Undoubtedly, the market of entry-level freeskates is a bit of a tough nut to crack for newcomers to the sport. Most leading brands have their horses in this race and try to attract customers, but truth to be told, the budget cuts sometimes go too far in comparison to more expensive models, which makes lower price skates looking like a much worse deal than their siblings.
The times of super solid and affordable freeskates, the ones which could be described as “balanced” when it comes to quality of the parts, are basically gone. We had several examples of the “best bang for your bucks” skates in the past, like Powerslide Imperial One which came with extruded Spider AL frames and Spinner wheels, or Rollerblade Fusion X5 which were kings of the mid-range freeskates about 10 years ago. Another such example were more recent RB 80 skates and their predecessors, Rollerblade Storm.
Some may ask in regards to that last line: wait, what do you mean by “were”?
RB 80 Cruiser and RB Pro X are still selling well to this day and are excellent freeskates. In our shop, these are one of the best selling ones! To understand what I mean, we need to cover the history of these skates.
How Rollerblade's best-selling freeskates in recent history were born.
About 6 years ago, Rollerblade have introduced RB Storm model into markets where lower tier, basic freeskates were selling in high volumes. They were created using an existing mould not owned by Rollerblade (costs savings!) and given polish to bring them up to Rollerblade’s high standards. Poland and Spain were among the first countries where Storm were available.
The skates were a big success, even though there was no promotional campaign at all and the company has not really nailed it when it comes to colour design – skates got this “noisy” look with a lot of graphics. The affordable price point and Rollerblade branding worked the magic. No wonder that soon, the Italian brand has decided to introduce new skate into their worldwide catalogue – Storm got rebranded to RB 80 and given less flashy, more classy looks.
For first couple of years, there was just one RB 80 model – really solid skates with strong shell, comfortable liner, good quality extruded frame and more basic buckles, wheels and bearings to lower the price. After that, this single skate was split in two different price tiers: Cruiser and Pro. In addition, Rollerblade made a “W” version of Cruisers.
The Cruisers were a downgrade compared to older model – they received a lower tier, embossed frame with two piece axles. Meanwhile, Pro has kept the extruded frame but also has received Supreme wheels, a solid mid-tier option (comparable to popular Powerslide Spinners). But the model that made RB 80 shoot through the roof in terms of popularity was RB DA – Danny Aldridge’s pro skate. It looked super sleek with a touch of elegance rarely seen in freeskates and came with a premium frame (same one as used on Twister Edge - great part) and top-tier Hydrogen wheels.
Cruisers were left behind...
The Pro edition has received some meaningful upgrades like a better 45 degree buckle and liner laced in top part in the season 2021, making them easily the best value hardboots among freeskates.
But all Cruisers got was a slight change to the frame, allowing for axles to be tightened using just one allen key. They are still two piece, but one side locks in the frame, that's it. You can see difference between embossed and extruded frames below:
It is fair to say that Cruisers were still an attractive option at their price point and that’s why they have flew off the shelves. Still, these skates were bought mostly by newcomers and more experienced skaters weren’t that interested in them. To put it simply, the frame was nothing special next to ones available on similarly priced FRX and Zoom 80 – and we are talking about gravity casted frames here, which are really basic by today’s standards. Cruisers were relegated to duty of model aimed at beginners.
To add insult to injury, the Pro X skate cost came at roughly 30% more, but offered huge leap forward in terms of parts. A proper, extruded aluminium frame with CNC machining finish, significantly better wheels, better 45 degree buckle and liner which can be laced in the upper part. Next to them, Cruisers were not looking like a great deal, even though, in reality, they were pretty good skates, all things considered.
...but things have changed for season 2022.
The price of Cruiser versions has been raised to 179,99 Euros, so by 20 Euros compared to previous edition. This was something to be expected, really – this happens almost every year. But this time, there’s one important thing coming with this increased cost:
RB 80 Cruiser skates have received the same frame as one used in Pro X model!
This means that Rollerblade went back to specs of Storm and first RB 80 editions. In the end, it is nothing really new and skates cost 20 Euros more – but they are far more competitive against models like FR3, for example, whereas previously there was no contest here.
This is how the regular, yellow on black version looks like compared to 2021 edition:
And this is how “W”, also called Aqua, does:
A solid, proven boot with strong frame mounting solution. Good, extruded frame with CNC finish placing above ones used in direct competitors - as mentioned earlier, FRX, FR3 and Zoom 80 have gravity casted frames! Comfortable liner. Buckles and wheels are basic ones, but well – you have to cut costs somewhere, and they are by no means bad.
With change of one (but important) part, RB 80 Cruisers have jumped from tail-end position to being a leader of the pack. The value here is exceptional – anyone looking for a fresh pair of freeskates should consider these (if they fit, of course!).
But ...that's not all! Two biggest sizes available, EU47 and EU48, now come with longer, 261mm frames. This is a major improvement for people with big feet. To be honest - ANY boot of this size sitting on a 243mm long frame (or shorter) not only looks silly, but is wildly unstable. If the wheelbase is that much shorter than your feet, you'll be rocking front to back like a cradle when parent wants to put crying kid to sleep. Rollerblade is one of two brands on the market that pay attention to this stuff (another one is Powerslide) - the Twister Edge models had 255mm frames in biggest sizes since launch, for example.
Personally, I wear size EU42,5 and hate riding on 243mm frames with passion. I have four pairs of skates and shortest frames I'm using are 255mm. Riding on 243mm is doable, but not really fun for me - I feel like I am lacking stability for truly deep, powerful push. I can only imagine how a person with EU47 feet must feel on that length. So yeah, 261mm is a big deal. Frames are just as low as shorter version, so they fit 80mm wheels out of the box - however, we have tried fitting 84mm ones, seeing that lenght should make it possible.
The good news is that yes, it is possible. The bad news is that second wheel rubs agains the underside of the boot. However, if you are crafty modder, you can make 2mm thick aluminium plates to go between frames and the boots to get around this issue without removing the boot material. Go to hardware store, buy a 2-3mm aluminium flat bar, cut off 4 pieces roughly the same dimension as frame contact surfaces, drill holes for screws in them and voila - problem fixed, you can now upgrade to 84mm wheels. This method does not affect the boot or frame in any negative way, but rememeber - as with every other mod, you are doing it at your own risk.
Almost forgot – another upgrade are laces. I own previous version of Cruisers (heavily modded, but that’s material for a different story) and when I’ve first unpacked the skates, I’ve laughed at how poor quality the stock laces were. Rollerblade have put two sets of laces in the box - yellow and black - but both were super thin, stretchy and to put it simply: useless. You would have a hard time lacing a pair of shoes with these properly, let alone a pair of hardboot skates.
New edition brings improvement in this area – laces are thicker and stronger, even though they are still not the same class as FR Skates ones, not to mention waxed hockey laces (still puzzles me why so few people use those!). But at least they are not just a mere placeholder and you can make use of them.
But yeah - get yourself some hockey laces. I use CCM ones in all my skates and cannot recommend them enough. Pro tip - buy the longest ones, cut in half, then melt the cut ends with a lighter. Voila, you just got yourself two set for a price of one. It is a bit of fiddling to put the melted end through the holes, but it is doable.
Black sheep of the family.
There’s one minor catch about all of this. Starting with season 2022, Rollerblade have introduced EU33 size of RB 80 Cruiser in black and yellow colour combo. And this size is the only one coming with the older type, embossed frames.
Why? Honestly, I do not know and no one was able to answer this question. Furthermore, at the time of writing this piece, Rollerblade is not even including this size in their catalogue and on their website. It is most likely some limited edition run – these things happen sometimes. To not look further, one of such examples is Powerslide Imperial 80 Special Edition (on a sidenote, a very good pick if you are finding RB shells too wide).
Putting this weird situation with frames aside, the good thing is that at least one of RB 80 family models is now available in such small size. The fact is, there are no other hardboot options in size EU33 for adults, so RB 80 Cruisers are your best choice. It is also worth to note that, shell is true to size in this particular case - you are getting one which fits the EU33 foot at maximum, not simply an EU33 liner in EU35 shell! This alone is a big selling point.
Still, people who will buy it, do get a lower end frame. Don’t get me wrong, they won’t break or anything like that – with feet that small, the skater is most likely having a small body size and does not weight much. The frames were tested for users weighting up to 100kg, so that is not a problem of durability, more of ...fairness I guess? Still, I’ve felt obliged to let you know about all of this stuff, so there you have it - we are playing open cards, no secrets here.
Go for them.
Weird state of matters with EU33 size is just a minor sport on overall excellent, broader picture – new edition of RB 80 Cruiser are super solid and well equipped skates at attractive price. Honestly, I don’t think the extra 20 Euros will be an issue – I fully expect them to fly off the shelves, so get them while stock lasts.
Furthermore, these are not just excellent skates in their own right, but also a very solid base for custom setups. So lets say that you got bored with 4x80 mm setup (I know I did, and years ago). Want to set your pair up with some cooler wheel configuration? How about rockered IQON frames?
Bang! You just got yourself an amazing flowskating/wizard setup. Go out and do the magic. Thanks to aluminium blocks sunken in the shell in place of frame mounting points, the connection is super solid and rigid, giving you a high degree of precision. And the skates are already fast on 80 mm wheels, thanks to superb energy transfer, so they will be even faster on bigger wheels.
You can find all RB 80 models available in our shop here.
If you’ll rather jump to newest models right away, here’s the link to black/yellow edition and here’s to black/aqua.