Hey, anybody out there remember Super Skates? Not the RAD new two-wheel, in-line, roller blade models, but the old four-wheel kind?
These were awesome! You didn't need a skate key or anything. Simply make one adjustment with a screw driver or pliers underneath and the spring loaded mechanism inside would wrap any pair of shoes or sneakers you owned, in a cocoon of locomotive splendor. It took about 10 seconds to put these on and you were rolling down the asphalt.
The image above/right shows a pair that had, what looks like, rubber wheels on it. The version I remember had metal wheels. I must have worn out a dozen pairs of these growing up. Sometimes the bearings went first, but sometimes one of the wheels would actually wear through completely. If either of these happened while you were skating down the street at full speed, the skates would stop dead, but you would keep going - usually right down onto your knees and face.
Memories of big ugly scabs are dancing in my head.
1 comment:
Those skates WERE the BEST!! I only remember one pair, most of the ones I got needed a key, less money for them, more money for a cold Hires Root Beer and a bag of Wise Potato Chips! We'd wear them till the wheels wore completely out and, like you said, you'd fall completely on your arse. It could happen at any time, you never knew when. I remember once, playing street hockey, getting a great pass, racing towards the goal, ready to slap the bejesus out of that puck, then SCREEEEEEECH and SLAMMED to the ground, as the busted up pieces of the worn out wheel rolled toward the goal, and everyone else would come up close to see if any blood or body tissue was on the ground, laughing nonstop, while I was trying my hardest not to cry. Yea, those WERE the days my friend, and as the song goes, we thought they'd never end, and as long as we remember them, they NEVER WILL !!!!
James G.
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