Chicago Skates Classic Quad Roller Skates for Women & Men – Durable & Top Performance, Adjustable High-Top Boots for Safe Indoor/Outdoor Roller Derby–60mm PU Wheels & Semi-Precision Bearings

I'm giving these a 5 star rating based solely on the value. These are $70 skates, so I am not comparing them to a $200+ skate. For starters, I am 46 years old and weigh 270 pounds. I have not skated since I was in high school and my kids wanted to learn to skate and I didn't want to have to rent skates from the local roller rink so I bought my own. I also like the basic look of the skates. Sure, light up wheels are fun, but I'm not in it for the bling and I actually like the solid blue wheels. My skating requirements are at a level where I just need to make it around the rink with my two children without killing myself. I will not be doing any stunts, tricks, or advanced maneuvers. I suspect that anyone who is at a higher skill level should really consider higher quality skates. I normally wear a 10 - 10.5 wide athletic shoe, but found that the size 11 skates fit perfect. The skates are pretty heavy, so you definitely feel the weight on your feet when wearing them, although you do get used to it after a while. The long laces allow for enough tightness that my ankles are well supported. I have used these skates about 5 times now and I've been able to keep them on for at least 90 minutes and they do not hurt my feet. I found them to be quite comfortable when laced up. I appreciate that the top half of the skate have those U-shaped loops that don't require you to thread the laces through tiny holes. This makes getting the skates on and off much easier. Reading some other reviews for these skates, some have commented that the laces broke on them. I haven't had that problem, but they do feel on the lower quality end of laces. If I was a regular skater, I'd probably replace them, but so far I've had no problems. While skating the skates performed well the first 2-3 times I used them. I appreciated that in the box were two wheel wrenches and one for the toe stop. This was a nice plus for a cheap skate. When the skates were brand new, the wheels were extremely tight, so I had to back off the lock nut an eighth turn to loosen them up. Unfortunately, by the 3rd or so time I wore the skates, I noticed the wheels started to get wobbly. At first, I thought the lock nut had backed off, but that wasn't it. The bearings were already starting to fail and there was some play in them. Thinking that perhaps this is just how cheap bearings are, I wore the skates one more time, but by the end of my 4th skating session, the wheels were so wobbly, they felt like they were falling off. I read several Amazon reviews of these skates and noticed that the bearings were a point of contention for many people as well, so I ordered some replacement ones. I ordered a set of 16 Bones Reds skate bearings which cost $35. If you've never done bearings on roller skates before, there are two bearings for each wheel, so in order to do all 4 wheels on both skates, you need all 16 bearings. The kit I ordered came with both spacers and washers. I did not need the spacers, but I did use the washers. Replacing the bearings does not require any special tools. I watched a couple of Youtube videos and they show how you take off the wheel, and then put it back on the axle just a tiny bit, and then twist and pry the bearing out by pulling down on the wheel at about a 45 degree angle. If this doesn't make sense, just watch the video. There's tons of them on Youtube. It took me a good half hour to do all 16 bearings and I used the washers from the bearing kit, but the original lock nut from the skate. Once I had the new bearings on, the wheels were very solid with no play and rolled extremely smoothly. From my understanding, these bearings are good enough for far more advanced skaters than me, so for the 3-4 times a year I go to the roller rink, these should last me a very long time. In total, I paid $70 plus $35 for bearings, for a total of $105 for a pair of inexpensive skates with good bearings. Could I have just found a pair of skates for $100 that had better bearings? Maybe, but there's no telling how long those would last too. In the end, I am happy with my purchase and would not hesitate to recommend these skates to people in my specific situation. If however, you are an enthusiastic skaters and have a skill level beyond that of a 46 year old dad wanting to make special memories with his children without suffering major injuries a couple times a year, then you really should invest in higher end skates.

I just wished the skates came with indoor wheels but overall my sister loves the skates i got for her birthday. Real comfortable, great ankle support and fits perfectly.

These are my first pair of new roller skates ever. Growing up, any skates I used were either borrowed or hand-me-downs. I am now teaching my son to skate and decided to spring for new skates for both of us. I received my skates today and immediately noted the wheels don't roll worth a hoot. I adjusted them so they roll freely and now there is some slight play in the wheels, but they seem to work well enough and don't feel wobbly. I also noted that the comfort of the boot changed with the wheel adjustment. NO, adjusting the wheels did not specifically change the boot, I'm simply saying that not fighting the wheels makes my foot sit in the boot more comfortably and break-in will not be torture as I feared prior to adjusting the wheels. As far as fit is concerned, my foot is on the wide end of normal and I immediately noted that I will want to wear thick athletic socks or install insoles. Overall, they'll do for now as my first pair, but I have ordered new indoor wheels and bearings. My 3 star rating of value for my money is optimistic, but only as long as the factory wheels and bearings hold up for outdoor use. My assessment of value will be greatly reduced if the bearings give out within a few uses - especially if the bearings in the factory wheels really cannot be replaced as stated in another comment. If you are an avid skater looking for a decent pair of skates, add at least $55-60 to the cost of these because that was the cost of the kit I ordered which included better quality bearings and wheels and that was at the low end of replacement cost. You'll want to upgrade one or both immediately. They are an upgrade from rental skates but will take some added investment to tweak out some better performance. Update: I received my new bearings and wheels and decided to try and remove the bearings from the old wheels. They popped right out and were easily replaced by the better quality (albeit not top of the line) bearings. Not sure what the discrepancy is with the reviewer who stated that the bearings cannot be replaced (different skate maybe?) but with better bearings my skates roll much better! Also would like to note that the indoor/outdoor wheels are lousy outdoors...except maybe on really smooth concrete. I took my son down the street to a local church's asphalt parking lot that I thought was newly paved. It was not as smooth as I'd hoped but not as bad as some I've seen. This was with the old bearings too, but the wheels made for an awfully rough ride. Therefore, I'd recommend keeping them for use as indoor wheels and get a set of good outdoor wheels if you plan on using them outside. I upgraded my rating to 4 stars because with minimal cost ($20) in upgrading the bearings they're a pretty decent pair of rink skates. Very soon, I'll order some bearings for my new indoor wheels so I can easily swap for the skating rink. I'd have saved some money if I ordered outdoor wheels in my $55 kit but I knew I'd be too impatient to wait until they arrived before I made a trial run. You could spend more money on better quality skates, but I'd only recommend that if you are very knowledgeable about skating and know exactly what you want. I have responsibilities, like feeding my kids - so a different pair of skates for every occasion is not feasible. Plan to upgrade the bearings and if you want to skate in multiple places (indoors/outdoors on asphalt, gravel or whatever) get a second set of wheels and bearings designed for that purpose and swap to whichever wheels you need when you go.

My wife took almost two years to use them as she was going through breast cancer. she loves the skate and loves them

Update: after only 13 hours of rink use I had a lace failure (that pulled nearly all the way through the boot before I spotted it) and already had partial heel separation on both boots. …but you almost certainly won’t see the same problems. Again, I’m a 6’2” skater, 205lbs, size 13 shoe. I’m an advanced skater and spend most of my time speed skating for exercise. I put more leverage than most folks on my boot because my taller body is a large lever, my monster feet only accentuate those larger forces, and I’m skating at speeds most skaters aren’t. If you’re a casual or beginner/intermediate skater, or even a dancer then these skates are going to be great for you. (Although, as I mentioned below, you’ll need new bearings and wheels, at a minimum.) My skate failed because the boot was merely scaled up for my feet and wasn’t really designed properly to handle the physics of a larger stature. I wouldn’t expect the boot to fail (even under the same intensity of usage) for someone who is smaller, and I wouldn’t expect it to fail for someone of my height who isn’t as aggressive of a skater. I’m pretty sure it’s only because I’m tall, have giant feet, AND am an advanced skater that they failed. So while there’s no way I’d buy them again for myself, I’d still recommend them to anyone else looking for a good bargain skate, with the proviso (as I originally described) that they know what they are (and aren’t) getting. ORIGINAL REVIEW: These skates are a great entry point, but they aren’t necessarily a steal of a deal. I have big feet. I wear a size 13 men’s. That mostly relegates me to only half a dozen options in the first place, all costing hundreds of dollars. …or these. Initially I thought these were an absolute steal. Reviews were (mostly) good, especially from folks willing to swap out the bearings and wheels up front. So I picked up a pair expecting a bit of work, but I was still a little surprised. On the bright side, delivery was three weeks faster than my earliest predicted delivery. Your mileage may vary, but it tells me that they really are trying to get these out there responsibly. I’m good with that and think it’s worth noting. The trucks look really solid and all the pieces are there. I mean, *hypothetically* you could ride these out of the box. …but it won’t be a great experience. My wheels wouldn’t spin unless my finger was moving them. You can see the video I made. As an experiment I cleaned them as thoroughly as possible in acetone, dried them, and re-lubed them. (No, the shields aren’t removable. …but they have half spacers built onto the back and I dripped little half-drops down those spacers and then spun them.) The new lube in the bearings made a huge difference, but it didn’t fix them. The stock bearings were made with the worst possible tolerances. I could feel them spinning unevenly even just in my fingers. Some of them were incredibly wobbly all by themselves even outside a wheel. They’re cheap junk, but it’s good to know that you can at least kinda make them work. While I put them back in the stock wheels I replaced the wheels outright anyhow, so they’re an emergency stopgap for me, at best. …but they *could* work, in a pinch. The boot isn’t soft out of the box. It’s made with thick leather that’s going to have to mold to my foot over time, but I think that’s a great thing. It means that my skates should be really great fits some day after I’ve spent a good number of hours in them. Plus, the trucks seem really solid. Yes, there’s a little tightening to do here and there. Yes, they did send a wrench. No, the wrench doesn’t fit everything. It fits the toe stop, the wheel nuts, and the nut between the trucks and plate. That’s it. You’ll need other wrenches for the truck nuts and the plate screws. Oh, and one of my laces was already damaged, so there’s that. Overall, these are great basic skates and I’d recommend them. …but if you walk into them thinking you’re getting great skates out of the box without a little tinkering and (at least) replacement bearings then you’re fooling yourself. Think of these skates as the reason you’re going to learn your skate maintenance skills sooner than you’d otherwise bother, and expect to also buy some speed cream, better bearings (or wheels with bearings), and maybe new laces or a skate wrench with the other sizes to go along with the skates. Again, they’re good skates, just not without a little bit of help.

Bought these skates because they're cute and cheap – turns out you get what you pay for. I'm a very beginner and I was having a lot of trouble with strides, turns, and stops. Scrolling thru YouTube I found a video from Indy Jamma Jones (roller derby) of Planet Roller Skate called "Do NOT buy these skates!" and of course the thumbnail was these exact skates I had just purchased. The wheels and toe stop are hard plastic with no grip, which is NOT good out on sidewalks or streets. The truck is very loose to the point where attempts to turn leave your boot touching the wheel. Trying to stop using your toe is basically impossible because the hard plastic just scrapes the ground and wears down. Pushing off of one foot to stride often results in your foot slipping out from under you due to how loose the truck is. Overall not easy to use and potentially dangerous. If you want to just replace the wheels of these skates, you're already looking at prices that can get you actual good outdoor quads. So yes, they're cute. Yes, they're cheap. But if your plan is to skate outside, get something else! The Planet Roller Skate site has recommendations. If you already have these skates, you can still learn on them. They just won't last you very long and you'll quickly need to upgrade to a better pair.

I purchased this pair of skates for my daughter who is a beginner, and she loves her skates! My daughter says they are very comfortable. She wears a Size 8 shoe, and I purchased a Size 8 in this brand. The fit is good; not too tight nor too loose. The only complaint we have is that one of her stoppers consistently fell out. We’ve had the employees at the skating rink tighten it up a couple of times, but that didn’t work. I ended up having my husband remove one of the stoppers from my pair of skates (also Chicago brand but different model) and that seems to have remedied the problem. Other than the stopper issue, it’s a good pair of reasonably priced skates.

So, i read how you measure for these...what a pain in the butt. I'm a women's size 8 1/2 true. I measured and it told me to order the 8, so I did. Well, let me tell you, I could probably have gotten the 7 and been ok. Anyhow, the event i needed them for was too close to get the 7, so i just put a few pair of socks on and went about my business. They were ok, comfort wise, but they really are too big. I'm going to add a set of gel insoles to hopefully take up the space a little bit and keep me more comfortable. Otherwise, they are pretty stiff. I had a hard time adjusting the laces to make them fit me properly. Something I've never experienced in over 40 years of skating. Fortunately I'll only be going occasionally, but if that changes, you can be sure I'll be buying a better pair. I really don't know why they can't be sized like a normal size. They used to be, because I've only ever owned Chicago skates. I'm pretty disappointed all the way around. Even the wheels are kind of crappy.