the Nordic Ice Skating Thread

[mca80]

Fixed heel 75mm.

Curious- why would one want a fixed heel Nordic skate?

Not sure. More stability? Speed skates were fixed until relatively recently when the Dutch invented clap skates and went faster than everyone else.

[mca80]

[jäätelöä]

Hi!
New beginner ice skater here, trying to learn nordic ice skating and looking for some advice.
I'm having a bit of trouble understanding how to adjust the ice skates and the boots: I got an Isvidda 45cm and a Roa hiking boot size 40.

I'm happy to try out different settings until I find a good fit. But the ice skates came with very little instruction and I'm a bit lost, as I found completely very different advice while searching online.

Should the heel be fixed all the way back or should the foot be centered in the middle, equally spaced front and back?
Is there any guideline for the front adjustment?

Went for a trial for the first time yesterday, but there's something wrong with the adjustment skate/boots. Sure, I do not know yet how to skate yet, which doesn't help. There's an ice ring nearby and I plan to continue there until mastering the basics before trying on a lake shore (perhaps in a year or two

All insights welcome! Thanks

[mca80]

Knowing how to skate would help. I have read more often than not you want boot center in the center of the blade excluding the front part where it starts curving up.

Speaking of mounting, anyone with thoughts on my positioning? I mounted them further back, as far back as I can, will see how they work and adjust if need be. Size 40 boots, 45cm skate (zandstra measures only the part of the blade in contact so not the curving nose). Think maybe should have gotten the 43 instead. They recommend 43 for shoes 38-40 and size 45 for shoes 41-43.

[jtb]

@mca80 that looks about where I've mounted mine. My thought was that you want the toe a bit further back with a free heel than fixed, so boot center behind the center of the blade. That seems to work well. But I only have one pair with one mount, so I have nothing to compare against.

[tkarhu]

@mca80 In my eyes, your mount looks good, too. It is good to have 5+ cm’s blade behind your heel for balance in case you sway a little backwards somewhen. Again a ”ask how I know” thing Well that is a convenience thing. And I like to have some blade in front of my binding for balance, when bumping into piled snow that I did not recognize. You have both the things in order in your setup.

[jäätelöä]

@mca80 and @tkarhu nice, these tips help here too. What about the width/toe adjustment when not wearing fixed boots? Is there any general recommendation for that?
I haven't been able to skate in the past few days because it's been extra cold in south Finland.

[mca80]

@mca80 and @tkarhu nice, these tips help here too. What about the width/toe adjustment when not wearing fixed boots? Is there any general recommendation for that?
I haven't been able to skate in the past few days because it's been extra cold in south Finland.

My guess is whatever keeps your foot attached and is comfortable, somewhere in behind the toes. But I don't know for sure.

[jäätelöä]

@mca80 right!
i was wondering about the position of the blade in relation to the toes "line".
this isvidda i'm using has the lateral adjustment and i'm very confused about that.
i read somewhere that the blade should be between the big toe and the second toe (?)

[mca80]

Depends how you want them to feel. Skyllermarks allows this adjustment on their skates and gives the explanation here:

https://www.skyllermarks.com/pages/bind ... -placering