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Ed's Sk8toronto Website
BUYING SKATES (ETC) This website has received many inquiries about where to purchase racing skates. Below you will find a list of the places that I know about -in no particular order. Nobody is paying me anything or sponsoring me in any way. The best way to make an informed decision about skating equipment is to join a skating club like TISC beforehand. This gives the skater a chance to view a wide variety of equipment and talk to other skaters about the pros and cons of what they are using. It is very easy to engage a speed skater in a conversation about their equipment. The cost of joining a group like TISC is nothing compared to the cost of one bad pair of skates. Even participating in some TBN events or Anthony Morris' “Friday night skates” will enable skaters to meet a wide variety of inline skaters and view their equipment. 1) Large Sports Stores like National Sports, Sporting Life and Sport Check do a good job of pushing "rec" (recreational) skates in the spring but only very rarely handle a few pair of “hybrid” skates. You are not really likely to run into a highly knowledgeable sales person at one of these places -except perhaps at Sporting Life. Sporting Life is (in my experience) the best in this category. The Toronto Bicycling Network (TBN) has a fairly extensive review of the local retail outlets. Check out: http://tbn.ca/inline/ (Scroll down to #4 Retailers).The wheels that local retailers sell are not normally very good for skating fast. 2) The Internet It is possible (but difficult) to get skates from internet sites. The biggest problem here is getting the proper fit. The other problem is that various taxes and shipping costs can really add up. I am sure there are two dozen skate manufacturers and dealers to be found on the internet. Readers can use the following sites as a starting point: Powerslide ; K2 ; Rollerblade ; Mogema ; Adam’s Inline ; as well as Bont and Rollerblade (see below). Lots of speedskates are purchased on E-Bay -with varying degrees of success. 3) McMaster Sports in Hamilton (905-523-8880), right across from McMaster University on Main Street West. They handle Rollerblade equipment. You can check out the Rollerblade website at http://www.rollerblade.com/. McMaster Sports handles both hybrid skates such as Rollerblade Lightning 07 or 09s and also carries frames and wheels for true racing skates (but not the skates themselves). As usual, there is a wait but with Rollerblade I believe it is only a week or so. Kevin St Aubin is the best person to deal with at McMaster Sports (if you are buying skates). McMaster Sports handles the best overall wheel for outdoor racing -the Hyperformance +Grip. In addition they offer a good discount to members of some skating groups. McMaster Sports will ship wheels and other goods so it is not necessary to go all the way to Hamilton. Note: I have not dealt with McMaster Sports for a few years. I am not sure if the above information is up to date. 4) Gavin Thulien in Ottawa. Gavin is one of the "big wheels" in inline up in Ottawa and runs an outfit called "ztsports". This is his email address: ztsports@sympatico.ca . Gavin sells the entire line of Bont equipment (and other stuff too!) and can do custom fitting for the more expensive skates. He is mostly into inline whereas OSSA is mostly into ice speed skating but both will cross over into the other's territory. Despite the distance you will probably find Gavin more willing to make "deals" and do little things to accommodate your needs. Prices range from around $500 for the Shark Attack package to around $2000 for the best of everything. Note: I have not dealt with Gavin for a few years. I am not sure if the above information is up to date. 5)Il Peloton in Ottawa. I've had great service from these guys although I've only purchased some wheels (a couple of times) and some other minor items. Their website address is: http://www.ilpeloton.com/homeEn/index.php
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