K2 MOD GT 2002

Long term test

October 2002

by Bob Cardone

You can read the original K2 Mod GT review here on this page.

I have been really organized in keeping track of the mileage on my skates now that I have had a PDA with me. My K2 MOD GTs have passed the 1,000 mile mark. Total maintenance, replacing 1 Twincam Abec 7 608 bearing that got noisy fairly quickly. I didn't want to buy a set of ABEC 7s for 1 bearing so I just put an old Abec 5 I had in my junk box, and it has worked great ever since. I did grease the bearings right after I bought the skates with Finish Line Synthetic grease. Since then, I have done nothing but rotate the wheels. I have skated in South Beach, Venice beach, New York City etc..etc.. so they have been exposed to sand and crud and rain once or twice and still going strong.

The wheels are what is amazing. I still have the original K2 MOD 80mm 81a wheels that came with the skates. These wheels ride great, wear extremely well, and grip very well. After over 1,000 miles, they are down to 70mm, and still rolling. The ride hasn't gotten harsh yet, so I am going to continue to skate on them and see how long they really will last. I cannot remember any wheels I have had that have lasted this long. I weigh about 220 and am 6'2+ and usually go though wheels pretty quick. I contacted K2 to see if I could order some of these wheels, cause I saw them on their WEB site, but the one on their web site are the wheels that were on the Catalyst skate ( Micro bearing size) and they were totally different and slow as molasses. In fact I hated them, and couldn't wait to replace them.

The one issue I had with these skates was the top buckle. It would seem to "slip" when I would tighten it. A couple of weeks ago, I had the skates off and was looking really closely at the buckle and I suddenly realized that the tightening mechanism was designed to "slip" so that you could insert the strap without having to crank it all the way tight. Once in position, by pushing downward on the buckle arm, the teeth engage tightly on the notches in the strap, and there is no slippage as you tighten it. I can't believe I missed that, all this time.

Great skates, great wheels, almost zero problems ( except the one bearing) and still really comfortable.

Bob

Inline skating lessons :: About us :: Disclaimer :: Press Page

All material on this website is © Copyright 2000-2007 LondonSkaters.com, contributors, and associates. Please do not reproduce anything without permission.  If you wish to use photos or other material from this website, please contact me first.