New LandRoller Mojo Skates

[Archimdae]

Originally Posted by haruspex

The angled and offline design of the LandRoller is interesting, but until I try one myself (which I'm not sure will happen...) it's hard to make a judgment. The durability, however, speaks for itself.

As for the durability, I haven't found any mention of durability trouble post the very first 1400 units. The only complaint after that was people wanted replaceable bearings which any of the replacement wheels you buy now allow. I've read a bunch of posts around the net of users using them for years and being happy.

As long as you don't expect an all-purpose skate to be a speed skate, I don't think you'd have much worry . But then I haven't got mine yet so I might break my neck when a wheel goes out first trip!

I'm mostly getting them for fun and exercise anyway :0). It is a shame about the weight limit though. I guess their having a hard time building a wheel that can hold as much weight as in lines. No surprise, but I do have friends that won't even be able to try em.

[haruspex]

Originally Posted by Archimdae

As long as you don't expect an all-purpose skate to be a speed skate, I don't think you'd have much worry .

I 100% agree. These are meant for fun and definitely provide that and then some! I would get a set of these before I got an inline rec skate.

Originally Posted by Archimdae

It is a shame about the weight limit though. I guess their having a hard time building a wheel that can hold as much weight as in lines. No surprise, but I do have friends that won't even be able to try em.

As a light person, I don't have much sympathy for people over 200 pounds when it comes to skating. I don't experience it first hand, and as such my comments regarding people over 200 pounds should be taken with a huge grain of salt. Don't get me wrong, I have supreme respect for skaters of all varieties, I just feel that some equipment just isn't going to work for some body types. However, with that said, it would be interesting if they created a set of LandRollers built larger and tougher for people over the 200 pound line.

Can anyone explain to me the theory behind the design of Lanrollers?- I mean why would they supposedly go over rough surfaces more easily than regular rollerblades??

[gem]

Originally Posted by BleeckerSt_Girl

Can anyone explain to me the theory behind the design of Lanrollers?- I mean why would they supposedly go over rough surfaces more easily than regular rollerblades??

It's basicly the same reason a small car feels every lil rut far more than say a F250 truck. To see it graphicly, draw a small square say 3cm sq. then get a compass out and draw a circle with say 80mm high and 150mm high, the front wheel on landrollers (40mm/75mm radias respectively). Now when the 3cm block is placed directly in front of either wheel the % of direct impact on the wheel is far less on the larger wheel, so less feeling on contact. Now this is one of the reasons they have protential to have a awesome skate. Is the new Mojo much better, only true field use will tell.

[gem]

I got this off the LandRoller site:

Changing the Bearings

Review the instructions for removing and replacing a wheel. Then remove the wheel or wheels that need new bearings from the skate frames. Use a 6000 series bearing puller to gently remove each of the bearings from each side of the wheel hub

(do not use a typical inline skate 608 series bearing puller as it will damage the bearing shields).

I did a quick search and them bearing pullers ain't cheap!

[kufman]

They are interesting skates, but they will never replace speed skates. The main problem I see is their lack of efficiency. When the wheels roll they also scrub the ground because they do not have a 1:1 contact with the ground. The other thing that robs them of efficiency is the side loading on the bearings. Standard ball bearings don't like to be run this way, yet it doesn't fit the job description of a thrust bearing either.

I think they have potential to be fun skates if you don't want to go fast.

[Archimdae]

Originally Posted by BleeckerSt_Girl

Can anyone explain to me the theory behind the design of Lanrollers?- I mean why would they supposedly go over rough surfaces more easily than regular rollerblades??

According to the site, they say the goal was to get a bigger wheel without losing the stability and maneuverability of inlines. Other attempts are like those big wheeled inlines "coyotes?" that are no longer produced because they are very unstable. They put your center of gravity too high. Then there are the ski type ones with the big wheels forward and behind the boot. Those are great from what I hear except you lose a massive amount of your maneuverability. So the only option for bigger wheels that they could think of was the angle idea. As Gem says, bigger wheels are always going to run smoother over rougher terrain. This is just the most recent idea to overcome the problem.

*edit* The idea apparently started with a single giant wheel that the boot actually sat in the middle of but was unstable and as they played with a second wheel to keep it stable, the wheels shrank and they ended up with just the angle.

Granted if you look close at their site they do make sure to mention that rougher terrain may not always be rideable. As well as wear down your wheels faster.

@Gem Holy cow you arn't kidding about those prices. Why not just buy a new pair of landrollers! eash... Well I don't think I'd need to pull them unless they go toast anyway, should be able to grease them in the wheel I'd think?

[calkid]

Fello skaters interested in the Mojos: I have received mine. I had hoped to be able to extend my skating to rougher surfaces than I am now able to comfortably skate on my Bont Alpha skates, but the Landrollers dissapoint.

The performance of the Mojo is a big step down. I did not have much trouble getting the hang of the angled wheels. But they perform like I'm skating on bricks or pulling an anchor. I won't be keeping mine for my skating quiver. So, my search still continues to find a skate for rough asphalt surfaces that will be fun.

On a positive note, the Mojos are now about the same weight as a similar category inline skate and the boot is comfortable.

Good Skating!

[Bill in Houston]

Well, I guess I knew they would be slower than a speedskate, but how is the ride? Do they swallow up bumps and cracks better than the Alpha?

[calkid]

Originally Posted by Bill in Houston

Well, I guess I knew they would be slower than a speedskate, but how is the ride? Do they swallow up bumps and cracks better than the Alpha?

Bill:The very large wheels on the Mojos do absorb the road shock better than my 4x90x84a wheel configuration, but the performance is so degraded, the tradeoff, for me, is effectively useless. The fun is missing with the very slow performance.

I still do have a need for skating on rough surface roads. My current thinking is that a better solution for this may be something like a Marathon skate with a 4x110x84a configuration, or something similar,for lack of a better option. Has anybody out there tried something like this configuration for rough surface skating (e.g. asphalt roads)?

[Archimdae]

Well I got my Landroller Mojos last week and the first ride was interesting. Skating forward was pretty much the same though they almost felt like they were sticky to the ground. Turning was a tad trickier to get used to. On normal blades you can turn sharp while mainly keeping all the wheels one the ground, mostly just a weight shift. On this I had to actually go to one wheel on each skate to get the same turning.

*edit* I think they feel sticky (best word I can think of to describe it) because of the out of line wheels.

The second time out I went ahead and road the highway that caused so much vibration in normal skates. It was an amazingly smooth ride compared to my inlines. Turning is fine and comfortable once I got used to it. As far as other terrain it would be fine over gravel except for the brake. It's like a centimeter off the ground and when skating backword I almost biffed it on a tiny little pebble on the road . I'm sure that will be better once the break wears down a bit but for now, skating backwords is a nono.

As for the boot, it was a bit tight at first but after 2 more rides in em the stuffing is easing up a bit. I wear a 9.5 and I got 10's. My feet get sore after about a mile, but it feels like it's just the muscle getting used to skating again. The skate feels much more solid than it looks in the pictures and the wheels are quite a bit bigger than you'd think from pictures, they really do look like your wearing waggons on your feet :0). But it's a fair trade off to be able to skate again.

Just before I went out the last time when checking that all the screws were tight and such I did notice one of the bolts holding the brake bar on were really loose. Couldn't tighten it so I took it off and found that the tube nut that the bar screws into the boot is broken in half. Probably won't know if this is a common problem for awhile, but I have to wait till tomorrow to call in to find out what I have to do to get it fixed. Hopefully I can just send in the base of the skate for replacement and not the entire skates, I guess we'll see.

Overall I'm happy with them, they are by no means a speed skate and if you want to go fast, don't even bother. But I got them for exercise and fun and they work great for that. I am a bit disappointed in the nut breaking as I still don't know how long this will put them out of commission. I don't feel at all comfortable enough to ride them without the break. I haven't relearned any other methods of stopping with them yet.

If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask.

[Bill in Houston]

Originally Posted by calkid

The fun is missing with the very slow performance.

I still do have a need for skating on rough surface roads. My current thinking is that a better solution for this may be something like a Marathon skate with a 4x110x84a configuration, or something similar,for lack of a better option. Has anybody out there tried something like this configuration for rough surface skating (e.g. asphalt roads)?

Ya, I can see how being really slow would be less fun.

I went from 4x80 to 4x100 and the difference in ride smoothness was amazing. And then when I went to my AmWing Tarmac T2 wheels, it got even smoother. The T2s apparently wear quickly, so I am saving them for races. A 4x110 should be even smoother, as long as you can get the right wheels, like maybe the Bont G3s.

[calkid]

Addendum to my previous post on the Mojos: I should also have mentioned that the angled wheels on the Mojos placed an unattural pressure on the side of my ankles, when I was skating. Perhaphs you get used to this pressure after using them for a while, but for me it felt uncomfortable and an unnatural stance and pressure point.

[haruspex]

Originally Posted by Bill in Houston

A 4x110 should be even smoother, as long as you can get the right wheels, like maybe the Bont G3s.

At some point the need for smoothness is outweighed by the need for balance/power. Yes, as the wheel gets larger the ride gets smoother, but as well as the wheel gets larger balance and ability to power the skates gets worse. So it depends on your body. The catch here is that it's the size of the wheel that determines the power you can achieve and the height of your body off the ground which determines the difficulty in balance. The Land Roller tries to go for maximum wheel diameter and minimum height off the ground. It's an admirable goal, but they do introduce other issues...

[Skateguy]

One question comes to mind--"Why?"

[haruspex]

Originally Posted by Skateguy

One question comes to mind--"Why?"

They answer that:
http://www.landroller.com/advantage.html

[Bill in Houston]

Originally Posted by Skateguy

One question comes to mind--"Why?"

If I had a dog that wanted to go a little faster on walks, and lived somewhere that the streets were terrible, I can see using the landroller. Even around here you know how the roads get... But with my current skill set, I'd be trying 110 wheels with a 75a hardness before I got into a landroller...

[haruspex]

Yeah, they're definitely not for speed skaters

[kufman]

In my experience, more wheels results in a smoother ride rather than fewer. With only two wheels, both wheels will fall into cracks in lets say the sidewalk when traveling perpendicular to the cracks. First the front wheel then the back wheel. With 4 wheels, you can bridge the gap and basically never feel the cracks in the sidewalk. The first wheels goes over the crack, but it does not fall in because only 25% of you weight is on that wheel. By the time the first wheel hits the next patch of pavement, the 2nd wheel will be over the crack, but it does not fall in because the 1st, 3rd and 4th are supporting the weight. The only reason that a two wheel setup feels any smoother is if the wheels are big enough that they don't fall into the crack at all. They span the entire gap with one wheel. This would require bicycle sized wheels. The other possible way that a 2 wheel setup can feel smoother is because you have twice as much weight on each when compared to a 4 wheel setup. That means the wheels feel much softer for a given hardness which is probably why the LandRollers feel like skating in mud. They have wheels that are nearly the same hardness as 4 wheel setup, but they only have 2.

Anyway, some food for thought.

[haruspex]

It would be interesting to see a 4-wheel LandRoller.