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Skating Newsletter Article Inline
Skating Newsletter Article
Santa Claus brought me a pair of K2 Mod LT Skates for Christmas. Somehow, she seems to know just what I want. Since getting my 5-wheel Salomon skates last year, I had been almost exclusively skating on them, but I wanted to get back to the casual fun of 4-wheel skates. K2 has two models in their high-end rec line, the Mod LT and the Mod GT. I opted for the LT because it has a higher cuff and a regular length frame. The GT, while still a 4-wheel, has an extended frame, making it more like a 5-wheel skate. The LT frame is still long compared to typical hockey or aggressive skates but fine for my purposes.
Boot Design
K2 pioneered the soft-boot skate. The Mod LT has a multi-material soft boot locked into the Exotech skeleton. The idea is to provide the comfortable fit of a soft boot along with the control of a plastic exterior. The boot itself is lace-up with an interesting lace lock system that makes it easy to hold the desired tightness while tying the laces. I still prefer the Solomon quick lace system, though. I found I have to double knot the laces to keep them tied, a bit inconvenient if you need to adjust the tightness on the trail. The cuff has an effective, single-strap buckle closure. The boot has wire mesh air vents. On the safety beat, small patches of reflective material are built into the boot. They work well but I'd prefer a larger area, especially in the front. If you skate after dark, you need all the help you can get being seen (unless you're trying to make a stealth raid on downtown Santa Rosa or other tempting closed area!). The boot appears to be permanently attached to the skeleton. There is a handy carrying loop on the back of the cuff.
K2 has a patent on their boot system. A couple of years ago they forced Salomon to change their original design because it was too close to the K2 design.
Hardware
The dual-arch composite frames fit up to 80mm wheels. The composite material seems to provide a good compromise between weight and stiffness. It feels stiff laterally, but noticeably absorbs minor pavement roughness, resulting in a smooth, quiet ride. The metal bolting insert will keep wheels from rubbing the frame which can be problem with some low-end frames. The frame position on the sole is not adjustable.
The bearings are K2 micro ABEC-5. We have to take K2's word on the rating, as they are not marked. They fit into K2-branded stock 80mm, 80a durometer wheels with aluminum spacers. The wheels are mounted with a non-standard sized axle bolt. The bolts are fine, but not as convenient as the Salomon one-bolt system. A fixed-position heel brake comes mounted on the right skate, but can be moved to the left.
First Rolling Impressions
The day after Christmas was dry and sunny in Shell Beach, so Liz and I laced up and hit the streets. I quickly felt at home on my new skates, although I found that I had developed a few long-frame habits that didn't work well on short frames. On the other hand, moves like spin-stops and front-to-back hops were much easier. Slaloming the hill by Dinosaur Caves was a breeze. The heel brake seemed somewhat ineffective at first. It is mounted pretty far back and in its new condition didn't provide much leverage. Stopping power has improved as I've worn the brake down and is now satisfactory. Liz blames the weak braking on the cushie cuff padding, but I do not feel that is the issue. My recommendation is to do enough practice braking to wear down the brake a bit before you find yourself in a critical braking situation.
Back at home, I've had the Mod LTs out on the Iron Horse Trail a couple of times for distance skating. They are surprisingly fast and smooth, no doubt helped by the high-end wheels and bearings. They worked well for both upright skating and in a racer's tuck. The tuck may not be quite as easy to hold as on my low-cuff, 5-wheel skates, but it was not a problem.
I've had a minor fit problem. The boot seemed to be too tight around the forefoot, probably exacerbated by a bone spur I have under the ball of my right foot. That area of my foot "went to sleep" after half an hour or so of skating. As an experiment, I replaced the stock, soft-foam foot beds with the thin Super Feet I had in my old skates. That fixed the forefoot problem, but the arch of the Super Feet seems a bit off, so I'll probably be doing some more testing to find the ideal solution.
All in all, I've been enjoying these skates. They are suitable for anyone from an athletic beginner to an advanced fitness skater.
Comments or questions? Ask Liz