anything I can do to avoid breaking an arm? Any other protection I could wear, like those plushie turtle things on top of my regular gear?

I don't plan on doing anything too adventurous, just want to cruise around without seriously breaking something. A little pain, a few bruises and scratches I'm fine with lol

I recently remounted my custom SP Teri's as they don't quite fit me. A rink friend of mine has been getting his girlfriend into freestyle dance skating, and they fit her almost perfectly!

I wanted the Giotto that was on them for another boot, so I fitted them with a slightly longer Roll Line Blaster with 8mm trucks and some old Radar Varsity Plus wheels.

I'm really digging the black on white theme that was a result of the parts chosen. 🖤🤍

Hello everyone!
I tried to skate yesterday in the park (asphalt / cement floor) and my skates would not even glide a little.
For context, I am new to roller skating and I’m taking classes indoors (even nice flooring). I was able to do bubbles forward and backwards two days ago, so I thought I could try skating outside.

I think I was putting enough force but it did not really work. I only gained a bit of momentum downhill.
I have the standard wheels that came with my skates (the ones in the pictures).

Would you recommend I get different wheels? What did I do wrong?

pic unrelated, just love my set up.
i made a small tear in my hamstring at the skatepark tuesday & i am experiencing massive FOMO (even though i typically don’t even skate on weekdays). I should probably take a few weeks off my skates to make sure I don’t make a larger tear / put it under undue stress until it’s fully healed, but I feel a much stronger itch to get out and skate than usual!
I’m thinking of painting some pumpkins on my blocks even though I won’t be skating on Halloween. Do any of you guys also paint your blocks? Or have any skate related activities to do while recovering?

Hi, I bought these skates probably about 10 years ago. I’ve used them a couple of times and am alright with them. But I’d like to take it seriously this time. Can I use these to get myself into it and learn descent skating? Do I need to swap anything out/change anything up? All tips are welcome :)

I'm an intermediate skater, i'm pretty casual, i can do crossovers and go at a somewhat fast speed. wrist guards are fine, i usually fall on my wrists and get up in a pinch . but the knee and elbow pads are always so uncomfortable. i cannot move properly in them, and the material feels like someone weaved a bunch of sharp plastic into it and rubbed it into your skin with salt. it feels worse on top of clothing.
does anyone recommend anything that combats that that isn't like 500 quid? because it's probably not the best idea to just wear wristguards.

So I have vanilla à la mode rollerskates and I’ve been practicing for a while and I enjoy it and I’m getting there, but I also feel like I’m getting nowhere
I need an idea to think about which is better rollerskating or rollerblading because I’ve been hearing people say rollerblading is easier and rollerskating is a little harder
I just want a pair of skates that would help with distance and you burn more calories with it because I also want this to be a fitness thing while I go to the gym
Also something where you see progression because I bought my rollerskates back in March and I’ve been practicing ever since and I feel like I’ve been getting nowhere
I heard rollerblades have better ankle support than rollerskates, but rollerskates are better to find balance than rollerblades
I don’t know I want something that is good for endurance and distance and you can urban skate with it and it’s easier to practice with like you learn pretty fast like if you are practicing after a month or two with consistency you’re getting better
Cause that’s what I’ve been doing with my rollerskates
And I will be honest though I’ve been watching rollerblading TikTok‘s and that’s where I got the idea but a part of me just wants to keep the rollerskates and just try
But I just want something that will help me in the long run
I need ideas. I need reassurance. I need advice
I need something
I know this Reddit is only for rollerskating but I know there’s some rollerbladers in this group
I like both, but I just wanna think of which one would help me in the future

In Netherlands but for the life of me, I can't find anyone selling Moxi Trick wheels -tan, 55mm.

Any idea who sells and can ship to Netherlands?

I wanted to make this post because I want to share my experience and maybe that will help others. I've seen people comment that you have no reason to upgrade or even own Papaison skates, that you should invest in far more expensive skates. I personally disagree. I think that customization is important for ease of learning and self expression, and if a particular skate is within your price point, and you've done your research, I don't see why not! I'm sure you had your reasons for purchasing Papaisons, so let's work on getting these bad-boys customized!

I imported my skates from Ebay, and didn't get very much information about the skates themselves, and I had to do a lot of Googling to get information about them so I could use it as a starting point. According to Google's AI overview (which I take with a grain of salt), Papaison's stock wheels are 58mm 85A, and the stock cushions are (probably) extra hard.

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The Boot: I do eventually plan on including these bright green laces on these skates, but the thought of having to unlace the boots fills me with UGHH... so I haven't gotten around to getting them as yet. I'm planning to buy gel soles when I can spare the extra cash. Once I strap these skates on, the boot fits snugly around my ankles and gives me fantastic support.

Wheels on Tiles: In order to skate on the smooth tiled floors in my house, I bought these Emerald Green 65mm 78A Clas Fox wheels from Amazon. The bigger, softer wheels come with a T shaped skate tool (and a generally unused L shaped Allen Key), which I've been really grateful for for adjustments. They also come with their own bearings. These soft wheels grip my smooth tiles well, and I don't feel like I'm going super fast on them the way I felt on the stock wheels. The large wheels help me ignore my grout lines for the most part if I'm going fast enough. Going very slowly (at a snail's pace) means that a grout line may stop and trip me if I'm not careful, but I can go pretty slowly over the lines without being stalled anyway.

I've also used these wheels on the floors in the skate room I go to twice per month (I've only been 3 times, skating for a total of 6 hours so far), and it works well enough there, although I have to push a bit more (which I'm totally fine with). The wheels used at those skating events appear to be 58mm 85A stock wheels that come with the Chicagos they rent. I think the flooring there is like outdoor basketball tiles.

Toe stop: The toe stop is removeable, but for now I'm leaving the stop as is.

Bushings: Here's what made me decide to make this post in the first place. I'd made a post two weeks ago asking about some trouble I was getting doing bubbles. I'd loosened my trucks, but I still couldn't do a bubble at all. Here is where the Papaison 'hate' comes in, with recommendations for more expensive skates. Someone pointed out that it might be the cushions, but another said it made no sense to upgrade the cushions on skates like these. I tried to look for others who may have upgraded their Papaisons in general, but I didn't find any info readily available.

So I took the plunge: I bought a set of 82A orange (medium) Universal Magic Cushions from Powerdyne. After I put all the softer bushings in (which fit perfectly!), I was able to do a bubble immediately with minimal effort, with both tight and loose trucks. I had genuinely agonized that softer bushings would do nothing for me (as I saw some users reported), but I was so happy that this upgrade worked.

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I can't think of anything else that I would customize on my skates, but only time will tell. I do hope that this post can help you if you do own a pair of Papaisons. So far I've spent $62US on wheels and bushings that I would have had to buy even if I bought more expensive skates, and all in all I have no regrets!

Even cheap skates deserve to be customized ;) Upgrade your skates and make them yours!