f you have skated back in the 90’s the sight of Roces 1992 will bring you back memories. Do you want to feel like in a golden decade of inline skating once again? These are your best chance!
What are Roces 1992? They are not, as some may think, a resurrection of Roces FCO skates, which were one of the most popular skates back in the day. They are much closer to Roces Street model, which came with stronger frame and was intended for more aggressive style skating, although from current point of view it can be considered a progenitor of freeskates. Apart from new coat of paint, the skate now comes with lower cuff and a liner worthy of modern skates.
The boot is based around PRO shell, which is point of reference for the whole industry wince year 1981. It has been used all this time in multiple skates and is still a base for a fan-favourite Roces M12 aggressive skate. This slim fit, durable boot wraps around your foot and provides excellent support in all circumstances. Thanks to the fact the shell is laced above the ankle, the lacing alone does a great job of locking your heel down, so there’s no need for 45 degree buckle. The cuff, as it was mentioned already, is lover with a slight v-cut to allow for a better range of motion. It is closed by patented memory buckle which makes it easy to get the same, precise fit ever time you put skates on. Inside the shell resides a comfortable liner with medium thickness foams.
The frame is attached to the boot the same way as it was in original Roces Street – by rivets. It is exactly the same one as the part used back then, too – a composite frame made from polyamide with addition of glass fibre (15%) to increase strength and rigidity. There is one small, but important difference: the spacers are now made from aluminium as opposed to plastic, which makes wheels spinning with less resistance. As usual in case of composite frames, the axles are two-piece.
Because the frame itself is pretty low and has been designed for street skating, the maximum wheel diameter it fits is 76 mm. It is not a size one would consider a standard in skates nowadays, but well – this is true to old-school roots of the skate. On the other hand, it is only 4 mm less than 80 mm, the most popular wheel size nowadays, so you do not have to worry that skates will turn out to be too slow. The stock wheels have 82A hardness to provide a high level of comfort. ABEC5 bearings complete the package, with their good level of durability and smooth roll. It is also worth to note that skates come with a brake in the box – it can be mounted on either of the boots.
Roces have not just made old-school skates in nice colours, like it was in the case of similar throwback vibe products in the past. The company is aiming to be environmentally friendlier and uses recycled and recyclable materials to make the 1992 models. The shell is made of cornstarch in 47% and liner foams are 100% recycled PU.
Roces 1992 are not just regular skates – these are a tribute to history of the company and inline skating in general. They also show how much ahead of their time Roces Street skates were – thirty years later, few tweaks are enough to let them once again shine on streets of the cities worldwide. Icing on the cake – these are available in three different colour varieties, every one of them looking so good it is hard to pick a favourit
