Freeskates, or as they are also know, urban skates, are the best selling category in our shop, right next to fitness ones. Their popularity is not only a result of customers’ interest in urban skating – high versatility and the fact they are having similar qualities to skates known from the 90’s (but upgraded) also play the part.
After all, back in the day we were not that much concerned what skates were made for. They were all similar and pretty simple: hard shell, liner, composite (riveted) frame, buckle, wheels, bearings, axles. And yet, we were playing hockey, racing, jumping and doing tricks in them as kids.
Freeskates sell like hotcakes and companies are constantly in a kind of arms race, offering new options, adjustments, innovations. However, because focus is put on high end gear and making it even better, we have arrived at the point where even hardboots can cost a significant amount of money, not to mention the carbon based skates. Of course, there are more reasons to that – inflation, increasing production costs, more expensive shipment, to name a few.
When you are a beginner, dropping a significant amount of cash on your very first pair of freeskates may not only be unappealing, it may also not feel justified. When clients contact our shop, they often ask for advice in choosing one of the cheaper, more value oriented models. Even though it may not feel like it, there are actually numerous options to choose from when it comes to more affordable urban skates.
This is why we have put a list of cheaper options available and evaluate their pros and cons. We try to stay below threshold of 200 Euros, but take into account that prices may go up. A skate which falls below that price may exceed it slightly 6 months after publication of this article, for example.
This piece is written mainly for people who are inexperienced in skating, in general, so we will cover only classic 4x80 mm options. Most skates covered here do have triskating versions, if you are interested in those, though.
You must realise that all brands make budget cuts where they matters least in terms of skate quality - the wheels. Wheels are expected to wear out with time and to be replaced, thus lowering their quality helps to balance budget in other areas better. Yes, you won't find skates with great, top tier wheels under 200 Euros - but some models have suprisingly decent ones.
When it comes to skates, let’s start with absolute, bare minimum.
King of cheap skates, the Powerslide One Zoom 80
Stats don’t lie – these are one of top sellers in our shop, pulling ahead of every other hardboot skate, even highly popular FRX!
This version of Zoom skates is as basic as it can be and you won’t find any bells and whistles here. However, this is actually their strength, as Powerslide could use better grade materials than what you normally find in skates of this price.
Shell is made out of GFRP – glass fiber reinforced plastic, just like in case of more expensive freeskates made by German brand. It is super rigid and provides all the ankle support you need! Liner is very comfortable, although basic. Frame is made out of thick aluminum and riveted to the boot like in case of inline hockey skates. Cuff is also attached using rivets.
There’s a beauty in this level of simplicity. It is really hard to break anything here and thanks to it (and their price), they are highly popular option for rental, where they take a fair bit of beating. Apart from usual wheel rotation and tightening the axles from time to time (Blue Loctite – get it) Zoom are basically maintenance-free.
They are also on a wider side compared to other freeskating boots, so most people will find them comfortable.
The only thing not so great about them are wheels. But honestly, you won’t find any high quality wheels in skates listed here, because that’s an obvious way to make price cuts. After all, you need to get a replacement set of wheels sooner or later and Zoom cost closer to what you need to pay for a pair of fitness skates than more regular freeskates.
If you want cheap skates that simply do their job, you have found them. Also, they are frequently available on sale, at reduced price. Powerslide is also making more colorful version of the skate, but usually they are made only in smaller sizes.
Popular, liked – FR Skates FRX
If you’ll ask about low cost freeskate on most groups, expect vast majority of people to recommend FRX 80.
These skates are a perfect example of how to cut corners in a smart way. There are compromises to achieve their price-point but parts that do count the most: boot, liner and frame are all okay.
Contrary to basic Zoom with riveted frames, FRX come with one attached by two screws, with 165 mm spacing. It allows for exchanging the stock frames for something different or better in the future, but there’s a catch. More expensive models, starting with FR3, have aluminum blocks embedded in places where frame is attached to the boot. These are called “power plates” and each of them have 7 threaded holes for screws.
Lack of these and using simple two-point mounting with rack nuts is the biggest compromise in FRX. Aluminum blocks allow you to change frame position to front or back of the boot, increasing compatibility with models made by different companies. They also improve energy transfer and responsiveness of the skates.
FRX have thick plastic in mounting points, so the connection doesn’t flex, but skates do not feel as “snappy” as higher end models. Also, if you’ll ever decide to change the frame, basically what you see is what you get, there’s no room for adjustment or only very little using holes in frame itself.
Another way of saving money is equipping the skates with Velcro strap instead of ratchet buckle. However, this Velcro is rather wide, so it is not really much of a problem.
The X2R frame is not exactly a technical masterpiece, but for the price, it does its’ job just fine. The option to rocker outer axles up is a big plus and makes FRX a budget skate of choice for people who want to learn freestyle slalom. Street Kings wheels are surprisingly good for their price.
Boot itself is of medium width, but have big opening at the top. This makes FRX (and other FR skates) a great pick for people with high instep, who can experience pressure points in more enclosed shells. Liner is comfortable and it is exactly the same one as used in higher tier FR skates.
A nice thing about FRX is that they are often available in different colourways.
Less popular, less known, but fun too – FR Skates FRXP
What are FRXP? Something which can be summarised as FRX, but done slightly differently.
Before Seba developed X2R frames, FRX used XSeries ones. Contrary to X2R, which is gravity casted, the older model is extruded, just like more expensive frames. However, it is very simple when it comes to design, absolute barebones you may say. It also uses two piece axles and lacks an option to rocker outer wheels.
It has not been used by Seba and FR for years, but found its’ way into FRXP. Why? We can only suspect, but consider this: X2R is used in a lot of skates. FRX, FR3, Trix 2, E3, GT 80 – all of them use this frame and all of them are made in rather large quantities. It seem plausible that manufacturer just wasn’t able to increase a number of produced frames and thus, different production line was used to make older XSeries model for alternative version of FRX. Yeah, you lose versatility in terms of trying freestyle slalom, but it is still okay for urban skating.
Another difference is 45 degree buckle, used instead of Velcro. Interestingly, it is not the same as used on higher end FR Skates, but one also present on Seba E3 Premium skate. It does its’ job well, allowing you to lock heel in place without any issues. Wheels are the same as in regular FRX, but lack graphics due to cost cutting reasons.
Liner is slightly different – the foams in heel area are a bit thinner and carry strap has been changed. The last change introduced in FRXP is cuff attachment by rivets instead of screws.
Rest of the skate are exactly the same parts as FRX. Wheels lack graphics, but this is for cost cutting reasons, otherwise they are normal Street Kings. The FRXP is a good pick for those who want to grab a solid pair of urban skates for relatively low price – they are, in fact, cheaper than regular FRX.
A "full fat" FR Skates shell, the FR3
Majority of things we wrote about regular FRX apply here too, so we won’t repeat ourselves. There are two upgrades coming with more expensive FR3 model, one of which is a pretty big deal.
You are getting a “full fat” FR shell this time. This means that it comes with aluminum power plates for frame mounting. Each of them have 7 threaded holes you can use to mount frames, so these skates are compatible with virtually all 165 mm spacing frames.
These aluminum blocks are also greatly improving energy transfer efficiency on push, making skates faster. Super solid frame and boot connection also results in increased responsiveness.
The second change is a proper FR buckle. Not a huge deal, but nice to have considering price bump compared to FRX.
FR3 will give you riding experience similar to more expensive FR2 and FR1. When people say that hey are almost the same as FR1, they are definitely exaggerating, but FR3 are still solid skates worth their price.
Ugly ducklings: Seba E3 and Seba E3 Premium
They say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. In case of E3, the beholder would need to have a rather unusual taste in aesthetics to call them beautiful, but looks aren’t everything, you know?
E3 are basically more roomy FRX and the best low budget choice for wide feet. They still come with big opening at the top, making them suitable for people with high instep.
The X2R frame is the same one as found in FRX and FR3. Thus, it is okay and gives us a nice bonus in form of rockering. Frame mounting uses two points with 165 mm mount spacing, no surprises here.
Wheels are softer and of lower grade than ones used in FR Skates offerings, but price does justify that (and bear in mind that you can often buy these skates at discount).
If you can chip in a little extra to get Premium version of E3, we encourage you to do so. The price difference isn’t significant and you get much better laces (ones in regular E3 are placeholders at best), 45 degree buckle, better insole and a bit nicer finish of the liner in return. There's also a difference in bearings - premium gets ABEC9 with rubberised shields, regular E3 have ABEC7 with metal shields and C rings.
It is also worth to note that Seba has released a new, better looking and slightly upgraded version of the skate for 2023 season. It comes with a velvet-like material inside of the liner and a buckle with "8" shaped mounting piece, allowing you to shorten it a bit if needed.
Rollerblade RB 80 Cruiser – most likely the best deal around
RB Cruiser have more enclosed shell than FR boot, however, it is very spacious – comes recommended for people with large, wide feet and high instep.
If you have slim feet and low instep, steer clear from them!
Overall quality of the skate is excellent – shell is made out of rigid plastic which feels nice to touch under your fingers. It also does have aluminum power plates for mounting the frames, however they come with only two holes for screws. So versatility when it comes to coupling these boots with separately sold frames is lower than in case of FR3.
They still serve the secondary purpose, of course – energy transfer on push is greatly improved, so is the control and responsiveness. RB Cruisers feel snappy on your feet, acceleration is really good.
Frame is the biggest surprise – it is best one out of all models listed here. It is a really decent piece of hardware, made out of 6000 series aircraft aluminum. Rigidity is excellent and thanks to super solid connection to the boot, skates really “punch above their weight” and feel like they could easily cost more and still be a good deal.
It is also worth to note that boot sizes EU47 and EU48 come with a frame longer than smaller sizes – 261 mm instead of 243 mm. This makes skates better suited for people with big feet, giving proper level of stability. Maximum wheel size is still 80 mm, though.
What about rest of the parts?
Liner is pretty simple in design, but still comfortable, nicely made and breathable – there’s nothing to complain here, really. Skates come with a brake (you can take it off, of course) which makes them an excellent choice for absolute beginners.
There are only two areas where compromises are evident and yeah, you guessed it – one of them are wheels. They are a bit too soft and do not give rest of the skate justice, kind of wasting RB 80 Cruiser potential. A set of proper freeskating wheels improves the riding experience drastically. Second thing which isn’t that great is 45 degree buckle – it is not disastrous, but a bit annoying to use, as you need to put significant amount of force if you want to close it really tight.
Such things can be forgiven, though – rest of the skate is excellent and if these boots fit you properly, they are arguably the best choice around.
WARNING: The extruded aluminium frame is available starting with year 2022 model. Previous editions had embossed one.
Powerslide Zoom Pro 80 – a spark of innovation
These skates share the same shell as bargain bin Zooms we have covered at the beginning, but that’s where similarities end.
Shell itself is attached to Trinity mounting adapter (do not worry, both parts are connected with several screws, it is really solid). This opens up possibility to use Zoom Pro boot with all Trinity compatible frames out there – making it a very good option for custom setup if you’ll wish to build one in the future.
Skates are equipped with a pretty massive slider on the side, a very good 45 degree buckle, high quality laces and MyFit Basic liner, which gives you an option to heat-mold it. These are the only skates on this list which have this feature.
It works like this: you put liners (without insoles) in the oven (ELECTRIC) set on temperature given in manual, for time recommended by manufacturer (these parameters vary between liner models), then take them out, insert into shells, put skates on, lace them and buckle tightly. After that, sit with your ankles bent for like 15 minutes until liners cool off. Foams in ankle area will adjust to your anatomy, providing comfort without long break-in period.
What else? Elite Casted AL frame measure 243 mm for most of the sizes. It is a pretty decent model, also used in more expensive skates (like Next 80). It is gravity casted frame, however Powerslide is a company which polished up this technology to a highest standard in the industry. Their frames take advantage of the process by introducing reinforcements which are simply not possible (or very expensive and hard to make) in case of extruded and CNC machined frames. This makes Elite Casted frames surprisingly rigid.
It worth to note that sizes EU43-44 and EU45-47 use longer frame, measuring 275 mm. It provides improved stability for people with big feet, but also gives you a possibility to put 90 mm wheels in it – something impossible in case of shorter version. A nice bonus.
Budget cuts must be made somewhere and -you guessed it – they are the wheels. Hurricanes aren’t garbage, but feel sticky due to their urethane mix, which have low rebound. Skates do feel slow in stock setup. But that’s the only downside of Zoom Pro 80.
Forgotten, but still good - Powerslide Imperial
Before Powerslide introduced Trinity mounting standard, Imperial were the flagship hardboot freeskate in their catalogue.
A wide range of models with different price points existed, but after Next and later on, Zoom Pro were introduced, Powerslide has limited Imperials to only two basic models. One of them is Imperial 80 covered here, the other is Imperial 110 Supercruiser. It is a bit sad to see, as Imperial are very good design and definitely deserve better.
These skates are for narrow feet and are narrowest of all covered here. Total opposite of RB 80 Cruiser.
Imperial’s shell is super rigid and almost bombproof. It also does have embeeded power plates, although they work a bit different than in FR3 – they have a sliding nut allowing you for precise longitidunal adjustment. Thus, boot compatibility with 165 mm mounting frames, even those made by other brands, is excellent – these skates are easy to upgrade down the line.
The MyFit liner is the most basic version and you cannot heat-mold it. However, it is pretty comfy. Buckles are of good design, there’s a slider on the side, laces are nothing to complain about.
Skates have gravity casted frame, much like FRX, FR3 and Zoom Pro 80. It isn’t a miracle of engineering, but serves its’ purpose just fine.
It is worth to add that because Powerslide have significantly improved their gravity casting technology, the criticism which applied to Gamma model (this is how these frames are called) previously, in relation to easy to damage threads, no longer stands valid. Yes, it's true that this was a plight of these frames few years back. But Germand brand put an effort into fixing it and it shows - nowadays, this is not a common occurence.
Where are budget cuts, then? Once again, the wheels. Even though they have “Spinner” print of them, they have worse urethane blend than real Spinners sold separately and in higher end models. They are a bit better than Hurricane found in Zoom Pro 80, though, and have really strong core, so it's not a bad choice. In our opinion though, Powerslide shouldn’t use the same branding for lower quality wheels, so we feel like it is right to tell you in advance.
Bottom line: Powerslide Imperial are the most sensible choice out of all skates listed here if you have slim feet and want responsive, tight fitting skates.
To sum it up
If you want to start your journey with urban skating, there are good options under 200-ish Euros out there. A lot of them allow you to upgrade parts like frame or liner further down the line, which makes a lot of sense thanks to their strong, long lasting shells.
