Aggressive Skates

Aggressive Skates Are Made For Stunts

Aggressive skates have been inspired by the original inline skates in the early 1990's when performing different stunts on the inline skates has became popular. Many inline skates brands noticed the trend and started producing aggressive skates that would be more suitable for stunts and provide riders with much more ankle protection and grind platforms.

The construction of aggressive skates is much different to the one of inline skates. It consists of soft boot with plastic shell, lacing and strap system for secure feel, 2-4 aggressive skate wheels (Depending on a model), 0-2 grind wheels (Depending on a model) and plastic or steel frames with grind space in the middle.

What Should I Consider When Buying Aggressive Skates?

When buying aggressive skates it's is very similar to buying any other piece of equipment. Each component is different and might suit one rider more than another however, there are a couple of main factors to consider.

One of those factors is your skill level. If you are only starting your aggressive skates journey, you should go with one of the cheaper models as they come with more ankle support to keep your foot in place at all times throughout the learning process. However, if you are intermediate or professional level rider, you might be looking at softer boot that will allow for more flex resulting in higher chance of locking into grinds and performing different stunts.

Another important factor to consider is your frame. The three main types of frames are the flat frame, anti-rocker frame and freestyle frame. The most popular frames are the flat frames that come as standard 4 wheel inline set-up with grind space in the middle. These frames are a great all around set-up. The anti-rocker is frame that comes with only 2 wheels and a huge amount of space in the middle for grinds. Allows for more creative grind variations and control. Last but not least, we have the freestyle frames that come with 4 wheels with 2 of them being grind wheels. The grind wheels help with the grinds and prevent your skates from getting stuck mid way through the grind.

Lastly, you should consider your wheel size. The larger the wheel, the faster you will be able to go however, it is important to consider if you are looking for a faster set of skates or one that goes slightly slower and allows you to be a little more technical with your tricks.

Difference Between Aggressive Skates and Inline Skates

There are a lot of major difference between the two styles of skates. The main difference is the boot, wheel size and frames.

The boot on a set of aggressive skates tends to be a lot heavier built to provide riders with more ankle support. They also tend to be a lot wider to leave some space between the edge of the boot and the frame for grinding. Inline skates come with much slimmer and softer boot that allows riders to be more flexible and comfortable when turning at higher speeds.

Another big difference is the size of the wheels. When it comes to wheel sizes, most aggressive skates are between 48mm - 80mm where Inline skates are usually between 70 - 110. Reason for that is mainly the fact that aggressive skates require less speed and more grind space to perform tricks where Inline Skates can focus on the speed.

Last but not least, we have frames. Frame on an aggressive skate is heavier and comes with grind space making it suitable for smaller wheels. On the other hand, inline skate are much lighter and provide enough space to fit much larger wheels that will allow for more speed.