I just bought a pair of Rollerblade Lightning 05, after I sold a pair of Salomon TR Mg Elite 2. The latter I had to sell because the ones I bought were 2 sizes too large and the unsuccessful expectation that the custom fit would decrease the size, forced me to buy new ones.

Initially, skating 3 times per week 3 laps around Hyde park, the sold TR Mg Elite 2 skates were nicer than my first pair of K2 Power A skates. They were much faster, lighter, flashier etc. and I like the speed lace. But on the other side, with not enough natural support in my feet, the Salomon sole was too flat to support my feet and with a few sizes too large, it really did hurt my feet. The other problem with the skates was that the frame initially was not strongly attached to the shoes, which shifted while skating – after tightening the screws, it worked out fine. I like the skates, but now without skates, I was looking for something else.

So after selling these skates after a month for 2/3 of the price (lucky buyer!), I went back on the market. I was looking at the Salomon Vitesse and loved the flashy colours, but they did not come with a brake and thinking of speed skating in the park crashing small children and grandmothers was not the best thing. The sales person in Decathlon told me this model was well sold, and the previous buyers are still trying to get the brake system ordered through them. Looking on the web, they are not the only ones. Then, with the good K2 skate experience, was also looking at the K2 Mod 8 skates. Great skates with extruded aluminium frame. Comparing the K2 on my left foot and the Salomon Vitesse on my right, the K2 didn't look as good. The Salomon were smoother and more stable (obviously unfairly comparing 4 with a 5 wheel skate). But then I looked at the Rollerblade Lightning skates just new in their stock. These skates have larger –82mm- wheels and are lighter in weight than the Salomon Vitesse. So, deciding that a brake on my skate is important and also that I found my perfect size in another shop (Slick Willies), I spent an 200 UK pounds on my new set of skates.

Looking at the Rollerblade skates, they have done quite a good job trying to compete with Salomon and K2. What most impressed me were obviously the 82mm wheels (hardness 82A). The Xtra Lite wheels are using little rubber material with a plastic core which both contribute to the lower weight. Rollerblade also produces Xtra Lite Alu wheels; they have the 82A hardness with less (80mm) diameter. They are also a bit heavier than the non-aluminium wheels, but are much stiffer than their plastic counterparts which will add to the stability for higher speeds.

The wheels are attached through micro-bearings to a one piece extruded aluminium 285 mm frame (4mm less than the Salomon TR Mg Elites which is built out of magnesium and aluminium parts). This frame supports 78mm to 82mm wheels. The frame is attached with screws to the shoe and can be aligned through these sidewise. The manual also refers that you can replace the frame with a 5 wheel frame if you intend to go all the way.

The soft boot shoe is constructed with a lot of ventilation. It has 12 direct holes in the foot sole, which guarantees immediate breathing from the bottom. Then, the front of the shoe has a protective flap on the lower left and right side, I assume for going through tight curves and protecting the shoe touching the asphalt. The shoe has several metal nets to allow more ventilation in various parts of the shoe. Low ankle support with flex is good enough to get up to some speed. The shoe laces and Velcro band I had trouble with. They are covered by a zipper and there is just not enough space to put your laces on. But then you can zip them away and no one sees how ugly you managed to knot your laces. I had to get used to the Rollerblade buckle. It has a release button and a strengthener on the buckle itself, and by pulling it up a few times, you tighten your ankle. I still like the K2 buckle most. The Salomon buckle sometimes is not strong enough as the teeth sometimes let go when fixed too tightly. The shoe also mentions it has shock erasers, which most skates do provide nowadays.

The lace pad mentions progressive fit system, professional lite and memory fit. But no vendor trying to heat up my shoes as they did for me with the Salomon to customize my feet, the Rollerblade shoe adapts to your feet over time. The inside shoe is made of Coolmax, one of those patented fabrics that breaths faster than a normal fabric. The foot sole is good, though in the front a bit wider than other skates. Foot support is fine, though if you have real flat foot, you may need an extra sole in there. I think the K2 foot bed support is still the best, the Salomon gives you a flat foot bed. One thing which impressed me in the skate is the anti bacterial sole layer. It is an additional layer they have put on the sole, and it actually does work knowing this from other shoes and sandals. They will take away any smells.

How did it skate? Excellent. The bigger wheels are just much nicer to go over the rough London asphalt till you actually reach Hyde park. Even though the wheels are harder than the Salomon Mag Elites, I actually felt more in control for both speed as well as free style. The ventilation definitely works, a lot less sweat after a few laps of Hyde Park. And actually, was able to take 10 seconds of my own record with the Salomon ones. But again, the Salomon did not fit my feet well, so please do not see this as a comparison of the skates, because I think they are equal to each other.

What I did not like of this skate is the lace pad, for some reason in both skates, they go to the left, right or down and every time, I had to pull them out and put them straight. And the limited space to tighten my laces is just not comfortable. Then the brake rubber is too soft, after 2 laps, there was a lot of rubber burnt already. The K2 brake rubber is too hard, the Salomon has the right hardness for the brake. But for the Rollerblade, it just goes too quickly, and after almost crashing into a grandmother, I found out the hard way it did not really stop me neither.

Weight is important and the skates are extremely light. The fact that they are lighter than the Salomon Vitesse was surprising to me and I am sure Salomon will do more to change that next year.

After one month though, I found some distressing facts: the wheels were wearing down quicker than I anticipated. I was actually quite devastated to find that the wheels looked like if once the wheels were gone through the initial layer, the inside was much softer. In the picture, you can see that it almost looks like they melted and the wheels are made out of wax.

I contacted Rollerblade US and the UK distributor and they were able to confirm that with some of the early models, the provided wheels did have manufacturing problems and did not comply with the specifications the wheels were originally tested with. They have rectified the problem with the newer shipping and also sent me within 24 hours a complete set of new wheels for free. The new wheels did help and they do now wear down as I would have expected from 82A wheels. All vendors have been informed by Rollerblade and been supplied with the newer and better wheels. If you experience similar problems, the vendor will replace them for free!

After 2 months, I had to replace one micro-bearing which started leaking, but with changing the wheels and skating over sandy roads, I would have expected that.

Overall, I am impressed with the Rollerblade Lightning 05 as probably every new user would be. If you want more out of your skates, you skate 3 times a week for long distance, and you do not want to go for the 5 wheel skate, this is a very good choice for what is on the market. They definitely compete with the Salomon TR Mag Elite 2 and K2 Mod 8/GT.

Biggest pros are the weight, bigger wheels, ventilation and foot bed.

Minus are the shoe laces, Velcro band, the zipper and the moving lace pad. Also, you may want to consider harder brake rubber material. 

If you find that the wheels wear down quicker than expected, then you have probably one of the early models and you can get your wheels replaced for free with your vendor.

These skates are for sale in the most bigger skate shops in London (Slick Willies, Decathlon, Snowboard etc) and  sold for 200 UK pounds.