Rollerblade Crossfire - Black Inline Skates

The unthinkable has happened. Rollerblade have finally decided to release their own freestyle slalom skate!

What are final results? Unexpected, least to say. We do not mean anything bad – Crossfire skates are solid offering, however they are not exactly in line with anticipations one can have when hearing that Rollerblade is releasing a brand new skate.

To put it simply, Italians have taught us to expect top shelf equipment from them. This is why, when we’ve learned about RB making a freestyle slalom skate, we were sure that it will be a model to go against the likes of FR Skates Igor or Powerslide Hardcore Evo Trinity.

What we have received instead is carefully and sensibly priced, mid-tier skate. It is almost like Rollerblade are doing a reconnaissance of sort, before going “guns blazing”. Who knows, maybe one day they’ll release Crossfire Pro? Anyway, the move of releasing Crossfire with given specs and in this price bracket is sensible – there’s a niche here, as these skates, realistically, have only one rival, the FR Skates Spin.

It is hard to not draw any comparisons here – both cost significantly less than other carbon-based freestyle slalom skates from major brands, both have rockerable frames and both are positioned as a product for both freestyle and urban skating fans alike. Some kind of movement in this mid-range space was long overdue and Crossfire have potential to gain a decent number of fans thanks to their features.

As we have said, Rollerblade have designed this boot with slalom in mind and thus, it comes with two different frame lengths - 231 mm for boot sizes up to EU40 and 243 mm for bigger ones. We get 76 mm or 80 mm wheels respectively. Rollerblade has released a boot only version in parallel – a rare thing to see when it comes to Italian brand. The price point is adequately low in this case, once again going toe to toe with FR Spin, and is a very attractive offering for people who already have a frameset, but want to replace their old pair of boots or upgrade from hard shell skates.

The stock frame have adjustable rockering – you can set it up as a banana rocker or ride it flat. This is not that common in specialised freestyle slalom frames, but it is a welcome inclusion, improving the skate’s versatility.

Rollerblade won’t win any award when it comes to originality of Crossfire’s looks, which does disappoint a bit, considering that their design team absolutely nailed looks of Twister Edge, Macroblade and Microblade skates. One would expect something bolder and more futuristic – the skate is by no means ugly, but doesn’t really stand out of the crowd. Graphite black skin is coupled with black details and milk-white wheels. As it is often the case, heel is revealing a carbon shell. Otherwise, boot comes with all expected features – high and efficient lacing, toe Velcro strap, a micrometric buckle and a rather minimalist cuff. A welcome inclusion are mid-foot flaps which overlap, helping in more even distribution of pressure caused by tightened buckle.

Interestingly, the cuff have screws with adjustable washers. This feature is present in many freeskates, but most often missing in top tier slalom ones. You can choose from high position (more support), low (more ankle freedom) and even use canting system to tilt it to one side, to compensate for pronation or supination.

When it comes to the inside of the boot, Rollerblade have developed a new insole, entirely for this skate. They call it PSI+ and promise it does stabilize the heel dynamically, lessen foot fatigue and give more control over the skate. The ample padding made out of anatomically shaped foams wraps around your foot, resulting in great responsiveness.

The last thing we need to mention are wheels. Hydrogen are one of top-tier wheels for freeskating your money can buy. The SE version is made in Taiwan (as opposed to USA), but uses the same protected urethane blend formula. Seeing that SE wheels use different cores, they behave a little bit different - but overall, they are still grippy, fast and long lasting. The bearings are worthy, too – ILQ-9 are top-shelf piece of gear.

Question is: can we call Crossfire a successful debut in freestyle slalom space? In our opinion, the answer is yes, if we give this skate a fair assessment. It is not a model to challenge the very best of what FR Skates and Powerslide have to offer, but what we get here is a great mid-range skate with very fair pricing. It also sports several characteristics which make it unique. The skate will perform well in both slalom and freeride. The boot only version is especially attractive for people who own their favourite 165 mm framesets already and are looking for a replacement for their worn out carbon boots or for an upgrade from hardboots.