Great reviews, Thank you! I'm a Swenor Skate guy, because it was the only model Gear West recommended at the time, and I have never rolled on anything different so it is hard for me to take my own opinion seriously, thus I am really thankful for this video to help me weigh pros and cons as I'll be needing new skis someday.
Erik, Thanks for doing this video, I appreciate you starting with your top choice then working through the well articulated comparative analysis. You asked for requests about other XC gear. I have heard it said "What pickle ball is to tennis, touring skates are to roller skiing." As a non-elite, non-athlete, I am non-insulted by that. I believe it was Andre Agassi who said, "Pickleball is where tennis players go to die." There may be another corollary with touring skates, but I've decided to not think too much about it. I have roller skied the the Great Lakes (Mackanac Island, TYG no cars), the Netherlands (Maarken Island, TYG almost no cars) , and even Washington DC (HMG white-lining the cherry blossom gridlock) on my trusty Skike V9s. My guess is that even an elite XCer would be hard-pressed to do that on hi-fi trainers without getting skinned, or worse. So I would be keenly interested in the elite XC athlete's opinion about touring roller skis, get a comparative evaluation that supports a wider strike zone of people with wheels and poles; maybe hop some curbs, frighten some dogs, white-line some traffic, but with the elite skill set baked in ("The Stig" in a reasonably priced car). The more popular brands are PowerSlide, Skike, and the new high-end carbon fiber stuff by FLOIG. I am sharing pavement with dog walkers, over-achieving pelotons, kids with training wheels and sparkly tassels, blind turns, storm grates, lawn mowers, pebbles, sand, critters, etc. My interest in your evaluation comes from an experience that is inversely proportional to yours. I don't carry any of the burdens of an elite Nordic athlete doing summer training, but I roller ski, all year long, every day if I can, on Skikes. Skikes are not designed to hi-fi simulate snow XC, but they have save-your-flippin-life breaks on each rear wheel and they are extremely durable. Bent forks? Nope. They can be fitted with solid rubber wheels for tracks, pneumatic tires for multipurpose paved trails, and balloon tires for gravel, you can fit the axels with reverse lock bearings, which helps with rollback at steep trail intersections, or just regular intersections with cars, trucks, busses, lions and tigers and bears, Oh my. Good snow XC technique translates to good cross-skating on Skikes, V1-A, V2, V2-A, free skate, dopplestockstoss, bomb the hills. Watching and applying snow XC training videos significantly improves roller skiing, but I am not sure that beyond fitness, Skikes would make you a better snow XC competitor, especially if you need to reproduce the boot-binding experience. I roller skied for two years on Skikes, the first year on "beginner" Skike V07s then I moved up to V9-150s (heal lift). I lost 40 pounds. This March I was actually fit enough to go snow XCing for the first time in about 30 years, I would say about 85% of the Skike muscle memory translated to snow XC skate ski (non-elite) technique, but by golly I could XC, and the snow skis felt light as feathers, dare I say flimsy. It took me several hours to fully trust the edges and find the elusive "flat ski". The remaining 15% of my muscle memory was confused, you guessed it, about breaking! A tree would jump out in front of me and my legs would look for my trusty Skike breaks! When that didn't work I would eventually snow plow in a full panic, I even telemarked once without crashing. The snow conditions changed every 15 minutes, which as beautiful as the mountains of Utah are, had me jonesin' for tires on tarmac... That is all. Highest Regards, Jim
Hi Jim! thank you so much for writing this!! Yes! abosolutley I should try a few pair of touring roller skis and get some miles on them to really give an honest take on them! I have tried a few briefly in the past, and like you stated, great for building strength in a wide range of areas! I would have to try them again though to get an updated opinion! I know There are many people you use and love them so I think that information would be very helpful, and thus why your comment is so valuable! Thank you for contributing so much to the conversation!! I hope to add more too it as well! take care! happy skiing! -Erik
Thx for the ino! I'm almost 200 lbs, and have been using the Swenor skate elite - 1000 miles this summer. So far so good. only two crashes - both my fault (e.g., jammed pole into a crack).
Hi Andrew!! Excellent!! That is a very impressive ratio Ha! Great work getting in all those miles! Will you get to race on snow with all that fitness? Or will you still be on pavement this winter? (winter for the northern hemisphere I guess ha) I'm so glad to hear the newer swenors are holding up well! Thank you so much for sharing this! I hope others read your comment!
@@eriklynch7037 Thx Erik - I enjoy all of your videos. Just bought some IDTs based on your review, from RollerSkishop. Looking forward to trying them. I'll be switching to snow, as soon as it arrives :). Cheers, Andrew
Hi Gavin! Thank you so much!! I hope to try them! I wish I knew how to get roller ski companies to send me skis!! ha! I love a nice durable ski!! Thank you for shoring this valuable information!
You have way more experience this is only my 2nd season on roller skis so these are my new guy experiences …Last year I was just trying to get the technique down and I started on v2 125s with pneumatic wheels. I do really like those too even if they are maybe an older style if you are below 160 lbs or thereabouts. With 90lbs in the wheels they are actually faster than the Pursuits with I think #2 wheels. I have the Pursuit Flex ones now as my main skis but I would love to try the IDT or the Marwes. I have no basis of comparison since they are my first road skis. I did have pull brake on the Pursuit skis when bought them but I removed it because it wasn’t needed anywhere I go once I mastered the snow plow kind of breaking. It does work though probably a good idea for beginners or in some kinds of terrain. The v2 150s are good if you are riding on very rough pavement. The v2s have speed reducers and for me those were great the first month I was learning last year. After that I no longer needed them but they really helped because the first few weeks were terrifying. I have also tried SRBs that can go on trails to some extent and also work as a combi skate and classic ski. For some reason when I started I thought I would like the off road skis or skikes but the opposite happened I definitely prefer the pure road skis because the technique and feel is so much closer to actual skiing and they are so much more efficient.
Hi Nithael!! Thank you so much for what you wrote!! this is Very valubale infomation and I really hope others who watch this video scroll down to read this!! First, Yes! I totally found the same thing with the trail to road skis! I feel I can get so much more benefit from the road skis! I really hope people read what your said about the brakes!! Yes! they can be sucha good way to start, and become more comfortable with downhills and tricky downhills, until you are ready for more advanced ways to control your speed downhill like I will show in my next video!! So helpful to mention and I should mention it more! I think its great you have a pair of pursuits and they are working for you!! I think they will suit many people very well! So that's a good remind that you can absoltley improve using them! I personally think as you do more sprints and put more power through your skis would be the most noticable difference if you were to compare to some IDT's. I hope you get to try them one day too!!! Thank you so much for watching!! I appreciate you!
I have a pair of Pursuit Fork-Flex. They are the only pair I’ve owned, and I can ski on them pretty well for a beginner. So, according to this video, I should be an Olympian with a better pair. Looking forward to it one day.
😂😂 Haha! Thank you so much for watching!! I hope that I didn't sound that dramatic haha! I'm just being very nit picky, from the stiffness the roller skis I like, compared to the softness of the pursuits just drives me a bit crazy ha. But yes the pursuits are absolutely skiable, I just did a 10k race on them in soldier hollow Utah because we had to race on them so everyone had the same skis. They're fine, if I'm being picky, which I am when it comes to gear, I much prefer. something stiffer. But you'll absolutely learn and be great using those skis! keep up the great work!! Thank you for the comment, hopefully I'll see you out and about roller skiing or skiing!! Happy skiing!
Hi Jeff!! Nice! I'm so happy to hear you're loving it!! There's a whole wild world filled with us who love it! Some times it feels a little spread out or hidden in the U.S. ha! Right now I'm using a rossaignol water belt, same one I use for winter. one of those boxy looking things ha. Probably some good examples on google if you type in "cross country skiing water belt" on google! Thank you!! happy skiing!
Show us your surface conditions sometime. It's the most surface condition sensitive sport out there. Glass asphalt makes small hardwheels and super rigid shafts pretty great. Pavement condition and knowledge is so darn key to keeping one's skin. Well, my skin at least. I only do about 400mi/year, but lately much more on local smooth gravel/dirt with 150mm tires on some German import rollerskis. They are a true cadillac ride on pavement in a not great way for form discipline. They are much much safer for average people though. I still use some old Swenor 100mm hard wheels and some Pursuit 109mm hard wheels for bad pavement. Almost all of the pavement here is poor, with occasional chasms.
Hi! Thank you so much for watching!! I weigh usually around 170lbs. about 77kg. Great questions!! The length, wheel base, and wheel size on all these skis in the video are very similar for each of those categories! Thank you so much for asking! The IDT's in the video are IDT skate elites. IDT makes a roller ski that is shorter by about one wheel length called the IDT skate.
I've used Pursuit skate roller skis (non flex models) and find them durable, relative inexpensive and just as good as more costly European models. Only down side is vibration on rough surfaces. My favorite (by far) classic roller skis are FF rollerskis from Norway with V-track wheels (2 models- regular and with an unique suspension fork). I agree with you regarding Swenor- over rated.
Yes! Thank you so much Bjorn! this is the exact comment I want people to be leaving! I also know plenty of people who have no issue with the pursuit roller skis. So I really hope people scroll down to read this, and hear your experience. And it's great to hear you've had no issues with the non flex models, and found them to be more affordable! I think that would suit a lot of people well! Thank you for the helpful information! Happy skiing!
@@danurban6398 Those were the fork flex skis! Great question!! I personally think with the flexing aluminum frames with holes in them, the extra flex and fork flew is way too soft for accurate ski feel. But That's me! I'm currently putting some time in with 4 of their stiffer pairs of skis, theirs some inconsistencies between them which is funny, but I can probably give a further update in about a month more of getting some time on those.Thank you so much! Good luck!!
@@eriklynch7037 Thanks so much! Looking forward to hearing your updated reviews, but this has been very helpful in the meantime. I wouldn't expect these to be included in the review because I believe they were recalled for safety reasons, but have you skied on the Swix Triac composite skate skis? If so, how do you think they compared to the ones here? They're what I'm skiing on now, but probably don't want to risk it too much longer even though I've had no problems with them.
Hello Josh!! Thank you so much for the question!! I hope I'm not too slow with the reply! Yes!! The skate elite are longer than the IDT skate model by about one wheel length. I do prefer the feel and stability of the skate Elite, BUT, they are both excellent skis! and you can improve and train hard on both! I do love them both! And, We just raced nordic combined Norwegian summer nationals here in Lillehammer on the regular skate model! they were awesome! And worked great! Let me know if that helps! Happy skiing!
Where can you even get IDT's? Last time I checked there wasn't a US rep, or a shop bringing them in. (there was, but they sold out and didn't restock 😢). I think you can buy direct from them on their site though? So, I am aging rapidly, and just this year my feet started giving me problems... I have noticed that my Marwe aluminum classic skis REALLY have a lot of road vibration that does my feet no favors. Hence the reason that a lot of masters probably really like composite roller skis that dampen some of that harsh, road feel. I skate train on Hjul's which are pretty comfy and have a lot of flex to them, but will probably move on from the Marwe aluminum classics. Bummer to hear about the fork issues on swenors, maybe why people that train alot only use the all aluminum models...
Hello!! YES! absolutely!You can buy IDT direct but! Your comment is so valuable because, like you say, you might not want a stiffer ski because yes! the Road vibrations are ver intense sometimes depending on the road surface ha! I'm glad you found skis that work better for you and I really hope other people come here and read your comment! thank you! I really appreciate you! Happy skiing! please let me know if there's a video I could make that would be helpful!
AH yes true! Thank you!! Very True! I should have also mentioned I've gained skills dodging rattle snakes, tarantulas, and wild turkeys on roller skis as well. I shouldn't leave out this information when I'm speaking on my roller ski career!🙏
Great reviews, Thank you! I'm a Swenor Skate guy, because it was the only model Gear West recommended at the time, and I have never rolled on anything different so it is hard for me to take my own opinion seriously, thus I am really thankful for this video to help me weigh pros and cons as I'll be needing new skis someday.
Erik,
Thanks for doing this video, I appreciate you starting with your top choice then working through the well articulated comparative analysis.
You asked for requests about other XC gear. I have heard it said "What pickle ball is to tennis, touring skates are to roller skiing." As a non-elite, non-athlete, I am non-insulted by that. I believe it was Andre Agassi who said, "Pickleball is where tennis players go to die." There may be another corollary with touring skates, but I've decided to not think too much about it.
I have roller skied the the Great Lakes (Mackanac Island, TYG no cars), the Netherlands (Maarken Island, TYG almost no cars) , and even Washington DC (HMG white-lining the cherry blossom gridlock) on my trusty Skike V9s. My guess is that even an elite XCer would be hard-pressed to do that on hi-fi trainers without getting skinned, or worse.
So I would be keenly interested in the elite XC athlete's opinion about touring roller skis, get a comparative evaluation that supports a wider strike zone of people with wheels and poles; maybe hop some curbs, frighten some dogs, white-line some traffic, but with the elite skill set baked in ("The Stig" in a reasonably priced car). The more popular brands are PowerSlide, Skike, and the new high-end carbon fiber stuff by FLOIG. I am sharing pavement with dog walkers, over-achieving pelotons, kids with training wheels and sparkly tassels, blind turns, storm grates, lawn mowers, pebbles, sand, critters, etc.
My interest in your evaluation comes from an experience that is inversely proportional to yours. I don't carry any of the burdens of an elite Nordic athlete doing summer training, but I roller ski, all year long, every day if I can, on Skikes. Skikes are not designed to hi-fi simulate snow XC, but they have save-your-flippin-life breaks on each rear wheel and they are extremely durable. Bent forks? Nope. They can be fitted with solid rubber wheels for tracks, pneumatic tires for multipurpose paved trails, and balloon tires for gravel, you can fit the axels with reverse lock bearings, which helps with rollback at steep trail intersections, or just regular intersections with cars, trucks, busses, lions and tigers and bears, Oh my. Good snow XC technique translates to good cross-skating on Skikes, V1-A, V2, V2-A, free skate, dopplestockstoss, bomb the hills. Watching and applying snow XC training videos significantly improves roller skiing, but I am not sure that beyond fitness, Skikes would make you a better snow XC competitor, especially if you need to reproduce the boot-binding experience. I roller skied for two years on Skikes, the first year on "beginner" Skike V07s then I moved up to V9-150s (heal lift). I lost 40 pounds. This March I was actually fit enough to go snow XCing for the first time in about 30 years, I would say about 85% of the Skike muscle memory translated to snow XC skate ski (non-elite) technique, but by golly I could XC, and the snow skis felt light as feathers, dare I say flimsy. It took me several hours to fully trust the edges and find the elusive "flat ski". The remaining 15% of my muscle memory was confused, you guessed it, about breaking! A tree would jump out in front of me and my legs would look for my trusty Skike breaks! When that didn't work I would eventually snow plow in a full panic, I even telemarked once without crashing. The snow conditions changed every 15 minutes, which as beautiful as the mountains of Utah are, had me jonesin' for tires on tarmac... That is all.
Highest Regards,
Jim
Hi Jim! thank you so much for writing this!! Yes! abosolutley I should try a few pair of touring roller skis and get some miles on them to really give an honest take on them! I have tried a few briefly in the past, and like you stated, great for building strength in a wide range of areas! I would have to try them again though to get an updated opinion! I know There are many people you use and love them so I think that information would be very helpful, and thus why your comment is so valuable! Thank you for contributing so much to the conversation!! I hope to add more too it as well! take care! happy skiing!
-Erik
Thx for the ino! I'm almost 200 lbs, and have been using the Swenor skate elite - 1000 miles this summer. So far so good. only two crashes - both my fault (e.g., jammed pole into a crack).
Hi Andrew!! Excellent!! That is a very impressive ratio Ha! Great work getting in all those miles! Will you get to race on snow with all that fitness? Or will you still be on pavement this winter? (winter for the northern hemisphere I guess ha) I'm so glad to hear the newer swenors are holding up well! Thank you so much for sharing this! I hope others read your comment!
@@eriklynch7037 Thx Erik - I enjoy all of your videos. Just bought some IDTs based on your review, from RollerSkishop. Looking forward to trying them. I'll be switching to snow, as soon as it arrives :). Cheers, Andrew
you have to try the Rundle sport roller skis I love them and I have never heard of them bending or breaking
Hi Gavin! Thank you so much!! I hope to try them! I wish I knew how to get roller ski companies to send me skis!! ha! I love a nice durable ski!! Thank you for shoring this valuable information!
You have way more experience this is only my 2nd season on roller skis so these are my new guy experiences …Last year I was just trying to get the technique down and I started on v2 125s with pneumatic wheels. I do really like those too even if they are maybe an older style if you are below 160 lbs or thereabouts. With 90lbs in the wheels they are actually faster than the Pursuits with I think #2 wheels. I have the Pursuit Flex ones now as my main skis but I would love to try the IDT or the Marwes. I have no basis of comparison since they are my first road skis. I did have pull brake on the Pursuit skis when bought them but I removed it because it wasn’t needed anywhere I go once I mastered the snow plow kind of breaking. It does work though probably a good idea for beginners or in some kinds of terrain. The v2 150s are good if you are riding on very rough pavement. The v2s have speed reducers and for me those were great the first month I was learning last year. After that I no longer needed them but they really helped because the first few weeks were terrifying. I have also tried SRBs that can go on trails to some extent and also work as a combi skate and classic ski. For some reason when I started I thought I would like the off road skis or skikes but the opposite happened I definitely prefer the pure road skis because the technique and feel is so much closer to actual skiing and they are so much more efficient.
Hi Nithael!! Thank you so much for what you wrote!! this is Very valubale infomation and I really hope others who watch this video scroll down to read this!! First, Yes! I totally found the same thing with the trail to road skis! I feel I can get so much more benefit from the road skis!
I really hope people read what your said about the brakes!! Yes! they can be sucha good way to start, and become more comfortable with downhills and tricky downhills, until you are ready for more advanced ways to control your speed downhill like I will show in my next video!! So helpful to mention and I should mention it more!
I think its great you have a pair of pursuits and they are working for you!! I think they will suit many people very well! So that's a good remind that you can absoltley improve using them! I personally think as you do more sprints and put more power through your skis would be the most noticable difference if you were to compare to some IDT's. I hope you get to try them one day too!!! Thank you so much for watching!! I appreciate you!
I have a pair of Pursuit Fork-Flex. They are the only pair I’ve owned, and I can ski on them pretty well for a beginner. So, according to this video, I should be an Olympian with a better pair. Looking forward to it one day.
😂😂 Haha! Thank you so much for watching!! I hope that I didn't sound that dramatic haha! I'm just being very nit picky, from the stiffness the roller skis I like, compared to the softness of the pursuits just drives me a bit crazy ha. But yes the pursuits are absolutely skiable, I just did a 10k race on them in soldier hollow Utah because we had to race on them so everyone had the same skis. They're fine, if I'm being picky, which I am when it comes to gear, I much prefer. something stiffer. But you'll absolutely learn and be great using those skis! keep up the great work!! Thank you for the comment, hopefully I'll see you out and about roller skiing or skiing!! Happy skiing!
Good stuff here! I’m new to the sport (and love it++), what water belt do you use on summer? Thanks!
Hi Jeff!! Nice! I'm so happy to hear you're loving it!! There's a whole wild world filled with us who love it! Some times it feels a little spread out or hidden in the U.S. ha! Right now I'm using a rossaignol water belt, same one I use for winter. one of those boxy looking things ha. Probably some good examples on google if you type in "cross country skiing water belt" on google! Thank you!! happy skiing!
Show us your surface conditions sometime. It's the most surface condition sensitive sport out there. Glass asphalt makes small hardwheels and super rigid shafts pretty great. Pavement condition and knowledge is so darn key to keeping one's skin. Well, my skin at least.
I only do about 400mi/year, but lately much more on local smooth gravel/dirt with 150mm tires on some German import rollerskis. They are a true cadillac ride on pavement in a not great way for form discipline. They are much much safer for average people though.
I still use some old Swenor 100mm hard wheels and some Pursuit 109mm hard wheels for bad pavement. Almost all of the pavement here is poor, with occasional chasms.
Thanks for the review! How much do you weigh, and how do the reviewed skating skis compare in terms of wheel size and wheelbase?
Hi! Thank you so much for watching!! I weigh usually around 170lbs. about 77kg. Great questions!! The length, wheel base, and wheel size on all these skis in the video are very similar for each of those categories! Thank you so much for asking! The IDT's in the video are IDT skate elites. IDT makes a roller ski that is shorter by about one wheel length called the IDT skate.
I've used Pursuit skate roller skis (non flex models) and find them durable, relative inexpensive and just as good as more costly European models. Only down side is vibration on rough surfaces. My favorite (by far) classic roller skis are FF rollerskis from Norway with V-track wheels (2 models- regular and with an unique suspension fork). I agree with you regarding Swenor- over rated.
Yes! Thank you so much Bjorn! this is the exact comment I want people to be leaving! I also know plenty of people who have no issue with the pursuit roller skis. So I really hope people scroll down to read this, and hear your experience. And it's great to hear you've had no issues with the non flex models, and found them to be more affordable! I think that would suit a lot of people well! Thank you for the helpful information! Happy skiing!
@@eriklynch7037 Were the Pursuits you showed the Fork Flex or Fork Extra Flex? I'm wondering if their recommendation that folks
@@danurban6398 Those were the fork flex skis! Great question!! I personally think with the flexing aluminum frames with holes in them, the extra flex and fork flew is way too soft for accurate ski feel. But That's me! I'm currently putting some time in with 4 of their stiffer pairs of skis, theirs some inconsistencies between them which is funny, but I can probably give a further update in about a month more of getting some time on those.Thank you so much! Good luck!!
@@eriklynch7037 Thanks so much! Looking forward to hearing your updated reviews, but this has been very helpful in the meantime. I wouldn't expect these to be included in the review because I believe they were recalled for safety reasons, but have you skied on the Swix Triac composite skate skis? If so, how do you think they compared to the ones here? They're what I'm skiing on now, but probably don't want to risk it too much longer even though I've had no problems with them.
Any preferences between the IDT Skate Elite versus the regular skate model?
Hello Josh!! Thank you so much for the question!! I hope I'm not too slow with the reply! Yes!! The skate elite are longer than the IDT skate model by about one wheel length. I do prefer the feel and stability of the skate Elite, BUT, they are both excellent skis! and you can improve and train hard on both! I do love them both! And, We just raced nordic combined Norwegian summer nationals here in Lillehammer on the regular skate model! they were awesome! And worked great! Let me know if that helps! Happy skiing!
Where can you even get IDT's? Last time I checked there wasn't a US rep, or a shop bringing them in. (there was, but they sold out and didn't restock 😢). I think you can buy direct from them on their site though? So, I am aging rapidly, and just this year my feet started giving me problems... I have noticed that my Marwe aluminum classic skis REALLY have a lot of road vibration that does my feet no favors. Hence the reason that a lot of masters probably really like composite roller skis that dampen some of that harsh, road feel. I skate train on Hjul's which are pretty comfy and have a lot of flex to them, but will probably move on from the Marwe aluminum classics. Bummer to hear about the fork issues on swenors, maybe why people that train alot only use the all aluminum models...
Hello!! YES! absolutely!You can buy IDT direct but! Your comment is so valuable because, like you say, you might not want a stiffer ski because yes! the Road vibrations are ver intense sometimes depending on the road surface ha! I'm glad you found skis that work better for you and I really hope other people come here and read your comment! thank you! I really appreciate you! Happy skiing! please let me know if there's a video I could make that would be helpful!
Are the IDT pre-drilled for bindings?
I think you've been roller skiing for 20+ years actually but yes :)
AH yes true! Thank you!! Very True! I should have also mentioned I've gained skills dodging rattle snakes, tarantulas, and wild turkeys on roller skis as well. I shouldn't leave out this information when I'm speaking on my roller ski career!🙏