Twister Edge’s story has begun when triskates with wheel diameters of 100, 110 or even 125 mm has taken over the market in a flash. It quickly became apparent that older Twisters, the flagship freeskate from Rollerblade at the time, was not up to the task of working properly with such high frames. Their frame mounting was a major problem — it was not reinforced by embedded metal mounting plates, which was basically an industry’s standard by that point. Connection between metal frame and the plastic boot surfaces was too flexible for high frames on big wheels.
Rollerblade themselves were well aware of that problem back then, which resulted in them not listing Twisters as one of the “3WD ready” models back when their own triskating frame sets hit the market. Yeah, technically it was possible to mount these frames on the boot, but you were doing that at your own risk. The time of Twister has passed — a new skate was needed and Rollerblade engineers sit at the drawing board to design what in the end became a Twister Edge. A new skate bringing the company in to a new era, and capable of going toe to toe with best freeskating hardboots out there.
But Twister Edge did a lot more than simply introducing a more modern frame mounting style. The company went further, designing Anti Torsion Box, a hole underneath central part of the foot, framed with reinforced structure around it. This makes the lower part of the boot exceptionally rigid and improves energy transfer, not to mention that thanks to new energy plates, the flexibility of boot-frame connection that plagued old Twisters is nowhere to be found. These skates are rock solid.
All new, better Twisters - meet the flagship freeskates of legendary brand!
Twister Edge do not share much beyond the name with their predecessor. The shell, cuff, liner, buckles and even frames are all brand new. It’s worth to note that frames actually resemble old Hot Rod ones a bit, which is a nice nod to the brand’s history. The angular design of the shell is taking inspiration from stealth military air-crafts as well as brutalism movement in architecture. This not only makes these skates so distinctive, it also makes them looking right at home in urban environments.
For the past few years Rollerblade have been releasing several Twister Edge versions. It is worth to note that in skates equipped with 4x80 mm wheels, the frame length changes with the boot size. People with big feet, EU44,5 and bigger, get 255 mm long frame to ensure a good level of stability. Skates for smaller feet have more popular 243 mm long frame.
New RB Twister Edge skates in our shop.
Twister Edge X — the best version of the skate for classic 4x80 mm setup lovers out there. This is also the flagship and best freeskate in Rollerblade’s catalogue. It comes with Premium line liner, top-tier Hydrogen wheels made in USA, and Twincam ILQ-9 Classic bearings. If you seek a non-compromise urban skate, literally the best of what the brand has to offer — get Twister Edge X.
Twister Edge — a basic version of the skate. Do not focus on the “basic” part too much, though. There are brands that make 4 or 5 different price-point skates based on the same boot, downgrading parts accordingly, which results in a vast difference of quality between basic and top tier version. Rollerblade do not play that way. Their philosophy is simple: you can get a superb (X) or a very good (the “basic”) version of Twister Edge. Shell, buckles, frame – they remain untouched compared to the more expensive model. The differences are Supreme wheels instead of Hydrogens (still a very good choice for urban skating!), a bit lower grade Twincam ILQ-7 Plus bearings and High Performance liner.
Twister Edge W — a more feminine version of regular Twister Edge described above. Apart from aesthetics which make for a very stylish skate, the difference is that W version is made in sizes up to EU42 only.
Twister Edge 110 3WD — to put it simply — a triskating variant of Twister Edge X. All parts are the same, top tier level — including Premium liner. The 3WD Urban frame measures 255 mm which makes for a perfect balance between agility, speed and stability and is one of the most solid three wheeled frames on the market. As expected, it comes with Hydrogen wheels. Rollerblade equipped them with Twincam ILQ-9 Classic Plus bearings.
That’s it! Rollerblade are a bit like Apple — their products are always super polished and even if they fall back behind competition in some areas, one cannot deny how coherent they are when it comes to design and overall quality. The Twister Edge line of skates are, without a shadow of doubt, one of the best hardboot freeskates money can buy, and we recommend them wholeheartedly!