Social networking for inline skaters

Problem with skate fit

Hi. I'm new here and pretty much a beginner inline skater. I've owned a pair of skates for about 10 years but have never felt completely comfortable skating. The reason, when I put on the skates (also happens with ice skates) and stand up, all my weight seems to be carried on the outside of the skate and the skates, instead of standing straight up, are at about a 3 degree angle. In order to stand straight, I have to unnaturally force my weight toward arch side of my foot, which is incredibly uncomfortable. I would love some advice on this as I really want to pick up skating again (it's been about 5 years since I last tried) and this has held me back for a long time now. As far as my feet go, I have very flat feet but for the most part, have a very neutral walk/run. When I look at my footwear, the outside of the ankles seem to get the most wear.

Any thoughts or suggestions on this would be greatly appreciated.

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Permalink Reply by Mick Byrne on June 15, 2009 at 9:55am: If you're an adult without a particular 'foot problem' that needs addressing, and you are simply finding (as it sounds) that your own neutral position is not accommodated by the standard shape of your stock boots - you could experiment with 'shims' to adjust the angle slightly between your boot and blade/frame.
Having a relaxed, balanced neutral position that has your skate aligned vertically is the basis for developing your technique effectively.
The first thing to try is countering the approximate '3 degrees' (using the shims) that you feel your skates are out by when you stand up straight. Initially, try adding just 1-2 degrees of shim between the boot and frame.
Set it up so that when the boot is rolled inward - accommodating your own neutral stance - the frame attached will be aligned vertically.
If after that adjustment you are able to adopt a more relaxed stance while keeping your skates upright, and skating with the shims in does not cause any other problems for you - you can tailor the shims further to find the perfect angle.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Ken Wan on June 15, 2009 at 12:01pm: Thanks for the info. As I'm new to this, is there information somewhere about adding shims? I'm assuming this is different than adding some sort of insert.

Thanks.

Mick Byrne said:
If you're an adult without a particular 'foot problem' that needs addressing, and you are simply finding (as it sounds) that your own neutral position is not accommodated by the standard shape of your stock boots - you could experiment with 'shims' to adjust the angle slightly between your boot and blade/frame.
Having a relaxed, balanced neutral position that has your skate aligned vertically is the basis for developing your technique effectively.
The first thing to try is countering the approximate '3 degrees' (using the shims) that you feel your skates are out by when you stand up straight. Initially, try adding just 1-2 degrees of shim between the boot and frame.
Set it up so that when the boot is rolled inward - accommodating your own neutral stance - the frame attached will be aligned vertically.
If after that adjustment you are able to adopt a more relaxed stance while keeping your skates upright, and skating with the shims in does not cause any other problems for you - you can tailor the shims further to find the perfect angle.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Mick Byrne on June 17, 2009 at 11:15pm: You can make the shims yourself to see if you need them, before purchasing some:

1. Cut the top and bottom from a soda can with scissors, then cut a 1x2inch strip from the body aluminium for each of your frame-platform/boot-block interfaces (so, 4).

2. Fold the strip into an eg. 1x0.5inch (now perhaps 2-2.5mm thick) piece, and insert between the boot and frame with your mount bolts loosened.

3. If your stance is making the frames remain on inside edges (pronation-type), then insert your shims on the outsides of each frame-platform/boot-block interfaces - then re-tighten the bolts to secure the shims.

Shims placed on the outsides like this, causes the frame to be more vertical when your foot rolls inward to your neutral position (as you describe). Go for a relaxed skate and see if your frames are more vertically-aligned when you're in your neutral position. If so, and you want some more secure, permanent shims, you can perhaps get them from your local skate shop, or from http://www.cadomotus.com or http://www.bont.com

Ken Wan said:
Thanks for the info. As I'm new to this, is there information somewhere about adding shims? I'm assuming this is different than adding some sort of insert.

Thanks.

Mick Byrne said:
If you're an adult without a particular 'foot problem' that needs addressing, and you are simply finding (as it sounds) that your own neutral position is not accommodated by the standard shape of your stock boots - you could experiment with 'shims' to adjust the angle slightly between your boot and blade/frame.
Having a relaxed, balanced neutral position that has your skate aligned vertically is the basis for developing your technique effectively.
The first thing to try is countering the approximate '3 degrees' (using the shims) that you feel your skates are out by when you stand up straight. Initially, try adding just 1-2 degrees of shim between the boot and frame.
Set it up so that when the boot is rolled inward - accommodating your own neutral stance - the frame attached will be aligned vertically.
If after that adjustment you are able to adopt a more relaxed stance while keeping your skates upright, and skating with the shims in does not cause any other problems for you - you can tailor the shims further to find the perfect angle.; ▶ Reply to This