14 DAY TRIAL // If you live in the countryside or some area where the streets and sidewalks are battered and gravelly, you probably can't hope to get any benefit from owning roller blades. If you do live in a settlement with asphalt, though, this instruction guide might help you out.
Roller blades are really popular among young people and kids, as well as a fair few adults who don't get enough enjoyment from simple jogging.
They also passively teach you how to ice skate, since the principle is ultimately the same. Still, fun and enjoyment are ultimately what draw people to the sport / hobby of riding roller blades.
Perfect comfort isn't easy to gain, though, unless you custom-order a pair of rollers and get your feet specifically measured.
This is both tedious and expensive, not to mention that custom fitters don't really exist everywhere. You can't just walk into any random shoe store for it.
You can now create your own custom-fit roller blades
Chicago-based maker Patrick S, whose username is Mizchief100, or Mizchief if it pleases you, has published a certain guide on Instructables.
Said project details exactly how to create your own roller blades. Or model of roller blades which you can then order a 3D printer to make for you.
The printer will need to have a volume of 11 x 6 x 5 inches / 280 x 150 x 130 mm, but most of them do. Unless you deliberately bought one of those small cubes of 6 x 6 x 6 inches / 150 x 150 x 150 mm, in which case you're out of luck.
Of course, if that's the case and you still want a pair, you can ask Shapeways or some other service to print the parts and assemble them yourself.
You still need to create the models though, so you'll have to familiarize yourself a bit with computer-aided design software, like Autodesk Inventor 2013.
The essential stage is tracing your feet while standing, preferably making the tracing a bit wider than your foot actually is.
The two main roller blade pieces lace together starting at the toe, so that you don't have to rely on glue to hold the shoe together.
The only limitation is that you're limited to three wheels, since the lower part of the skate is a single piece, for structural integrity reasons. Also, a brake isn't included, so be sure you know how to perform toe dragging.
How long to make the roller skate
Setting aside the time it takes to create / modify the model, the boot portion takes around 7 hours and the skates an extra 6.5 to print. The plastic is a bit rigid, so the skates won't be the most comfortable in the world, but inserting a layer of craft foam into the boot along the sole and the back of the heel can offset that, along with a layer at the ankle.
