The Mirage skate from the Jackson Atom Skates brand is a great novelty in the panorama of inline skates designed to simulate ice skates. If you are curious, take a look at the following notes to discover the main technical characteristics.
General description
The Mirage skate is a product born from the collaboration of two major skating brands: the Canadian Jackson Ultima and the American Atom Skates. The first is a company specialized in the production of blades and boots for ice skating, while the second deals with the production of quad skates and wheels in high quality polyurethane elastomer. Both companies are market leaders in their respective sectors, so the product we are talking about in this post has generated great expectations: finally here we are. The idea behind the Mirage is not new: to propose a three-wheeled inline skate, with front brake, able to simulate an ice skate as faithfully as possible: the proposed motto is "No ice? No problem ", and it gives a good idea. Not all skaters, in fact, have access to an ice rink, that is, they do not have it in all seasons of the year. The Mirage also allows you to train even outside the hours in which it is possible to do it on the track and on any sufficiently smooth surface. Finally, this skate is perfect for all athletes of the artistic inline specialty, both for its quality and for its compatibility with many commercial components, including those of other brands, such as wheels and brake pads. All this, with a very high quality and a very affordable price for this type of product.We can therefore say: well done Jackson Atom Skates, successful mission!
Let's go into a little more details.
Materials and finishing
The manufacturer claims that the Mirage is made of aircraft-grade aluminum alloy, probably one of the 7000 series, but we have no official confirmation in this regard. The realization is of excellent quality, obtained by CNC milling of an extruded profile. We are therefore talking about a top-level product for the category, undoubtedly equipped with great mechanical qualities, resistance and durability. The finish proposed and currently available is a gray anodizing, technically nicely done and -in our opinion- very beautiful. All visible milled edges are beveled or rounded, for the safety of the skater, who can grip the skate safely and without the danger of cutting himself. The brake-holder system is machined from solid and fixed to the front of the pad with three generously sized screws. The brake is locked by means of a single screw, as is normally the case in quad skates. The thread that accommodates the stem of the brake pad is American or Whitworth, but this is not a particular problem because almost all manufacturers have this type of variant in their catalog (e.g. Roll Line), with a diameter of 68 or 72 mm depending on the size of the pad (see below), have a standard width, so any alternative wheel can be used, as long as the diameter is compatible. The axles are in fixed positions, such as to generate, without load applied, an 8-foot rocker, equivalent to that of many popular ice blades. The fixing system is very simple: a pin with a head with a hexagonal socket that crosses the entire frame and the wheel, is held in position by a screw, also equipped with a hexagonal socket. To carry out assembly and disassembly of the wheels, two Allen keys are needed.The package includes, in addition to the pair of frames, a complete set of Atom super high rebound wheels, with ABEC 7 Bionic bearings, axles and spacers, as well as a pair of "Artiste stopper" type brake pads, almost identical in shape to that of Roll Line pads, but without holes on the surface in contact with the track. Also included in the package are two allen keys with "T" handle to assemble/disassemble the wheels.
At the moment, the Mirage is not equipped with protection systems capable of avoiding, in the event of a fall, possible scratches to the skate and the surface of the track. Being a new product, we do not know if the problem will arise or not: if so, we are confident that the manufacturer will solve it.
Sizes
The Mirage skate is offered in sizes ranging from 226 mm to 286 mm, in steps of 10 mm. To adapt to a specific boot, the largest size inside the sole must be chosen. If in doubt, contact us for advice. From size 226 mm to 256 mm included, the diameter of the wheels required is 68 mm; 72 mm wheels are recommended for larger sizes.Wheels and compatibility
As previously mentioned, any wheel with a diameter compatible with the above specifications can be mounted on the Mirage, as the width of the frame is standard and identical to that used by competing manufacturers. It must be said that, from the first tests carried out, the quality of the Atom wheels is exceptional; on the other hand, no less was expected from an American manufacturer specializing in this type of product. Equally good is the quality of the ABEC 7 bearings supplied: it is worth remembering that these are bearings type 608, for 8 mm axles. Apart from that, any other bearing of the same type is naturally compatible.
Brake pads and compatibility
The supplied brake pad is made by Bionic, and it looks very good quality. As mentioned, if necessary, it can be replaced with a brake pad from other brands: for example the Roll Line Amber pad, in the version with USA stem, is fully compatible.Comparison with an ice skate
It is not easy to mimic the behavior and feeling of an ice skate, moving to the world of rollers. The coefficient of friction is greater, as is the weight of the tool. In any case, Jackson Atom Skates did the best that is technically possible: the curvature of the support surface (rocker) is 8 ', the position in which the brake pad - appropriately adjusted - in contact with the track corresponds well to that of the drag pick and the differentiated position of the two front wheels correctly simulate the sweet spot. Therefore, as far as possible, we can say that the Mirage is an excellent tool both for ice skaters who cannot access a rink, for any reason, and for athletes of inline roller skating, an artistic specialty. Wanting to make a more precise comparison, the characteristics of the Mirage make it similar to the Gold Seal and Pattern 99 blades (John Wilson), Matrix and Freestyle-Elite-Supreme (Jackson) and Eclipse and Pinnacle-Infinity (Riedell) blades. These are very popular products, so the choice made by the manufacturer should be able to satisfy the majority of enthusiasts.It should be noted that the Mirage rocker is fixed: if -from a certain point of view- this can be considered a small disadvantage compared to the products of other brands, on the other hand this concept makes the skate much simpler, less expensive and lighter. On the other hand, very often the skates with adjustable rocker are configured precisely for an 8 'rocker and in that position natural life is left during: the adjustment therefore becomes a genuinely not very useful feature.
Maintenance
By itself, the sliding block does not require any particular maintenance, except for periodic checking of the state of closure of the fixing screws of the axles. In addition to this, there are only the ordinary adjustments: height of the brake pad and exchange of the wheels, to even out wear and extend its useful life.Suggested boots
Many frames in the Mirage category can be mounted on any boot, whether specific for ice skates or for roller skating. We do not dwell on the difference between the two categories: we only remember that the "steering" system of a roller skate is completely different from that of an ice skate, different are the movements and muscles involved, different is the technique and the forces applied to the boot by the foot. Therefore, in principle, the use of ice boots is recommended for inline skates of this category. As for the product we are talking about, the use of ice boots is absolutely necessary. The reason is that both the front and rear supports on the frame are shaped in such a way that they are not coplanar: the advantage deriving from this design choice is that the "fitting" with an ice boot is much better and that it is absolutely not the use of the front wedge (also called power wedge) is necessary. All this greatly simplifies assembly and makes the shoe-boot assembly much more rigid, to the advantage of sensitivity and precision.So, ultimately, any boot, of any brand, as long as it is designed for ice skating, can be used.
Assembling
Assembly is standard for this type of product, and it is advisable (but not mandatory) that it be carried out by our laboratory. For those wishing to try their hand, we can say that the procedure is not complex, and the most difficult part consists in tracing the center line of the sole of the boots. The frame must be centered on it and the front edge of the support must be placed flush with the edge of the sole. Be careful not to make mistakes: front edge, not back as in the case of quad skates!The manufacturer provides a video with a series of useful information for both assembly and maintenance.