Tour TR 902 Skate Review

by Tom Holland

I finally broke down and bought a new pair of inlines, in this case a pair of flashy Tour TR 902 hockey skates, which came emblazoned with the promising-sounding words, "Tegra Fit System." Actually, it was the breakdown of my last pair--weathered but comfy Salomon Verse--that prodded me toward this latest binge. I had hoped the Verse would last until the dreamy 2002 Salomon CrossMax hit the stores, but with the eyelets pulling loose I decided to give up the ghost and go shopping.

The Search

First, let me state that when it comes to hockey, I don't know pucks from Peppermint Patties. Nevertheless, my search for an agile, quick-turning skate moved me in that direction. Most inline manufacturers lengthen the wheelbase to correspond with the quality of their skates, providing high-speed stability for their better models, at the expense of maneuverability. I wanted just the opposite, and if the CrossMax was going to use a hockey-style high/low carrier, I reasoned, why not go to the source and get some hockey skates? My search began and ended at the only hockey shop in the area, Coast Hockey of Santa Barbara, California. The owner was very helpful, and insistent that size 11 skates were right for my size 12 feet. I had never tried on hockey skates before and they felt tight. Really tight. But after skating in circles around the parking lot for half an hour, I had to admit he was right--the sizing was peculiar, but they certainly fit. I later learned that the sizing was Canadian, which is 1 to1½ sizes larger than the U.S. fit. The few minutes I spent in that strip mall parking lot, dodging cars in my dress slacks, was worth the lunch I missed. Compared to the heavy boots and long wheelbase of typical inlines, the 902s felt slick and smooth. My balance was immediately better, my turns sharper and my stops surprisingly quicker. I bought them on the spot for $179 U.S.

They practically skate without you

The Honeymoon

Once home, I spent about 10 minutes getting the things laced onto my feet. Then I crept over to the school parking lot and spent a couple of hours putting them through their paces until the principal came out and asked me to leave. The boots were stiff and uncomfortable, but the manoeuvrability easily made up for it. Crossovers and turns are a natural on these skates, though you have to remember not to lean back--there's a lot less wheel behind you. The Tours proved to be fast, light, perfectly balanced and wonderful to turn on. Is it possible to buy a pair of skates that instantly make you a better skater? Yes, I now believe, it is.

The Marriage

The next day I couldn't even skate. I'm not sure what the "Tegra" in "Tegra Fit" means, but I suspect it has something to do with pain. My usual cotton socks had created terrible blisters wherever a foot bone had brushed the inside of the Tours, which are lined with a sandpapery "Genuine Leather Lining." I must say I was not impressed with this "feature." The next week was taken up with buying some Thorlo tennis socks (at a whopping 10 bucks a pair, thanks SportMart), affixing Dr. Scholl's MoleFoam to the particularly gritty spots inside the skates--and going back to my Salomons. The Verse have a fairly short, 280 mm. wheelbase (measured from front to rear axle), but compared to the Tours, they were sleds. The nimble Tours felt like ice skates while the Salomons were like cross country skis. The Tour wheelbase is just 242 mm--not a whole lot longer than my foot. After several weeks of agonizing work, the Tours finally started to break in. Actually, I think my feet were the ones broken in, but I suppose the end result is the same. What follows are my conclusions.

Exterior Boot

It goes without saying that the boot is stiff, with an attractive outer shell of leather, plastic and silvery carbon fiber. It laces up to provide good support, and although the lacing process takes a while compared to Speed Laces or buckles, you can fine-tune areas of tightness quite nicely. The protective rubber bumpers in the forefoot area are a good idea, but not really robust enough to handle much sliding. I managed to wear away the bottom of the bumpers, and consequently part of the boot, with a few sloppy power slides.

More ventilation, coming right up

Interior Boot

The inside of the boot features technology from the Dark Ages. It is lined with rough leather and the tongue is covered with some sort of hairy black felt. For a hundred and seventy-nine bucks, I had hoped to get a boot that didn't feel like I was wearing a baseball glove. Fortunately, much of the abrasive surface was mitigated by the cushy Thorlo socks, which should be shipped standard with every pair of these skates. I noticed later that some of the higher-end hockey skates come with comfortable microfiber linings. Next time.

Genuine leather lining

Insole and Sole

The insole is wafer-thin and about as soft--a little bit of cush and that's it. With the aluminum frame beneath, there's a good amount of vibration, and if you're on these skates for more than a couple of hours, your joints may ask to have a word with you the next day. But this much I expected, and I consider it a reasonable tradeoff, since the direct contact results in a sure feel and firm control. The sole of the boot is white plastic--again vibration-central--and somewhat more flexible than I might have liked. By pressing on the sides of the skate, you can watch the sole flex as it tries to pull away from the riveted chassis. This really doesn't inspire confidence, but after weeks of reckless skating I can't say I've noticed any ill effects.

Mmm . . . tasty

Chassis and Hardware

The glamorous, gold "Turbo" aluminum chassis looks pretty fantastic, plus it does an excellent job of holding the wheels on. The sides tend to bow together at the heel and toe wheels as the bolts are tightened, and you can too easily effect how well your wheels spin with minute adjustments in bolt tightness. The bolts are stainless steel, solid axle. When you put the bolts through the chassis, they don't necessarily line up with the holes on the other side. After securing them, everything comes together well enough, but it's not exactly a marvel of precision machining. After half an hour of skating, it's common for the bolts to loosen and things start to rattle (a none-too-subtle sound, with steel bolts and an aluminum chassis). A quick adjustment with the provided wrenches gets things back to normal. Don't leave home without them.

Wheels

My Tour TR 902s came with a set of funky lavender Labeda Millenium Grippers that I was crazy about from the start. The back two wheels are 80mm, while the front are 72mm, a high/low setup with the toe wheel just slightly raised. I don't know how they fare for hockey, but they're great for street skating. They grip like crazy on corners and turns, break loose perfectly in sliding stops, and wear acceptably well. They are a just a bit soft, which helps to cushion the ride at the expense of longevity. There is one inherent problem with the 80/72mm setup--it doesn't take too long before those tiny 72's wear down to the size of nickels, so you're essentially limited by the life span of the front wheels.

Off to wheel Heaven you go

Bearings

It's always hard for me to say how good bearings are. The 902s came with Bevo ABEC 5's, and for the first week they were the fastest wheels on the planet. But after I overshot a set of steps and landed in the dirt, skated the sandy path by the beach, and just generally used the hell out of them, well, I was happy if they went around. I suppose they'd be good bearings for someone who takes a bit of care.

Final Impressions

After a couple of months, the Tour 902s feel almost comfortable on my feet. I do think it's possible to make the same skate using materials for the boot other than rock and wood, thus reducing the agonizing break-in period. Other than that, this is a skate that delivers quality commensurate with its price. It's nothing fancy, but it's put together well and it stays together. If you've never tried hockey skates, and want to improve your footwork, turns and transitions (and don't see the need for a heel brake), then I would heartily endorse procuring a pair.

You can contact Tom Holland here.

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