01/18/2025
TITLE: WHERE TO BUY ROLLERSKATE STUFF AND YOU LIVE IN OTTAWA?
ROLLERSKATES:
The quick answer is: Rideau Rollers or Ottawa Skate and Play are your only options to try/buy good quality skates on in Ottawa.
The obvious first choice for rollerskates is Rideau Rollers because then you can try various skates on in person. If you're seeking advice though, it depends what you want to do? If you want to be a Derby skater, then the staff there are fantastic! If you want to be an artistic skater or a dance skater, come talk to me. If you want to Waltz or skate around the rink doing dance moves, I think either of the Dave's are great to ask. Ottawa Skate and Play themselves have a store too. Riedell, Impala, Sure-Grip are all good quality brands that have been around for years that you can't go wrong with. I myself took the boot off a Sure-Grip Boardwalk Plus, and put a Roll-line Plate on it.
WHEELS:
The quick answer is: Online Canadian Searches, Rideau Rollers, Rollerskatin.ca, rollergirl.ca
The longer answer is: Okay getting a bit more complicated because not all stores are equal, some stores sell certain brands, and others sell other brands, and not a full selection at any one store . I find online random google searches in Canada the best quite frankly and lately I've been buying stuff at Rollerskatin.ca because they stock "Roll-Line" which are my "goto" wheels for dance skating. Rideau Rollers has a ton of wheels, but if I'm looking for high speed wheels (fat, rubbery looking 101A's for Ottawa SKate and plates wood floor), I get them online. Check out my wheel post, but I loved rollerbones turbo's for a long time, but am now LOVE Roll-Line ICE wheels. I've been salivating over "Scott Corey" wheels, which are sold under the Bont brand and just hit canada in Dec 2024, but they are insanely expensive and I need to eat at some point. This Scott gentlemen is sortof a craft brewer style maker of wheels. Mmmmmm......wheeelsss.
BEARINGS:
The quick answer is: A bunch of us have been using the ceramic bearings they sell at Rideau Rollers. I think they are called Triple 8 or something like that. They come in a little grey metallic box. She'll know what you mean when you go in. Most recently though I switched to "Bones Swiss" and my goodness what a difference. The "Bones" series has a bunch of flavours, Swiss (made in Switzerland), Reds (made in China), Ceramics (made in China with ceramic bearings) and Swiss Ceramic, and a weird one called "Big Ball" (larger bearings and 7 instead of 7). I've found the bones races thicker and stronger than other bearings on the market. So now that I'm using them, I don't think I'm ever going back to anything else. I advise the same to you, but it'll cost you an arm and a leg, so heads up on that.
PLATES:
The quick answer is: Do your research, this is next level. Don't trust anyone's opinion but your own. If you're buying plates, you should know why you are buying plates.
So, you aren't sure what plates ultimately do for you and if you need to upgrade them I'm sure if you are reading this. A plate upgrade is awesome after about a year of skating. Don't blame the gear in your first year of skating. There are amazing skaters out there running questionable skates they got off ebay. In my case, I upgraded to a titanium plate because its lightweight and makes spins much easier. It also just likes darn cool I admit it. lol. If you are doing jumps (i.e. doubles/triples etc.), then upgrading your plate is mandatory. I LOVE Roll-Line plates.
LACES:
The quick answer is: Any place you can find, but laces are technically different!
The long answer is: Get the exact length for your skates. Learn about the stretchyness of different types of laces. Don't just go for cute colours. You will get frustrated if you get a super stretchy lace, or one that has no stretch at all sometimes. I better add more content on laces here later.
Bushings:
Bushings are sometimes VERY plate specific and more importantly vendor specific!!! There is alot of questionable advice out there, the only truth is, go to your skate/plate vendors websites, read about their bushings, and get EXACTLY those and nothing else. Hardness is subjective by vendor (which I find super annoying). If you have boardwalks, ill happily let you try my random bushings I've collected over the years. They are weight specific, and once you pick the weight, you can adjust depending on your weight and bushing you chose (see the truck tighting post).
Carrying Bag:
I tried the amazon ones that look good, have strong zippers and everything. They all fall apart eventually. The only ones that dont are the suitcase roller one, and the canvas ones. I gave up on them. Now, even if I'm travelling on a plane with my rollerskates, I use a strap. Its awesome, its light, its easy to wander around with my skates. Plus when you are travelling, you meet absolutely every random soul in the airport because they see your rollerskates and smile and get a sense of joy. It's alot of fun travelling with rollerskates. You really...really have to try it. Anyway, so ya carrying bag....my opinion is....don't bother. I have a regular backpack for protective gear, and a strap for my skates. Simple.
That's all I can think of for now. I'll collect some info and discuss with others and revise this post as we all gather info :).
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