Riedell Skates - Dart Ombré - Quad Roller Speed Skate

Dislike is the Velcro strap came off after wearing a handful of times. Would love to know what the company can do for this.

Love Love Love , they are so pretty and my daughter love them

These look and feel awesome.

Haven’t gotten to use them much but I really like them and my wife has a similar pair she uses for roller derby and she really likes her pair too.

Love the color and quality! However, they fit very small like a 6.5 womens

I just got back into skating and wanted speed skates but didnt want to spend a lot on my first pair just in case I decided I it wasnt for me anymore. I bought these about 3 weeks ago and have been to the rink twice. Not only am I enjoying myself I am really impressed with the quality at this price. I will say that I am no expert but I was expecting to have to at least upgrade the bearings and wheels. The only upgrade I have made is the cushions. Im tipping the scales at about 250lbs these days and the factory cushions just were not cutting it. The trucks were to loose no matter how tight I made them. I picked up some purple and red Sure Grip barrels and conicals. I played around with different combinations of colors until I found what worked for me, Ive only got one night on these cushions but Im satisfied. After this change these skates are perfect and I will be holding onto them for a while.

Really high quality skates, they roll really well compared to the rentals at the skating rink. I’m extremely pleased with them. The only think I could say that is a negative is they did not come with a key because I’d like to switch the green wheels to the front.

I used to roller skate back in the day and in an effort to try to be more active upon reaching middle age, decided to try the experts advice that the easiest way to find success with a fitness program is to partake in activities that you like. I was a rink rat back in the 80s. Eventually got a pair of rollerblades that got some minimal use over the years but my old quad skates did not survive. Well, actually they were fine but after having two kids, my feet never fit them right again. How could they after almost 30 years! So I did a lot of research before settling on this as a replacement. I know this is meant for derby and not the same type of artistic boot that I had grown up using but wanted to give it a try and could not resist the fun colors. I love it but am still getting used to it. The brake sits a bit low and I know I can adjust them. The shoe part fits pretty comfortably, just the slightest tad big, but I did not want to go down another size. Can probably wear thicker socks. Cant quite pull the laces tight enough as I would like but the velcro closure makes up for that. There is no ankle support so I feel I had to work a lot harder in the back calf muscles to stay upright and moving. Ive been out in them twice and after a few laps, start to get my confidence back. I cant quite describe if they are slick enough or not slick enough. On the one hand, first steps out I feel that it is quite slick but then after many laps and I want to pick up speed, I feel that I cant quite get any faster and I dont know if that is some type of subconscious safety mechanism kicking in to keep me safe or as if Ive reached max speed on the wheels. Again Im not describing this well and I have a feeling using some tools to adjust could very well do the trick. I dont care how old I am, Im having fun again!

Update: 1/18/23: Been using the skates regularly the past 4 months. I did not use them very much the first 8 months - I had to get hip surgery, which knocked me out for some time. After the surgery, my legs were too weak to do much, I basically had to start with baby steps until my leg strength built back up. The large/wide wheels made the skates stable for my initially weak condition. The shoes are comfortable to wear and I have minimal wear noticed on the boot. The bearings are starting to make noise, which probably means they need cleaning. Now that Im more maneuverable I plan on swapping the wheels and bearings for smaller/harder wheels and swiss bearings. BTW: Eastern Skating Supply has decent pricing on Yolo swiss bearings. Ive had to do minor adjustments to the wheel nut over time, but, thats due to normal usage. I have noticed that I dont even use the laces, the boot fits snug on my foot and I just tighten the velcro strap. I still dont like the toe stop (too long) and would rather have a jam plug thats made out of rubber instead of the hard plasticy material they all seem to be made from. Since I have not found a rubber jam plug, the toe stop is still being used. Overall, Im satisfied with the skate. It has served my situation (hip surgery then rebuilding strength) nicely. For someone who isnt in my situation, Id prefer the skate had better wheels and bearings, but, thats a modification most skaters do overtime with practically any skate. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Initial review: This is just my initial impressions of the skate, I have done minimal rolling, but, several adjustments. The skates have great padding on sides and top. The bottom padding is severely subpar - you can feel the metal plate on the inside of the boot. My first recommendation is to remove the foot liner, add your own insole/foot pads, then put the Riedell foot liner back inside the boot (on top of your own liner). I may decide to change this arrangement if the liner slides around inside the boot. Because you are adding padding to the boot, you may want to consider upping your boot size to accommodate the extra padding you are adding. Im pretty sure the factory workers just slap things together and stuff the skates in a box to be shipped. This means that all primary adjustments will most likely NOT be optimal - the bearing nuts, toe stop, and trucks will all need to be adjusted. In my case, most bearing nuts needed to be loosened so the wheel could spin freely. I didnt like the toe stops (they sit too close to the ground for my comfort - even when fully inserted), so, I replaced them with jam stops. The trucks were overly stiff, they had to be loosened - some skaters may prefer stiffer trucks, I prefer the added maneuverability by having looser trucks. The skate looks great, feels comfortable and is very stable. I thought I was getting a more robust skate due to the aluminum plates, but, they are very heavy compared to nylon plates. If you are a recreational skater a nylon plate may be an acceptable option, and save on some weight. Overall, I like the feel of the skates and am looking forward to putting them on the ground and doing some real testing on their performance.

Love these! They fit perfect and are so cool looking!