Behind the Frame: Endless 90 Origin Story

Behind the Frame: Endless 90 Origin Story

Are you curious how the Endless 90 frame came to be?  Read on to learn the story “Behind the Frame”.  

Back in 2008 I purchased new Rollerblade Speedmachine 6.0 skates from my local shop, Black Diamond Sports, for $269.  They featured a 4x90 mm setup on a 285 mm frame, Fiber Tech shell, SG9 bearings, and memory foam liner.  

Rollerblade Speedmachine 6.0 (2008)
Rollerblade Speedmachine 6.0 Boot
Rollerblade Speedmachine 6.0 Boot

It was like Air Jordans on wheels and was a big step up from my previous Rollerblade E Series skate (1999) with 80 mm wheels.  I loved how light, fast, stable it was.  I skated the crap out of it for many years and when the original 90 mm wheels were worn out I replaced them with MPC 90 mm Road War wheels…a big upgrade.  

Fast forward to February 2019.  I had long retired my trusty Speedmachine but one day decided to resurrect the frame from a box in my garage.  The ultra short and twitchy FR 310 frames on my new red FR1’s just weren’t sparking joy the way I had hoped.  I felt unstable and unconfident. So I did a little polishing, and mounted the old ALU-TECH 285 frame to the new FR1’s along with the well-used 10 year old MPC wheels.  

Speedmachine ALU TECH 285 frames on FR1 / MPC Road War 90 mm wheels
Speedmachine ALU TECH 285 frames on FR1 / MPC Road War 90 mm wheels

I remember that first skate vividly.  I felt so nimble and free blasting down the middle of road.  It was such a better experience with the stability of the long frame and lower ride height, but also the slight rocker which I would later realize was due to my worn wheels.  The 90’s were fast, but also easy to accelerate.  “Why aren’t 4x90 setups more popular?  This is the best!” I wondered.  

I couldn’t shake that sensation of how good my FR1 with the long Speedmachine 4x90 setup felt.  A few months later I decided I just needed to design my own 4x90 frame.  As a mechanical engineer who had spent nearly two decades designing spacecraft hardware this project was right up my alley.  So I got to work on what ultimately would evolve into the Endless 90.

Thanks Rollerblade for putting quality, well-engineered skates on my feet since 1991, and for inspiring me to create something that pays that same skating joy forward.

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