Kenneth Dedeu of Barcelona works by day (and night) on the USD, UC, Kizer and Ennui brands and design. When he gets a chance to leave the house, this is what he gets up to.
kizer-skate.com
facebook.com/kizerframes
Filmed in Barcelona and edited by Mark Heuss
Kenneth Dedeu (Barcelona) – Kizer Level 2 sessions from TheConferenceTV on Vimeo.
A couple of brief moments on the brand new Kizer Level 2 frame, suitable for a flat setup of 76mm wheels.
Translated from the original post in Polish here: http://freeskatenews.pl/showthread.php?tid=548&pid=5260#pid5260
We would like to thank Przemek Wieciejaki for his permission to re-post the review.
Additional photos by Christoph Bottcher from this article on http://www.be-mag.com/article/2188-What-is-Powerblading-
Kizer Arrow – Review
And finally the next chapter in UFS frames arrives, and it features 80mm wheels.
The information of these new frame arrivals is made even better when knowing that the brand responsible for the production is Kizer, famous for its excellent production of aggressive frames.
This time we have a frame designed for Powerblading, or aggressive skating connected with the genre of freeride.
This product does not exclude other users who have never had contact with the aggressive skates or parts. Who knows, maybe this product will tempt some freeriders to expand ther range of their tricks even for Makio related tricks, of course, without fear of damaging the delicate aluminum structure.
However the frames are not the best choice for someone wanting to start their first steps in aggressive skating and who want to learn royale based tricks.
To the point.
The Arrow frames by Kizer arrive in a practical resealable zipper pouch. Theoretically, unnecessary, but maybe useful.
After unpacking you find inside a few bars of Kizer Arrrow Walls, a set of 8 mm bolts, and 8 two-piece aluminum spacers.
Additionally, we get the 4 UFS screws as well as 8 consecutive sleeves and 4 steel washers.
The Frame
Made of aluminum, painted black with black sidewalls.
The frame is able to accommodate four 80mm wheels. The length of between front and rear axles of wheels is exactly 243mm. There is no option to rocker here, all the holes for pins are the same height.
Weight of one frame including the axles and spacers is 407 grams, without sidewall it weighs 298 grams.
The frame is symmetrical, so you can swap the plastic walls, the same goes for the whole frame, which can also be rotated and it will not affect the roll or grind.
Construction
This frame is designed with a view to Powerblading which needs slightly different structures to freeskating and greater strength in a number of areas, such as its central part.
Starting from the upper part, which is modeled on aggressive frames, it is flat which means that it absorbs power and stress over a larger area.
The side walls are traditionally openwork, cross-sectioned in the lower part. Aluminum wall thickness is 3mm, a little thicker than the frames from Rollerblade and Solomon.
Bridges, of course, are something that this type of frame could not lack. Traditionally, one central and two others located on the first circle, and before the last (for strength).
Interesting here is the construction of the bridges, each of them forms inverted arches themselves. (If someone is interested by the middle of the width of these archess is 5 mm, while in the middle the bridge is 8mm).
This gives the impression of solid construction and is associated with some advanced design combinations from speed and freestyle.
When discussing the structure is also worth mentioning the height of the frame, which is the altitude at which we ride. In this case it is a millimeter higher than the frames from Solomon. This gives a very good result and balance when it comes to freeride.
Fixing
Fixing a UFS frame or wheel bolts 165 mm flat.
Screw holes at the top are not round, but slightly elongated which allows the minimum shift in the back or front of the skate.
UFS mounting sockets are slightly shallower than in the frames of Rollerblade or Solomon.
Attaching the frame on the Rollerblade Solo Estilo 2009 requires little intervention in the skate, with the protruding plastic piece needing to be filed off about 1 millimeter to allow the frame to properly attatch itself to the skate.
When fitting the shoe Salomon ST Rob Thompson, this problem does not occur.
Sidewall
Plastic walls are the parts which make the differences between these and the rest of the freeskate frames on the market.
Attached are the same screws that are responsible for keeping the wheels in place. Quite a simplified patent but thanks to these the whole weight has been reduced. The Kizer Element frames were a similar design, but with additional screws.
Sidewall (plastic side walls) are on the inside of the six tabs that hold them in place.
Plastic covers are of course used for a specific purpose, namely to enable grind-based gameplay. For this purpose, plastic between the third and fourth wheel is significantly reduced (by 5 mm)
Additionally, at the bottom of the wall the thickness reaches one centimeter, which definitely will affect the greater strength of the frame.
This gives you both a place to practice royale style tricks and protects the head wheel bolts that are sunk into the wall.
Implementation
The whole frame is carefully painted, and the aluminum does not have sharp edges and all the screws can be unscrewed without problems.
The sidewalls are strong, there is absolutetly no question here of them bending in your hands.
This frame leaves a very good impression. All of the bridges and thick plastic walls form a complete picture of very solid equipment.
It would be nice if in future versions of Kizer created some interesting colors, as was the case with Kizer Element.
For more information on Kizer’s Powerblading range, click this link: http://www.kizer-skate.com/sample-page/powerblading
Below are some photos.
