Skates born out of necessity.
As many of our readers know, Seba — arguably the most widely recognised freeskating brand estabilished about 15 years ago — have branched out sometime ago by creating FR Skates. The story behind that move is not that relevant and somewhat tangled (and it’s not our thing to speculate), least to say. It all ended up well, though — we are mentioning it only because this split lead to creation of Seba E3, skates we want to tell you more about today.
FR Skates brand was built around best-selling line of Seba brand products — in particular FR models. This meant that Seba has "lost" all their hardboot skates to the younger sibling, including their low price point hit, the incredibly popular FRX. All that was left from freeride/urban skating line was SX — an amazing skate, but it does not come cheap.
Seba brand needed something to fill the void the departure of FR has left. Thus, E3 were made.
Meet Seba E3 — a new ruler of budget freeskates
Apparently, it wasn’t Seba’s ambition to develop a new skate to go against higher tier models like FR1, Twister Edge or Next. They have restarted with basics — E3 are relatively cheap skates made as an entry-level gear for beginners or people who cannot drop more money on a pair. The results are outstanding, and this is not an exaggeration — it’s really impossible to find another skate offering as much as E3 does for even remotely similar price.
The shell is an entirely new mould — we recommend checking our size table to check the dimensions. A visually striking feature is abundance of ventilation holes, which isn’t that common among freeskates nowadays. E3 are the most perforated shells since Rollerblade Twister. The skate does not have aluminium blocks for frame mounting, uses more standard approach with two-point 165mm mounting instead. The plastic used here is rigid and thick, resulting in a secure frame and boot connection. One downside is lack of any front to back frame position adjustment system in the shell, but to be honest, it's not a standard in even more expensive skates, either. Seba have included a "wheel well" next to front mounting point, creating a space to let first wheel in triskate frames spin freely, improving the compatibility without need of modifying the boot.
A nice feature is using the same cuff as one in CJ/SX skates — this makes a number of coloured options available right out of the gate for those who care about customization (although you would need to drill out the cuff rivets). The 45-degree Seba and FR Skates dual straps also fit. The replaceable sliders, though, are entirely new part and furthermore, due to shell shape the already available ones won’t fit — kind of missed opportunity here.
The liner is a familiar part of the skate, as it makes a comeback from older Seba FR models. It’s a comfortable inner boot and comes equipped with a lacing option in the upper part. It’s a great feature to have for users who like to skate loosely buckled cuffs, as lacing prevent tongue from shifting and rubbing against the leg. It also helps to lock the heel down in skate. We recommend using a second pair of shorter laces to lace liners separately from shell for the best results.
Another key element of the skates are, of course, the frames. Seba used proven, trusted solution and the skates come with X2R frames. These aluminium casted frames are also present in FR Skates FRX and FR3 models, making it possibly the first time the same frame model is being used in two different brands’ skates.
For a entry level price skate, X2R frames are a treat. They won’t score points for originality, of course — and at a first look, these seem to be your standard 243mm 4x80 wheels template dominating the freeskates market for over 15 years now. However, they come with rockering system -the outer wheels’ position can be raised by 2mm in relation to middle ones. It allows for having a “banana” rocker setup without a necessity to buy additional four 76mm wheels. This makes E3 being a perfect fit for starting adventure with freestyle slalom, as they are ready for cones almost right out of the box — just spend 10 minutes with allen key in hand to adjust the wheels. Urban skaters may want to raise only the first wheel, which gives a feel similar to hockey skates setup – turns are easier while stability is still good.
The new E3 110 Premium model got a new 3x110 frame. It is very similar to one used in FR Skates FRX and FR3 310, but not exactly the same shape. Contrary to FR Skates counterpart, it is not die casted, but extruded. The other parameters are basically a match, though: it is also measures 232mm and have the same height. It may seem short (because it is) for urban skating, but one must remember the roots of the brand: freestyle. Short frame opens up possibilites of, and even encourages to try, freestyle-like moves on three big wheels. People used to longer frames won't like this setup at first, but stick with it and you'll discover that it's fast and crazy manoeuvrable. There's plenty of fun to have here!
The available E3 models
Seba E3 come in four flavours total: two with 4x80mm wheel setup, a junior version with 4x76mm wheels and newwly added 3x110 triskate.
The base model is Seba E3 80. At a glance, they differ from E3 80 Premium only by having a Velcro strap instead of buckle. In practice, there are two additional differences. The cheaper version gets ABEC7 bearing (ABEC9 in Premium). The laces are also worse in regular E3 80, being more of a placeholder until you replace them with a good set of laces. Premium version get the famous Seba laces, the very same ones as used in all current FR models. Both versions have the same shell, top buckle, liner, frame and wheels.
Seba E3 Junior is nothing more than an E3 80 tailored for kids. Their frame is shorter (231 mm) and fits 4x76 mm setup, there are only two shell sizes to choose from (they are not adjustable) and the boot comes with a three sets of insoles, allowing to "shrink" or "grow" the skate when needed.
Last but not least, the new Seba E3 110 Premium. The boot is the same as in E3 80 Premium, so no surprises there. We have already covered the frame, so let us talk abot wheels. They are a nice improvement over other versions, as instead of getting a generic 82A wheels with Seba logo slapped on, we are getting Street Kings model, which is a solid budget freeskating wheel. The hardness is 85A and they do have a bullet profile, so you can skate really fast on those. ABEC9 bearings complete the package.
Hail to the king
E3 have proven themselves during these past two seasons and stand as a very strong offering for those who look for affordable hardboot skates. Their low price (lower than one of the most popular budget skates around, the FRX) is definitely the biggest crowd-winner there, but they do not disappoint in other areas, of course if you are willing to accept some sacrifices.
You have our word, Seba E3 80 are okay skates. You need to be aware of the context and their limitations — you are getting what you are paying for, but this doesn’t change the fact that it’s been long since we saw such attractive and generous offering in lower price bracket. If you are looking for equipment to get into a world of urban skating or freestyle slalom without spending a lot of money — these come highly recommended. Go and order some!