Rollerblades Lightning 07 - 2003 Model

By Damien Awog-Boro

Oct 2003

I decided to purchase the Rollerblades Lightning 07 because I had convinced my self that I needed a 5 wheel skate with the accompanying longer frame usually associated with such skates.

Secondly, I was able to justify this further, with the following analysis. Although, I have a pair of Salomon Deemax2, which I use mainly for commuting to and from the station enroute to work (weather permitting of course). I see skating more for fitness and speed as opposed to learning to do tricks (which is still cool). I would much rather be endowed with the best skating technique and be able to stop effectively than be really good at doing powerslides and barrel rolls. Although I practice these flashy moves, I spend more time just speedskating. Anyway – to cut a long story short, once I’d decided that I wanted a 5 wheeler, it was a question of which one to buy. It basically came down to two choices, the Salomon Vitesse or the Rollerblade Lightning 07.

I loved the look of the Salomon Vitesse with its striking yellow decals, but I also fell in love with the Lightning 07’s because of the slick and somewhat aerodynamic look. I see more speedskaters use the Salomon Vitesse and it has also had huge positive reviews from most who use them. With the Rollerblades, there isn’t much reviews about them, but the few which existed were quite positive.

On a trip to America, last May, I tried both on in a skate shop and I spent an hour each trying to get an accurate feel for both of them. They were both comfortable with the Lightning 07 feeling the more natural to my feet – admittedly there was very little in it. The Lightning 07’s seemed lighter as well although I don’t know this for a fact. In the end I went with the Lightning because it cost $259 as opposed to $299 and as this was a birthday present I wanted to save the buyer a few quid whilst I was at it.

Before talking specifics about the skates themselves, I must mention a bit about my skating level. I consider myself a good skater in that I skate about 3 miles each way to my train station and back whenever its dry and I am very comfortable on busy streets, going through markets and London's dodgy road surfaces. I can stop effectively using the t-stop as much as using my heel brakes, with the latter most often used because of the cost of replacement wheels. What I am not so good at are the more esoteric moves such as Barrel roles, powerslides, hockey stops etc. I have done 4 FNS skates which I have always found particularly easy (as far as stamina goes). My main interest is developing a great skating technique (like the Olympic skaters) and speed.

The main difference with this skate and my Salomon Deemax2 is comfort, ankle support and manoeuvrability.

What's in the BOX

• The skates
• Brake assembly kit
• Allen key
• Manual

I installed the Brakes and went for a quick test run, I immediately realised that with such a long frame the brakes made crossovers more difficult and pronounced. Coming from a shorter frame as on my Deemax2, I quickly decided that the brakes were more of a hindrance.

In terms of stability, I found that it is almost impossible to fall with the skates during normal skating. The frame is 326mm long, therefore giving ultra stability. Again compared to the Deemax2 the Lighning07 is more stable.

Doing simple stuff like parallel turns/stops were fine but not always as slick as with the Deemax’s, in fact these skates live up to the traditional long frames vs. short frame debate. It provides stability, speed - I was reaching speeds that I could not reach with my Deemax2’s, but not as manageable. Turning Arcs were noticeably wider.

Comfort

The skates are very comfortable, more so than my heat moulded Deemax's. There is an ankle strap which although does not provide the same level ankle support as the Deemax is still plenty fine. I mention this only because I noticed it.

The Lace is a bit difficult to tie up still relying on a knot to keep it from becoming loose. I much preferred the quick lock mechanism on the Salomons.

It also features an adjustable locking buckle which tightens as the user pulls and releases it. This is a great system.

Ride

The skates come with Rollerblades xtralite wheels 80mm/82A on micro hubs featuring unspecified bearings. These felt quite smooth and fast in use. I noticed something really strange with the ride quality of these skates. On rough surfaces the skates did not provide good shock absorption, in fact it was pretty bad, however on smooth surfaces, they proved to be the most shock absorbent skates I have ever used. I am not sure how much of this is due to the wheel compound, I will experiment with some new wheels and post an addendum to this review if this makes any difference. As these skates are not really designed for the street skater, I guess this was to be expected, although, I was quite shocked at the level of the lack of shock absorption on rough surfaces.

One other bad point about this skate, is that the lower part of the frame has connectors which join both sides of the frame together, much like a bridge between the two sides of the frame. This “bridge” is so low to the ground, that depending on the surface you will sometimes hear it grinding and rather disturbingly it acts like a twig magnet. Nearly every time I am out skating in Battersea park, I get a twig stuck in the frame, and because of the closeness of the wheels and this “bridge” being so close to the ground, these twigs have on occasion stopped one of the wheels rotating.

The good thing about the skates is the speed a skater can attain. It feels so much more faster than my Deemax and I am absolutely sure it is much faster. The frame is light, rigid and provides the right amount of feedback of what to expect on each type of surfaces, although this all disappears when you get onto too rough a surface.

Going downhill, was stable with no flex at all. I was even able to stop much more confidently than I was able to with my other skates.

The skates are very light, which contributed to the feeling of agility although the length of the frame quickly brought you back to reality.

Other Stuff.

The skates have got great ventilation, much better than anything I have used in the past. In fact the skates feature many ventilation holes right through the soles of the boot.

It features a PFS liner (whatever that means) which apparently adapts to your feet over time. Well, I don’t know about that, but they sure are comfortable, more so than my Deemax2’s which is quite comfy to start.

The footbed liner is of an anti-bacterial type which I can attest to the fact that appears to work.

Conclusions

How would I rate these skates. I would give them a 7/10 because I think the frame could have been better designed. I gather that the Lightning 05 uses a similar design but with the frame connector not so low, hence no such problem with twigs.

Although, I have never used the Vitesse outdoors, I suspect that it may well have proven to be a better skate judging from all the positive reviews I have seen.

I am not sure I can honestly recommend these skates especially when considering that they cost over £250 in the UK. Though I have no plans to change them for the foreseeable future, I certainly would not buy them again as the Vitesse with hindsight just looks a more practical option. The main reason for this is the twig trap issue, having to stop every so often to remove a twig from a frame takes away much of the pleasure of skating.

This review is my humble opinion and only offers to convey my own personal experiences with the lightning 07 and should be regarded as such. Other may have varying mileage with these skates.

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