Rollerski Series Part I- Rollerski Equipment: Everything You Need to Know
Now that the trees are green and New England summer is in full swing, the last thing on everyone’s mind is snow. While now may seem like a great time to forget about striding and gliding for a few months, it’s actually the perfect opportunity to hone your ski skills in preparation for perfect corduroy trails come December. If you’re new to cross country skiing, you may be wondering how this is possible. If you’re a seasoned vet of the sport, you probably already know that rollerskiing is the answer to how skiers keep the winter hype going all year long. Regardless of your experience level with rollerskiing, cross country skiing’s summer counterpart, it can be difficult to stay up to date on the latest equipment necessary to keep you safe on the roads and bike paths.
Here, we bring you up to speed on the latest recommendations for rollerski equipment. Rollerskiing may sound scary, but the right equipment can help to mitigate any risks and make the experience far more enjoyable. Once you get the hang of it, rollerskiing is a great fitness booster and way to improve your ski technique. There are numerous options on the market for rollerski equipment, which can be daunting, but we help you sort through what’s really important.
In brief, you’ll need the following before hitting the roads:
Rollerskis (skate or classic)
Boots
Poles with rollerski ferrules
Helmet
High visibility clothing (if skiing where cars are present)
Sunglasses/Eye protection (highly encouraged)
Lightweight gloves (optional)
Knee pads/Elbow pads (optional)
Full setup of skate equipment
If a video format is more your style, Green Racing Project skiers Margie Freed and Michaela Keller-Miller provide a crash course on rollerski equipment on the latest GRPTV episode.
Rollerskis
The first step to outfitting your rollerski setup is, you guessed it, rollerskis. Just like cross country skiing in the winter, rollerskis come in both skate and classic. If you want to ski with both techniques, you will need two separate sets of equipment. Skate rollerskis roll both forward and backwards, whereas classic rollerskis have one set of ratchet wheels. The ratchet wheels keep classic rollerskis from rolling backwards, allowing you to “kick” or stride up hills. Classic rollerskis also sit slightly closer to the ground than skate rollerskis. It’s important to note that both types of rollerskis have no brakes, making safety all the more important.
Skate rollerskis (top) vs. classic rollerskis (bottom)
Both classic and skate rollerskis are generally made with either aluminum shafts or composite shafts. Aluminum shafts tend to produce faster skis and are often the more economical choice. Composite shafts are known for being a smoother ride and for having an on-snow feel. This is especially relevant for classic rollerskiing, as classic aluminum shafts can feel less stable than composite shafts. For skate rollerskiing, aluminum shafts are plenty functional and can be great if you are just starting out. Be sure to buy skis with a standard-length shaft since “junior” shafts will likely be too short and come with too fast of wheels. Your local ski shop can help you sort through their rollerski offerings. To get you started, here are a few quality rollerskis that we recommend:
Skate Ski Recommendations:
Classic Ski Recommendations:
This is by no means a comprehensive listing of all available options. If you’re skiing with a local club, check and see if the coaches have a ski preference for their athletes.
Before rollerskiing on your new classic rollerskis, make sure they’re tracking straight. Since classic rollerskis have ratchet wheels, one of your skis may tend to veer toward one direction; this can force your feet too far apart or into each other. As you can imagine, this creates a hazard and makes a skier more prone to tripping, losing control, or even crashing. To test whether your skis are tracking straight, roll both skis forward on a flat surface. If either of your skis are failing to roll straight forward, check to make sure your wheels are in working condition. If one wheel is lopsided, your skis won’t track straight. If this is the case, replace the wheels. If your wheels are new and you just bought your skis, bring them back to the ski shop where you bought them and ask if they can adjust your wheels until they’re back to tracking straight. This will greatly improve the safety of your rollerskis and make your time on skis far more comfortable and fun.
Example of a classic wheel starting to wear out- left wheel is slightly lopsided and wearing more on one side, whereas right wheel is still in good condition
Example of skate wheel in need of replacement- bottom wheel has far too much rubber worn away, whereas the top wheel still has life left in it
Another angle of the skate wheels- there are visible micro cracks on the front wheel indicating that it’s time for a new wheel
Wheel Considerations
When purchasing rollerskis, it’s important to think about what wheel speed is best for your goals. Too fast of wheels can lead to out-of-control situations and too easy of a workout, as these wheels provide less resistance. On the other hand, too slow of wheels can make it challenging to improve certain technique components, as well making easy workouts harder than they should be. Most rollerski brands come with medium speed wheels which lend to both a good workout and enough control on downhills. We’d recommend starting with these if you are new to rollerskiing. Some rollerskiers like to mix up their wheel speeds, as this is the best way to mimic changing snow conditions in the winter.
Be sure to avoid race wheels, as these are extremely fast and will make it difficult to do technique work and control your speed. These wheels are designed for top speeds and even the pros don’t use them for training.
Wheel condition is also paramount to the safety of your rollerskis. If your wheels are starting to look lopsided or are forming cracks, it’s time to replace your wheels. When rollerski wheels are too worn, they can be squirrely to ski on and difficult to control. Stay safe by making sure your wheels are in good shape.
Bindings
Be sure to have a ski shop mount your bindings, as loose bindings are incredibly unstable and unsafe when rollerskiing. If you notice your bindings starting to loosen, make sure you either replace the bindings or tighten them before using your skis again. Along these lines, rollerski-safe bindings should screw into your rollerskis. Some bindings have slide-on plates which we would never use for rollerskiing.
Another note on bindings- make sure your boots match your binding system. Most new bindings are either NNN or Salomon’s Prolink. These two binding systems are compatible with one another, will work with any NNN or Prolink boot, and have a single bar under the toe. If your boots are SNS, or have two metal bars under the toe, you will need to make sure you mount SNS bindings onto your rollerskis. It’s likely your ski shop no longer sells SNS bindings, but they can still be found in great condition on Facebook Marketplace, other online buy-sell platforms, or at ski swaps.
Boots
Choosing boots for rollerskiing is a fairly straightforward piece of the equipment puzzle. For skate rollerskiing, find skate boots that match the binding system on your rollerskis. Although combi boots may work for skate skiing in the winter, the reduced support from combi boots will make skate rollerskiing feel unstable. Instead, find stiff and well-fitting skate boots for maximum support and safety.
For classic rollerskiing, use classic ski boots that don’t have extra space for your feet to swim around. Properly fitting classic boots will work great; however, combi boots are a possibility for classic rollerskiing since they provide slightly more ankle support than classic boots. Ill-fitting boots will make it challenging to direct your skis where you want them to go. When the consequence is skin to pavement, it’s important to ensure that your equipment is in good shape.
Winter ski boots can also be used for rollerskiing. Keep in mind that rollerski boots can get covered in dirt and grime, so it may be nice to have a separate set of boots to keep your winter boots in pristine condition for the snow.
Poles
Rollerski poles differ from snow poles in that the tips have rollerski ferrules rather than snow baskets. The tips on snow baskets will dull out extremely quickly rollerskiing and the baskets will likely break from contact with the hard pavement. Make sure to swap out snow baskets for rollerski ferrules to use your snow poles for rollerskiing.
Before switching out your tips, make sure your poles are the right height for rollerskiing. For skate rollerskiing, the top of your poles should reach between your mouth and nose when you’re standing on skate rollerskis. This oftentimes ends up being a few centimeters taller than one’s winter ski pole length, as rollerskis have more height than cross country skis. For classic rollerskiing, the top of your poles should be about flush with the top of your shoulders when you’re standing on classic rollerskis.
When choosing rollerski poles, find poles with cork grips as these result in fewer blisters. Most cross country ski poles will do the trick while out rollerskiing; maintaining sharp pole tips is far more important than the quality of poles you’re using. If your pole tips are becoming dull, use a filer or a ferrule sharpener to grind your metal tips back into a sharp point. Rounded or dull tips will cause your poles to slip against the pavement, making it easier to lose your balance and harder to propel yourself forward. If you are unable to resharpen your ferrule tips into a point, replace them with new ferrules.
Additional Equipment Notes
First and foremost, a helmet in good condition is NECESSARY while rollerskiing. Crashes can happen when you least expect them from hazards as small as a tiny pebble or crack in the pavement to cars that obstruct your path. As such, it is crucial that you are prepared by wearing a helmet at all times while skiing. Be sure your helmet is no more than five years old and that there are no cracks in the helmet. Another consideration is to purchase a helmet with MIPS technology. MIPS stands for Multi-Directional Impact Protection System; helmets with MIPS reduce rotational forces caused by impact and lower the chance of concussions and other brain injuries.
Additional safety considerations are to ski with lightweight gloves to prevent blisters and rubbing skin off your hands. Biking gloves, certain gardening gloves, and gloves designed for rollerskiing can all be great options. High visibility (hi-vis) clothing (i.e. neon shirts, shorts, helmets, etc.) is also a must-have if you plan to rollerski on roads. Remember, you are little compared to cars, and drivers don’t expect to see a skier on the side of the road.
You may also feel more comfortable learning to rollerski with knee and elbow pads. It’s far better to feel safe than to risk losing skin. Rollerskiing with sunglasses or eye protection is also recommended, as another skier’s errant pole swing could lead to an eye injury.
Speed Reducers: Worth it or not?
In order to combat the fact that rollerskis have no brakes, there are several rollerski speed reducers on the market. These can be installed onto your rollerskis or even to your boots to help you slow down your skis by controlling the friction on either the front or rear wheels. Although improvements have been made in speed reducer technology, they are oftentimes difficult to activate. Many models require bending down and moving a lever while skiing to initiate the speed reducer, whereas others involve finessing your body position to activate the speed reducer.
As speed reducers require foresight prior to a downhill or a need to slow down, it’s oftentimes easier to rely on your own ski control. Relying on speed reducers can prevent you from becoming comfortable on your skis. Learning enough rollerski agility and speed control without speed reducers is paramount to skiing on challenging terrain, as you need to be able to quickly respond to hazards without thinking about whether you can activate speed reducers in time. If you need speed reducers to ski certain terrain, you likely should be sticking to more mellow terrain anyway. Another common complaint with speed reducers is that some models can chafe on your leg and are prone to breaking. For these reasons, we don’t recommend speed reducers to most people, as they can be unreliable, finnicky to use, and promote bad habits on skis.
That being said, the use of speed reducers is up to personal preference. Their main benefit is allowing you to descend at safer speeds down particularly long or steep downhills. If you think speed reducers or brakes will give you peace of mind while rollerskiing, then you should by all means explore available options.
Final Thoughts
Learning to rollerski can sound scary and sorting through equipment options may be intimidating. Checking out your local ski shop is oftentimes the best way to find what will work well for you. Ensuring you have safe equipment in solid working condition greatly reduces the risks that come with rollerskiing. Once you get the hang of rollerskiing, it can be really fun, a full body workout, and a great way to improve your skiing when there’s no snow on the ground. The hardest part is often just taking the first stride.