Pics of the new RB Solo skates have taken the internet by storm, lighting up the messageboards and inciting mass cyber-commentary. No surprise to anyone releasing anything innovative in rollerblading. Anyway, RB’s head guru Tom Hyser just sent us some pics of the “final” skates, including pics of the soul plates with grooves, a closer look at the materials, and the first glimpse of the inside part of the boot/soul area. Included was a statement from team rider Julian Bah praising the all-new construction of the skate, specifically saying the “new liners and foot beds are super comfortable, and the 45° ratchet buckle keeps your heel locked down.” See all the pics inside!
looks so sick. so much better looking than the stock pics. the negative plate is excessive though. the cuff shape isn’t too good either. but i hope the liners are super thick.
can’t wait.
Those are the ugliest things i have ever seen. Look like skates you can get at “Big 5”
these look horribly cheap! I thought we were trying to move Blading away from crap like this. The soul area looks insulting, and way to big. They look like old Zetra blades and they are most deffinatly the ugliest things ive ever seen in the sceen. They should just go back to the Dirk Days, put some soul blocks on those and they were the shit, these look like their in pain.
interesting……kinda ugly but how do they ride.
yooo id rather pull out my oxygen argon from my garage than use these things.
They look terrible, they look like speed skates with widebodys bodged onto them.
They look like the Cheapest skate ever to make and everything on them is Way over sized Also What the fuck is wrong with the soul plates, one last thing . RB get your shit right this kind of skate is taking Rolling no place, Go back to making something like the old White TRS from 2000 or the Downtown’s this skate is just sooo Gross looking. put some colour in there or somthing just , This looks to me how a skate should not be made thats about it.
These are sooo sick. Tom Hyser has outdone himself once again. I’m gonna buy a pair the second they come out. The only thing that would make them better would be if they were available in the Daytona blue that Rob G. was skating in that edit. Go on Tom make it happen, I’ll make them my 2nd pair.
If they have a shell size for every skate size. Say a 10.5 skate is a 10.5 liner in a 10.5 shell and an 11 is a 11 liner in an 11 shell, Then i’ll get them. The soulplates look great but I’d pop on some different frames
what? since when is a large soul plate bad?
From these pics (the only thing I have to go by) the plastic on the boot looks like a good material (check the texture you Dirk lovers), and the low profile of the inside of the boot reminds me of Salomons. Dunno what to say about the soul plates, especially on the inside where they look so large in comparison to that sleek boot. I wonder how flat the bottom of the boot is, as in: What other soul frame options will be possible? Also, check out the cuff of the liner—no seam. I’m guessing this has some sort of wrap liner, which minimizes tongue twist, that is a common technology in skiing—where the parent company of RB makes big bucks.
That said, I am surprised by the buckle protector looking like such an afterthought, and skeptical of how filthy my feet/socks are gonna get thanks to the shell ventilation.
Overall, not at all what I expected, but consider me intrigued. Looking forward to trying some out.
i think rb need to take a looooong hard look @ the mistakes they and other skate companies have made over the years k2 for instance with the nemesis skate that was a flop within months of production rb should stick with the formula that works instead of always changin the wheel try re working the original, as the sayin goes if it aint broke donet fix it tom this boot is a nono!!!
Soulplates look nice, but the boot is ugly and I hate the velcro strap.
The ugliest skates I have seen in a long time. They just look like a complete mess…like Rollerblade was going out of their way to cut corners and save money.
BTW
Kinda look like Anarchy skates don’t they?
……enough said.
Correct me if i’m wrong about this first part:
Tom helped develop the K2 fatty (which was adapted from rec skating technology) and that skate changed the sport/art of rollerblading.
So…
This new skate he is working on looks like an exciting addition to the history of inline skates.
It’s like a Slalom/freestyle skate(the RB twister) adapted for grindin’, jumpin’ and thrashin’. I think it’s exactly the type of skate the sport/art needs right now for casual bladers looking to experiment with some “aggressive skating”.
Last time I checked all having wheels attached to your feet is kinda kooky looking no matter what your skates look like.
the shell of this is the same with their upper level fitness skate.
since RB makes realy good fitness and recreatiaonl skate; i would assume these would be super comfy
I hope they skate better then they look!
As a new skate concept I think it’s sad – Salomon with a wide body kit all over again. Like watching the fast and the furious… all they need is an f… flame job! Functionality + construction + aesthetics =
The skate industry and rollerblade needs innovation or at least god solid products, not a quick fix
tom may have helped develop the fatty with recreational skate technology in mind and the same by the looks of things with this skate it’ll be a flop like the in shoe skate when i saw that it was a blatent rip off of the xsjado skate, lets hope this skate doesnt repeat history and take rollerblade down like k2.
I almost wonder what these skates will look like once they have been worn in and thrashed a bit. It’s easy to see that its more or less a modified pre-existing rec skate of sorts. I will say the soul plate and the boot are not really balanced as far as design. Someone mentioned a “body kit” and that is the first thing that came to mind with me as well. When you take something that has smooth lines and is obviously meant to be streamlined on the foot and you add a huge chunk of anything to it, the result can be awkward… the same way that I feel like my ’93 honda accord SE doesn’t need anything after-market to make it cool. The original design was cool and everything people do after that just doesn’t feel or look right. The same way that someone adding their “touch” to someone else’s design rarely makes sense or works out.
It seems like they could have added to the existing boot mold or created a better soul plate mold that conformed to the existing design much better.
I’m sure they are super comfortable though, and the new frame that Tom has designed is nothing short of amazing…
Hopefully, this is a work in progress and we will see more cohesiveness between this “marriage” of sorts in the future.
That’s my 3 cents.
This is RB’s hot new freestyle/slalom skate:
http://www.4wheelfreestyle.de/homepage/wp-content/images/Rollerblade_Twister_3.jpg
I think they look interesting. I have a lot of faith in Tom and his knowledge about rolling products, he is a very knowledgeable person especially when it has to do with product design. Many people are quick to dismiss that fact, plus judging a skate by looks a alone can be dangerous, look when the Xsjado was first released. I would love to skate and review these skates, unfortunately my funds probably won’t allow me to do so, but I am very interested in them.
I was lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time, and I got the chance to skate these new skates to see what they are made of.
These skates were designed with comfort and function in mind, and those two aspects are executed quite well. The soul area locks so well for both the positive and negative sides. The switch frame was designed by Bruno Lowe actually, and it is complimented nicely by the added thickness of the souls, making it the frame seem shorter for doing topside tricks.
This skate, much like Xsjado did when they came out, breaks it down to the basic needs of the skater: Something that fits your foot well and holds it in place and allows you to do the tricks you want to do with ease.
I thought when I started skating Fiziks flat on Xsjado boots that I had found my perfect setup. I stocked up on Fiziks materials, so I could keep the dream alive. I can’t believe I’m going to switch to a 72mm anti-rocker setup on a full boot with a liner in it, but Tom has put together such a great combination of features that I can’t resist.
wes what frame are you talking about?
the switch frame shown here was designed by bruno lowe.
COCK MEAT SANDWICH for all yall haters. this is taken the old skool look mixing with new school technology. keep it going tom this skate look is gnarly.
Your right about the frame Jomu! I knew that as well… momentary loss of memory! ha ha. Speaking of Bruno, that guy is nothing short of amazing!
I thought these were a joke. i agree with stephen here. Tom Hyser doesnt actually like these does he? Pitty. they best get to throwing a skin over these or somn, cause they aint sellin!!!
for a start, tom hyser knows more than any of you haters about rollerblading and what is good for our sport. ok they might not be looking so great right now but with a bit of fine tuning they could be sweet. shape the souls a little. i bet they skate so sick. the buckle looks like your heel would be so locked in. at least they are doing something different and trying to move forward with new ideas. i will be trying some for sure. keep up the good work!
I think that as soon as they smooth out the soul plate everything will be all good that is the only part that people seem to be complaining about anyway. All in all I would rock them because I think they might have a good ride despite all the looks besides as soon as you thrash em they wont have such big soul plates now will they. Tom Hyser keep up with the innovative ideas.
they look intriguing, but i think there could be some things that could be improved, such as the flow of the plastics used in the boot, maybe they would be better with a better frame option, although ive never seen anyone using the 72mm-anti rocker setup before.
i really like the fact they put a bs groove on the negative i’m always slipping out on my negative wen doing farvs or flat sweatys
haha they do look pretty weird.
but there is nothing wrong with that. Weird is good.
Yeah ok they look funny n not up to it n all that aesthetically shallow rubbish that we should never listen to but what would you rather have, a skate that makes you feel better when you assume everyone else is staring at your vain ass but does not do anything for your actual skating ability?— or a skate that just does what it should, full stop. Get over it fashion queens, its skating, or otherwise known as Rollerblading. Remember how it got its name?—These guys were the original so remember which side your breads buttered on huh. L8rz. Happy rolling.
Minimalistic design, these are perfect. I skated xsjado for 2yrs and currently skating vinni Minton deshi, the only problem is that there bulky, even razors are large, I know there ugly but I know if I buy usd or razors as my next skate I would be looking at these and thinking “what if”
these skates might look a bit rubbish in pictures but honesly they arent in real life, they skate super good tho! jo joke, at first i never knew what to expect and then once i got use to them they are amazing!
