Quad-line skates: a cross between in-line and quad skates
GEAR
Reviewed: Quadline 111 Supreme High Cut, Skorpion Quadline Urban, Rollerblade Crossfire 8.0 and Riedell Zone
Quad skates. In-line skates. For 20 years -- since the invention of Rollerblades -- skaters have sworn by one or the other. But while no one was looking, quads and in-lines got together and created a third breed: The quad-line, with fast in-line wheels in a quad configuration. Is it a racy new hybrid that will revolutionize skating or a failed mishmash destined for the ash heap of history? Here's how it compares against its in-line and quad "parents."
-- Roy M. Wallack
Stable and fast
Supreme High Cut: Features a vinyl boot with four 100-millimeter in-line wheels arranged in a rectangular format via big skateboard axels.
Likes: Fast, stable and great fun. With a wheelbase and width-spacing of 6 1/2 inches each, and standing tall at 4 1/2 inches high, Quadlines are faster but less maneuverable than traditional quad skates, and slower but more stable and ankle-friendly than the sleeker in-lines, which require more balance. As an average skater, I got up to speed quickly and felt confident and comfortable enough to skate happily for hours. Can include a rear or front brake, or both.
Dislikes: Wide and heavy (10 pounds per pair in size 9), they're not as nimble as traditional quads and make crossover cornering near-impossible.
Price: $249 (on sale $199); optional rear brake $19.99. (800) 554-1235; www.skates.com.
Wear your own shoes
Skorpion Quadline Urban: A strap-on, lower-slung version of the Quadline without a boot. Wearing your own shoes, step into what looks like a mini dune buggy, with the same 100-millimeter wheels but a longer (8 1/2 -inch), wider (6 3/4 -inch) wheelbase and four-wheel suspension. Four pounds each.
Likes: Quadline speed with sports-car handling. Very smooth, stable and comfortable due to the suspension, which compresses and banks through a turn, and the lower center of gravity of the foot platform, which nests between the wheels an inch lower (3 1/2 inches high) than a standard Quadline. Includes effective dual rubber brakes on the right rear foot, and ski binding-type ratchet straps over the forefoot and instep. It's very convenient as a commuter skate, given that you wear your own shoes. Adjustable foot plates can fit a wide range of shoe sizes.
Dislikes: Despite cranking down the straps as much as possible, my feet would slide slightly within my tennis shoes, causing blisters after my initial one-hour skate.
