May 26, 2012 – With rollerski season in full swing Ontario’s Shelby Dickey has asked Kikkan an interesting question about classic and skate rollerski speeds. Read Randall’s answer with valuable tips and…. check out Randall’s Training Rap HERE and check her MAILBAG for all Q&As thru the season.

Q & A – Rollerski Speeds

Hey Kikkan!
I am just starting to get into the rollerski season and we were wondering what you recommend for rollerski speeds. My coach typically has me on a slower classic rollerski and a faster skate rollerski. Any advice?

Shelby Dickey
Singhampton, Ontario

Hi Shelby,
You’ve presented a great question. When it comes to roller ski wheel speeds, I think the best things to consider are: who you are training around, and what type of terrain and surfaces you’ll be doing most of your training?

I think it’s best to choose wheel speeds that will allow you to keep up with your training partners, without making you go too easy or too hard. On our team at APU, we have the younger athletes train on slightly faster skis so that they can keep up with us in distance and also challenge us in the intervals.

As for the terrain and surfaces you ski on, if you have lots of smooth pavement and more rolling terrain, then perhaps a slower wheel will help you build fitness through increased resistance. If you are on rougher pavement or have a lot of climbing, I think it’s better to use a little faster ski so that you can still have float in your movement.

I actually use several different pairs of Marwe roller skis, that have varying wheel speeds, for the different types of workouts that I’m doing. This is something you can work up to as you get more and more serious.

Best of luck with your training!

Cheers,
Kikkan