I want to buy a pair of inline skates for me and my boyfriend..?

My boyfriend and I live in an area with a lot of asphault and rough sidewalks. What type of inline skates should we buy for recreational use? Are Bladerunners good for the job? They seem to be the leader in inline skates right now. I want them to last through some wear and tear. Should we be using a certain type of wheels and/or bearings? Thanks =)

I want to buy a pair of inline skates for me and my boyfriend..?
Bladerunner is Rollerblade's "cheap" brand. They are designed to compete against the no name brands sold in discount stores rather than sporting goods stores.


Rollerblade and K2 are the two major brands. You will have to go to a sporting goods store to find them.





Are they good enough? That depends on what you want from them. If you are going out occasionally, they may be good enough. If you are going to skate regularly or for longer distances (10 miles), you might want something better.





The wheels and bearings that come in the Bladerunners or any of the skates from K2 or Rollerblade will be acceptable outdoors. The quality of the wheel is much more important than the bearings but you really don't get a choice on that.





The bladerunners come with 76 or 78mm wheels. You might want to check if they can be replaced with 80mm or larger wheels. At some point, you will end up replacing the wheels and anything under 80mm is not very common and you have less options when you do replace them.


Larger wheels are better for rough surfaces and speed.





A metal frame (the part that holds the wheels) is better than plastic, especially if either of you are heavy. (for heavy people, larger wheels are also much better)





You want to try on every model that is in your range. The skates should fit snug all around your feet without crushing your toes. You want the skates to become part of your feet instead of letting your feet move around inside them.





Get helmets (bicycle helmets are good if you are not planning on doing tricks) and at least wrist guards. Hitting your head is not common but it can kill you (I knew a person it happened to) and your hands are going to hit the ground on almost any fall. Elbow and knee pads are up to you depending on your desire to avoid scrapes and balance.


You can usually find sets of wrist/elbow/knee pads at better prices than getting them individually.





Check (internet search) if you have an inline skate club in your area. They may be able to get you skating sooner and better than if you muddle through on your own.




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